Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Windmill gets raised!

Well, the moment we've been waiting for finally arrived. This past weekend we raised our wind turbine (video below) and, along with the solar array, started generating electricity! 

There were some tense moments as the wind started to pick up, but everything went smoothly. Combined, the tower and turbine weigh about 1,000 lbs. (450 Kg.) So, you can imagine how unwieldy it might have become if hit with a gust of wind.  

We'll find out in the next week or so, how well its performing. The turbine has a wireless (zigbee) interface which should provide us with regular performance statistics. And, of course, we'll start to see the impact on our monthly electric bill, as there is state mandated "net metering" - which literally runs the electric meter backwards when we're generating more power than we consume. 

Special thanks to Gary and Jared Bergeron from PlanIT Green Renewable Energy. (to my left in the photo). They were great to work with and I highly recommend them for any renewable energy projects!

I'll keep you posted on our progress.

-Howard


5 comments:

  1. Very cool! Do you know what its average output will be, i.e. under average Newport wind conditions, how many kWh of electricity will it generate? And while I know you are planning on installing solar panels, are you also contemplating more windmills?

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  2. Love it! Thanks for sharing the video. You'll have to add some stirring music (in iMovie?).
    Cheers
    Ron

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  3. Hi Hugh.

    Together, the solar and wind are rated at ~4.5KW. I'll be monitoring them regularly to see what we're actually able to generate.

    Doubt we'll erect another windmill. That might raise a stir in the community. However, replacing the current turbine with a larger one isn't out of the question.

    -H

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  4. Thanks Ron!

    Green energy has become a personal passion of mine in recent years. With so many innovations coming to the market, and a few tax incentives, it's a great time to get involved.

    -H

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  5. looks great...have followed it's progress. took your advice and have contacted gary to start looking at my place in bradford next week. thanks for being the "lead" in this.

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