Can I build or buy a Windmill?

Question

Does any one have their own windmill? How hard is it technically to build or how expensive to buy one? How big does it have to be to produce enough electricity to power one home? Does any one know where I can obtain plans, and or more info?

Answer 1

Windmills cost between $1/watt up to something like $2/watt. Just recently I found a site that showed how to build your own 1000 Watt wind generator for about $1000.

Most homes, however use more than 1000 Watts. Many homes use 60 amps to 120 amps at 120V, which is 7200 to 14400 Watts. So even if you go on the skimpy side and could get a really cheap wind generator, it would cost you over $7000 to provide power for your house. And that's when the wind is blowing steadily at a good speed, like maybe 15 miles per hour.

Answer 2

I read on IEEE magazine Spectrum a while back, there is a commercially available windmill for household use. it is much smaller than the ones you see standing in arizona deserts. and i think it costs somewhere around $80,000 for purchase and installing (don't take my word for it, try IEEE's website), and it can cut your home energy cost anywhere between 20% to 90%. so very big variance, it all depends on the wind condition in where you live.

Answer 3

There are plenty of commercially available wind turbines on the market now, like previously stated around $1-2/watt with varying efficiency curves to suit your needs in terms of regional average annual wind velocity. There are models available with production peaks designed for low wind speeds (below 15 mph) up to near gail speeds, it depends on your application. If you are asking in reference to obtaining one for a residential sustainability project, most are purchased and installed in conjunction with PV cells to even out power production inconsistancies and coupled with a storage unit (battery bank) for off peak hours.

Answer 4

Electro Vent offers a small low cost wind generator.