Wind Energy?

Question

"950W of power at 45km.hr winds
Delivers 100 Kw / hours a month at an average wind speed of 5.4 m/s
Adjustable voltage (12/24/36/48V)"

Can someone please tell me what that means? And my question is would you be able to indefinitely power a small fridge, a TV and other things on that wind turbine which costs $3 000?

Answer 1

You'll also need energy storage for when the winds don't blow. As an alternative to storage, in some localities you can connect alternative energy sources to the grid, use the grids energy when you need to, and be paid for excess energy you generate when you don't need it. That takes some electronic stuff (another $1000?).

You'll need to be sure your site is suitable, and that local laws let you put one up. The cost to put it up on your site may be more than the cost of the windmill.

In the US most wind power comes from large wind farms built by power companies. I pay a small surcharge on my bill to "use wind power" which helps that happen. In some European countries like Germany there are a lot of individual units, but Germany has modified their laws about connecting to the grid, like the stuff described above, to encourage that.

Answer 2

The 950 Watt rating is what you would get under the best of conditions, sustained 24 x 7. Since thats not real world, I would halve that to about 500 watts continuous....if you are pretty sure you always have some kind of wind. And that would be enough to totally light a typical house with flourescent bulbs and have some left over for a computer, or one of those college student refrigerators.

You'd also have to buy a bank of batteries and an inverter to turn that 12/24/36/48 volts into the 120 volt AC that you appliances are expecting.

And as undependable as the wind is, I would want to buy 4 of those for the purpose of disconnecting from AEP altogether, so thats $12,000 which is about the same price as doing the same thing with solar. If you don't have $12,000 right now you might try getting just one and adding more when the need arises. Good luck.

Answer 3

The first line means that it can generate 950 Watts of power if the wind is blowing at 45 kilometers per hour. It can deliver an average of 100Kw hours per month with an average wind speed of 5.4 meters per second. The adjustable voltage lets you adapt it for different purposes. It would reduce your power consumption from the grid but you will still need to be connected to a power utility.

Answer 4

It would be very expensive power. It would not provide the power you need. If you spend another $4000-$5000 on batteries and controllers you could at least supplement your power needs just to help the environment, but not to save any money on power. With the cost of power today, you would probably never recover your investment.

Answer 5

That price is way too high. Ebay has some wind generators that are new, and cost a lot less.