January 15, 2010
California Residential Wind Power
The State of California leads the way in renewable energy initiatives and offers generous rebates of 50% for select wind power systems.
The wind power systems described in this text are connected to the utility company, or grid tied, and don’t incorporate storage batteries. In California excess power generated by a wind power system will be sold back to the utilitiy (internet metering).
The 5 basic needs for a wind power system: 1. You own your own home.
2. Your property is at least one 0.5 acre.
3. Your homeowners association or city/county does not restrict towers.
4. The typical wind speed in your area exceeds nine mph.
5. Your utility permits web metering.
Wind Speed Requirements
Most wind turbines have a start up speed of 8 MPH but require a minimum average wind speed of twelve MPH to come up with an appreciable amount of electricity for your home. You'll be able to analysis the wind speeds in your space by consulting these wind maps: http://www.awstruewind.com/inner/windmaps/California.htm
Not surprisingly, the very best average wind speeds in California are registered within twenty five miles of the Pacific Coast.
The minimum height at which wind speed is measured on these wind maps is thirty meters, or 100 feet. Since most residential wind turbine towers are forty-80 feet in height, your actual wind speed can be but what is shown on the maps. As tower heights increase, the wind becomes faster and fewer turbulent. A twenty foot increase in tower height, from 60 to eighty feet, can increase the output of your wind turbine by as abundant as 36%.
Lot Size Requirements
A wind turbine desires a minimum of 0.5 an acre of land to confirm it will be located way enough faraway from wind impeding obstructions such as trees, your house and different out-buildings. The tower must also extend twenty feet above these obstructions. Typically speaking, the upper the tower, the more land is required by native zoning laws.
California Wind Power Tax Incentives and Rebates
Currently the Federal does not provide a wind power tax credit. However, California offers generous rebates for eligible wind turbines at the rate of $2.fifty a watt for the first 7.5kW (seven,500 watts) of rated output and $1.50 per watt thereafter up to 50kW (50,000 watts). The complete list of eligible equipment is offered at:
http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/cgi-bin/eligible_smallwind.cgi
For example, Southwest Windpower's Whisper two hundred, 1,000 watt wind turbine would qualify for a $a pair of,500 rebate. This represents 50% of the entire $five,000 price for a wind turbine, inverter and eighty' tower.
Wind Turbine Output
The Whisper two hundred turbine can turn out 158kW per month at twelve MPH. The higher the average wind speed, the more power it will generate. For many homes, 158kW represents only 20-twenty five% of monthly usage. On the other hand, your electric bill can immediately drop by 20-25% and the cost for electricity generated by the wind turbine 20 years from currently can be the same as it's today.
At the other end of the residential wind power spectrum is the Bergey BWC 10,000 watt wind turbine. A 10Kw system is capable of providing all the required power for most homes. The initial cash outlay for a system of this size is around $40,000 together with installation. This can be before the $twenty two,000 rebate from the State of California.
Wind System Towers
Three varieties of towers are most commonly used for residential wind turbines. The foremost expensive is that the monopole tower. This is a scaled down version of the towers used on wind farms.
The second type is the tilt up tower. The tower is raised using an connected gin pole and is stabilized with guy-wires.
The third may be a lattice tower conjointly stabilized with guy-wires. A a lot of taller version of this tower is employed by tv stations.
Blessings of Wind Power
The price/profit of a wind power system makes them relatively cheap to own. With the rebate factored in, a 10Kw system can get hold of itself in as very little as half-dozen or seven years. Mechanically, the straightforward design is straightforward to install and needs little if any maintenance. Although you'll have your share of calm days, you may conjointly have lots of windy California nights when you're wind turbine is spinning away while your neighbor's solar array is literally collecting dust.
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