Small wind turbine works at low wind speeds
Homeowners this fall will be able to buy a wind turbine at hardware stores that tackles the small wind industry’s bete noire: slow wind.
WindTronics, based in Muskegon, Mich., has developed a wind turbine sized for individual homes that it says can operate at speeds as low as 2 miles an hour.
It will be sold for $4,500 as the Honeywell Wind Turbine and distributed through Ace Hardware stores in the U.S. starting in October. WindTronics developed the turbine and licensed the technology to buildings systems giant Honeywell.
The fan-like turbine will generate 2,000 kilowatt-hours in a year for a home with a very good–called Class 4–wind resource, according to the company. That’s between 15 and 20 percent of the annual electricity consumption for the average U.S. home. [Via C|Net]
The fact that you can generate 2,000 KW hours a year with a device that cost $4,500 is remarkable. This past semester, I consulted for a company specializing in solar energy installation for home and small business, and the average cost of one of their arrays was nearly $30,000.
That doesn’t even cover the entire cost of electricity for a single family home. It’s roughly 50%, so they still have an energy bill after installation! It takes an average of 7 – 11 years to offset the cost of the array in tax rebates and energy cost reduction–so–I have a feeling that many people will start to install these nifty wind machines in the coming years.
Here’s to you, Mr. Pickens!
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