Frequently Asked Questions About Wind Energy and Wind Turbines

How Much Does a Wind System Cost?
A complete contractor installed small wind (home size) system will cost any where from $5000 to $150,000. Larger size small wind systems for farm and business will average $80,000 to $300,000. The large variance in estimating total cost is due to unknown site specifics. Details such as; how tall of a tower, what style of tower, how long of a wire run, what size of system, balance of system components, interconnection and or battery requirements, tower foundation depth & type will all affect your total cost of a wind system. With out knowing these details it is not possible for anyone to answer exactly how much does a wind system cost. You can visit a variety of small wind turbine manufactures web sites in our helpful links section for more information on how much does a wind turbine cost.

How do I know what size wind turbine I need?
Average homes that practice energy efficiency and energy conservation use approximately 9,400 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year (about 780 kWh per month). Depending upon the average annual wind speed in the area, a wind turbine rated in the range of 5 to 15 kilowatts would be required to make a significant contribution to meet this demand. Average small business use is approximately 96,000 – 120,000 Kwh of electricity per year (about 8,000 – 10,000 kilowatt-hours per month) again depending upon the average annual wind speed in the area, a wind turbine rated in the range of 20 to 65 kilowatts would be required to make a significant contribution to meet this demand.

How do I know what wind turbine is right for me?
Wind turbines are not a one size fits all. Turbine manufactures each have their own design, mechanics, cut in speed, estimated annual output and power curve. Research your site specifics and match that information to the different turbine specifications. The wind turbine that is right for you is the one that will best perform under your specific wind resource, site conditions, and energy needs.

Is being energy efficient really that important?
The number one most important step to using any form of renewable energy is being energy efficient and energy conscious. By using less energy for heating, cooling, lighting and other home and business functions you will not only save immediate cost on energy bills, but can save cost in the size of renewable system needed to meet your needs. For every $1 spent on energy efficiency you can save $3 to $5 on the cost of a renewable energy system. The least amount of energy you need to produce is the smaller size of a system you need to produce it.

I am a Do it yourselfer Where do I start?
There is 3 critical pieces of information you need to know to get started.

• Minimum tower height- To determine this use the 30’ rule:”
The lowest extension of the turbine blades must be a minimum of 30 feet above everything within 500 feet” at most sites the tallest object is tree’s. Consider tree height at mature height and not current height. No matter how much you water a tower it will not grow and your trees will. Ground level obstructions such as tree’s & buildings interfere with the true flow of the wind. Tall towers will provide your wind system the greatest availability of the power in the wind for optimal system performance and energy output. Read our tall tower economics page for more information.

• Average annual wind speed at the minimum tower height (Hub Height)
To determine this you need a starting point, state wind resource maps are a great place to start. You can find these in our Michigan Wind pages of our website. Once you have a starting point you can extrapolate the starting point wind speed to the hub height of the minimum tower height for your site using this formula. V=(H/Ho) a Vo Where:

V = The wind speed at desired height
Vo = The wind speed at the original height
H = The tower height
Ho = the original height the wind speed was measured at

● Annual Average Energy use in Kwh

Most utility companies provide a history of energy usage on your billing statement. If not provided on your statement you will need to contact your utility provider and request the Kwh usage for your location, two years worth of Kwh history usage is the best for determining an annual average.

Once you have the 3 critical pieces of information listed above you basically have what you need to know to get started. Determine your prevailing wind direction and site your wind system upwind of all ground and tree obstructions as to best capture the winds power. To learn more visit the assessing your site pages of our website.