Wind Energy Pluses and Minuses

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Residential wind turbines have come a long way over the last decade. The improved designs of today generate more energy from less wind than ever before, thanks in part to new materials and technologies. No matter what your needs, you’re certain to find a residential wind turbine design that has the size and power you need.

Advantages

Everlasting energy

The wind never stops. The wind will keep on providing energy – as long as we take the steps to harness it – permanently. Fossil fuels can’t make that claim. Supplies of oil and natural gas will only keep on decreasing. Eventually, they’ll be gone. Wind energy isn’t affected by supply and demand in the same way – it will always be cheap and plentiful, unlike fossil fuels.

Free power

If you’re using wind energy, there’s no more need to keep track of kilowatt hours or anything like that. Wind power is free in perpetuity once you’ve installed a wind generator. It really is possible to go “off the grid” and provide all of your own energy with a residential wind turbine, never having to pay an electric bill again.

No emissions

In addition to financial costs, you can also forget about environmental costs by using wind energy. Conversely, fossil fuels like natural gas and coal produce extreme quantities of CO2 and other pollutants. You can reduce your carbon footprint significantly by using wind power instead.

A truly domestic energy source

Dependence on foreign oil is a serious issue that affects us not just as individuals, but as a nation. Electricity produced by wind power directly replaces energy that is derived from foreign oil, and therefore it can have a significant effect in terms of reducing dependence.

Energy 24/7

Among the advantages that wind power has over solar power is that it can generate electricity for your home day or night and in any weather. Solar panels can’t be used as a comprehensive energy solution, as they only produce electricity when the sun is out. On rainy days, or overnight, you’ll have to have a supplementary power source, such as electricity stored in batteries or purchased from the power company. Wind power doesn’t have the same restrictions.

Any home configuration works

Another advantage of wind power is that, unlike with solar panels, you don’t need to be concerned about the surrounding environment so much. In other words, a lot of homes are essentially inappropriate for solar panels, as they either have too much shade cover, or insufficient roof exposure. The function of a wind turbine isn’t restricted in any way by the orientation of your home. Furthermore, a wind turbine takes up less total space than solar panels, while producing the same amount of energy.

Drawbacks

Initial outlay

Even though the ongoing costs of wind power are miniscule, some potential users are intimidated by the costs associated with getting started. Eventually, though, the free electricity that comes from a wind generator will more than offset the initial cost. If you’ve got the know-how, some common tools, and some free time, you can even put together your own wind generator, which will make the whole process that much more affordable. For more information, visit Wind Generator Kit.

Height necessity

Larger wind turbines need to be mounted at a certain height in order to operate at peak efficiency. It may be necessary to mount the turbine at a significant height depending on the height of the surrounding tree line and/or the height of any nearby buildings. Wind turbine users who live in areas with many tall buildings or trees sometimes find it necessary to mount the generators on towers. The HOA permits or approvals that are often necessary in order to carry this out can add to the up-front cost of starting up a wind generator. Though, again, building a homemade wind turbine may help with the costs.

Consistent wind needed

Consistent wind is a must in order to produce a truly significant amount of energy from a wind generator. Of course, the more wind, the better. This means that wind energy can be generated most efficiently in areas with relatively few buildings or trees. Even though you can get around these issues by making use of a tower, it is most efficient to produce wind power in areas without these problems. Plans such as those referenced above can show you you how to build a wind turbine.

The above are the basic factors that make wind power unique. In most cases, the advantages seem to outweigh the disadvantages. Even solar power can’t equal wind power in terms of generating consistent power. The specific weaknesses of solar are, in some ways, the advantages of wind power. The only drawback shared by both solar and wind power is the initial cost. Perhaps the best way to deal with this issue, should the expense be prohibitive, is to build a wind generator yourself.