I would like to hear from a Do-It-Yourself type who has actually built a system.
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December 5th, 2011 at 11:59 am
You must remember three things:
1) when the wind stops – no electricity
2) when the sun doesn’t shine – no electricity
3) there is no way to store the electricity generated by wind and to
store electricity from solar is very,very expensive.
December 5th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
Honestly, if you are going to sink some serious money into such a critical project, I would consult an actual company which is experienced with this kind of work, rather than some DIY internet plans.
By the way onegizmo, you are completely incorrect. Both solar and wind turbine generators use battery cells to store energy. Yes it is expensive, but it is considered part of the package. You cannot truthfully say ‘there is no way to store the energy’ because that would not be accurate. You should have read a little more thoroughly.
December 5th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
I agree that some minimal on-site storage of the energy is needed to make the system really useful to an individual user. Like with a solar hot water system, you can store the hot water and use in the evening. And even the roof solar systems can be installed with a battery, that would hold say enough power to run your critical applications for a couple of days. I mean, part of the charm is to have power, cold beer, run your electronic stuff when everybody else in your neighborhood is cursing the power company after a storm wondering when if the food in the freezzer is going to be ruined.
What really makes sense is for whole communities to go in together and install a local area system. Then they could island that power for themselves, and again have some storage of energy for large system shutdown. But we haven’t gotten to that point, as every body looks at somebody else to solve their problems for them. Like government., Like, vote for me, and I’ll make everything wonderful and almost free. Right……
December 5th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
There are lots of alternative energy ideas out there. You need to study what is available not just for generating electricity, but conserving. There is also lots of information on passive solar that you might consider. There is a website that I went to for some information on solar. You might get some ideas from it.
http://www.getsolarinfonow.com/
I don’t really have much yet on wind generation. It’s all still pretty expensive. A lot depends on how much you are willing to spend.
December 5th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Good luck finding an honest installer.
With Rebates available now you would think there are great deals to be had.
With all my years of research, and pricing, 15 year ROI still is not exceptable, not matter what anyone says.
Even the federal rebate called a Tax incentive of 30 percent sounds good, BUT, it doesn’t work for everyone.
You get X amount as tax deductible over a long period of time.
Again, no reasonable ROI.
DYI projects cost are coming down quick.
I would hold out, Price per watt nearly split in 2 years. as low as $3.25 watt for some good kits, Mitsu/Kyocera/Evergreen
Soon they will be even less.
I say hold out a little longer.
December 5th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
When you say that you “need” to generate power, does that mean this is a home out of the reach of the power grid? If so, then your options in order of cost will be
1. MicroHydro
2. Wind
3. Photovoltaic (Solar)
4. Diesel-powered generator
Coincidentally, these are also in reverse order of being applicable to any given site.
The best discussion site for serious projects such as these I’ve seen is at: http://www.wind-sun.com/ForumVB/index.php
If, on the other hand, your house is already on the grid, the most common solution is to stay connected to the grid, conserve energy, and offset some of the electrical usage with a grid-tied system. A professional installer is usually your best bet for this sort of thing, but the forum above also discusses DIY for such systems.
December 5th, 2011 at 2:09 pm
You can do this yourself, but if you want to tie into the electrical grid, it is recommended that you hire an installer.
This is a great article on how to choose the right renewable energy for you: http://howto.altestore.com/Getting-Started-Renewable-Energy-Sustainable-Living/Renewable-Energy-Options-Which-Alternative-Energy-is-Right-for-You/a41/
From there, you need to assess your electric loads so that you can accurately size your system.
Here is an excellent load calculator: http://www.altestore.com/store/calculators/load_calculator/
Then, you need to find an installer and do research on incentives and tax credits.
For certified installers, go to the NABCEP list: http://www.nabcep.org/
For Incentives and Tax Rebates: http://www.dsireusa.org/
December 5th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
you can try looking into plug and play grid tie systems, and use wind and solar so you have the best of both worlds.
December 5th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
The Top 3 Guides To Build Solar Panels And Wind Turbines.
http://recomended-prods.com/green/38/
Good Luck!
December 5th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
We live with solar and wind power….you would be interested on starting by a simple guide …
http://www.agua-luna.com/offgrid_guide.html
from there you can size and design your system. You can also have some help on that.. a green consulting for something like thas is around $600 you are going to build a house.. or around $700 if you are talking about a conversion….
http://www.agua-luna.com/consulting.html
December 5th, 2011 at 4:21 pm
My neighbor bought this earth energy kit.
They are working on it. It seems simple enough,but it is not complete yet.
So far, they have spent about $150.00. He was able to get something up and running and was very excited about it.
http://www.squidoo.com/build_your-own_solar-panel
Good Luck
December 5th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
Hi,
I built a solar panel setup to run my computer room and some other stuff. I used home made energy e-book You can download it from http://www.solarpowerforthehomes.com
December 5th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
If you are going to spend money on solar and wind I strongly suggest that you consider a grid tie installation rather than trying to store the power, let the grid store it for you. You will also have power on windless dark nights.