Small Wind Systems

Many homeowners talk about their "little" wind generators with a lot of pride; they post photographs online from the initial construction phase to completion and love writing ridiculously small checks to their local electric company. Some homeowners even get credit on their electric bills! How do they do it?

If you live on a least one acre of land with strong and steady wind resources, you can generate your own electricity using a small wind electric system. If you live on a farm, ranch, or in a remote location, a small wind electric system would be perfect and could lower your electricity bill by 50-90%.  Find out how. . . Click Here! 

A small wind (distributed wind energy) system can be connected to an electric distribution system, called "grid connection," or it can be a stand-alone system ("off-grid"). The stand-alone systems work best in remote locations due to the costs of extending power lines to the electricity grid, which can cost anyhere from $15,000 to $50,000 per mile. Yes, that's per mile! But some people who live near the electric company's grid just prefer the freedom of not paying electric bills and owning a clean, non-polluting energy source.

Stand-alone systems take advantage of several techniques and technologies to generate reliable power, reduce costs, and minimize inconvenience. The amount of equipment needed depends on what you want your system to accomplish. A small wind turbine would still require additional equipment (called "balance-of-system") to condition and safely transmit the electricity to the load that will use it. You'll need batteries, a charge controller (regulates the electricity flowing from the generation source), and an inverter (inverters condition electricity so that it matches the requirements of the load). Contact your power company to see what is acceptable for grid-connections.

The system will also need safety disconnects, grounding equipment and surge protection. A licensed electrician or your installer should be able to provide you with plenty of information on the safety features of your particular situation. You will need meters and other instruments that allow monitoring of the system's battery voltage, power consumption, and the level at which the batteries are charged. If you are connecting your system to the electricity grid, you will need meters to keep track of the electricity you use. Some power companies allow the use of a single meter to record excess electricity the system feeds back into the grid (the meter spins forward when using electricity and backwards when producing it) - commonly known as "net-metering" - banking electricity until it is needed.

Most small wind turbines manufactured today are horizontal-axis upward machines with two or three blades made of fiberglass. They are mounted on a tower onto which the rotor, generator, and tail are attached. Most turbine manufacturers provide wind energy system "packages" that include either a self-supporting (free standing and guyed) tower or a tilt-down version of guyed towers. Most home wind power systems use the least expensive guyed towers, which consist of the lattice sections, pipe, tubing and supporting guy wires. Guyed towers are easier to install than self-supporting towers. However, because the guy radius must be one-half to three-quarters of the tower height, guyed towers require more space.

Tilt-down towers are more expensive but offer easy maintenance. They can also be lowered to the ground during severe storms and hurricanes. Avoid aluminum towers as they are prone to cracking. Mounting small wind turbines on rooftops is not recommeded because they vibrate and transmit the vibration to the structure they are mounted on.

Like the stand-alone systems, a "balance-of-system" parts are required. Small wind turbine equipment manufacturers can provide you with a system package that includes all the parts you need for your particular application. For a residential grid-connected application, the parts will include a controller, storage batteries, an inverter, wiring, electrical disconnect switch, grounding system and a study, well-built foundation for the tower.

The United States is the leading world producer of small wind turbines offering a wide assortment of products. We have machines that generate electricity for battery charging on sailboats, ocean-liners and small cabins, systems for single-family homes, and systems to handle small commercial business operations. The small wind industry has great potential in our country to provide thousands of jobs in manufacturing, sales, installation and support. So, let's all work together towards the goal of making small wind a significant contributor to America's domestic energy supply and buy the equipment and products that are Made in America.