How To Decide if Wind Power Is Right for You

The temperature is rising, so is your electric bill.

While gas prices have been the most obvious financial strain of the summer, averaging $4.10 per gallon, electric bills are no bargain.

Gasoline, with few alternatives, remains an inelastic product, but is that the case with electricity? To paraphrase Bob Dylan: The answer, my friend, could be blowin’ in the wind.

Through it is still a relatively new market, providers and distributors of small and residential wind turbines, or wind generators, are seeing a higher demand for their products. “In the last year I’ve seen the business roughly double in size,” says Mike Bergey, president and co-founder of Bergey Wind Power, in Norman, Okla. “And I don’t see that slowing down.”

Small wind turbines, which are capable of producing up to 100 kilowatts of electricity (enough electricity to run close to five refrigerators for a month), resemble windmills and use wind to create energy. That energy is transmitted to a location connected through a foundation that is installed (beneath) the device.

The long term benefits of acquiring a small or residential wind turbine eventually take form in lower electric bills. But is the product right for you? If only for aesthetic purposes, you have to ask yourself: “Do I want a 60 foot windmill in my backyard?”

(On that, Bergey, along with Andy Kruse, co-founder and senior vice-president of Southwest Windpower, a provider of small wind generators, recommend potential buyers have at least one acre of land to move forward with a residential wind turbine installation.)

If the answer is yes, and the space is there. Here's what you need to do:

STEP 1 – GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR ELECTRIC BILL
The first step entails reduction of electricity use in your own home. As a potential buyer, you are expected to reduce the amount of electricity you use and become more conscious of how you do use your electricity. “We want to help consumers already use electricity efficiently,” Kruse said. “We don’t want indifferent people to jump out and want these things.”

STEP 2 – LEARN WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS
These devices don’t come cheap. They start around $12,000. You may ask yourself if the money you save on your electric bills will amount to the money you spent on the wind turbine. “If you live in a state where electricity is very expensive, such as Alaska, Maine, or Hawaii, the payoff would be great, and would only take a couple of years,” says Kruse. “If you live in a state where electricity is not as expensive, the payoff may take up to fifteen years.”

Also, consider the wind speed in your area. An average minimum for local wind speeds of 10 MPH is required for the device to be effective. “Depending on your state’s wind speed, you can save anywhere from $100 to $300 a month on your electric bill,” says Bergey.

STEP 3 – SEEK OUT STATE REBATES
The typical payments run in terms of cash transactions, but a number of customers pay through home equity loans, says Bergey. At the same time, both companies’ websites provide a list of states that provide rebates on the turbines. (These states include, but are not limited to, Oregon, California, New York and Illinois.) “In states with active markets, there is a substantial rebate available in the 40-60% range,” says Bergey.

STEP 4 - LAY THE FOUNDATION
Installation takes about two days, according to Kruse and Bergey said. The first day is dedicated to laying the foundation and arranging the transmission. The second is to put the turbine up. And then you are off and spinning!

And while both Kruse and Bergey understand that the turbines have an expensive initial cost, the long term benefits will prove beneficial, they say. “Many feel like installing turbines doesn’t make a lot of economic sense at the moment, but it will in the future,” says Kruse. “As long as supporters keep driving momentum, we can make it more economical.”