Are Home Wind Turbines the Next Green Frontier?

This post brought to you by Sauer Energy. All opinions are 100% mine.

The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) keeps detailed statistics about average energy consumption and cost. You might want to sit down for some of these numbers. The average United States household is projected to spend an unsightly $3,235 on gas in 2011, thanks in part to a summer that will almost certainly see gas prices north of $4.00. The average household shells out $1,208.37 per year for electricity – about $100 per month. The real problem there is that rates have increased by 10%, from about $.10/kWh to $.11/kWh, in just the last year.

Considering dismal unemployment numbers and stagnant wages, most families aren’t seeing much more cash come their way, either. Expenses and debt are mounting for many, and rising energy costs are suffocating. Renewable energy is an attractive alternative – we make the world greener, and, in theory, see a little more green back in our wallets, as well.

The benefits of renewable energy – solar power, wind power, hydropower – to the Earth are countless. Instead of using coal or fossil fuels that release enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, we harness the power of the Earth itself. Nothing is added by us except for a few futuristic looking panels on some roofs or a bunch of enormous fan-like structures – not a bad price to pay for making sure we have a decent planet to live on for centuries to come.

The potential of wind power has already been demonstrated conclusively in large scale projects. In 2008, 55 billion kWh of electricity was produced by wind power, enough to fully power a quarter of all United States households (before you get too excited, this isn’t taking into account the massive amount of power consumed by businesses). More telling still – in 2004, wind energy accounted for 4.4% of all electric power produced. By 2008, that number had jumped to 15.8%. Wind power has finally gotten off the ground in America – a huge step towards cutting down carbon emissions in the future.

Traditional wind turbines are not without their problems, though. Large, horizontal-axis wind turbines (the large fans that will come to mind for most when they think of wind power) need a lot of space. Wind speed is slowed by each HAWT unit, hence the need to spread them out, or risk inefficient units that only capture slow wind speeds. And, with the enormous costs of these commercial turbines (each one costs in the neighborhood of 3 million dollars), inefficiency is unacceptable. They’re also loud enough to become a distraction in any given neighborhood.

Up until now, residential wind power hasn’t been feasible. Turbines were simply too large for one to fit in the confines of a private residence, let alone being affordable to the average consumer. Enter vertical-axis wind turbines. These solve most of the problems with HAWTs – rather than generate power using one set of blades and the horizontal rod it is attached to, VAWTs are vertical rods that can have several smaller sets of blades attached. They are nearly inaudible, and can be much smaller and closer to the ground – ideal for private homes.

Unfortunately, being low to the ground is where the problems start. There’s a reason those large fan-like wind turbines are so incredibly huge. Basically, the higher up in altitude you get, the more windy it is. When you consider that power generated by wind turbines is proportional to wind Sauer Energy speed cubed, you start to realize how much this matters. A turbine encountering an average wind speed of 12 miles per hour generated eight times as much power as one encountering an average speed of 6 miles per hour, for example.

If you’re getting a wind turbine for your urban or suburban home, chances are you’re only encountering average wind speeds in the neighborhood of 6 miles per hour. Now, on a particularly windy day, you’re going to get a lot of power generated. For all the other days, though, you shouldn’t expect very much. This is being seen in Reno, Nevada, where some smaller-scale turbines have already been installed. You can check the real-time performance statistics for the Reno turbines here. The most concerning statistics are for the VAWT installed on the top of a seven story parking structure. Installed in September of 2010, total power generated currently amounts to 108.3 kWh – about one ninth of what the average American household consumes in just one month. Slower wind speeds are simply not producing very much power.

But, this isn’t a bad thing on its own. Every movement toward green energy, and away from fossil fuels, helps. There’s no doubt, then, that these VAWTs are good for the environment, even if they amount to a proverbial drop in the bucket. The problem is that installing one of these units costs anywhere between $6,000 and $15,000. If you do the math using the numbers from the Reno installation and the average American electricity bill, you’ll quickly see that buying a VAWT is unlikely to save you any money – right now, it very well could cost you. Repair costs will kick in before the units pay for themselves, even taking into account the 30% tax credit you can receive on installation costs thanks to the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008.

There is good news, though. Small-scale wind turbine technology is an emerging market. Just like it wasn’t necessarily the best idea to buy the first iteration of the iPhone, consumers today might be better off waiting a few years and watching how the technology of wind turbines progresses. As wind generation technology is improved, ways will likely be found to drive down the price, and increase the efficiency of the process of converting wind into electric power.

If you’ve got a bunch of extra cash laying around, and want to help reduce your carbon footprint, these VAWTs will help, even if they will only help a little bit. But, if you don’t have a spare $6,000 and are looking for ways to save money on your electricity bill, small-scale wind turbines like VAWTs are very unlikely to be what you are looking for. There is no doubt that wind energy is the future, and it most certainly should be. That being said, effective wind generation for the private home at a reasonable price is very far away. It would be a beautiful thing if the current run of VAWTs cut down on our electricity bills as much as they do on carbon emissions, but according to the numbers, it’s just not quite a reality yet.