Saving Energy with Wind Power

loon_2

if you really want to lower bills, check out the whispergen scheme. this is a household generator, connected to the supply and you can even sell the excess back to your supplier.

koru

scattycat wrote:

BUT to You All,
Wind generators are extremely expensive, inefficient, noisy and intrusive. What they supply is intermittent, no true on demand facility.
Even more expensive and NON GREEN if you want to store the stuff generated when there is no demand, for when there is demand and no wind ( invertors and batteries are both expensive and high maintenance, and need a lot of space ).

The only reason you are seeing a lot of new sites is that they are heavily subsidised. and are useless in both high or no wind.

All of these objections are already raised earlier in thread, and I have explained why they are inapplicable to the Swift turbine (if it meets the claims made for it). Or, for the few objections that are applicable, they do not mean that the Swift is not beneficial. It isn't a complete solution to global warming, no, but it may help in a small way, which is better than nothing.

koru

koru wrote:

Cheaper than BG, maybe, but that isn't saying much.

If you are saying you have used one of the comparison services and Juice is the cheapest of all, then fine. However, I think you will find you could be paying a lot less. If so, then you ARE paying extra for the supposed green credentials of Juice.

I just checked using Juice's own calculator on its website. They calculate I would pay an extra £86 if I switched to Juice.

I might be willing to pay the extra if I could see something on the site to guarantee that it was creating extra wind capacity, but not if NPower are just notionally allocating some capacity to me that they would otherwise be using for non-Juice customers.

garria10

Have a look at http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/

Several money saving and green ideas......but the payback period is long long long! You could get Solar Panels to pre-heat water to reduce water heating costs, photovoltaic panels to supplement electricity on sunny days and a wind turbine as discussed above for windy days. You could spend a lot and you will probably get it back eventually along with a virtuous feeling! :

koru

loon wrote:

if you really want to lower bills, check out the whispergen scheme. this is a household generator, connected to the supply and you can even sell the excess back to your supplier.

That looks pretty good, based on a quick look at this site. Provided you need to replace your central heating boiler anyway, that is. Sadly, I got a new boiler about a year ago, but if I was buying today I would be very interested in one of these units.

You are still burning gas, but 20% less CO2 is better than nothing.

koru

garria10 wrote:

Have a look at http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/

Several money saving and green ideas......but the payback period is long long long! You could get Solar Panels to pre-heat water to reduce water heating costs, photovoltaic panels to supplement electricity on sunny days and a wind turbine as discussed above for windy days. You could spend a lot and you will probably get it back eventually along with a virtuous feeling! :

Thanks, very useful. It led me to this site, which seems to say that if these turbines get ClearSkies accreditation, there's a big grant available. £1000 for a 1KW machine like the Windsave, which is most of the upfront cost! The Swift puts out 1.5KW, so that suggests a grant of £1500, which is what they are estimating it will cost when they start full production, later this year.

That site also says that modern domestic turbines make less noise than the leaves in the trees!

wrightnick

koru wrote:

Thanks, very useful. It led me to this site, which seems to say that if these turbines get ClearSkies accreditation, there's a big grant available. £1000 for a 1KW machine like the Windsave, which is most of the upfront cost! The Swift puts out 1.5KW, so that suggests a grant of £1500, which is what they are estimating it will cost when they start full production, later this year.

That site also says that modern domestic turbines make less noise than the leaves in the trees!

Hi as i understand it the windsave grant will be in the region of 250 -300 ukp, I surpose that are aware of the cost of the turnbine and won't offer a grant for the full amount!

The windsave turnbine, does connect to your ring main, as I understand it if you meter allows a negative flow - it will make your meter turn backwards.

It sounds that most people are sitting on the fence... waiting for something....

I simply couldn't afford 7,500.. but 1000 is a possiblity....

I feel almost two faced, for example - recycling your houshold waste, installing cavity wall insulation and making less non - critical journeys in you car would reduce the co2 emission far more than any domestic wind turnbine, in fact simply eating less meat would have a positive effect....!

Regards

ikr2

.....or simply not flying several times a year to go holiday......

But it's all part of the overall picture: recycling, increasing generation of renewable energy, energy efficiency (lightbulbs, white goods, insulation, good house design), using the car less, using more efficient cars etc etc. All small points individually but they add up....

Ian

shrek101

I need a new boiler soon but its hard enough affording a new one (and I dont ahve to pay installation costs as brother in law is a plumber) let alone go Green. I would love to have a small wind turbine, solar panel, or the new WhisperGen boilers. Yes they will pay for themselves over many years I know doubt, BUT how the hell can we ever cut co2 emmisons to a more managable level without some aid or reduced installation costs, the grants are not enough for many people on low or even modest incomes.

wrightnick

shrek101 wrote:

I need a new boiler soon but its hard enough affording a new one (and I dont ahve to pay installation costs as brother in law is a plumber) let alone go Green. I would love to have a small wind turbine, solar panel, or the new WhisperGen boilers. Yes they will pay for themselves over many years I know doubt, BUT how the hell can we ever cut co2 emmisons to a more managable level without some aid or reduced installation costs, the grants are not enough for many people on low or even modest incomes.

Its such a shame that everything you buy doesn't have a enviromental rating, so that the consumer can make the choice. For example is a glass bottle better than a plastic one...?

Its a very difficult question to answer - did the glass bottle consume more energy to make? is the plasic bottle a PET bottle, etc... etc - how in gods name are we expected to knowing make an educated assessment therefore we go on price....

In respect to water heating, Salford City Council are currently doing a grant making an 8,000 solar system only 3,000....

I'm sure other authorities would/are doing the same http://www.salford.gov.uk/council/pressreleases/pressrelease.htm?id=38297

Regards