Why are wind power systems so expensive?
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Posting Guru
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From: Location, Location.
Why are wind power systems so expensive?
I mean, really. A 10Kw kit with installation is in the neighbourhood of $30k. For what?
The generator itself is, well, just a generator. We've all got them inour trucks. Same thing, just bigger, and probably better bearings.
I've seen 100' towers - not solid towers, just guy-wired towers, for $6k in tehse packages. ^6k for a 100' pole, some concrete footings and some wire?
Inverters - solid state electronics. No moving parts. And technology as common as toothpicks. How expensive can they be?
The generator itself is, well, just a generator. We've all got them inour trucks. Same thing, just bigger, and probably better bearings.
I've seen 100' towers - not solid towers, just guy-wired towers, for $6k in tehse packages. ^6k for a 100' pole, some concrete footings and some wire?
Inverters - solid state electronics. No moving parts. And technology as common as toothpicks. How expensive can they be?
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Travelers Rest SC
I don't know anything about it, but I would guess that they sell very few of these, which always runs the price up. Can you imagine the price of a car today if they weren't mass-produced by the millions? They probably pay a boatload of liability insurance, too, in case the thing comes apart in a storm like a kamikaze helicopter. People will pay whatever they have to when it comes to something they know little about, assuming it must be complicated. I have a friend who is a roofing contractor, and I asked him why a roof job cost so much, knowing full well what the materials cost. He said that worker's compensation is over HALF the price of a roof. Evidently, a LOT of roofers fall off roofs! So many things have invisible built-in costs that may not be evident until you look into it. Even so- $30K will buy a lot of 'free' electricity!
Postmaster
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From: Pleasant Hill, MO
The Model T had a run of 17 million cars! The first car model to eclipse that was the VW Beetle (the old one).
Ryan
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Did you know that Hitler was the one who unveiled the orginal VW bug?
Did you know Dr. Ferdinand Porsche (VW Designer) stole most of the design idea from Walter Chryslers experimental STAR car (it became the Chrysler Airflow)
rear engine, unibody, etc, etc.
Porsche visited Chrysler 12 months before the VW was "formally" introduced.
rear engine, unibody, etc, etc.
Porsche visited Chrysler 12 months before the VW was "formally" introduced.
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Elder User
Joined: Jan 2006
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From: Riverview, MI
The VW bug was also designed to go in the water. they had a water proof seal around the base of the car, so they would float.
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From: The Big, Oregon
It is kinda funny, I have an almost complete hydro power setup ready to go, and my total out of pocket cost is :
$0.
Used turbo for the impeller, the water flows through the snail shell and out just like the exhaust would, took off the compressor wheel and threw on a pulley, ran a belt around that to an old alternator. With three feet of head pressure, I can't hold the pulley still for very long.
A wind power setup could be done the same way, with an old variable pitch prop, maybe an old manual tranny run backwards to increase the speed and turn a generator head. you could use a mechanical system to keep the generator speed at 3400 to keep the frequency right by adjusting the prop pitch, or go fancy and have a computer controlled system. You can get a 10k generator head for less than a grand, the rest would probably run about another grand depending on how fancy you get and how much work you do yourself. The only expensive part would be having the pole put up and the generator unit put on top.
$0.
Used turbo for the impeller, the water flows through the snail shell and out just like the exhaust would, took off the compressor wheel and threw on a pulley, ran a belt around that to an old alternator. With three feet of head pressure, I can't hold the pulley still for very long.
A wind power setup could be done the same way, with an old variable pitch prop, maybe an old manual tranny run backwards to increase the speed and turn a generator head. you could use a mechanical system to keep the generator speed at 3400 to keep the frequency right by adjusting the prop pitch, or go fancy and have a computer controlled system. You can get a 10k generator head for less than a grand, the rest would probably run about another grand depending on how fancy you get and how much work you do yourself. The only expensive part would be having the pole put up and the generator unit put on top.
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Posting Guru
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From: Location, Location.
Well now that's an excellent point.
You can buy a 10Kw portable gas-powered generator at Home Depot for $1,500. It has everything - the generator, inverters, regulator, output - AND a gas motor to drive it. All you'd have to do is build an ordinary windmill and mechanically connect the drive shaft, probably with some gearing, to the generator after pulling the engine. (Or get fancy and install a clutch to retain the engine as a back-up).
What can a tower and a wind vane cost? Dirt poor farmers put them up all the time.
You'd have this nice neat little package at the foot of the windmill, pumping out 10Kw for under $3k.
Very interesting.....
You can buy a 10Kw portable gas-powered generator at Home Depot for $1,500. It has everything - the generator, inverters, regulator, output - AND a gas motor to drive it. All you'd have to do is build an ordinary windmill and mechanically connect the drive shaft, probably with some gearing, to the generator after pulling the engine. (Or get fancy and install a clutch to retain the engine as a back-up).
What can a tower and a wind vane cost? Dirt poor farmers put them up all the time.
You'd have this nice neat little package at the foot of the windmill, pumping out 10Kw for under $3k.
Very interesting.....
Posting Guru
Joined: Apr 2003
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From: Wyoming
Living in a very windy area, I looked into this same subject 5 years ago. It's all very do-able, but as you say, why is the cost so high? I had a payout time of about 35 years (would be less today with higher energy costs, more like 25 years). The other showstopper for me was the low-cycle hum the prop puts out. The manuals said to locate the generator at least 65 ft from your house - basically my neighbor's yard. Don't mount one on your roof either. It's not designed for that type of load, and it would be very noisy.
Probably as FLgargoyle mentioned - so few made. Interest has probably picked up, and maybe a conglomerate like GE might start making the smaller units one of these days. OR - it's a plot by the energy companies to keep you in their pocket.
Probably as FLgargoyle mentioned - so few made. Interest has probably picked up, and maybe a conglomerate like GE might start making the smaller units one of these days. OR - it's a plot by the energy companies to keep you in their pocket.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2005
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From: Calgary Canada
Originally Posted by fred_79f250
You'd have this nice neat little package at the foot of the windmill, pumping out 10Kw for under $3k.
Very interesting.....
Very interesting.....
I have a buddy who designs these wind farms, and the economics are pretty marginal even for the commercial systems. The big problem with the wind is that it's variable speed and direction. Most generators prefer to run at constant speed.
Gone but not forgotten.
Joined: Jul 2001
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Originally Posted by Snake1979
The VW bug was also designed to go in the water. they had a water proof seal around the base of the car, so they would float.
Dono