The Honeywell Home Wind Turbine
I thought this was a neat idea and if the manufacturer’s claims are true, it could be the first step towards individual energy independance for a lot of people. Honeywell, the same people who made my safe, teamed up with Earthtronics to produce a home wind turbine that lacks many of the drawbacks of larger wind turbines. Namely, all it takes is a gentle breeze to turn the blades, providing up to 2,000 kWh of energy annually.
It is a compact and neat idea. My only question is, does it actually work?
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The Honeywell home wind turbine does away with the traditional gearing found in larger turbines, allowing it to spin easier. According to the Earthtronics website, a typical wind turbine requires 7.5 mph of windspeed to turn the blades because of the grinding resistance of the gears. One of the biggest drawbacks is that the wind don’t always blow that fast. Sometimes it doesn’t blow at all
The Honeywell system needs just a whisper of wind at 2mph to turn however, because it does away with the gearing entirely. The system generates power at the tips of the blades rather than the gears, and is good for winds up to 45 mph. Earthtonics claims standard wind turbines shut down at 29 mph to protect the gearing. The Honeywell system is also compact (just 6 ft across) and weighing in at just 90lbs, can be installed on virtually any roof.
They video and website claim different energy levels, so I will present you with both of them. The website says the wind turbine can produce around 2000 kWh of energy a year, while the video claims 1580 kWh annually. Considering the average house sucks down around 11,000 kWh a year, the turbine system provides a good chunk of energy annually. It will even be sold at local Ace Hardware stores, so you don’t need to go to some off-beat hippie hut to by one and lose face with your friends.
According to the data I found, an average home spends around $1,034 a year on energy in the home, so if this system was taking a 15% bite out of energy consumption the annual savings would be somewhere in the $100-150 a year range. There are plenty of tips and tricks out in the interweb that allow you to save energy and lower your annual consumption (Energy Star products, eco-friendly light bulbs, proper climate control management) so this system could account for more, or less, of your energy consumption.
I haven’t seen one of these in action and I only just heard about it today. But, if it does work, it is a step in the right direction. But it isn’t cheap, coming in at $4,500 for the turbine, inverter, and connectors to hook up to your house. Drop the price $1,500 though, and I think a lot more people might be interested. To be fair, there is a list of gov’ment incentives on a state-by-state basis as well, so the actual cost could be much lower, depending on whether it is a residential or commercial use. I think there is a property tax exemption for homes and businesses using renewable energy in Connecticut, but my legalese is rusty…
So, would you pay $4,500 for a home wind turbine system for a 15% decrease in your energy bills? If not, how low would the price have to be?
Source: Honeywell/Earthtronics via Greentechnolog
Well, I’m good for over 2400 in electric a year. So 15% of that would be 360 in savings. So the math right now does not add up , it will take me over 9 years to make my money back with the current price.
If we can get this price down to 3000 or less then it would make sense.
I wonder if you can use this in conjunction with solar panels?
In any event I think we are off to a good start and only seeing better things coming out in the next couple of years. We may actually have the ability to be grid independant for the masses in the next 10 years.
I’d definitely consider one. I really hope this thing will work and the price will come down. I assume that the $4500 is an early adopter penalty price (and designed to give the company the tax incentive monies) and with economies of scale it will ramp up to be less expensive.
I poked around about other factors: ice, too high winds, solar and found their FAQ:
http://www.earthtronics.com/pdf/FAQ-rev-4.pdf
That answered those questions. And yes, you can hook up multiple turbines AND solar to the same inverter panel.
Thanks, EcoGeek.
WindEnergy7.com already has beaten these guys to the market and I have a system already. For the same money you can get a system that has solar panels with it as a wind/solar hybrid system.
WindEnergy7 turbine is roof mount, modular, hybrid, and leverages more proven turbine technology, like using stainless steel parts instead of plastic etc. Also, these guys conceal the whole mounting problem of roof mounted turbines, that’s main reason I was into WindEnergy7 is that they solved the problems of vibration and noise and they invented and filed patent pending on the mounting apparatus and method. If anyone is serious about this technology they should look at the WindEnergy7 hybrid wind/solar kits for the home. Mine works very well and I am pleased with it. Fred.
I love the comments - unthinking and with no research at all apparently. This thing has been reviewed many times the past month on different sites.
Please look at the site and learn about wind turbines. This is a bad joke as far as power generation and value for money go.
At 1500 USD it would be very, very expensive and still useless.
It provides UP TO 2000 kW year. The 1580 Kw production is at storm wind speeds which probably no place sees.
I hate it when the wind “don’t blow fast”.
Links please? This unit doesn’t go on sale until the fall so I don’t know who has reviewed this or how they could have had it for very long.
I admit, yes, it is expensive and it isn’t going to solve all your energy needs overnight. But it is a step in the right direction I suppose.
No need to be all negative about it.
russ:
The company provides how they calculated the power generation:
http://www.earthtronics.com/pdf/Energy-Generation-Information-4.pdf
It’s not calculated as a windstorm all year….if it were, the power generation would be much greater. The power is calculated by average winds and the average amount of time they blow that way. So, statistically speaking, you should get up to 2000 kW/year….like mpg’s, results may vary.
Nice, someone ripped off Ted Baer’s Bicycle Wheel Windmill idea from instructables, changed it up a bit, and now they want to charge beau coup bucks for it…
http://www.instructables.com/id/Ted-Baer_s-Bicycle-Wheel-Windmill/
Build your own at the link above: