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Cheat Sheet
Wind Power For Dummies
From Wind Power For Dummies by Ian Woofenden
After you decide that your home is a good candidate for wind power, you
need to understand the basic parts of wind-electric systems and how they
fit together. In addition, you need to evaluate how much energy your home
needs and how much wind your site actually gets — a realistic wind
resource assessment is key. You also want to make sure to steer clear of
"too good to be true" energy estimates from the pros who want to sell you
their goods and services.
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Wind Power For Dummies Cheat Sheet - For Dummies http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/wind-power-for-dummies-chea...
1. Review all energy bills so you can determine your overall energy use.
2. List all loads (electrical appliances) with wattage and run time to see
specifically where you're using energy and how much you're using.
3. Measure phantom loads (loads that use energy when turned off) using a
watt meter.
4. Inspect your building envelope (the shell of your house), sealing, windows,
and so on by having a professional do a blower door test (which pressurizes
your house and measures how leaky it is).
5. Have an HVAC professional inspect your space and water heating systems.
6. Consider your energy use habits and goals so you can look for ways to
reduce your energy use and plan for future energy use.
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Use a small test turbine with a watt-hour meter to give you some data
while giving you a bit of energy; you can learn important lessons from the
experience.
Consult wind maps and roses, which show generalized wind resource
information for your area.
Sift through local weather data, which may be an excellent source of wind
resource information.
Live on site with eyes and ears open to note seasonal variations in wind.
Climb something tall (like a tree that's on a high point on your
property) and look at topography and obstructions; this can help you
determine your optimum tower height.
Study vegetation, which may reflect how much wind you have; by reading
the deformation of trees, you may be able to estimate your wind resource.
Talk with neighbors; they may give you valuable perspective on wind in
your neighborhood, especially if your neighbors are wind-energy users.
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3. Multiply the swept area (in square feet) by the average wind speed cubed
(in miles per hour), and divide that total by 32,000 for an estimate of
average daily kWh production from a typical machine.
Multiply your final total by 30 to get your average monthly energy in kWh
and 365 for annual energy in kWh.
4. Check this prediction against manufacturer claims or installer production
estimates.
If the manufacturer or installer claim is 50 percent or more above your
estimate, the machine may possibly be very efficient, but you're probably
looking at an exaggerated claim.
Copyright © 2012 & Trademark by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
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