Our Environment

Only a few years ago talk of residential wind turbines was thought of as the territory of the “Greenie” or the extreme environmentalist. Such is not the case any more.

Residential Wind Turbines

Conversion of the kinetic energy of the wind to usable and clean electric power via a residential wind turbine is now a very simple business. Sophisticated off the shelf wind powered generators cost from around $800 (US) up to many tens of thousands for larger high output varieties.

Residential wind turbines are now more affordable, much more practical and applicable to a wider variety of situations than ever before (and without the need of an electrical engineering degree).

Of course yachties have known how effective wind turbines are be for years. Mainly used to keep boat batteries charged between uses, a relatively small marine wind turbine can supply enough electricity to run a television or small appliance and run several lights in a breeze of about 8-12 knots (about 14 mph or 20 kph). Wind turbines have been common place on cruising boats for about a decade.

These maritime versions of  the residential wind turbine usually work on a twelve or twenty-four volt system, though with the use of smart, cheap technologies now available, they can be used to supplement many more domestic uses too.

While I was sailing in Greece this year I visited an island called Levitha, which lies about three quarters of the way to Turkey from the Greek mainland in the Aegean Sea (see the images).

Only one family live Levitha, this rugged though beautiful island, when speaking to the owner I found out that they are 100% energy self sufficient and are less dependent on fossil fuel (diesel) generators than ever before. A large percentage of this power now being generated by the small wind generators pictured here.

Wind power electricity provided them with not only enough electricity to live a normal (if secluded) life on their island home. It proved more effective (in their case) than solar electricity generation because the wind blows here both day and night.

Residential wind turbines are not science fiction, they work. They are clean, quiet and require very little maintenance. The do not interfere with television reception and most small residential wind turbines now days have an expected useful life of over twenty years.

Most residential wind turbines and small wind powered generators have very few moving parts (two only in newer systems) and once installed operate in a completely automated way.

Wind power electricity does not suit everyone. To get the most from your wind turbine you need to have it quite a long way above the ground, the higher the better. The reason being trees, houses and other ground obstacles disturb the flow of the wind in an effect know as “Ground Friction”.

Ground friction, impedes the flow of the prevailing wind and reduces the effectiveness of your residential wind turbines power output.

Depending on the size of your small wind generator, a height of 60 plus feet is not out of the question. So that said, wind power is not really suitable for suburban use just yet.

You realistically need minimum of about an acre of land to erect a suitably sized tower for your  wind turbine, so the ideal situation is a rural and semi rural situation (at least for now).

This is where residential wind turbines shine. Places where power has traditionally been unavailable now can have a cheap clean power source that will supply electricity for 20 plus years.

Many people on the land who are approaching retirement are adopting residential wind turbines to help offset the cost of their power once they retire. Typically a residential wind turbine system will pay for itself in as little as 6 years, any power produced after this is effectively free.

As I said earlier the costs of a residential wind turbine can vary from about $800 up to $20,000+ depending on what you need.

When considering wind as a power option, be sure to investigate the average wind strength in your area over say a 12 month period to really determine if wind powered electricity is for you. You should look for wind speeds of 10 mph or better for at least 6 months of the year. Checking with the local Bureau of Meteorology would be a good place to start to find this information.

So if you do find yourself in a position where you are fortunate enough to be able to use wind power to generate all or at least some of your electricity. Not only will you be reducing carbon emissions and green house gas production. You will reduce your dependence on the electricity power grid and have the option of selling your surplus power back to your utility provider to offset the cost of your own power.

Another bonus of this is that the power you sell back to your provider is clean power for others to use.

If you currently use wind generated electricity, or indeed own a residential wind turbine I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading.

Sifnos under a clear blue sky

Today we are on Sifnos – another island full of beauty. As World Environment Day approaches (Friday 5 June) I have been pondering the widespread use of wind and solar power on the islands we have sailed to so far. By comparison in Australia we are nowhere near as clever with using the resources of nature available to us.

Wind power in Greece is set to expand by 352% by 2010 to meet the European target of 20% coverage of energy needs from renewable sources.
Greece chose to invest primarily to wind power by 77%, while the rest of renewable sources altogether comprise the remaining 23% of production with hydroelectric power being second with 11%.

Solar energy is commonly used in the isalnds

Look at the sign on the wallof this cafe on Sifnos. Solar and wind generated power are used everywhere in the Greek islands.

Australia could really take a leaf out of their book. Does our coal
abundance make us so scared to admit there are other ways to power our
lives?

Sailing in to a beautiful bay in Levitha

I am always impressed by families who are self sufficient.

Only one family lives at this bay on Levitha. The same family has occupied the island for 350 years. They grow food for their livestock (goats & sheep – about 650 head), as well as tomatoes, onions ,garlic and potatoes. Fishing supplements their diet. They travel north to Patros for supplies and the round trip takes about 6 hours – so don’t forget anything!

These people are self sufficient for power – using wind power and solar power.

Wind and Solar POwer for Self Sufficieny on Levitha

These wind turbines really hum. With the winds we encountered over the last few days I don’t think power would be a problem. During our 4 hour push to Amorgos from Levitha  (about 30 nautical miles) the wind was quite strong and the sea a little unfriendly, however we managed speeds of up to 9.2 knots.

I have seen many examples on these smaller islands of people who are very content with generating power from the simple and easily accessed sources of sun and wind. I hope to see many more on my travels over the next few weeks.

Wind Power Wins Again on Levitha