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  • From: SJC <indexer AT localnet.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Wind & solar power
  • Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:30:14 -0400

Lots of folks here use a smallish-midsize solar setup augmented by a wind machine. The thinking is that when the sun isn't shining here (Maine, midcoastal), it's usually windy, so power generation continues. Certainly that's likely to be the case in our winters. The combo seems to work well, especially since they make power at night, too. I've watched my friend Margie's battery bank fill up pretty fast with that thing flying....But I didn't have one, back when I was offgrid.
Before you buy one you should be sure to hear the specific model you are considering in action at several windspeeds. I admit to being particular about hearing "things" come on/go off/running, but the first time I heard the neighbor's start up, I lifted right out of the milkhouse and practically took flight. I was pretty sure aliens had landed in the front yard. Since I've learned it's just certain ones that make so much noise, and seems like the smaller they are the worse it is. Mike and Margie's is pretty good until windspeeds hit about 30mph or so, then it starts up, so they rarely hear it. The huge 10-story things up at Mars Hill (beautiful, like sculptures), just go whoosh, whoosh at low to moderate wind speeds. I've never been there (couple of hundred miles from here) when there were high winds, so don't know about that... Anyway, listen first, to any machine you're considering.

Thinking of which, just went today over to the neighbor guy's new little house. He had a Looksee Day today, along with a work party to build a shed (and very good chili!). Just for one, but plenty of room for one person and requires no power for heat, cooling, water supply, etc. He does have a wood cookstove but didn't need it for heat all winter, he said (and since I've known him now for 20 or so years I know him to be reliable, grin). Water heated solar preheat, but no panels except for a small setup for the computer/small audio setup. Rest of the heat for the water is from accumulated excess heat from a sunspace. Not a real easy feat in our climate, but it's lookin' good. Probably his most creative item is a subterranean tube into the house for cooling, and that's not going to be something everybody here could do. I sit here on a part of the mountain that's granite with little soil cover. When they did the drilled well they hit solid granite at 13" and I only had to buy one section of iron casing; the remainder of 300+ feet is through solid rock. That's more like what a lot of folks would have to deal with, but the area where Peter lives has been forested for many, many years, and has a nice soil base. Has an especially nice cold box there, too, which I do think I will try to duplicate here.
Unless I am somehow convinced that I will stay here I will simply stay ongrid and keep my usage low (easy for me, I've many years of practice and now it's habit), but if I do finish this house and stay here I will add the solar back, and for myself, think that will be enough, as it was before. But after seeing Peter's new setup (this is his 3rd ever-increasingly-successful attempt; the other two are now rented out) I'm seriously tempted to go his route; this place seems awfully big now now that kids are gone. Or maybe I'm just too lazy to keep up with it all? Anyway, seems like I'm using up too much space.....and I'm evermore convinced that I use too many resources, even though my power bill often is less than the minimum ($16/mo here now).

On gas, I'm doing fairly well, though, just bought my second tank since first of Nov....chuckle.
Anyway, find yourself some windmachines and hear 'em out.....

Susan Jane, in Maine, where it's STILL raining




Lisa K.V. Perry wrote:
........I thought wind power might be more reliable for our location than
solar,
though we receive plenty of sun. Cost is also a factor.





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