Why are there three blades on a windmill?

Well some of you know that I was in Norman, Ok for training of the Bergey wind turbine. But I am now back and it was worth the trip to their company.

There was a lot of discussions about all the various types of turbines available on the market. Everything from vertical turbines right on up to the different turbines with one blade on up to the old fashion Aeromotors.

So because of these discussions that we had I am losing one of the turbines that I have in my line up. Let me go into more detail about why I am not going to use this particular turbine and various others.

I am going to start with the vertical axis type first, like the Windspire for example. Bergey actually tried to make this type of turbine work back in the 70's and was unsuccessful because they could not get the rpm's needed to generate power. But what they did find out that they could get torque which works great for pumping water, not good for electricity making. Also the blades are in a constant battle with each other in the wind never achieving the rpm's needed without a lot of wind speed.

Next is the one bladed machines. Which they are technically what you need to make a wind turbine generate a lot of power. But they are so lop sided that there is to much to go wrong. The other thing is you need a lot of wind to get it started. But once that happens it spins very fast and that's where things go wrong.

Two bladed machines are the next better choice. Again they are plagued with their technical problems. The problem with them is the blades get teetering back and forth causing alot of strain on the blades and the hub bearing. As the blade passes the tower it causes the blade to unload the wind blowing against it. Because the wind has to move around the tower. So the bottom has less force and the top blade has all the wind's force causing this teetering effect on the blades.

Three bladed is what turbine manufactures use because it is reliable and it helps get rid of some the other issues that other turbines with other blade configurations have. It is easier to balance the load on the hub with three blades. Like the two bladed turbines the three bladed turbines can counter act the teetering effect much better. Because there are always two blades in the wind. With the turbine being horizontal all the blades are in the wind at any given time not like the verticals which are not.

Now on to the reasoning of why I have decided to drop one of the turbines that I currently have. It's because it is a multi-bladed turbine. Since it has more then three blades the turbine will actually slow down, producing less power but more torque. Just like the Aeromotors in the old pictures of farms with windmills that you see with a lot of blades. Those turbines were designed for more torque in less winds to pump water out of the ground. Not for speed to generate electricity like we are today with the new wind turbines.

You may say just because I went to Bergey and they talked about these different blade styles. How are they correct? Well here is my take on that, they have been around thirty years and they are one of the very few left from the energy crisis back in the 70's. So to me that gives them a lot of credibility in my eyes. There are a lot of companies today that are trying to get rich quick and I'm not one of them. I believe you get what you pay for.

My mission is, "To seek out the best turbine, producing the most power, that can be reliable, and at is most reasonably price possible."

Stop back in the next few days and I will have more to say about my trip to Norman, OK and the Bergey product. I will also be talking about the turbine that is replacing the Skystream and Raum wind turbine too.

Important News

As of yesterday I have decided not to carry the Skystream anymore. The reason is the price continues to go up at least every three months and I believe for its size you are not getting your moneys worth. I have been finding out that most people need a wind turbine that is at least 3 to 5kw in size, not 2.4kw. I am not saying a system of this size will not work for some people, but I believe for the amount of money that you are spending you might as well go to a bigger wind turbine. If I get asked from someone that they would like one. I will be more than happy to install it for them.

I do have a new wind turbine that I maybe using to take it place soon. But before I make that announcement I will be going to take a look at it in March. I will be visiting some sites with a dealer in Illinois that has installed 4 of them. I need to see how they are doing in really world situations. So stay tune I will have an update later at the end of March.

What are you waiting for?

I get asked the same question a lot. Are turbines ever going to get any cheaper? And my answer is .... NO!!!

Since I have started doing this now for a couple of years Southwest Windpower has increased their turbine price three times.

Today I received an mail from Hummer stating at the first of the year their price were going up too.

It is not just the turbines themselves that keep rising it is the cost of installing the things too.

Wire alone in the past month has gone up 30% since earlier this Summer. My builder informed me that concrete has risen to $100 a yard, up $25 from a year ago. Also the towers the turbine go on keeps rising because of the cost of steel cost and the cost of shipping it here is more because fuel keeps inching back up.

I keep reading and seeing that the cost oil keeps going up, if that happens this stuff will continue to rise, quickly.

My advice to you is call NOW!!!, while it is still affordable. I can get a person in a Raum 3.5Kw unit for around $19k INSTALLED. If you need financing we can get that for you too. I have some banks giving out some good rates for people with good credit.

Don't wait by then it maybe to late.

Also do not forget to stop my new online store . I am running a special on the Smart Strip for your computer or entertainment center. You can SAVE $$$ money with one of these strips by reducing how much electricity these items use just by setting idle in the standby mode. If you sign-up for my newsletter by Dec 24th, you will receive a code good for $3.00 off each strip you buy.

Raum Wind Turbine

I know my blog entry yesterday is very similar This goes into more detail about the Raum turbine.

I just got back from the AWEA Wind Show in Detroit. I meet with my distributor that was there whom I had never meet in person. They were the voices on the phone so that was great to finally see them face to face.

But they are now carrying this wind turbine from Raum Energy of Canada.

The turbine is a 3.5 kw unit.
The turbine has 5 blades instead of 3. This allows the turbine it start producing power at low speeds, which we need it to do here in Michigan.
It is a down wind system, which means the blades are pointing the opposite way the wind is blowing.
The inverter is networkable and it has a display that shows what the turbine is doing at that moment too. So if you have an internet connection the turbine will be able to connect to the Raum website and you will be able to see the data in real time through a web browser. Which it will be great for dealer to what the trubines are doing.
Currently the manufacture has a 49’ tower only. But I have other sizes available to me already from a pole manufacture that I currently work with.

A unit installed is about the same price as a Skystream 2.4 kw on a 60’ tower.

Here is link to Raum Energy website: http://www.raumenergy.com/ and here is where you can find the complete specification sheet too. http://www.raumenergy.com/turbine3kw.html

We now offer financing too. So if you are looking to do a project like this but have been putting it off. Now you do not have to wait. So call today and let get start on your turbine right away.

AWEA Wind Show

I made it to Detriot to the wind show. I will try and do updates as I go along for the next few hours. The show does not start until 4pm and runs unitl 7pm. You can follow me on Twitter too. Www.Twitter.com/jdselectric

Well my big plan was to Twitter today while at the show, but that did not seem to work that well. I really have nothing to say but I was a little disappointed in it. There were no wind turbines there that made me say wow. Except one that my distributor is carrying now. It is called the Raum, it is made in Canada and it is now available for purchase. It is a 3.5kw unit and a downwind system. It is about the same cost as the Skystream. The unit has 5 blades instead of 3 like most turbines do. But that is an advantage because it starts producing power at a lower speed. Here in Michigan that is a good thing. If you would like to know more about this wind turbine give me a call and lets see if one is right for you.


-- Posted from my iPhone

#10 is complete

This the last wind turbine I had to do for the year. This particular turbine took us almost a year to complete. I ordered the material back in December of 2008. But because Tuscola Township had no zoning in place for wind turbines we had to wait. But she is up and will be online sometime next week. Now we have to wait for DTE to come do a couple of tests and then it will be good to go. We had two articles written on this turbine one was in Tuscola County Advertiser and the other is currently running in the Vassar Pioneer Times, front page. Our next project is a 2kw solar panel system mounted on a pole with a tracker on it. This will be going over in the Glen Lake area. I will blog and post pictures as we get going on this project. Once this project is completed I will have a link attached to my web site showing how this system is doing with power product, so keep a look for that in the near future.

Wind Turbines that I currently offer to customers

Skystream 3.7- Which is a 2.4 kw turbine which is grid connected and is a downwind system. It comes in tower heights 33', 45', and 60' tall. Other heights are available with permission from Southwest Windpower.

Raum 3.5- Which is a 3.5 kw turbine which is grid connected and is 5 blade downwind system. It comes in tower heights 40', 60', 80', 100' and 120' tall.

Hummer- Which comes in several sizes 500, 1kw, 2kw, 3kw, 5kw, 10kw, and 20kw turbines which are all grid connected and are upwind systems. But the thing about the Hummer is computer driven into the wind, not pushed into the wind. A computer samples the wind direction and speed and is always turning the turbine into best spot in the wind. 2kw and under are on 60' tower and everything lager then that start at 60', 80', 100, and 120'.

Bergey- Which is a 10kw turbine which is grid connected and is an upwind system. It comes in tower heights 60', 80', 100' and 120' tall.

I have much larger wind turbines if a farm or small business would need something larger. I have a 40kw and 100kw unit if I need something that large.

So if you are looking for a wind turbine system then is what I am currently offering as far brands. So give me a call today and lets see if your property is right for one of these turbines today. (231) 715-1170

Skystream Prices

I am always asked if prices on these wind turbines are ever going to go down. Today I got the new pricing for Skystreams and the answer is maybe. The 33' and 45' system went down. But the 60' went down if I use their poles and went up if I did not. But here is the thing you have to buy their equipment and their equipment only. Unless it has been approved ahead of time.

So the answer is yes and no the price will come down and go up. Stay tune for more in the future.

Wind outputs a month period

Here is a chart of three Skystreams that are in the area.
What I did was go to each turbine today and download the data from them for a one month period. Each turbine is about thirty miles apart from one another. Each turbine is the same brand and size unit, 2.4 kw. But their towers are all different sizes 45', 60', and 120' tall.

What I found to be funny is that the 45' tower did better than the 60' tower. Which I can not figure that out, because the 45' tower has a lot of trees to the NE side of the turbine and the 60' tower has nothing but open space. The only thing that I can think of, is the 60' tower was out balance, which today it seems that I have it balanced right where it needs to be. I guess next month will be interesting to see if it made a difference.

The total kWh for the one month period goes like this:
45' tower - 88.55 kWh for the month
60' tower- 79.52 kWh for the month
120' tower- 209.82 kWh for the month

So as you can see from the chart and from the totals that is always best to get as high as possible with your tower for your wind turbine. We been experiencing some very low winds this summer, lower than previous years. But though that is the case the 120' tower still was over 200 kWh for the one month period.

It will be really interesting to how each one does this winter once the wind really picks up. Which we are starting on the up swing this next month.

Hummer wind turbines

As of today I am a dealer of the Hummer wind turbine. It is not set to be released until the end of August or September. I will be bringing more information about this turbine as it becomes available in the next few months. Here is a link to the companies web site. So this will be the fourth turbine that I can offer to people that are looking to have a turbine for their selves. Skystream, Proven, Bergey and Hummer are the units that I now carry.

New dealership

I found out today that I am now dealership for the Bergey Wind Turbine. This adds a third brand and size of turbines that I now can offer to customers. Also later this year they will be releasing a new 50kw turbine.

Currently I have the Skystream, Proven and the Bergey wind turbines.

The turbines sizes are:
Skystream 2.4 kw
Proven 6kw and 15kw
Bergey 10kw

Also I have been in talks with Northern Power Systems, they make 100kw unit.

I will be leaving for Canada next week to go look at another company that I am very interested in using their turbine for a project in the thumb.

Current Skystream Customers

To the people that are out there that currently have Skystreams with problems and can not get the dealer to come back and fix it. Well give me a call. I have had great success in getting these units fixed. I am currently do work for a dealer that had problems with one that was not working. He called me in and I took care of his problem, the dealer, and the owners. The problems was resolved within a day. Now granted I did get the turbine problem in the SWWP system it still took time for the parts to arrive. But I recieved a call from someone that I currently work with on other turbine projects, he said that he knew of several people in the area that were having problems. When they contacted their authorized dealer he told them parts were not avalible. Well that is not true, it sounds like the authorized dealer is unable to fix their issues. Because he is not an electrician with the skills to fix the problems. I will go any where in the state to help people to get their problems rectified with their turbines. Give me a call and lets get it taken care of. You spent a lot of money for this system and you deserve to have it working correctly. Call 231-668-4626 today.

Turbine in stock

Next we will be starting to try and keep one turbine in stock for immediate purchase and installation. We will not be carrying the tower because of storage issues. But the towers are usually a couple of weeks out from the time it is ordered.

By keeping a turbine in stock we will be able cut that wait time in half before one can be delivered.

The promotion for the month of April is for $1,000.00 off a total installation.

For example a turbine on a 33' tower normally costs $15,150.00 with the $1,000.00 off it is now $14,150.00.

With the 30% tax credit, take another $4,245.00 off. Now the turbine costs $9,905.00, that is $5,245.00 off , a very large savings to you.

More on the tax credit for Wind Turbines

Impact of the American Recovery and Re-investment Act (2009 Stimulus Package)

Background
On February 17, 2009 President Obama signed the American Recovery and Re-investment Act of 2009 into law. With a significant emphasis on renewable energy technology deployment and job expansion, the bill improved upon the 2008 tax credit, by removing "cost caps." This change allows consumers and small businesses to take a 30% tax credit off the installed cost of a wind turbine. To a consumer or business purchasing a single 2.4KW residential wind turbine, it will double their credit. Additionally, consumers and businesses will also have the option of receiving their credit in the form of a cash grant.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How does the stimulus package impact my business?
A: The Bill stimulates the industry by making small wind more affordable and accessible to a larger percentage of the population, thus, increasing your market opportunity. Any Skystream installed in 2009 through 2016 (eight years) is eligible for a credit up to 30% of the installed cost of the wind turbine. This credit can be applied against taxes owed or, for at least 2009 and 2010, receive a grant for the same amount from the Government.

Q: How does the stimulus package impact Skystream purchasers?
A: The entire cost of a Skystream system (plus installation) is reduced by 30 percent. For example, if an average installation costs between $12k -- $18k, the stimulus package will save you between $3,600k -- $5,400. And depending on where you live, you could save even more! States have also implemented rebates for small wind which can be added to the Federal credit. Furthermore, in the last two months alone, more than 30 States have introduced legislation that either further incentivizes renewables and/or addresses market barriers.

Q: What about my customers that have already purchased a Skystream?
A: If they purchased a Skystream in 2008, they will qualify for the federal-level tax credit, passed as part of the October 2008 bailout legislation, up to $2,400k. If they purchased a Skystream in 2008 but it was not installed until 2009, you can write a letter indicating that the wind turbine was not "commissioned," i.e., became operational until 2009, they would qualify for the 30 percent tax incentive or a cash grant for the same amount.

Q: What if I install more than one Skystream?
A: The stimulus package allows for a 30 percent tax credit or cash grant on the total cost of multiple units. There is no cap on the 30 percent tax credit or cash grant.

Q: I heard the customer can get cash back rather than a tax credit - how does that work?
A: Yes, they can apply for a grant from the US treasury and rather than a tax credit, receive a cash grant. The details are still being worked out but should be in place by April or May. Keep in touch for more information.

Q: Does the stimulus package benefit the renewable energy industry as a whole?
A: Yes, the Bill makes both solar wind and even energy efficiency more affordable for Americans and American corporations that are looking to utilize sustainable energy within their homes and facilities. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reported that the United States is the largest producer of small residential scale wind generators. As much as 66% of the global market is produced domestically. This means the jobs being generated are also for the manufacturing sector.

Information from the Southwest Windpower Dealer News

Next Newsletter

I should be releasing my next newsletter around the first of March. So you still have time to sign up for it. Here is the link to do that. There is a place along the side of this blog register too.

Meeder Project

We finished the Meeder Project yesterday. The turbine is mounted on a 45' tower. It went up with out a hitch. Antrim County Crane came out and installed it for us and did a good job.

The weather some what cooperated with us, other than the snow which made it difficult to get the pole moved around. We managed to get the loader stuck.

But no the less it is up, now if we would get some wind things would be much better.

Keep your eyes open the newspaper was there and did a story on us installing the turbine.