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In contrast to the bulk of blog postings regarding the Honeywell Windgate Wind Turbine by Earthtronics, I truly did some research for this article. In the process, it struck me that a house owner in Massachusetts may presumably end up paying only $700 for a fully installed home wind turbine that will otherwise value around $six,000.

This magical value reduction is the result of combining the now familiar 30% IRS energy tax credit with rebates from the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust (MRET). (Those of you living in alternative states can start here to investigate potential rebates, or decision your state’s version of the Department of Energy for more info).

Here’s the approach it works. The MSRP for the Honeywell turbine is around $four,500 and I’ve guesstimated installation costs at around $one,500 for a complete of $half-dozen,000. I’ve low-balled the value of install since it requires solely bolting the turbine to your roof with pre-built hardware and wiring the all inclusive control package (inverter, etc.) to your home. If you opt to mount the turbine on a freestanding pole or tower the installation prices would be significantly a lot of depending on the kind and height of the tower.

Starting with the $half dozen,000 estimated value, we tend to’ll first deduct the thirty% tax credit ($one,800) for a remainder of $four,200. From this we have a tendency to’ll deduct $three,five hundred courtesy of MRET to arrive at the promised $700. The $3,500 MRET credit is the essential amount allowed for a small wind turbine rated at 2kW (kilowatts). On top of the $3,five hundred, provisions are created for extra rebates based on the turbine’s subsequent verifiable power production.

In Massachusetts, the tiny wind rebate application is, by law, the responsibility of the installer. However, since the Honeywell turbine won’t be on the market till October one, 2009, I can’t say for bound if it’s been placed on the list of state approved turbines.

As of this writing, repeated phone calls and an email to MRET regarding the Honeywell’s eligibility haven’t been returned.

Power Output

As I discussed earlier, the Honeywell turbine it is being marketed as a 2,000 kW (kilowatt) generator. In different words, it is rated to provide 2000 kW over the course of a year, or approximately 166 kW per month – eighteen-twenty% of the average household’s annual power usage. In order for their turbine to come up with this amount of electricity, the 5.7′ prop would have to encounter average wind speeds of 16 mph.

But, as any wind surveyor will tell you, there simply is not that much wind blowing down around the typical urban/suburban home. The reason is just too many buildings, trees, etc. obstructing the flow of wind and creating turbulence – the #1 enemy of wind power.

Of course there are exceptions. If you reside within the central plains states you may encounter a better wind category owing to the lack of obstructions simply mentioned.

Certain, you may get wind at terribly low altitudes, but in most cases the velocity and consistency won’t match the manufacturer’s predictions. At fifteen-18 feet (the height of a typical one story house) you’d be exhausting pressed to encounter mean, average, or any other measurable wind speeds bigger than twelve mph.

At twelve mph, a 5.7′ prop (the diameter of the Honeywell) would generate approximately sixty seven kWh of electricity per month, or concerning forty% of what’s claimed in the ads. At $0.twelve/kWh this may translate to an estimated annual energy savings of $96.

Availability

According to Earthtronics, the particular developer of the turbine, the units will be out there at Ace Hardware Stores around the 1st of October, 2009.

When I visited the Ace Hardware website I found no mention of the Honeywell turbine thus I contacted client service. The terribly beautiful and helpful gal who answered my call told me although the turbine would indeed be sold by Ace Hardware, it’d be up to the individual franchisee to stock the item.

She any went on to offer me a phonephone variety I could pass along to the owner of my native Ace store in case he or she didn’t understand the way to order the turbine.

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