Article by Robert Easterling
Wind Turbine Generators are a fantastic means of generating your own power for a wide array of uses and despite their costs they still have a very good ROI in a reasonably short time period. We have been watching the technologies advance in their systems as well as a handful of those that the Chinese have been reverse engineering to steal from others. In both cases however it is absolutely critical that you get a second opinion BEFORE you jump into the purchase and installations.
A great many wind turbine generator manufactures use marketing ploys to make their systems appear to be capable of generating far more than what you or I could expect to see in powering our homes or businesses realistically. They make claims of power outputs that on the surface seem to be in line what we are looking for as a solution but in reality they have used wind speeds that are far above the average wind speeds in your particular part of the country to arrive at these power output claims. I really do not believe that telling someone they can get 10kw from a system on a consistent basis is very realistic when the actual wind speeds used to create that power are a steady 30mph.
Chinese manufactured systems that had their design origins in another country and from within private companies are really the systems you need to investigate fully before you spend a dime on them. Some nefarious types thinks its perfectly fine to reverse engineer a companies wind turbine generator to learn how to build exact copies and then sell on the open market at a much lower price, but be forewarned they did not build them using the exact same materials. You could expect to pay approximately ,000 less on one of these rip off copies but then that is not about to do you any good when the entire system fails a year or two down the road.
So how does one navigate through this global market place filled with the pitfalls of bad technology, crafty marketing strategies, or just plain old fashioned bad businesses trying to sell anything to make a buck? It is really quite simple! First make sure that you always get second or third opinions from reputable dealers who happen to also be NABCEP certified. NABCEP is the North American Board of Certified Electrical Practitioners and when it comes to all of the techno-babble that is floating around out there you need to look for a standard that has been established for your protections just as the NEC is the standard for all electrical contractors nationally.
Quality wind turbine generator systems are listed by your State Dept. of Energy and it is always a good idea to only work with companies who have partnered with the agencies in providing these types of systems and services. A good example would be what we have here in the state of Wisconsin which has an energy department known locally as Focus on Energy. This agency works directly with the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) and has established a great many programs which encompasses all of the renewable energy trades and personnel to including renewable energy market provider and service provider companies who sell, install and service renewable energy systems.
Customers wishing to learn more about making the move to renewable energy systems on their property are directed to working with them as all renewable energy incentive funds are issued dependent upon their site evaluations, systems specifications and designs, and of course completed installations. The end results of this cooperative working relationship are quality systems sold and installed at fair market values which can generate an acceptable amount or percentage of a given clients power needs. Those who chose not to work within this type of environment are typically those who were trying to save a buck or two and unfortunately found themselves stuck with systems that could not perform as advertised and without any recourse with the manufacture they purchased their systems from they lose far more than that dollar or two they were trying to save.
The moral of the story is that short cuts are NEVER a good idea when it comes to renewable energy systems and your best bet is to use ONLY NABCEP approved systems and personnel.
About the Author
I am the president and founder of Global Team Direct, LLC which is a renewable energy and energy efficiency systems and services company located in Edgerton, WI. Our business is saving our clients money by making the change to renewable energy systems and improving their energy efficiencies.
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