| By :
Roger Brown
When you are looking into wind kits, you must first check out the wind you have available and where it can be installed. Of course it is always a lot more fun to just dive in and look at all the pictures of wind turbines on the internet and make your decision based on how the turbine looks. Unfortunately there are huge differences though their efficiency and how they apply to your situation. The windmill you eventually purchase should be selected based on what you are actually trying to get out of this project in terms of energy production. AND, by understanding the actual wind you have to work with. The different styles of windmills are very different and the amount of space at your disposal will then push you in the direction of the specific turbine to buy. Here are the 3 questions you must ask and answer before going any further: 1. What am I trying to do with the power and how much of it do I actually need? 2. How much wind do I have on my property to harvest? 3. What style turbine is a fit for me and my particular circumstances? First, understand how much electricity you need to get out of this effort. Get clearly in mind the task you want to accomplish with the electricity. There are many things you can do; ranging from exporting the energy to the electricity grid, to just charging a set of batteries to have on ready in case of a power outage. Then, consider the wind available on your property. It always blows more steadily the higher you go. In most cases you want the turbine to be located at least 30 feet above the highest obstacle. That's where the best wind is to be found. The problem with locating the windmill up high is it can be quite expensive. Towers are costly. And when you work on them, it is a major ordeal to take them down from a tower for access. Lastly, you can decide on the particular turbine to buy. You have 2 kinds that make up the majority of the home wind turbines out there - Vertical-axis wind turbines that look a lot like a Dutch windmill and a Horizontal-axis wind turbines that spin perpendicular to the surface of the earth. Without question the horizontals are a lot better at making electricity. The inefficiency of vertical turbines is offset though by how easy they are to install and work on when problems arise. Summarizing - wind kits can save you a lot of money if you do your research before you begin. If you understand first what you want to accomplish with the energy you make and how much wind you have available are steps you cannot forgo.
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