| By :
Roger Brown
What exactly is a Bergey Home Wind Turbine Kit? The Bergey XL.1 is a wind turbine kit that produces approximately 1,000 Watts, or 1 kW of power. It is a "direct drive" system and therefore does not require a gearbox to create power. 1 kW is a lot of power for a home but it is still unlikely that any home wind turbine kit will eliminate your power bills. The Bergey kit system is a horizontal axis wind turbine. That means it looks like the classic Dutch windmill that we are all familiar with - 3 blades turning perpendicular to the earth's surface. How much does the kit cost? The kits themselves cost from $6900, for a 1.4 kW model, to $17,900 for a 4.0 kW unit. All come with the components necessary to install the unit and generate electricity - that being said, you will likely need help with the foundation and making the final tie-in to the grid. There are several cost elements if you want to do this right: Purchase of the kitInstallation on your roof or installation of the tower on a foundationConnection to your home or battery unit. At present there is a 30% Wind Tax Credit going on now, too. And, that's on the TOTAL cost of the installed wind turbine system…very powerful incentive that may slip away if you don't act quickly. How difficult is the kit to put together and install? The word "kit" is a bit misleading in that it implies putting one together is easy. It's not as easy as putting together a model airplane but it is very rewarding when you see the blades turning and you're your power bills decreasing once it is done. Since you may or may not have assembled such a kit before, you are going to have to try to be patient with the inevitable learning curve. It takes some time even with a kit to get things up and running. Installing your own kit is very doable for the average person though, you just need to go into it with eyes wide open so you don't get half way through and "come back to it when I have more time." What are the pitfalls? The biggest mistakes people often make are assuming they don't need outside help to complete the installation. It is wise to use professionals to do the final tie in and make sure everything is set up right. This is too big an expense to do it almost right. Just plan on putting the kit itself together by yourself and then plan on having others, like a mechanical and an electrical contractor, do the installation of the home wind turbine on your house and tie into the electrical system. What distinguishes this product from its competitors? The look of the Bergey systems are very clean and aesthetically pleasing. The Bergey systems are direct drive and therefore a good bit cheaper than many other kits out there with gearboxes. Installation is very similar though to others out there in the market as seen in the video above. What are the alternatives? There are a number of competitors out there for both composite material home wind turbine kit products as well as kits made out of traditionally cheaper material, like wood. Keep in mind that at the end of the day, you are going have to be looking at this thing a lot, so it is important that you choose a kit that doesn't cause you to pause. If you live in a neighborhood, local covenants will drive whether you can have a wind turbine on your house. Many neighborhood associations will not even allow wind turbines to be mounted on roofs or anywhere else on your property. If you live way out in the country though, you don't have to consult anyone - just put your wind turbine wherever you want it and start saving money. The Bergey home wind turbine kit though is a very reliable product and you will not go wrong choosing it.
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