Alternative Fuel Folly

Glacus guessed:
"Perhaps you missed the point that this is a commercial application?"
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Perhaps you might go read the specs again.


Glacus guessed again:
"The thing is huge."
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This thing is not huge, unless you think 15ft is huge.
pic_homeowners.jpg


"The qr5 turbine has been designed for use on or near buildings and requires a grid connection via a three phase electrical supply. The current model stands 5m tall without mast and costs around £38,000 plus installation."


Glacus this is getting old.
"You could probably sell the excess power to all your neighbors and make a profit."
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Quote from specs
"The energy output will vary according to the wind speed but is likely to be between 4,000 and 10,000 kWhrs per year on a typical site."

That won't even cover one house of typical use in my area.
My usage averages 1000 KWhrs per month for 1600 sq ft tree shaded home for two people with gas heat, gas water heater, and gas clothes dryer.




Glacus tried to think:

I thought you conservatives were good at these sorts of money making ventures.
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We are! And can spot a money losing venture with equal ease.
 
Fade said:
This thing is not huge, unless you think 15ft is huge.
Click to expand...
Thanks Fade, you finally gave me an actual reason to use WolframAlpha!

So first of all, according to your own link, it's 5m + 9m, which equals 14m. That "m" stands for meters. You probably have no idea what those are, which is where WolframAlpha comes in: "14 meters in ft".

For those who don't like clicking on links, the answer is 46ft, 15 yards or 7.7 fathoms (rounded). And in case you're wondering, it takes light 47ns to travel that distance, but I digress. So ya, you could have a 46ft windmill in your backyard. Not sure your neighbors would like that.

Quote from specs
"The energy output will vary according to the wind speed but is likely to be between 4,000 and 10,000 kWhrs per year on a typical site."

That won't even cover one house of typical use in my area.
My usage averages 1000 KWhrs per month for 1600 sq ft tree shaded home for two people with gas heat, gas water heater, and gas clothes dryer.
Click to expand...
Really? I average half that and I'm not all that conservative with my energy use. For me, I could theoretically use that thing for all my power, plus some left over if I can consistently hit over 6000KWhrs per year.

Anyway, I'm not saying this is good for the home. It's clearly not. But an interesting aside, a buddy at work is building a new home from the ground up and he's using geothermal heating & cooling. It costs $20K to install, but reduces natural gas charges to zero. Greatly enhances resale value as well. If they could reduce the cost of the windmill to something in that range, I could see people installing one of those if they could make a smaller model. A 5m tall, 3.5m wide turbine is rather huge for home use I would say.
 
Glaucus you're using that Canadian math again.

And you still haven't read the specs yet.

Of course you didn't see where they were also selling a 2 meter pole for it did you?
The business end of that thing is still only 5 meters long, no matter how long a pole you set it on.

See the picture.
pic_about_small_wind.gif



Do you also think that your car will go faster if you install a speedometer that tops out at 250 MPH? :slingshot:
 
Fade said:
Of course you didn't see where they were also selling a 2 meter pole for it did you?
The business end of that thing is still only 5 meters long, no matter how long a pole you set it on.
Click to expand...
Not sure why I'm putting so much effort into this. :roll: Anyway, according to their own fact sheet PDF, the only mounting options are a 15m & 9m ground posts along with a 6m & 3.5m roof top post (not sure where you saw your 2m post). Although it doesn't say it, all the photos show the masts on flat roofs, typically found on large commercial buildings. I'm sure you can fabricate something to mount it anywhere, but I still think all indicators suggest this thing is marketed towards commercial applications, not residential.
 
Quietrevolution makes turbines in various sizes, btw.

I know this because I actually SAW one and talked to their rep. As I had to write about it, I paid attention.

anyway, they designed these for urban areas. office buildings, shopping areas, etc. and, sure, you can put one in your yard.

it's not like it's noisy or anything
 
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