Solar vs. Wind Energy

[galeforcesystems]

collecting the suns energy is great, but expensive. for a 100w panel you pay over £500 and thats with no istallation or other kit (inverters etc). in the UK you would never get 100w from that panel. you might get 50w in the summer if your lucky.
wind energy is a much more developed field and you can buy a 300-500w generator full kit for £500. ok, wind doesnt always blow but the uk has an average wind speed of 6m/s and the 300w rated kits we sell produce 200w at 6m/s (300w at 7m/s). wind is really concentrated sun energy and with an appropriate storage battery or grid-tied inverter you will make a much bigger saving per £ spent with wind technology rather than solar in the UK. visit: Galeforce Renewable Energy Systems - BT Tradespace to see our wind generator. only £495 for the whole kit and free delivery.

[lincdean]

Solar power & wind power are the two environmentally friendly choices that most people consider when thinking about trying to get started producing their own electricity at home. Solar power is also commonly known as solar energy. It is a method which harnesses the incredible power of the sun (which is 93,000,000 miles away from earth) to create electricity.

Wind power currently makes up very little of the world's electricity production. Currently it only accounts for about 1% of the worldwide electricity produced. But although it's usage is still quite low,

Either wind power or solar power (or perhaps even both together) would be a good choice for most people who want to power their homes themselves. Both choices create environmentally friendly renewable energy that is great for the environment.

[B.G._schmid]

There are not too many of the wind power units in our area, but there are several solar power units.

However, I think the wind turbines are really beautiful, especially compared to a dark, flat hunk stuck on someone's roof. It is an awesome sight to see just one turbine in someone's back yard, or to see a dozen lined up in a field somewhere. I don't see why more people don't use them!

[greendig]

Hi guys

im not sure if this has been mentioned but i have just read a book by D MacKay called Sustainable Energy - Without the hot air, it says that wind turbines are only effective in offshore wind farms & not on your house

what are your views on that?

Green Deeds Recycling
http://www.green-deeds.co.uk

[mbentley]

On reason that wind generation farms are commonly away from denser populations is that there more and more cases of people complaining of side effects living near to large wind turbines (i.e. wind farms). This is sometimes called Wind Turbine Syndrome.

The basic thought is that the turbines cause a constant low throbbing sound that causes things like sleep deprevation leading to a number of other complaints. It is contraversal and some people claim that the wind farms have destroyed their lives while others closer say that it is fine. How bad it really is seems to depend on which side of the argument you talk to.

[shiela_robins]

I saw that video posted above. The noise coming from the turbines and the shadow flicker it causes is really annoying. How in the world would you be able to sleep over that constant humming sound? The question also is that if these things it causes are already known, why were the turbines built so close to residential areas? Or is that guy's home so isolated from everyone else that it became negligible when the wind farm was started?

[doubletrouble678]

I would really like to recommend that everyone in the world get to know the work of Prof. Michael E. McElroy of Harvard. I found his take on Wind power most revealing. He has two courses out that you can download and study and a book coming out as well. What I learned from his courses is that wind is far more efficient. I never would have expected that. The other surprise (for me, anyway) was that North America was the 'Saudi Arabia of Wind'. Cool. But, this forum is right, without a smart grid in place, it (wind or solar) won't matter.

[doubletrouble678]

To Zach's introductory points... I think wind is getting a bad wrap these days. It has a higher power conversion than solar in the end of the day. Solar is great, perfect for high population density areas. Wind is great too. Most of the best wind in N. America occurs in places of low population density and low socio-economic development. So, wind development (coupled with a smart grid) can help serve both power and social needs. Its sad that wind turbines are being shunned by communities in Europe and N. America because of aesthetic reasons or noise. That is strange to me because we have all grown so used to humming (and health threatening) power lines running through our cities. Nevertheless, the big picture seems to be that wind is for non-urban power generation and needs to be brought to cities via transmission lines and solar helps our homes and offices, in spite of the fact that, in carbon terms, it has a high/long payback on the carbon footprint front.

[justin9971]

Solar energy is basic source of all energy. Its free and natural source,It is available in plenty and it is non polluting.
Wind energy is develop by natural movement of air by sea or land. Its free and useful for generate electricity.

[zach]

Thought I would revive this thread because I've been looking into solar and wind energy for my home.

Some key things I've discovered:

• The amount of roof space needed to produce enough solar electric to offset much of my electric bill is huge!
• You can't go by the ratings on the devices. I have a friend who has one of these wind turbines in North Dakota and year to date it's only generated 18% of it's max rating.
  Amazon.com: skystream 3.7 US Home Improvement
• Solar hot water using flat plates or evacuated solar tubes takes up much less roof space than solar electric and can have a much faster return on your investment.
• As a first step you are far better off looking at your current energy usage and finding ways to reduce it. You should look at reducing your consumption before you even consider solar panels or wind turbines. ie. Air sealing, insulating, get a Kill a Watt for less than $20 or check with your local library, you can check them out for free in New Hampshire, and find appliances or electronics that are draining power, replace your light bulbs with CFLs or LEDs, etc...

I'll keep adding to this as I continue my research. Hopefully this will help other people who are considering solar or wind energy for their home. BTW, I'm probably going to go with solar hot water for now and I'm working on creating a power monitoring system for my home that will tie into Google Power Meter and record usage of specific appliances and circuits. This will allow me to make smart decisions about my power usage based on real usage data and will also tell me exactly how much $$$ solar hot water is saving/costing me. I'll be posting more about this soon and will definitely share my results.