It's Essential Skill #47 in The Handbook:
Install a windmill.
Of course, it's not just your pocketbook that will rejoice at your energy savings on wind power. So will the earth. "If 100,000 households installed an ample-sized wind turbine, the annual CO2 reduction would be 900,000 tons."
If you're thinking about installing a windmill, here's what you need to know:
- The ideal average wind speed on your property should be at least 10 miles per hour, and the harder the wind blows, the more energy you'll save -- as much as a 50 percent more with just a couple of mph difference
- Cost of wind power has fallen 90 percent during the past two decades
- Your utility company may offer the option of supporting wind power through the main grid instead of installing your own, as you may still find it too costly for your own personal windmill installation
As great as wind power sounds, we couldn't help but worry about its impact on birds. We've heard before that blades from windmills are to blame for bird deaths. But de Rothschild sets our mind at ease there too. Turns out that of all the bird deaths caused by humans every year, only 1 in 10,000 are caused by windmills.
"Wind can't carry our whole load," writes de Rothschild, "but it could go a long way toward capping our carbon output."
1 comment:
Won't be installing a windmill anytime soon, but we are signed up for the EnergyWise program through our utility company (Salt River Project in Arizona) and some of their alternative energy comes from wind power.
Post a Comment