Maast
Compulsive Tinkerer
I want a wind turbine to boondock at the coast but it just doesnt make sense no matter how I massage it.
We've got a lot in a place called Ocean Shores in Washington, the only thing between the lot and the ocean is about a quarter-mile of sand so the wind is constant and strong averaging about 9mph May-Sep according to historical data. What it doesnt have is much sun any time of the year.
Even with the constant wind, putting a small wind turbine like a Air 40 on the trailer itself wouldnt provide enough power because we'd arrive, put the turbine up. Do our thing for 2-4 days and then take the turbine down and depart. The small amount of generator fuel cost savings would be so small it'd be nothing more than a rounding error to the total cost of the trip. According to the chart the Air 40 would make right around 35 watts at 10mph.
The other route is putting up a larger turbine like a Whisper 200, on a tilt-up tower in-place at the lot. That'd make real power at about 200watts at 10mph. We'd arrive, tilt up the turbine and have plenty of power, when we're done we'd tilt it back down into a lockable enclosure to reduce wear and keep it from getting damaged. The trouble is it'd cost about $4000 - you can buy a heck of a lot of fuel for four grand.
I want it, it'd be cool as hell - but I can't justify it. If somebody can come up with a counter argument I'd love to hear it.
We've got a lot in a place called Ocean Shores in Washington, the only thing between the lot and the ocean is about a quarter-mile of sand so the wind is constant and strong averaging about 9mph May-Sep according to historical data. What it doesnt have is much sun any time of the year.
Even with the constant wind, putting a small wind turbine like a Air 40 on the trailer itself wouldnt provide enough power because we'd arrive, put the turbine up. Do our thing for 2-4 days and then take the turbine down and depart. The small amount of generator fuel cost savings would be so small it'd be nothing more than a rounding error to the total cost of the trip. According to the chart the Air 40 would make right around 35 watts at 10mph.
The other route is putting up a larger turbine like a Whisper 200, on a tilt-up tower in-place at the lot. That'd make real power at about 200watts at 10mph. We'd arrive, tilt up the turbine and have plenty of power, when we're done we'd tilt it back down into a lockable enclosure to reduce wear and keep it from getting damaged. The trouble is it'd cost about $4000 - you can buy a heck of a lot of fuel for four grand.
I want it, it'd be cool as hell - but I can't justify it. If somebody can come up with a counter argument I'd love to hear it.
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