The most cost-effective way to reduce your utility bills is to reduce your usage by installing more efficient lights and appliances, and improving the insulation level of your home or business. Compact flourescent light bulbs are an excellent investment. They use only 1/4 as much energy as regular light bulbs! After these steps are taken wind power is the next logical investment. You should consider wind power if:
1.) Your electricity costs more than 10 cents per kilowatt-hour.
2.) Your area has an average wind speed of 10 miles-per-hour or more.
3.) You have one (1) acre of property or more.
Photovoltaics is an attractive technology in many ways, but cost is not one of them. Small wind turbines can be an attractive alternative, or addition, to those people needing more than 100-200 watts of power. Unlike PV's, which stay at basically the same cost per watt independent of array size, wind turbines get less expensive with increasing system size. For homeowners connected to the utility grid, small wind turbines are usually the best "next step" after all conservation and efficiency improvements have been made. A typical home consumes between 800-2,000 kWh of electricity per month and a 4-10 kW wind turbine or PV system is about the right size to meet this demand. At this size wind turbines are much less expensive.
