Domestic turbines up North?

Glowing

Hi there,

I spent the weekend up North in Antrim and was amazed to see a huge number of domestic turbines in operation, especially in the countryside. Okay, I saw perhaps 6 in a one day period, but don't think I've ever seen that many in the South ever!

Are there different planning laws in the North? Do they have different policies or tax breaks? Its great to see ....

Thanks!

10-10-20

I have a friend up there who machined his own turbine from raw wood. There is a great website on how to make everything from the coil windings to the hub assembly from scratch. They often use vehicle hub assemblies for the main components...
Ah, here it is:
http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_wind.html

gwangwangwan

In the UK I think you get a grant of up to 5000stg depending on output. I live in a rural area in Co Cork and think there is a wasted opportunity to develop domestic wind power for the 1000's of homes similar to ours. When I contacted SEI about a grant, I was told this:

---

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. There are a few things to
consider when developing a grant. Firstly with domestic wind turbines
you cannot connect to the national grid at the moment, so you need to
have batteries which can be very expensive.

Secondly there was already a market and an established installers and
suppliers of renewable heating and it is a lot easier and more effective
to build a grant around a market and a system that is already
established.

Also our funding was very limited, considering that there are going to
be roughly 80,000 new houses built in Ireland we need to develop a grant
which is achievable and realistic for most people. For example not
everyone would have the space to have a wind turbine e.g. in the cities
or highly populated areas, but almost everyone from apartments to large
houses can available of solar panels or a wood pellet boiler and this
grant is aimed at a majority rather than a minority, you can install a
renewable energy heating system into any house, old or new.

In regard to wind turbines there are still a lot of safety and legal
issues around them and with planning authorities etc, so it was simply
easier to have a grant where the majority or people can receive the
greatest benefit, rather than a minority who may experience problems
with planning, safety, etc.

I hope this helps a little bit,

Kindest Regards,

Toni

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Some comments on above:

In the UK you can tie in to the grid and get paid for excess electricity generated!

Surely if there are grants available, this will stimulate the market?

SEI will give grants for burning wood and heat pumps which require electricty but not for wind which is freely available & doesnt produce CO2.

Re: safety, legal, planning issues - this looks like a smokescreen to me. Wood burners produce CO2; photovoltaics are costly to produce - all renewables have pros & cons..We dont need planning for <10m tall, 3m diameter blades I think. Noise levels are low apparently...

Hopefully with the greens in government, we should see a more enlightened approach to energy in this country...As the most oil-dependent country in the EU what Ireland needs is a combination of massive offshore windfarms; mixed domestic renewables (wind & solar heating preferably); compulsory building regs for energy efficiency/passive heating etc.

I am seriously looking at installing a wind turbine - we live on an exposed 1/2 acre site, which is by no means exceptional. Anybody out there who can recommend a decent dometic turbine?

Glowing

Thats interesting - funnily enough I never considered the safety aspect. Countries on the continent, Germany anyway, can sell their electricity back to the grid both reducing their dependancy on fossil fuels, and giving every household greater financial benefits by switching to home production.

I think some homes have two circuits - one connected to the turbine for 'non-essential' stuff like the TV/kettle/toaster, and then would connect to the grid for say the fridge/alarm etc.

What sort of cost are you looking at gwangwangwan?

gwangwangwan

Glowing

Not sure but a "decent" turbine seems to cost ~ €5000 plus cost of installation (I'm DIY-challenged), could be looking at 10,000+. I'm looking at the home-made jobs though (Hugh Piggot is a bit of a guru in the area apparently).

I dont think the uk tubines run on different circuits but I guess it could be done & makes sense if battery packs have to be used.

I class a kettle & toaster as essential appliances!

I think the safety aspect is to do with ensuring the mast & turbine are securely fixed - e.g. so that the blades dont fly off and decapitate people during a storm. Also there needs to be protection for ESB workers if they are working on the line.

I'm not an expert on wind turbines but I was hoping there may be some lurking in this forum...

Keeks

There have been several threads on domestic wind turbines before

This one is hasprobably the most information

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=241609&referrerid=&highlight=diy+turbine