Related Sections: Green Tech Household
Skystream brings wind power home
With energy prices through the roof, taking advantage of the elements around you to supplement your power needs seems like a pretty smart idea. That's the thought behind the Skystream 3.7 wind generator, the first wind-power generator designed for residential houses. Looking similar to a regular streetlamp, you simply install it, pray for a strong breeze, and watch as your energy costs drop dramatically. It sets up to work with your normal energy provider, merely supplementing your current setup rather than replacing it completely. Costing between $8,000 and $10,000 to get installed, it should pay for itself after 5 to 12 years, depending on how windy your area is and how much juice you're sucking up. And with all the negative effects our energy consumption are having on the environment becoming impossible to ignore, doing your part to curb the damage you're doing really is priceless. No joke here, check their website and sign up to be one of the first to find out when this becomes available.
By courtney2018 at 10:06 AM ON 07/07/06
The same wind generator can be easily made from common parts readily available for under a few hundred bucks. Just check out the article from Make magazine: http://www.makezine.com/05/windmill/
I think Skystream's windmill is a ripoff.
By Oregon1 at 1:39 AM ON 07/10/06
Courtney I checked the link you provided and all I can see on that page in particular is a forum for people. I don't see any instructions on how to go about making one. Now I did click on the various links on that site and there are a few creators out there that seem to be tinkering and even they admit on their sites the power generated from the home created kits are very low to power today's electronic needs. Also there's alot of people talking there about batteries and wiring and all kinds of things many people would be flustered over. In conclusion I can see people opting to just shell out the 8k and just simply get it done. Maybe some middle ground company will come out with better pricing and higher wattage results soon.
By courtney2018 at 8:48 AM ON 07/11/06
Hi Oregon,
I believe you have to be a subscriber to the magazine to see the article. There's another link on the page of the link I posted that brings up the digital edition of that article. My fault. I should have been more clear.
While I'm not interested in making one of these things myself, the electronics to make something the same as this Skystream's model is out there. You need a good size generator, a circuit that prevents backfeeding the windmill, a circuit to store the energy into batteries, and possibly another circuit to bump up the voltage. It would need quality transistors and capacitors, probably not the type of thing that you'd find in RadioShack, although that would get you something.
If you know enough about ciruits and circuit design, this project isn't entirely too difficult. Every circuit I mentioned can be found on the net on a Google search.
Good luck if you try it.
Courtney
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courtney2018:
Hi Oregon, I believe you have to be a subscriber to the magazine to see the article. There's another link on the p...More »