When I went to the builders Show at Vegas with my wife, my goal was to see what would be interesting to the prepper.

There were many, many different soalr energy systems on display, whish I think is good, but I know that tons of places don't get as much sunlight as my area and wanted to see what else was out there.

I found this.



What caught my eye about it was it's size. This thing is small! It's only 6 feet wide in diameter. Then I listened to the pitchman describe it. (I always listen with jaded ears.)

The "windmill" generates energy with winds as low as 2mph! That was surprising. He said it was possible to do that because of the new design. Here's a pic to better describe it.



As you can see, there is no gearing in it so you son't have that resistance and greaing maintenece to worry about. Also the magnets are on the "Ring" around the "blades" which also ease the wieght off the hub and lessen the resistance.

It's also relatively light weighing in at 170 pounds. It can be mounted on the house or on a pole so you can decide what's best for you. (I'm kicking around the idea of a geared collapsable pole so I could lower it before Tropical Storms or Hurricanes.)

Now the kicker, the price. How about $5,995.00?

Here's how they put it. "The Honeywell Wind Turbine comes complete with a computerized smart box, inverter and inter connect switch to wire the system into a household panel. The Honeywell Wind Turbine is designed to be installed where the power is being consumed and can produce 2000 kWh/yr in class 3, 2752 kWh/yr in class 4 winds at 33' (height of 33’). The system has a MSRP of $5,995."

It sounds great, doesn't it. But dont forget the costs of installation, permits, and any other "do-dads" that I can't think of. The good thing is that there are Federal and State "incentives" to help out. (And, of course, They have a link for the State Incentives.)

http://www.dsireusa.org/

If you'd like to see their set up, and installation, here's a link to their PDF.

http://www.earthtronics.com/pdf/Mounting-System-and-Connection-Snap-Shot.pdf

And here's a link to their site.

http://www.earthtronics.com/honeywell.aspx

So why do I like this so much? At 6K it's definitely more expensive than a generator and gas even when the gas hit $5.00 a gallon.

Having lived through Hurricane Charlie (Cat 4) I can tell you that it's never good when the population of three counties in dependant on gasoline to create energy for their homes as well as run their equipment needed to clean up and fuel their vehicles so they can drive out of the damged area to get food and supplies. (You might have a 90 day supply of food and other items, but how well are they protected if your roof gets torn off? And don't forget, even if 10% of the people were supplied, that still leaves 90% using gas to get supplies.)

A wind turbine would lessen the need for gas by a third. You just need it for your vehicle and power equipment.

Also, A wind turbine would make a great way to power a vacation house or "B.O.H." without connecting to the grid. (Energy produces can be stored in batteries for backups as well.)

Bottom line: Will I get one? I am thinking about it. I might be a few years, but think of the way it can also hedge against inflational costs of energy as well as the other points.

Sounds like a nice package, but 2000 kWH/year is not that much. I would need 12 of these to power my current household. 12 x $6000 = $72,000. At that cost, it would take about 24 years to break even on the investment. Ouch.

Now, using one of these for an emergency alternative energy source, along with a small solar array might be nice.

I wonder if this may be why we won't see the price of energy skyrocket too much. As the cost ratio of generating your own power drops, more and more people would seek to do so, and I don't see the energy companies appreciating that.