Does The Power 4 Home System Work?
Author: David Lulz
Have you ever wanted totally free electric for your home or office? DIY solar panel and windmill kits claim to offer just that. The electric generator system is a package of very simple, easy to follow plans, that allow the user to construct their own alternative energy Generator. These generators can be constructed by anyone, even with no prior experience. You may be wondering the costs of building an alternative energy generator, like solar panels and wind turbine?
Using an alternative green energy generator has distinct advantages over the use of ordinary energy sources. The main advantage is that alternative energy saves the environment, and reduces the impact of global warming. Another advantage is cost. Solar and Wind systems can be inexpensive to install, and once st up, they drastically reduce your energy bill, and start paying for themselves. And if you’re able to generate more energy than you can consume, the electric company is obliged by law to buy it from you!
Based on the experience I had building my solar panel energy generator, I would recommend the plans to anyone looking to reduce or eliminate their electric bill, or simply looking to help the environment! Solar and wind energy is proving to be one of the leading sources of alternative green energy!
A very controversial and in-depth review of the DIY Power 4 Home System has been posted at the Power 4 Home Review Blog. The Power 4 Home System is the leading Do-It-Yourself solar panel and wind turbine generator plans, selling over thousands of copies worldwide!
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/does-the-power-4-home-system-work-1406971.html
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Grid tie-in Home Wind Generator, have you any knowledge of this?
I’m investigating the feasability of installing a grid tie-in home wind generator. Has anyone here installed one of these systems into their home’s power system?
It’s my understanding that you can install a new power meter to allow for “net metering” or reversing of the numbers by the created power from the generator, thereby saving money or reducing your monthly power bill.
How much does a Home Wind Power generator system cost?
how large of a generator do i need to power a home of 2400 square feet?
i would like to buy a home generator system as a backup
how much does a wind generator system cost for an average home in eastern Iowa. Our backyard gets steady wind?
just seeing if the cost is worth the future savings
Home Generator Trouble!!?
I am considering buying a back-up generator system for my newly bought home, the only problem is that my home is 4,947sq. ft, and I seem to find a single generator that is capable of powering my entire, will buying a few portable or large sized stand-by generators solve my problem?
Most back-up generators are not designed to keep an entire house provided with electricity; they are designed to keep “essential” circuits energized.
In most cases, you would want to keep your refrigerator, furnace (or AC), well (if you don’t have City Water), sump pump, ejector pump, and perhaps two other circuits powered (bathrooms are often included, as well as one of the two kitchen small appliance circuits). If your water heater is electric, you will want to provide power for that, as well as any gas appliance that requires electricity to ignite the burner (mostly, the water heater – you can light the burners of a gas cook-top or range with a match).
A typical electric water heater requires around 4,500 volt-amps (Watts); an electric dryer is a minimum of 5,000 v-a, the general lighting load for a 2,400 S.F. house is 7,200 v-a, your refrigerator is allowed to be run off of one of your kitchen small appliance branch circuits, so figure another 1,500 to keep one going, and about 1,500 for a bathroom, most electric cooking appliances will be okay if you figure about 8,000 v-a, other motor loads, like a gas furnace, will add about 1,176 v-a per horse power, and throw in another 300 v-a for motor start-up loading.
To try to keep your home operating in an emergency (and, by definition, emergencies are not convenient; so don’t expect to have full use of your creature comforts); you would need around 30,000 Watts.
Be sure to include an automatic transfer switch for the generator.
Also, depending on what type of emergency you are preparing for, keep in mind that the naturaL gas most home generators run on may not be available. That is why hospitals and other buildings that are required to have emergency stand=by power systems are also required to have on-site fuel storage for their generators.
Lastly, remember that most communities have noise ordinances that regulate what the noise level at the property line is limited to. The generator will have to meet these requirements, under full load conditions to pass an inspection. The noise ordinances apply in emergency conditions, as they do at any other time. If you are the only one with power during an extended power outage, believe me; the neighbors will be complaining about the noise your generator is making. And, after the third or fourth call, the police will be so fed up that they will gladly start to write expensive tickets.
That’s another good reason to keep the size of the generator below what it will take to keep your house functioning at a “normal” level.
There is a person living off grid a few miles from me. When his house was built it would have cost $15000 to get poles installed to connect to the power grid. That became his budget for the solar/wind energy system. He installed solar heating panels, solar PV and a 1kW wind turbine to charge a battery bank, and even purchased a small portable generator. The system has been operating for several years. Payback on this system was immediate, and he hasn’t had an electric bill since.
I’m putting together a small wind system in my back yard. So far I have the concrete foundations installed for a 80 foot guyed tower. Inside, the equipment rack is pretty much complete with the exception of the dump load. Pictures and diagrams are on my web page.
http://members.rennlist.org/warren/wind.html
Payback on the system is somewhere on the order of about 15 years, but I’m not building it to save money. If I were to smoke or go bar hopping regularly an equivalent amount of money would have been spent long ago. This way I have something concrete at the end of the day and it gives me something to experiment with and learn about.
Just do a search. There are all size systems, ranging in price from a few thousand, to tens of thousands. Depends on your needs.
First however, I would check with your city or county ordinances. Especially if you live in town, you cannot just install one in your yard. Some cities prohibit it. Others require permits.
There is lots of information on the Internet. In California, you can get net metering. There are some sticking points. The tower has to be at least 60 feet tall. My neighbors would not like that at all.
It is true that you probably will not get a big enough unit to supply all your power, with a surplus.
Think twice about batteries. If one has net metering, the only value of batteries is during power outages. Batteries cost a bundle, need to be maintained, need occasional replacement, and eat up part of the power you produce. I elected not to have batteries on my photovoltaic solar system
Multiple generators will only magnify the problem. Getting a properly sized generator and transfer panel will make backup power connection quick and safe.
Determine the size of generator required. Do you want an automatic start system or will a manual connection be suitable?
Choose a fuel type. Gasoline is by far the most common and easiest fuel, but has issues with long term storage. Diesel is better for long term storage. If your home is equipped with natural gas or propane those could be used to power the generator as well.
Read through my generator page for other ideas.