Rising utility bills-what are the alternatives?

[TEAK36]

Hi,

Due to the never ending rises in utility bills, I was looking for alternative options for my Electricity.

I have been looking at the 'Windmills' that you can buy from places like B&Q for about 2 grand, but was wondering if any Abers already have one of these installed. I know that planning permission may be required, but I have a standard 3 bed semi with a fairly large garden, so I hope this would not be a problem.

Are these windmills any good,do they generate enough electricity to run everything in the average home?

Any advice is much appreciated.

[ACtheTROLL]

we have one in the back garden .... but ours doesn't produce huge amounts
http://www.serenitygardens.com/gigimage/mancho p.gif
he's been at the same bit for ages now!!

I looked into this when we moved house (the only sticky up thing looking out of my back garden is the horizon - about 30 miles away. At the moment the wife thinks the money could be better spent on things like windows .... but eventually I'll get my way

this is quite informative
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2006/oct /26/ethicalliving.lifeandhealth

estimates UPTO 30% - which isn't bad ... and for many people during the day they'll be selling it back to the grid

[pug100]

The main problem with renewable energy is storage. A wind turbine will only produce useful energy when the wind blows, even then it needs to be not too much or too little. So the output can be very erratic you will probably need lots of storage cells (batteries) and an inverter to convert the DC from the cells to AC for your supply. Same goes with pv solar panels, you only get an output when the sun shines, so it'll produce electricity all day but come Coronation st. time the sun goes down and the electricity stops.

The best systems I've heard of are ones which integrate to the national grid, so during the daytime when your system is working you feed into the grid (and your meter actually runs backwards) then at night when your system stops you take your electricity from the grid as usual.

There was a lady on the news recently who had pv cells on her roof, it was a big house and the roof was completely covered. Her system cost �25K and her bill for the year was just �5. But it'll take around 25 years to pay back the installation cost alone ( assuming she uses �1000 of electricity per year, more likely she uses �300 per year so it'll take 83 years to pay back). Something to think about. If you want to save the planet you need deep pockets.

[New Judge]

The people who know the most efficient ways to generate electricity are the electricity companies. Even they are being compelled by ludicrous EC and government policy to generate power using methods which are not the best.

Small scale generation like the schemes discussed here can play only a little part in reducing your bill but, certainly at current process, the capital payback period is excessive.

Despite their claims they would not generate anything like enough power to supply all your needs. The most popular small turbines have a rating of up to 3Kw. They claim to provide all the electricity you need excluding heating.

So do a few simple calculations. Usual things such as lights, a computer and the TV take together about 1Kw. Switch on the kettle (2Kw) and you�re almost bust. Of course, should you want the washing machine or dishwasher on (2.5 to 3 Kw each) whilst you�re having a cup of tea and watching TV you can forget it. And all this assumes, of course, that the wind is blowing hard enough.

As well as this for a wind turbine to be at its most efficient (which is not actually very efficient at all) it needs to be sited away from buildings where air turbulence is at a minimum. Most people are unable to do this.

Put your two grand in a long term fixed rate bond. You should be able to earn about 7%. Use the �140 towards your electricity bill.