Windmills are becoming more and more popular everywhere you look. They are efficient and environmentally friendly. Windmills produce clean energy. They are powered by wind instead of using up the earth’s fossil fuels and polluting our air like coal plants do to give us the electricity we need.
Southwest Windpower out of Flagstaff, Arizona, manufactures a 35-135ft tall, 12ft diameter windmill called the Skystream. A windmill this size is quiet, yet efficient, and only takes about 12mph wind speed to work. To find out if your land gets enough wind for a Skystream windmill, go to HYPERLINK "http://www.eere.energy.gov" www.eere.energy.gov and click on Wind and Hydropower and Windpowering America.
Most windmills connect directly to the home where power can be used at the flip of a switch. If there is an abundance of power, the electric company will but it back from you at the same rate at which they would sell it to another homeowner.
Homes are connected to a power grid so electric companies can tell how much power you use and how much to charge. Power costs about $0.10 per kilowatt hour. If the windmill generates more power than what is being used, the meter spins backward and the electric company pays you. In a sense, you are actually making money rather and saving or spending it. Some electric companies pay in the form of credits, much like a gift certificate to a store or restaurant. These credits can be redeemed as essentially “free” power if you choose to not run your wind-powered generator.
The Skystream is not only super efficient and cost effective, it is super quiet. Between 40-50 decibels, the Skystream is quieter than the background noise in a home or office. This type to windmill is as quiet as a tree blowing in the wind, due to low RPM, and has the appearance of a street light, making it an attractive addition to a neighborhood.
Southwest Windpower’s Skystream 3.7 version was awarded Popular Science Magazine’s 2006 Best of What’s New Award and TIME Magazine’s 2006 Best Inventions Award. Its testing and safety standards are accepted internationally. Placed like Wal-Mart, factories, and even churches and car washes are going green and converting to wind-powered energy.
Advantages of purchasing a windmill are protecting the environment and using resources Mother Nature gives to us for free. Wind power is cheaper than solar power and more efficient. Wind occurs day and night where solar power can only be harvested in daylight hours.
Converting to wind-powered energy is a smart move toward refilling the old pocketbook, both for you and the earth. Skystream’s sleek look is modern, but simple enough to blend in. It has no guyed wire or lattice design that resembles a cell phone tower. With Skystream, there is one simple pole which makes this windmill look like a street lamp. Check if there are any Home Owners’ Association policies if you are looking to put up a windmill.
The Skystream windmill is designed for a homeowner’s budget. The blade is made from composite fiberglass by a process called “Compression Molding” which is inexpensive yet strong. In fact, Skystream has a 10:1 strength ratio. It can pay for itself in as little as five years.
Skystream needs at least a .5 acre area of land to function most efficiently. It must be the tallest object by at least 20ft in a 300ft radius.
Almost anyone can put up a windmill. For more information on Southwest Windpower’s Skystream 3.7, visit www.skystreamenergy.com or call 928-779-9463.
