post your chicken coop pictures here!

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
so Have you ever been around a windmill?

 

[Latestarter]

I've been right up next to them... a group of them actually... I didn't find them all that noisy and that was with no walls between me and them...

 

[perchie.girl]

I've been right up next to them... a group of them actually... I didn't find them all that noisy and that was with no walls between me and them...

 

[Sylvester017]

I've been right up next to them... a group of them actually... I didn't find them all that noisy and that was with no walls between me and them...

Depends on the size and models of the windmills. The ones in the East and Midwest were duped into the gigantic huge ones that churned noisily night and day. Do your research and beware of the type of windmill you're looking at. Saw a documentary about the towns and individual farms duped into contracts with windmill companies but it was too long ago on Netflix. Sorry I can't remember the doc -- but anyway researching before investing is always prudent. California has already expired for reimbursement incentive for solar and I guess the federal reimbursement incentives are expiring soon too. There is talk that low tier energy rates are going up because the utilities are crying they're losing money from people turning to alternative energy to the point that alternative energy is gaining momentum to be penalized. Can't bypass the greedy utility co's any more except maybe to live in the mountains like Jeremiah Johnson!

 

[Sylvester017]

so Have you ever been around a windmill?

Yes, the ones on the way to Palm Springs - terribly intimidating and huge.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
The power generators along my rout to my house produce 4,200,000 KWh EAch And produce enough power to supply 398 homes per year. There are 25 of them They make no mechanical noise. The blades are 140 feet long Each. Largest windmills manufactured. And they are made in Spain.

I am on the end of technology. They are just machines. There are good machines and bad machines.

 

[Latestarter]

Quote:

Yes, the ones on the way to Palm Springs - terribly intimidating and huge.

Why do you consider them "terribly intimidating"? I agree they ARE huge... I mean, do you find tractor trailer trucks terribly intimidating? or airplanes? I mean those things actually kill people... They aren't stationary... and they're a heck of a lot louder than a windmill... Not to mention the pollution they create. And as for the noise... how many homes are built in and amongst the wind farms anyways? None that I've ever seen... Most wind farms are well away from large population centers/areas... Perhaps a farm house or two from the people leasing the land for the placement of them?

Sorry, I guess I just don't understand

People don't want global warming and complain about our dependence and overuse of fossil fuels, yet those same folks don't want and complain about harnessing wind power... Either they're "bird killers" or "eye sores" or in your case, too loud and intimidating... Maybe they'd be more acceptable if they looked more like the "little" Dutch windmills used for grinding grain and pumping out water? Most folks think they're "pretty". Folks think the Dutch ones are no threat because they're turning slow, I believe the modern windmills turn about the same speed... they're just bigger. Not to mention the screams and complaints when there are brow/black outs and there's no electricity to run their air conditioning or their TV sets. The power has to come from someplace.

Actually Deb, those aren't the longest blades or largest wind generators... Vestas makes much longer blades, in service since early 2014:

"The Vestas V164 came online in January 2014, nearly three years after the project ... Among its features, it includes the world's longest turbine blade at almost 85-metres." Started out at 80M... either way, 262-279' The Vestas plant right down the road from me builds these blades (and the generators/complete units). http://www.windpowermonthly.com/10-biggest-turbines

As an aside, the discussion really started out discussing vertical wind generators:

which aren't anywhere near as huge, don't take up anywhere near the amount of space, and don't make any more noise than the windmill type in my experience, which is minimal to begin with... The noise from the windmill type is simply a "whoosh" as the blade sweeps past over head... The generators 300' above your head make no noise at all... And the vertical ones make a very faint whirring sound, again simply from the wind moving through the vanes.

I suppose there could be a chance of resonating in the blades/vanes at a specific RPM... physically possible... it would cause a resonate "tone" or frequency that may or may not be audible, but that's one of the things tested for in development and designed out as it would put additional stress on the blades/vanes causing earlier failure of the system.

 

[Sylvester017]

The power generators along my rout to my house produce 4,200,000 KWh EAch And produce enough power to supply 398 homes per year. There are 25 of them They make no mechanical noise. The blades are 140 feet long Each. Largest windmills manufactured. And they are made in Spain.

I am on the end of technology. They are just machines. There are good machines and bad machines.

Yep, that's why I advise research because the ones I've seen so far don't impress me. The fact that utilities and govt agencies are trying to penalize alternative energy is really quashing the incentives.

 

[bruceha2000]

Thank you for all the suggestions, we will be leaving for a couple of weeks soon so I think we're just going to put a low watt bulb in and leave it on the whole time we're gone...our light is hard wired to a switch so I'm not able to put a timer on it... Will the light being on full time bother them? Rae

I see you found a light socket screw in timer but you can get timers you can put in place of the regular switch. They can be set to an amazing number of different on and off times, by day of the week if you like or every day (as we would use for our chickens). I have used these:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Intermatic-15-Amp-Heavy-Duty-Astro-In-Wall-Digital-Timer-ST01/203954917

You can push on the door to override the current state that is programmed in. I have a 40W light aiming into the coop plugged into an outlet timer and make sure it is on past the time the chickens should be in the coop but the door is still open on the photo cell so there is more light in there than the run and, in theory, they won't miss closing time. And mostly that works but 2 nights ago my wife found 5 of the 16 out in the run (barn alley). We have no idea if a bunch missed closing time and only some could get back in during the "second chance" opening or what. But last night they were all in .

I'm about as far Northern Wisconsin as you can get. About an hour from the Michigan border.

I have been by your house (relatively speaking or potentially REALLY close depending on where you live). My younger daughter goes to Beloit College and the route through Canada (Sault Ste Marie) is SO much more pleasant than the US route.

wow... that sounds excellent! Glad it's working out so well for you! I wish it was more "available" cost wise for more to take advantage of. maybe in time...

(re solar since the referenced post didn't get copied in)

Our ~6K array (24 panels on 2 ground mounts) was turned on yesterday. Yeah, I know, not the prime time of year for solar. But it was sunny today and the array generated ~22 kWh.

Vermont doesn't have any state incentives now so the 30% Federal tax credit is the only thing available. Unless that is extended it is only good through 2016 so that is why we did it now. But the power company pays more for the excess than they charge per kWh so the array should cover the cost of the electricity we use and all the "fees and taxes" that the power company charges instead of raising the kWh rate. Like we now pay $0.433/day because we have a power line coming to the house from the power company. Some utilities will pay cash for excess power but we don't have that other than in the city of Burlington because they have their own power company. No guarantee on how long they will do that.

I was thinking about wind too since we get some serious wind blowing through but the solar guy said he stopped installing them because they weren't reliable. I have spent time (maybe too much) looking at vertical vs horizontal wind turbines. Of course both "camps" say theirs is better. The verticals don't need to be as tall, start generating at lower wind speeds and don't have to lock down at higher wind speeds. Sounds good to me but they are presumably less efficient. I'll keep researching that so when we buy an electric car I can decide if we want another solar array or a wind tower. That will be a few years down the road though.

And to put chickens in the post

The chickens have ensured that not one of the grass seeds spread where the excavator put in the giant sonotubes and trenched for the conduit to the house then covered with straw will have any chance of sprouting in the spring.

 

[lynnehd]

Yep, that's why I advise research because the ones I've seen so far don't impress me. The fact that utilities and govt agencies are trying to penalize alternative energy is really quashing the incentives.

It is true that the power companies in some states have tried to pass legislation for things like a charge on 'net metering', etc., at least for solar installations.

There was a good article in the Washington Post about it. Most have not been successful, a limited few have. It is certainly an era of transition.

Luckily, so far, our electric co has been supportive of solar installations, the federal tax credit ends after 2016 and our state incentives are scheduled through 2020.
Our installation will be paid for after that time period.

So I agree, do your research for your state and particular power company with any alternative power.