Harvesting The Wind And The Benefits For Residential Homeowners

Wind has an amazing strength; from mild spring zephyrs to mighty tornados, wind can cause damage, set a boat sailing or cool tropical areas. Now, thanks to advances in technology, wind can also power anything from a single home to large residential areas and beyond.

The number of companies interested in better ways to harvest the wind is rising, as is the number of those interested in wind turbines for their home. Why would a homeowner go to all the cost and trouble of buying and installing a wind turbine when there are all these electrical companies lying around? Here are some of the facts and benefits:

Cost and Payback

When considering whether to install a wind turbine in a residential area, cost is one of the main concerns, and rightly so. Not too long ago, small turbines could cost anywhere from $6,000 to $22,000 to be installed. Again, thanks to fantastic technology, some turbines cost as little as $1000, tower included.

While the largest concern is money, the largest benefit is money as well. Although the initial cost can be expensive depending on size and speed, homeowners with wind turbines notice a dramatic drop in energy costs. Typically, electric bills have lowered by as little as 50 percent and as much as ninety percent. Residences that use nothing but electricity have seen monthly utility bills as low as $8 a month for most of the year, and cooler parts of the country have seen those low utility costs year-round.

In addition, a residential wind turbine will produce excess energy over windy periods. Why is this good for the residential owner? Because the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), makes it possible for the homeowner to sell that excess energy to the local utility company. So, rather than you paying them, they pay you.

Wind Power Tax Credits and Incentives

Since 2008, residential wind turbines have been available for federal tax breaks and state incentives (in most states) with a $2,000 limit. However, in 2009, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act removed that limit on the tax credit. Now, the residential installation tax credit is 30 percent with no maximum, for cost, and has a credit of up to $500 per half kilowatt to 8 kilowatts.

In the end, a residential homeowner will end up paying less than that $1000 to $22,000 for wind turbine installation, due to tax credits, breaks and state incentives.

Property Value

Installation of a residential turbine can raise your property value as much as $24,000 or more. According to the National Appraisal Institute, the value of your home goes up by around $20 for each dollar you save on energy per year. So, if you save $1000 per year in energy costs, your property value goes up $20,000, without a property tax increase.

Overall Investment

Just in utility costs alone, harvesting the wind provides an excellent benefit to residential homeowners. A residential turbine can pay for itself within six to 15 years, or sooner, depending on initial cost and overall energy savings. With tax credits, breaks, incentives and higher property value factored in, the overall investment is equal to - or greater than - that of any other major home improvement.

Finally, remember the benefits to the environment, the main reason why the world is putting such stress on renewable energy systems. Wind power is completely clean energy; wind turbines produce no pollution, whatsoever. Offsetting approximately 1.2 tons of air pollutants and 200 tons of greenhouse gases over its 20-year (or longer) lifetime, a residential wind turbine is more than worth its weight in gold.ARI GreenEnergy.com is a manufacturer of wind generator technologies. Visit online today for a full line of wind turbines and solar technology solutions. Think green.