doing Wind Energy Systems yourself

Wind energy systems can be installed by homeowners themselves provided they are mechanically inclined and have a solid grounding  in electrical systems. However, even if you have the aptitude to install your own wind turbine system there are a couple of good reasons you may want to consider having your local certified contractor do it for you.

To begin with many municipalities and counties require the person installing your system to be a locally licensed electrician, particularly if you are going with a system which connects to the electrical grid. Utility operators as well may, in some states, require you to be licensed before they will let you do the tie-in. Wind turbine systems are also fairly sophisticated electrical systems. Often local electrical contractors have to get support from other contractors who specialize in wind energy before installing a system. Wind energy contractors have often been specifically trained by the manufacturer in the installation of particular brands of wind turbines or inverter systems which gives them a unique advantage.

Another factor to consider is the installation of a tower.  For tilt-up style towers there are guy wire style towers with hand or electric winches that can be used to raise the tower.  Even with this you will probably need some help using the winch and making sure the tower is properly aligned. However, for larger towers you almost certainly need to hire a crane to raise the tower into position.

One option you may want to consider if you are planning on doing it yourself is to purchase one of the many pre-packaged wind turbine kits now available which include all of the components of a system such as the wind turbine, wind tower, guy wires, winches, inverters and control systems. These systems take away much of the guesswork of mixing and matching components and ensure that the components you pick will go together effectively. There are a lot of great resources and war stories available written by homeowners who have installed their own systems which can be invaluable in helping you avoid pitfalls in doing it yourself. Look in the EB Resources sections for books and magazines which provide just this type of information.