What is Digg?15 Comments
- gothsquirrel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I want one, Just hope it lasts long enough to pay for itself.
- GrinningFool, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3With no battery, why the hell would it cost $8000 - $10000?
- peritonlogon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The math is certainly lacking, and we do have to trust the cost estimate, but, let's say the turbine creates $1000 worth of electricity per year (differing wildly depending on kWh price and amt. of wind) and lasts 20 years on average without needing repairs, then we have.
$10,000*20=$20,000
$20,000- $10,000(cost) = $10,000
$10,000/20(years)=$500
which is $500 of savings per year. Now certainly the math is lacking and I have no idea whether this is hopeful or conservative, but, come on, let's at least come up with problematic math that fits the scenario, instead of math that is simply problematic. - AstroSnail, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"With a typical cost of $8,000 to $10,000 to purchase and install, Skystream 3.7 can pay for itself in 5 to 12 years. This payback period will vary and can be much quicker in states with investment rebates. It’s anticipated that Skystream 3.7 will save the average homeowner $500 to $800 per year"
Hmmm...The math here is lacking a few important numbers...
(max price)/(min savings) = $10000/$500/yr = 20 years
(min price)/(max savings) = $8000/$800/yr = 10 years - nTensify, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"Yea that's the problem with those payback estimates. If the thing needs serious repair five years down the road after they stop manufacturing this model because the technology has changed, what will it cost to repair it?"
Repair a ***** fan? What could POSSIBLY go wrong with a fan that wouldn't be user serviceable? I could see a freak windstorm breaking a blade or something, but I'm certain you could not only get replacement blades and install them yourself, you could probably just mold one yourself or repair the previous one with some epoxy. Alternator die? Apart from being extremely unlikely in the duration of time (seeing as alternators usually only have a single moving part (the shaft) and consist of nothing but a bunch coil of wires and magnets), I'm certain either your homeowner's insurance or the company's own warrantee would cover it (what, you'd honestly buy something like this without a warrantee? Out $10,000 and the only option of repair being replacing the alternator..though I honestly still can't think of a scenario where it'd fail). - nTensify, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Because designing a fan that will stand up to various conditions, designing an alternator that will generate the maximum amount of power over a great deal of wind conditions, and building a way to smooth the power generation of the device (most likely if NOT using batteries they use capacitors), it all adds up.
Sure, it's simple to do on a non-commercial scale, where you can just stick a fan bolted to a car alternator on a pole and make power, but when you're wanting to sell hundreds, if not thousands, of these devices, you need to make it economically worth your while, and worth your consumer's while. Believe it or not, wind power generation is actually a competitive business (as are most things expensive), which keeps innovation on the high, and margins on the low. In designers, engineers (electrical, fluids, aerodynamics, meteorological, and structural sciences are all taken in account for), and marketers.. you quickly see where the money for these things go. Luckily, as they build more of them, the price-per-unit falls, and it becomes more attractive over time. - DWatch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The electronics to tie it into the grid are provided with the unit, making it more expensive than a simple battery charging unit. A battery bank would probably cost less than the components needed to legally tie this into a utility grid.
- superal1394, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It is so windy around my house, Get two of em and I could sell back to the grid.
- nTensify, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The problem is, power generation using fans and solar are incredibly variable (for most setups).
If you live in a coastal area, you will generate a great deal more wind energy, and if that costal region happens to be California, you could not only save a great deal in taxes, but in energy costs as well. A system that could easily pay for itself in 5 years in California could easily take 20 years to do the same in Tennessee or Georgia (where the foothills would sap a great deal of the wind's overall potential for low-altitude fans).
I'm sure their pricing model is generated across a wide spectrum of houses and conditions, and the numbers they quote are simply there NOT to boggle the minds of those who don't understand the dynamics behind it. These things can be rather expensive to design and build, so it's rather smart to work out the economics of it way in advanced. - Realitybits, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Consider peak oil, and the enevitiable rising of energy prices (barring some unlikely miracle technological breakthrough.
- DiggidtyDog, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1could the video be any smaller??
- captainpete, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Yea that's the problem with those payback estimates. If the thing needs serious repair five years down the road after they stop manufacturing this model because the technology has changed, what will it cost to repair it?
- seefoodiet, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1ignorance is surely bliss.....have a great July the 4th.....
- HabboX, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1There's nothing new here. Just an advertisement for a windmill for generating electricity. Guys, this technology has been around since the late 1800's and it hasn't changed much.
- CarbonRod, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0"It is so windy around my house,"
Less beans -- your friends will thank you.
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