Windmill Power

By Doug Geed

  When someone says "windmill" you probably conjure up an image of an old-fashioned wood-shingled structure from the olden days -- the ones used to grind cornmeal. 

   While they are nice to look at, they don't do much in terms of providing power for our homes today.

   But more modern windmills do. Long Island towns are taking a closer look at how they might be beneficial. In Southold, they just passed an ordinance earlier this year allowing their construction on farmland parcels that are 7 acres or larger.

    But many homeowners are looking to install them as well and so the town is considering new regulations that allow windmills on smaller residential properties.

    There are downsides -- they stick into the air 30, 45 or 60 feet or higher. (The higher you go, the stronger the winds and the greater the benefit.) They also aren't cheap -- a 45-foot tall one can cost about 20-to-25-thousand dollars to install. (There may be some incentives and rebates available however.) And of course, you have to live in a windy location -- near an open field, by the water or high on a hill. If conditions are right, I'm told the wind alone can provide up to half the annual use of an average house here on Long Island. In rough terms, that's about 14-hundred dollars a year in savings. (You do the math to see if it's worth it -- your initial investment divided your annual savings.) But there's no question our country is looking for different ways to provide power and it just may be that we as Long Islanders have to get used to a new part of our landscape.     Here are some links that provide information about installing windmills where you live. 

http://www.e2sys.com/

http://gosolar.com/