Wind Generators

[JohanBKK]

Hello,

I want to install a wind generator in my garden, i'm tired of the 10.000 baht electric bills every month.

Can i do this ? Do i need an autorization ? What is the max height ?

Thanks.

[stgrhe]

Contact the forum member Genset. He knows everything worth knowing about generators. Also you are better off in the real estate forum. Maybe you can ask a mod to move your post.

[sulasno]

have you consider solar power ?

[Naam]

i'm tired of the 10.000 baht electric bills every month.

Can i do this ?

sure you can... assuming you have a million Baht or two to waste, can afford the loss of revenue on your capital invested, save 500 Baht a month and bear cost of an additonal few thousand Baht a month on maintenance and depreciation.

my advice: take a deep breath, open a cold beer, relax and forget about the wind generator.

[JohanBKK]

Wind generators are not too expensive, in fact it's cheaper than solar energy. In maintenance i down know.

[sulasno]

solar power is maintenance free

[JohanBKK]

Solar cells are expensive. Wind generators are less expensive for the same result.

[sulasno]

prices for solar cells are coming down;

offhand 1 W is about 1.60 and should be down to a dollar soon

[JohanBKK]

0.10$ for 1W for wind energy.

[sulasno]

if it is really that cheap for wind power stick to wind power;

with solar at least you are assured of 6 -8 hours of sunshine except for the rainy season

[xen]

Would there be any reason you couldn't build your own with a wind vane connected to a old car alternator with a couple of car batteries for storage. You could run 12 volt LED lights and perhaps with an invertor run a few fans - nothing that draws too much power but would help with electricity bills a little bit.. Somebody with a bit more knowledge of electrity than me could tell you if it feasible.

[Naam]

Gentlemen,

the OP talks about 10,000 Baht electricity cost which means at least 50% (most probably more) of his consumption goes for airconditioning, pumps and other gadgets which draw very high starting as well as high running amps. storing wind or solar power for this kind of usage is extremely difficult and <deleted> expensive.

my advice: those without a solid technical background should refrain from making ridiculous suggestions. no insult intended! :jap:

[Naam]

Would there be any reason you couldn't build your own with a wind vane connected to a old car alternator with a couple of car batteries for storage. You could run 12 volt LED lights and perhaps with an invertor run a few fans - nothing that draws too much power but would help with electricity bills a little bit.. Somebody with a bit more knowledge of electrity than me could tell you if it feasible.

"little bit" is correct and what you described is feasible. but without a real impact on a 10k Baht electricity bill.

[Naam]

solar power is maintenance free

in your dreams yes. how long do storage batteries last? what is the cost of deep cycle batteries?

[juehoe]

i'm tired of the 10.000 baht electric bills every month

How you can get such a high bill...? What is your monthly power consumption and what you pay for the kWh ("unit")?

Perhaps it would better to start with reducing the power consumption first, before investing in sustainable energy. It would be cheaper at the end.

[JohanBKK]

We use arround 2300-2500 kwh per month. We have a huge swimming pool and a lot of electrical stuff running all day. We are not going to reduce our consumption.

I have a company in Hongkong and i could import wind generators for very cheap, if i keep my bills that high it will be profitable after only 2-3 years.

Maybe i should go for LPG generators ? i want to reduce the bill by 50%.

Edited September 26, 2011 by JohanBKK

[Naam]

Maybe i should go for LPG generators ? i want to reduce the bill by 50%.

there is no way to beat the price of the public grid supply Johan!

[juehoe]

We use arround 2300-2500 kwh per month. We have a huge swimming pool and a lot of electrical stuff running all day. We are not going to reduce our consumption. [...]

Reducing consumption doesn't means reduction in comfort. I try buying only energy-saving equipment. Our resort has a large pool, too. We now shut-off the pumps during night-time, which saves 25% of energy/cost without any influence on the water quality.

[hhfarang]

It's difficult here to live like I did in the west as far as electric goes. I have a very large property (land and house) with manicured gardens that need to be watered daily. I also have two large water features and a lot of in home appliances, besides the fact that I've never been able to get used to the heat and humidity here.

The first month we were in the house the electric bill was over 17k baht, which shocked me because I was only using one (of eight) aircons at at time for whatever room I was in. I moved here from Florida (same size house) and had central air with two large units that were running 24/7 keeping the entire house at 21 degrees C and I never had a bill that high there.

Anyway, I started asking questions of experts and tinkering and found that nearly half my bill was water pumps (we have 5). We have a Koi pond with a 2 meter waterfall and the builder had installed a very inefficient Chinese 5hp centrifugal pump. That alone, running 24/7 accounted for around 5k baht of my bill. I changed that out with a submersible 1/8th horsepower energy efficient pump (from Australia) which still powers the waterfall just fine. We also have a large decorative fountain that we were running 24/7, so we now cut that back to just a few hours in the evening so we can enjoy it before we go to bed. With some more tinkering with pumps, (the gardener was over watering, not only giving a high water bill but causing another pump to be running for nearly 8 hours every day) using energy saving light bulbs (several of which are on in the garden all night for security), raising the thermostat a few degrees on the aircons that I do use and our bill now averages 7k.

So, first, you need an expert to look at your appliances, pumps and aircons (and their usage) and you may find easier ways to cut your bill in half.

Edited September 27, 2011 by hhfarang

[Naam]

you need an expert to look at your appliances, pumps and aircons (and their usage) and you may find easier ways to cut your bill in half.

does it take an expert to determine that a 5HP (>3.5kWh) pump for a waterfall is idiotic? by the way, i have strong doubts that a toy of 1/8HP (less than 100 Watts) pump, no matter how efficient, can drive a waterfall to anybody's satisfaction. my waterfall has two 1.2HP efficient pool pumps and one barely makes it.

we too moved after 15 years in [Central] Florida to Thailand and i was quite disappointed how inefficient the single units are compared to our former central airconditioning (three systems/zones). but then we have not moved to Thailand, saving a bundle of IRS $$$, and

raising the thermostat a few degrees[/i]"] to sweat. thank you, but NO thank you! :jap:

[hhfarang]

does it take an expert to determine that a 5HP (>3.5kWh) pump for a waterfall is idiotic? by the way, i have strong doubts that a toy of 1/8HP (less than 100 Watts) pump, no matter how efficient, can drive a waterfall to anybody's satisfaction. my waterfall has two 1.2HP efficient pool pumps and one barely makes it.

I had never had such a water feature before, plus I did not know how much electricity cost here... I assumed, like most other things that it would be cheaper than Florida. The guy who built the thing put in the pump and not knowing anything about pumps or waterfalls I didn't realize what was happening until after the first electric bill... does that make me an idiot? Maybe, but I suspect you don't know everything about every aspect of building or living here or in Florida either... we learn by experience and that is no reason to call someone names.

You may be the idiot with your doubts about the 1/8th HP pump as it pushes plenty of water over the waterfall, not quite as much as the 5 hp but more than enough.

[afarang]

What interests me ,is that nobody has talked about "WIND" I live in Buriram ,and ,for sure ,there is nowhere near enough wind to drive A wind turbine,or even a windmill to pump water. Is Hua Hin different? Do you actually have 6 to 8 hours of wind,every day ,sufficiently strong to drive a turbine?

[sulasno]

I was told that wind power is more suitable for Phuket

[Naam]

does that make me an idiot?

of course not! i meant the idiot was your builder. sorry for the misunderstanding :jap:

[Naam]

You may be the idiot with your doubts about the 1/8th HP pump as it pushes plenty of water over the waterfall, not quite as much as the 5 hp but more than enough.

i might be an idiot but still intelligent enough to see on the picture you posted that the trickle cannot be called a "waterfall"