Windmill or not to windmill,that is the ?

[rayyy]

In researching these small,back yard wind turbines,I have read a lot of good news and alot of bad news.Anyone got one up and running and what's your experience been

?

[sprinkle pocket]

We had one up for years but we never did get around to getting it high enough and permanently set up. It is very cool to see it turning and knowing its supplementing the Pv panels.. It depends on your site and which one you get, ykwim? And the guy wires take up alot of space but are so very important. We are thinking we will sell the three we have and get one big one. These are only 8 feet across. Well, somehing like that. Cant remember exactly. Two were never installed. Want to buy them? LOL
What is your site like? Are you totally off the grid electrically?

[FarmerBeth]

Subbing.  This is our long term plan (we hope within three years) and we are veering toward a large turbine rather than a few small ones.  I would love to hear how this has worked for others.

[annethcz]

I just can't see the economics working long term.  We have seriously discussed the possibility, we live on the prairie and wind is nearly constant.  But we're already connected to the grid, and our electric co-op provides the opportunity to buy electricity that comes from wind farms for a small additional fee.  When we look at our ecomics, for us this is what makes the most sense.  We've compared the cost of windmills and the cost of electricity from the grid.  Most of the info I've found indicate that the life of most residential windmils are not sufficient for people to recoup their investments. 

If I lived in an area where all of my grid electricity came from coal-fired plants, I might feel differently.