install windmill and convert from oil burner furnace to electric

I'm no engineer but here's my question; we have a log home, approx 3,500 sq ft in PA, we have a great location for a windmill and I'm seriously considering installing a windmill that can augment and hopefully replace most of my oil usage. the oil burner feeds a hot water baseboard system with 7 zones. We use the zones to heat only what we need but it's still getting expensive. I'm not looking to necessarily come out ahead, breaking even on the installation of a windmill over 10 to 15 years and sending less $$ to the Middle East would be very satisfying to me.

Are there ways to convert the oil burner to electric, from some of the other postings that does not look feasible. Would it be better to put some large electric heater in the basement with heat rising throughout the house to reduce oil usage? Installing all electric baseboard is probably not feasible in a log home, wiring would be difficult and I don't think I have the capacity in the existing electric panel.

Any advice is appreciated. Keith Wolf Northeast PA

Reply to
keithwolf
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I would sell the power back to the grid if they allow it first or you will need batteries and an inverter.

Reply to
ransley
15 years ago oil was about $.80 a gallon so it was more cost effective than electric heat. Now, with oil over $4.00 a gallon it would seem that electric heat (electricity hasn't gone up all that much) would make sense. I am thinking of buying several portable electric heaters to supplement my furnace next winter.

---MIKE---

Reply to
---MIKE---

You can't convert an oil furnace, you have to replace it.

Reply to
zzyzzx

Electricity will go up as does oil, oil may come down alot someday. Electric rate increases take time. You have to compare the cost of fuels per BTU to know what makes sence today. Electric space heaters are cheap and might help out alot. In 5-10 years oil could be cheaper and your electric company may have gotten its rate increases through. T Boone Pickens is investing something like 1-10 Billion in wind farms, if you have the wind, use it if you can sell back to the grid. Maybe you have oil underground too, alot do and at todays prices its worth looking into. A guy in Seymore Ind was on Tv showing his $100,000 rig that pumps 2-3 barrel a day.

Reply to
ransley

New Hampshire

I'd start by investigating the cost of the windmill part of the equation. There was an article in the local paper about windmill sizes, height, etc. As I recall, a modest size generator producing around 6KW, needed about a 25+ ft diameter blade and was typicall mounted on a 100 ft tower. That doesn't sound too practical to me. But I'm sure you can find cost and other info online. And find out about how much money you can get by selling power back to your utility. Then you can estimate the economics of the generation part of the equation.

On the furnace side, I'd say you'd want to put an electrically heated boiler in parallel with the existing furnace. That way, when the wind isn't blowing, you could use oil. Putting simple electric heaters in the basement and hoping that heat will rise is a non-starter. Most of the heat will be lost in the basement.

Reply to
trader4

Don't worry. Of the 400 million bbls/month we import, only about 80 million (20%) comes from the Persian Gulf area. Much more comes from Canada and Mexico.

Reply to
HeyBub

If you do not have the capacity for electric baseboard heat in your panel, you do not have the capacity for any kind of electrical heat except possibly a heat pump. Baseboard heat is very efficient since all of the electricity is converted to heat and it is directly in the rooms where needed. A heat pump is more efficient unless the outside temperature is very low.

It is very unlikely that you can install and maintain a windmill system large enough to generate adequate power for home heating. If available, the electric utility is nearly always the cheapest source for large amounts of power.

Don Young

Reply to
Don Young

Converting the boiler is not simple, but you can put in assorted electric heaters to replace or supplement the windmill. Given that it is a mechanical device, it will eventually wear and break. and need repair Good to have that oil on hand at that time.

First step is to find out what restrictions may apply. Here in CT a fellow put in a windmill, but the town made him take it down as it was too high and violated zoning regulations.

Good luck, I hope it works for you.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

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And it isn't just speed, it's the time-integral. In dead winter and midsummer it is highly likely there are significant periods of very little wind. Summer may not be such a load-saving time in PA, but winter won't help much if it's normally nearly calm during that time of year.

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Reply to
dpb

I'd measure the windspeed first. IIRC, PA is the 2nd least windy state in the US.

A 10 kW windmill (eg Bergey's, about $40K with a grid-tie inverter and tower) would produce 60 kWh/day at 25% capacity in good winds, something like 2 gallons of oil. Or maybe 6, with a heat pump, or 10, with a water source heat pump.

Nick

Reply to
nicksanspam

I am in pittsburgh, my best friend erected a 14 foot blade windmill in

1960, its a nice yard ornament and never produced a impressive amount of power. it charges a bank of 12 volt batteries

just drive by most windmills randomly in your travels, most wouldnt be moving or turning slowly.

heating from wind just doesnt pay off.

my best friend has occasional visitors, his unit can be seen from Interstate 279. people come with great expectations and leave sad...

Reply to
hallerb

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote: ...

The large wind farm turbines are designed to turn slowly--28.5 rpm is a common design speed.

Whether wind generation is economical is like real estate--location, location, location...

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Reply to
dpb

most dont turn at all inb winds under 10 MPH,

sync troubles with lines, wear and little power,

OP might do better if he owns enough land with mineral rights to get a oil well with gas drilled on his property.

owners usually get free natural gas plus 11.5 percent of sales.........

a casual friend had a oil well drilled on his property and gets free natural gas heating.

Reply to
hallerb

Then there are always the NIMBYs. A private investor group with no government subsidy (shocking I know) wanted to install windmills near here. There is a development that is filled with giant McMansions with multiple fluffed up trucks in the driveway where some influential people live. Even though the proposed farm was 7 miles away from them they managed to enact a convoluted zoning change to protect *their* view.

Reply to
George

Probably too late to loose 1,500 sq ft I would imagine?

Reply to
George

Doh...

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Reply to
dpb

Once upon a time in Texas, there were significant legal battles over water rights between land owners on opposite sides of a boundary creek.

Now I hear there are places in Texas where there's not enough wind for two windmills.

This leads to court battles between adjacent land owners over wind rights.

So, the weather's a factor.

Reply to
HeyBub

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