Islip says yes to windmills. Restrictions kill it though.

[NIKV69]

Well town of Islip tried to do the right thing by letting homeowners intall windmills in their yards but as one would expect code says no higher than 40 feet which defeats the purpose. Experts say it's not high enough to clear trees and reap the full rewards of the wind. So if the thing costs over 20 grand and your not saving at least enough to pay for the thing in 20 years doesn't make too much sense. I don't think you will see too many. Good try Islip.

[Midnight Mike]

Well town of Islip tried to do the right thing by letting homeowners intall windmills in their yards but as one would expect code says no higher than 40 feet which defeats the purpose. Experts say it's not high enough to clear trees and reap the full rewards of the wind. So if the thing costs over 20 grand and your not saving at least enough to pay for the thing in 20 years doesn't make too much sense. I don't think you will see too many. Good try Islip.

That is simply amazing, but, certainly not surprising!

Still find it amazing that Senator Edward Kennedy & gang killed a Windmill project, that would have supplied clean energy.

[T-Bird76]

I was reading the report on these "Backyard Windmills," It cost 23K to put up and the estimate was you would save about $700 a year in electric, IMO 32 years to break even on your investment isn't very attractive.

[NIKV69]

Yea I mean 15-20 years is a maybe but 40' just isn't enough. I think experts said 70' and higher to take full effect off the wind.

[moose135]

Yea I mean 15-20 years is a maybe but 40' just isn't enough. I think experts said 70' and higher to take full effect off the wind.
A couple of months ago, I saw a piece on the news about these windmills. They talked with a guy in upstate NY with a large windmill on his property. Even with a 50% rebate from NYS on the purchase price, it was still going to take 20+ years to recoup his investment. He had a decent sized piece of land - I imagine I would not be too happy if my next door neighbor put up a 70 foot tall windmill 100 feet away from my house, while my taxes are going to help pay for it. These really need to be larger scale projects that benefit the community, not one-off deals that benefit one and inconvenience the rest.

[Midnight Mike]

If the homeowner wants to pay for the windmill, don't see what the problem is :?: And as for the rebate from the power company, it is a good deal for them as there are going to be a lot of days where excess energy will go back on the power grid, assuming that lots of people do it.

As for the height, the higher the better to get the maximum bang for the buck with windmills....

And for those people that want to go green, they can put their money where their mouth is :wink:
http://www.wpix.com/landing/?Forget-The ... eedID=1404 (http://www.wpix.com/landing/?Forget-The-Electric-Bill--How-Does-a-Bac=1&blockID=154218&feedID=1404)

[Midnight Mike]

A couple of months ago, I saw a piece on the news about these windmills. They talked with a guy in upstate NY with a large windmill on his property. Even with a 50% rebate from NYS on the purchase price, it was still going to take 20+ years to recoup his investment. He had a decent sized piece of land - I imagine I would not be too happy if my next door neighbor put up a 70 foot tall windmill 100 feet away from my house, while my taxes are going to help pay for it. These really need to be larger scale projects that benefit the community, not one-off deals that benefit one and inconvenience the rest.

$20,000 for the windmill

Figure $100-$200 per month electric bill, using $150 as a number = $1800 per year
That would take about 12-15 years to pay it, assuming no rebate.....

I also imagine it would raise the re-sale of a house with a free energy supply...

[NIKV69]

A couple of months ago, I saw a piece on the news about these windmills. They talked with a guy in upstate NY with a large windmill on his property. Even with a 50% rebate from NYS on the purchase price, it was still going to take 20+ years to recoup his investment. He had a decent sized piece of land - I imagine I would not be too happy if my next door neighbor put up a 70 foot tall windmill 100 feet away from my house, while my taxes are going to help pay for it. These really need to be larger scale projects that benefit the community, not one-off deals that benefit one and inconvenience the rest.


Yea basically Islip knew if they were installed at thte proper height of 70' or more it's an eye sore and a visual nightmare to the people that pay the higher taxes to live in suburbia. I mean nobody is going to install one on a private residence at that height. Makes no sense. If it cost 5-7 grand and the cost effectiveness was different maybe but I think just cutting back on usage would give you the same benefit. I have to say this decision from Islip makes me wonder if it was just PR.


Figure $100-$200 per month electric bill, using $150 as a number = $1800 per year
That would take about 12-15 years to pay it, assuming no rebate.....



This is all relative, many factors are at play here. You don't know how much wind you are going to get at any given time and 20k is way too much as an initial investment. Many won't pay and some can't afford it. I don't think you are going to save 1800 a year it seems like the most you will save is 600-800. If your not allowed to erect one at the proper height it's a waste. Most codes in towns like Islip won't let you have something that high. It would look horrible.