(Note – this post is from March 2008 – things have changed. Please see the bottom of this article for links to more recent wind power posts )
Don’t look now but it appears residential renewable energy systems and wind power technology are getting cheaper. California based Freetricity’s E2D Windmaster is a roof-mounted small residential wind turbine that comes with an affordable price tag. Though it sports a small propeller that could prove hazardous to hummingbirds and the like (though its size and roof mounting will reduce bird and animal interactions) and it doesn’t look like it could withstand hurricane-force winds, the price and benefits may make it worth exploring. (some comments below indicate otherwise)
From their press release (via: newswire)
“Freetricity introduces the all-new WindMaster, a roof mounted micro wind turbine that can generate enough energy to turn your electric meter backwards. Reasonably priced the WindMaster is small enough to be used in urban areas yet powerful enough to lower electric bills 25%-50%, or more.
WindMaster is available in four different power packages. The Grid Connects unique design is the most convenient system and supplies the most kilowatt-hours of power of all the packages. Simply mount the wind turbine to your roof, wire it to the grid connect inverter, and wire the inverter into the supply panel. The power generated by the WindMaster is supplied to your homes supply panel first; however, if it generates more power than you are currently using it will spin your meter backwards. Your electric company will then give you credit or cash for the power you generate.
The 12-Volt, 24 and 48-Volt packages are battery-based systems. They charge the battery first then supply the users home with the stored voltage and current through a DC to AC inverter. The 12-Volt Basic package is the starter system and because it is easy to regulate the output of the WindMaster, it can be upgraded to any other E2D system. This upgrade ability applies to all system packages and is unique to the renewable industry.
The WindMaster is weather-resistant and constructed of high-impact, powder-coated steel and comes with a five-year warranty. This unique system can also be used as a stand-alone backup system for electrical blackout and /or brownouts.”
The larger 48volt model produces 300 to 400 kwh per month with 6 hours of 12mph wind a day. Models range in price from $1,399 (12v) to $2,299 (48V) @ freetricity.com
Note: There have been some questions by readers regarding this company’s business practices – see comments.
Related: altcon posts on wind power
powerhouse wind’s single blade residential turbine
small wind – Finland’s Windside Off-grid Turbines
Swift Wind Turbine- quiet rooftop windpower
Windspire – affordable wind power
aerotecture international – urban wind power
RSS
When I first saw this system, what struck me was the rudimentary design of the blade system. The foils appear to have no twist, little camber, little tapering, no winglets, no cone, no advanced concepts whatsoever, and appear to be riveted at the root. This thing looks like a hunk of junk that would fly itself apart over 50 kts. Very suspect IMHO.
I stumbled onto this BB after having read about the freetricity wind turbine.
I emailed freetricity and asked if they had a system that could be mounted on an existing tri-tower that had been used for a TV antenna when my wife and I first moved into our home 32 years ago. The tower in 30 ft high and in good condition, so why not use it?
They wrote back and told me that they would have a grid system that would mount onto my existing tower in about 90 days.
So, I’ll wait and see, unless something else comes along before then.
Compared to other wind systems out there, this one seems almost unbelievably cheap in price.
I would love to get an actual testimony from someone who has used this system for 6 months or so to get a good reading on just how productive it is.
Terrance says that he sent part of his system back to upgrade it to a grid system. Have you received your upgrade yet Terrance ?
And, is it up and running yet ?
By nature, I am a skeptic.
I’m no mathematician, I’m a retired Postmaster, so throwing around numbers doesn’t do much for me.
I’m a simple guy living in West Virginia and as the old saying goes, ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating’.
Certainly there has to be someone somewhere who has used the freetricity system and can comment on it’s effectiveness or lack thereof?
Stephen, I think you answered your own question in relation to Freetricity. If this was a legit product, you would be hearing some believable testimony from people. Instead, you hear hyperbole from Freetricity itself and a few others questionable defenders on here and some other forums. When someone hits them with a legitimate scientific or mathamatical equation on how these things can’t do what their claiming, they call it faulty math, or just totally ignore the question. The whole thing sounds suspect to me, but hey, it’s your money.
I don’t tend to be foolish with my money, Wendy.
And I won’t be in this case either.
As I said, I’m no mathematician so I don’t know whose math is ‘faulty’ or not.
Just looking for information at this point.
I found another site Pacwind.net, which sells vertical axis wind turbines.
No prices shown, and I don’t know anything about this company either, so I’d be anxious to know if anyone has heard of them as well.
I smell a rat! I think I would have to agree with Troy: Terrance is probably Freetricity and is a scam artist. Having run a business for 10 years now, I know that if I had someone berating my customer base like this guy, his ass would have been on the street long ago. Even if this product is legit, I wouldn’t buy it. Why would I deal with a company this shady?
Well stated Frank. I’m with you on this. Troy has nothing to lose like he has said. When Christ comes again all things will be made right. It’s just having to endure these unfortunate life experiences that can be such a pain sometimes. Make no mistake about it, all will have to stand before GOD and be accountable for their own works one day if they do not accept Christ as their Savior and repent of their sins. Part of repentance is to admit wrong doing another part is to never repeat it again and again.
Steve
If you go to http://www.networksolutions.com and search for “freetricity.com” under WHOIS you will see this:
Visit AboutUs.org for more information about FREETRICITY.COM
AboutUs: FREETRICITY.COM
Registration Service Provided By: NetFronts Inc
Contact: dnsadmin@netfronts.com
Visit: http://www.netfronts.com/domain/renewdomain.htm
Domain name: FREETRICITY.COM
Registrant Contact:
Freetricity
Free Tricity (mail@freetricity.com)
+1.8004443245
Fax:
41707 Winchester Road
Temecula, CA 92590
US
Administrative Contact:
Freetricity
Free Tricity (mail@freetricity.com)
+1.8004443245
Fax:
41707 Winchester Road
Temecula, CA 92590
US
Technical Contact:
Netfronts Inc.
DNS Admin (support@netfronts.com)
+1.8014970878
Fax: +1.8019918889
459 North 300 West
Kaysville, 84037
US
Status: Locked
Name Servers:
NS1.startlogic.com
NS2.startlogic.com
Creation date: 30 May 2005 21:01:02
Expiration date: 30 May 2008 21:01:02
I don’t know if they’re REALLY at this address in Temecula, California but their domain name will EXPIRE on May 30, 2008 unless they extend it!
Also, I don’t think their design will work very well. It looks more like a sculpture than a real wind power system IMHO.
And if they rip-off a retired postal worker they may just end up in PRISON!
Terrance,
Its been about a month since you were on here spouting off about buying and receiving your Windmaster and then nothing since. What’s up?
Have you still not received your upgrade yet after a month. If this is the case, then that sounds suspicious. A company that cannot provide an upgrade component in a months time has some problems. Or is it that your Windmill isn’t doing as advertised and you don’t want to come on here and admit it. Which is it?
For some info. on the turbines in Coachella, it would be wise to look into the facts. Originally those were put in for investors for a tax write off. In the course of there lives those windmills have constantly broke down! The cost and maintenance has not been a positive cash flow, unless you consider taking a loss for tax purposes positive. I would say they have been good for technology and used for experimental purposes, not to mention that the wind blows there constantly
Look like Troy’s little fraud about Freetricity has been exposed. From Marshall at Moving Like Water:
“*** Hilarious Alert ***
Troy … the main crybaby and one who screams scam about Freetricity WAS OFFERED A REFUND a couple of weeks ago and >>> TURNED IT DOWN!
Now you all know the true character of that “gentleman”!
And for all you other whiners out there … the WindMaster was only released in late March. Given the time to receive one 4-6 weeks just how many positive reviews could have been posted by now?
Especially given what anti-new anything this site is? Someone (like me) posts positive info about it and I get jumped on! You people are amazing … but go ahead and keep your heads in the sand… I hear it’s much cooler there!”
Oh what a woven web you weave hey Troy?
Hey Terrance, Interesting how you and Marshal coordinate.
As to Freetricity’s offer it was ridiculous and it was made after I had sent my filing to small claims. At this point I am happy to let the judge work out the web. Afterwards you can post those results in here and the argument will be over one way or the other.
TERRANCE THE WINDMASTER IS NEW BUT WHAT ABOUT THE E2D 300,600 AND 1200 WHY IS THER NOT 1 WORD OF TESTAMONY ABOUT HOW WONDERFUL THEY ARE
NOT 1 WORD
Sounds like 2 guys should just take their bickering elsewhere. As for the Skeptic, It takes a certain amount of energy for a 200 lb person to go 1 mile up a 30% incline. He can use a single speed bike and I’ll use a 10 speed mountain bike. I can give him a web site to figure out the calculation how much energy is needed. I agree with Paul, there are enough regulators to shut down Freetricity if they are not real and are a scam. I checked the BBB and they have had 13 disputes and have a CCC rating. Does a scammer get that type of rating from the BBB? I don’t know much about the BBB, but I doubt it. I bought a Toyota Prius several years ago. Took a lot of ridicule from friends, read Hybrids aren’t worth the price. Looked on the Internet saw how Toyota was chastised for its development in the 80s. It is the ONLY car I’ve ever bought I will have saved money on gas and can resale for more then I paid for the car. I’m not selling it by the way! I live in a state that has one of the lowest prices for electricity so my pay off on any type of renewable energy is very long. I’m looking to save a little part of the environment, just like I did with the Prius. I hope that the windmill is valid and can reach into residential neighborhoods, so others can both be able to afford it and help also. I suspect that the claims on the KW hours per month are over stated, but have you ever looked on the stickers on the car for estimated MPG?
I agree with Tim, wow its just a f–king turbine trying to save some form of the environment. Americans really are f–ked up.
Nice article.
It is good to see that renewable energy sources and wind turbines in particular are getting more coverage now that there setup costs are coming down in price.
Has anyone checked with the California Energy Commission on any of their products being approved? To receive a rebate in my state it has to be on that list. Seems like most states go with what California decides, ie: known to the state of California to cause cancer; California thinks it will turn your teeth green; them thinks the contents of this package could be hazardous to your health, etc. My state let’s them lead the way!
Or checked the Underwriters Laboratory for the UL-1741 approval “they have received”.
I’m just jumping in to this discussion and I am an admitted newbie about residential wind power and Freetricity. However, I must say that I am baffled by the hostility some people exhibit toward the notion of augmenting one’s power supply by wind. Maybe the hostility is only directed at what is perceived to be a suspected scam, but it doesn’t seem like it. I get the feeling from these posts that some of the anger is directed toward anyone who claims that residential wind power is viable. If that’s the case, then that makes no sense.
I would love to be able to mount a turbine on my roof and reduce (or, better yet, eliminate) my electricity costs. Good for me, good for America, good for the environment. Whether or not this particular company has the capability to accomplish this or not, I dunno. But I have to believe that residential wind power is well within our grasp. My great-granparents used wind power to pump water on the farm. That was like a hundred years ago.
bottom line, does anyone have one installed? can anyone post valuable info on how it operates and ROI?
I would not call $2800 the “lap of luxury”, most residential homes are paying $300 per month or more in electricity costs. If you can reduce that by $100 per month, you can pay for this system in under 3 years, a pretty nice payback period. And, I have seen systems that cost $10 grand installed.
I called Freetricity today before I saw any negative postings….I’m glad I did my homework like a good boy should. I would have dumped money into this unit and been bent over in the end. For the skeptics goto BBB.com and type in Freetricity. You will find comments on poor business practices and a “D” rating.
Rich,
The people who exhibit hostility about wind power are the same people who believe that we can drill our way out of our current oil problems, don’t think our climate is in crisis and insist that driving a monster SUV is a personal finance decision that affects no one but themselves.
As with anything else, time will prove them wrong in the end.
I’m also happy to see that some companies are attempting to make wind power affordable for the little guys.
I don’t think anyone is hostile about going green in the scheme of things, just question the company products and ethics of those trying to get us there. Just would like to have the specific companies product backed up. Like my questions of June 25th, where is the quality backup information. Some of the older established companies have their UL and CEC credentials on line. This company has none nor is it in the works of those who certify generators, regulators. etc.
I had filed a small claims suit against Carl Vetts/Vettes/Veters and had a court date of Aug. 1. My intent was to not post until that case was over and then simply report the outcome. However Carl avoided the summons so I have now had him served in person and gotten a new court date of Oct. 2. I will post that outcome.
Just to clairify. This is not about or against wind or any green energy. I am all for it and am actively looking for and testing to see if I can find a usable turbine. I worked with the freetricity turbine for six months trying to get it to work. I think that answers another question asked above. Yes I had the unit mounted and no it did not work. Not at all. This is about letting people know that this is not a working product and from my experience with it I do not think it has ever been intended as a working product. His BBB rating is now a D. As I said I will report the outcome of the trial and then it is up to you.
Been a few months since I last posted here, and to be honest, am no closer to finding an affordable turbine system with good marks than I was back in May.
I think everyone here have gotten the message that Freetricity is pretty much a bum company and that we all should avoid it like the clap.
That being said,
Does ANYONE here have a turbine installed, know someone personally who does have one installed, or can provide factual figures on costs and return?
Check out our latest post on the Windspire turbine.
http://www.alternativeconsumer.com/2008/08/04/windspire-wind-power-at-an-affordable-price/ It costs about $5,000 and has been independently tested.
Does anyone know what Jay Leno has mounted on his automobile warehouse? He raved about it on a History/Discovery/Learning Channel special on renewable resources. He says he powers his entire warehouse and then some with the units he has mounted on the roof. Granted, he gets tremendous amounts of wind generated from the jets as they take off, being right next to the airport. Seems to me that the vertical axis windmills are more efficient and can be smaller than the traditional propellor type.
Ryan,
I watched the same thing about Leno, and I do believe he has one of these Windspire generators. The one thing I remember though is I believe they were talking about it being more in the range of $20,000 to $30,000. Maybe it was a much larger one than the one they have for $5,000.
‘It costs about $5,000 and has been independently tested.’
Ok…
Assuming an additional $2,500 for installation and rewiring your house to run a ‘net’ electrical box,
etc.
And with a production rate of 2,000 KWH per year, how long does that take to recoup your $7,500 investment at the average National KWH cost for electricity ?
Pac Wind is the company that designed the turbine Leno uses. They have several models to choose from.
It is interesting that claims by Freetricity about the E2D Windmaster are significantly greater than any competitor makes about their own micro turbine but they seem unwilling to subject them to any independent tests.
They also do not advertise the product through any of the established websites and communities that cater to wind power professionals or serious hobbyists. You would think it’s superior performance would be appreciated by people with direct knoledge of the topic. But instead they seem to target their marketing directly to people with little or no knowledge of wind power.
Example, look at any small turbine being sold on the internet and they will show you a “power graph” for each unit. A chart where the vertical axis is measured in watts produced and the horizontal axis indicates at what wind speed. The E2D WindMaster has a power graph as well, but it shows volts produced at given RPM number with no indication of what wind speed is needed for the unit to perform at that level. Voltage is not power(watts). A Van de Graaff generator produces incredible voltage numbers at fairly low RPMs but very little real power, which is why they can make your hair stand on end without frying you.
All Freetricity needs to do to silence most of their critics is to take their product to NREL’s test site or any of the other reputable independent testing facilities and prove once and for all what their E2D Windmaster really can do. The longer they refuse to do so the more some people will think they have something to hide.
To anyone thinking about purchasing a wind turbine, please educate yourself before buying. wind-works.org is a fine place to start. I am willing to bet the more you learn about the topic the less attractive Freetricty’s products will be to you.
Good post helpful stranger. I think the people being critical on here of anyone questioning Freetricity’s motives need to know that we are not anti-green. Quite the opposite. We just don’t want people to get ripped off, and that is good possibility if you buy their product. I also agree with you about them trying to market their products to people who have none or very little knowledge of renewable enery. But to their credit, it does make their jobs easier, right.
I want something to power my garage, nothing to big and I did my homework. I’m not going to pay more than $1,000 for a system and decided to go with windblue’s breeze for $439.00. I don’t want to hook this up to my grid, I want to charge 6 deep cycle batteries and hook up an inverter I bough years ago for camping. I saw on youtube where a guy built his own and runs his entire shop with it. He built his from parts from windbluepower.com I went there to find the parts and they have an entire kit for about what I was going to spend on the parts.
I expect this Freetricity’s windmill would have worked fine, you can pick up parts and charge controllers anywhere unless these have special connectors.
My next plan is to hook up a $200.00 solar panel from Harbor Freight. I’m going to charge another bank and use it for lights only.
My goal is to cut cost and I’m doing that as cheap as possible! One bonus check at a time.
After reading all 83 comments, I think I’m going to check out pacwind. I’d like to thank you all for the entertainment and you might be getting a call from me Troy as I too am interested in the wind energy market. Good luck with your lawsuit.
Court update:
I had promissed to report the outcome of the Oct.2 trial. I am sorry to say that this is just an update. As has been the standard with Freetricity, Carl came to court with nothing but excuses and begging for it to be delayed.
Starting in Jan. Carl has been telling anyone that would listen that he was suing me. Since that never happened. I finally filed on him and had an Aug. court date. He avoided that by dodging the certified mail summons sent by the court. I then got the Oct. court date and Carl was served by an actual process server. Due to Carl dodging the Aug. date the Alabama distributor was able to file against Carl, have him served by the same process server, and get the same Oct court date. That allowed us both to be there when Carl came in alone and claimed that he had just found out about the trial three days before. He had no idea about it. The judge sort of smacked that down however me and the other plaintiff had received advice from the court to list both Carl and the company since he had used an alias when setting it up. It turns out that this is bad advice and the judge granted Carl the continuance he asked for based on that incorrect title line. New court date of Nov 6. where I am sure Carl will again try some sort of trick. Of course the delays have sort of worked out for me so far. Flying is no real trouble for me or the Alabama distributor and the golf is great out there year round. We had a very nice round while we were there this time. So we will just keep showing up and reporting Nov. 6, Dec 6, Jan. Whatever it takes.
One thing everyone here seems to be forgetting – cost is relative, and there is a benefit that is incalculable using math – the benefit of telling the coal-fired electric utilities to shove their coal where the sun don’t shine (or just leave it in the ground where it belongs). I drive a hybrid car not because I ever expected it to pay for itself, but because I can see some small savings in gas, but a BIG payoff by telling the oil companies to drink their oil (or at least a little bit of it). Being green is not all about economics. It’s a lot about making a statement.
Butch
I can to this site looking for helpful info on a subject that was new and unfamiliar to me. After reading some of the entries I am disgusted with the attitude, arguing, bickering, and disrespectful behavior of adults. Guys – it is the internet – please keep in mind that the info received must be filtered as you do not know who is posting it, if it is verified, of accurate at all. There is no point in lowering yourselves to the behavior you have engaged in. Now I am leaving this site without obtaining any useful info at all only the impression that perhaps I should wait a few years until there is more info available from more mainstream & traditional sources.
Like Andrea, I was also looking for informed, helpful and intelligent insight about a subject. Instead I found bickering children. That input I can obtain at home from my own bickering children.
Like Andrea, I think I will wait until the market “matures”.
Court update II
Well folks lace up your dancing shoes. I did indeed witness another round of the Freetricity shuffle otherwise known as the “Dance a Little Sidestep”. For the third time I was ready to let the judge hear the facts and decide the case. Again however Carl came up with a way to delay and dodge. He did file a $2,084,000 limited civil suit against me. This action basically trumps the smaller cases and sets a new hearing date in May of 09. This is the same tactic that Carl has used in every aspect of our dealings. Delay for as long as possible. In the Vettes world of “bad publicity” is better than no publicity, every week he can delay is another week he can sell his wares.
Who cares homes?
Mariah Power also makes an affordable 3 kW wind turbine called the Windspire that has a Plug-n-produce feature for immediate production (as well as traditional installation) and can start in very low winds, according to their website: http://mariahpower.com
Here’s a pic:
I guess you missed the Windspire link on the post above. Here’s our latest on Windspire:
http://www.alternativeconsumer.com/2008/08/04/windspire-wind-power-at-an-affordable-price/
I work in the power generation industry here in North America. Wind power is a good alternative power source but without gov’t subsidies it is a financial loser. It is primarily used for peak demand and is not considered reliable for base loading. That is left to the large steam and nuclear power generators that can produce anywhere from 600-1300 mW per unit. Why do power companies invest in Wind? Because they have to for political correctness, to show their commitment to the environment, for the tax breaks, for the clean air credits that they can get and trade for cash and to allow them to continue to run “dirty” coal units longer to delay having to invest billions in clear air equipment.
Residential units are likely to be more reliable than the large industrial units since they are smaller but they should not be viewed as a financial investment. The value is in independence and commitment to a better environment at what we hope will be cost neutral if not a little payback over the long term.
Without investment the technology won’t improve. But for today don’t forget that coal is king in this country. There are many european countries that use a high percentage of wind power, some as much as 80% of their total demand but none come even close to the total wind generation in the US at something less than 6% of our total consumption. Wind generation can’t come close to meeting our growth demands let alone cut into our base load requirments. We are consumers and pollutors.
It comes down to asking yourself, “How committed am I to improving our environment and making myself energy independent?”
WELL, I am just another VICTIM of FREETRICITY scam. Please help get my money back. If you can provide any info it would be great.
SUCKERS!!!!!!!!!,BUILD YOUR OWN AND YOU WON T BE DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS SHIT THEY ARE SELLING TODAY!!!
links dead , article failed!
anyone know there new link?
quote taken from steve “Well stated Frank. I’m with you on this. Troy has nothing to lose like he has said. When Christ comes again all things will be made right. It’s just having to endure these unfortunate life experiences that can be such a pain sometimes. Make no mistake about it, all will have to stand before GOD and be accountable for their own works one day if they do not accept Christ as their Savior and repent of their sins. Part of repentance is to admit wrong doing another part is to never repeat it again and again.
Steve” Quote end<–
steve you do know even though you probably know and choose to neglect the information, that religion is just a form of government. just like governments today they create and build the evidence as a way of policing people and providing some sort of hope that they can thrust upon our figment of our imagination called heaven which is also just another form of control by corporations etc.
god…you must feel really stupid, theres even goverment documents that explain this lol.
That’s a first. Warren Zevon made the connection between “Lawyers, guns and money” and now I guess we have “God, government and wind turbines.”
Well hello again, since I was way back when this started and said it was a scam, along with some others, it’s interesting to read, a year or so on, just that judgement after all is said and done. Yes, Lawyer, Guns, and Money, indeed and Caveat Emptor.
Well all, I’ve read all the comments and have enjoyed reading everyones opinions/facts and have decided to enter my .02 cents worth.
Look up Northern Tool on any search engine and look for subheading of wind power. They sell three and have comments on all three. The most expensive is right at $6,000.00 and the least is around $600-700. If northern has them its legit. In fact they have a UL listing.
BTW, this last year I invested in a $5,000 wood fireplace insert and have been heating my 4000 sq foot home with free wood I got over the summer. My gas bill for heating is around $350.00 a month if I am conservative, now it is about $33.00.(Gas water heater and stove).
My wood cam from professional tree scapers and they were happy I hauled it off. I let it season and using wood and a blower on the heater to eliminate that gas bill of mine and went green all the while! Wood is NOT from a forest, wood is not paid for, wood is free. I get a twenty foot long trailer by 30″ high, pulled by a Ford 150. I am set for the winter, now a good wind turbine that works is right up my alley. All this nonsense about it not working is what they probably said when Henry Ford came out with his first car!