GOALS
1. To understand how a windmill works.
2. To accurately test our land & weather for the use of a windmill.
3. To build and setup a windmill at home.
4. To troubleshoot and repair problems with our windmill.
5. To build and setup a windmill for Eric (who lives off grid)
LAND / LOCATION
We live in a rural area of West Tennessee, just 5 miles south of Kentucky. Our 2 acres of land is rectangular in shape. The front edge runs along a highway that runs north/south. The lot then heads west; straight into our neighbor's cow pasture. With the exception of our few trees, and a woods a half-mile away, our house is surrounded by 100-150 acres of open land.
WIND / INCLEMENT WEATHER
I'm not sure how best to see if our area is "windy enough". I went to www.met.utah.edu and then took an average of Nashville and Memphis. If that is true, we have one month where the average wind speed goes down to 7 mph, and then another where it goes over 10 mph. The rest of the months average 8-9 mph.
Our very strong winds from the west, or sometimes the south west. We would have to be prepared for 50 mph winds that come every year. And, we every year or two, we have ice storms.