Customer Reviews

Wind Power, Revised Edition: Renewable Energy for Home, Farm, and Business

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If there is anything you want to know about using the wind for power you will find it within the almost 500 pages of this book. From the history of using wind mills to pump water to the latest giant sized multi megawatt units, it's here. Want to know about the laws of connecting your wind generating unit to the commercial grid, it's here. Want to know the wind generation potential in the island nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific or in your own state, it's here (along with URL's to tell you where to get more detailed information. Want a list of magazines, books, manufacturers, or software to help you site the tower, yup, it's here.

Wind power generation has grown significantly since the price of oil has gone up and the extra added costs of polution have become apparent. In the last two decades, wind power system designs have been developed, matured and become a lot more practical than they were only a few years ago. This book is actually the most recent generation of Paul Gipe's books. It's the most complete, the most thoroughly developed of anything on the subject.

This reviewer was very pleased with the quality and thoroughness of this title. The level of detail presented herein was very helpful in giving the reader a complete picture of whats really involved in putting up, operating and using a wind-based Renewable Energy (RE) system. Very helpful are the many graphs and charts which provide organization and understanding of the numerous technical aspects of the subject.

Some of the often overlooked but very important subjects covered in Wind Power are the: tower installation and tower types, location selection, mounting on RVs, wind turbine design, do-it-yourself wind turbines and how to select a prebuilt wind turbine. All of these subjects and many more are covered in great detail, usually with one or more color photographs to support and demonstrate the author's points.

Wind Power is full of common sense safety tips for the homeowner and also points out some hazards that might not be so readily apparent to the untrained eye. Also included is loads of good advice from start to finish with regard to locating, selecting, purchasing, installing, operating and servicing your wind turbine.

At nearly five hundred pages, Wind Power leaves no stones unturned in its quest to document all aspects of the booming industry of wind-based RE systems. As oil prices continue to soar and citizens continue to search for ways to increase their quality of life (and health of their pocketbook), wind-based RE systems will continue to grow in popularity. Wind Power provides the reader with the opportunity to get ahead of the curve and learn important information not readily available now.

This is a very practical book for the wind energy enthusiast, thinking of setting up their own wind generator. It has got plenty of advice on the wind generators to buy and the models to avoid. The book has loads of web references, photographs and safety information. All the information in the book is presented in a clear and concise fashion. You don't need an engineering degree to understand this book. Overall I found this book to be a really good reference and well worth the money. I would recommend it to readers interested in renewable energy.

Unless you already work in the wind industry (and even if you do) this book is invaluable. It contains very detailed information of nearly all aspects of wind power. I've only had this book several weeks and have not yet purchased a wind mill. I especially like the sections on towers, safety and the comparison charts for many models of turbines.

Are you starting from zero knowledge regarding wind energy? Do you want to get up to full speed in a reasonable amount of time? If yes, then this is definitely the book for you. Paul Gipe has captured the essence of not only the fundamental technology but also the industry in general. Once done with this book, you will have the cranial capital to dig deeper into the engineering, the municipal or national scene, or the fundamentals of financing including energy-cash flow analysis. There is plenty of nitty-gritty for whatever side of the technology you prefer to understand, including building your own system. And there are many specific and anecdotal examples to support the many scenarios described. Yours is sure to be one of them. To paraphrase the late Abby Hoffman - *Buy This Book* You'll be up to 60 mph (26.8 meters/second) in no time.

Paul Gipe has provided a thoroughly readable text presenting all details necessary for selecting and managing a windfarm. It is clear that he has dedicated his life to this technology.

This text provides charts and equations for sizing windmills. It includes numerous recommendations for selecting vendors and contractors for installing a windmill, and lots of maintenance details. What I found particularly interesting was his descriptions of past failures and why they failed. He warns you of danger signals when buying a windmill such as:

The maximum capacity for generating electricity from a windmill is determined by its rotor not its generator.

I am still in the process of reading this massive text but the first 200 pages have been enlightening. I highly recommend this text for anyone involved in establishing a windfarm for municipalities and others. This is a must read.

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This is a very technical book. Loads of details. Eye opening for any amature thinking "Oh, I'll just get a windmill and I won't have any more electric bills!" Worth reading if you really want to produce green electricity. You need considerable land, about a year's worth the wind data for your particular site, more than a few thousand bucks, and even then, you may still find that it won't pay for itself. One thing I didn't think about is that ice can form on the blades and fling off- hitting your home, a neighbor's home, or a car...
Is it a good book? Yes. Very clear, complete information on the topic.

Wind Power, Revised Edition: Renewable Energy for Home, Farm, and Business

This book is the bible for learning the history and current configurations of wind power and a welth of information as to how to set up your windmill and problems you may run into with your utility company. It is required reading for anyone thinking about setting up a wind generator.

Paul Gipe truly knows his industry. Whether you're thinking about installing a small wind turbine or want to invest in a megawatt model, you should make this your first purchase. You'll feel like you've completed a college course on wind power after reading this book.

Indeed a lot of information on windpower, from mini-systems to full scale development and everything in between. Interesting reading, but too detailed for general reading (although using it as a reference document certainly is valuable) and not enough details if you really want to design or install your own full fledged system. However, if you plan to buy a unit, this book gives you lots information to prevent circumvent the pitfalls.