Wind Power for Barn Use

My son lives in northern Michigan near the shore. He is in a valley that has large hills that run east and west. His proximity to Lake Michigan and the hills combine to provide a constant breeze across the flat valley.

His barn is over 1400 feet from the house. Running a dedicated power line back to the barn will run $2,000 or more (Plus monthly electrical bills). I see that there are small wind turbine generators for approximately $1,300 and a battery pack in the neighborhood of $600.

Do any of you guys have a wind generator supplying power to your barn/shops? My son is a Chef in Traverse City and his 30 acre farm is used to raise fowl and produce for the restaurant as well as others in the area. He mainly needs power for barn lights and winter heating elements for animals.

What do you use? Is it worth the investment? Are you having any issues?

How big (power output) is the turbine you found?

Low power lights could probably be done. Heaters too, if they are on timers so they don't have to run all the time?

400 watts
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200672633_200672633?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Alternative%20%2B%20Renewable%20Energy%20%3E%20Wind%20Turbines%20%2B%20Accessories&utm_campaign=Primus%20Windpower&utm_content=56009&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5-jxu7Dy5gIVAtbACh1fpAo3EAQYASABEgIeY_D_BwE

Power use is at night - heaters all night in the winter.

Don't most heaters big enough for that job pull a lot more than that?

How many and what size are the heaters?

I think our trough heater is 1500w, so to run at full power, the wind turbine would have to run at full power for almost 4 hours (4x400w=1600w) and store it in batteries to cover a single hour of full power use.

If he had lower power heaters, and/or staggered them, it might work.

This might be of some help. https://openei.org/wiki/Small_Wind_Guidebook/What_Size_Wind_Turbine_Do_I_Need

400 watts might be enough to run a couple of LED lights adequate to light up the barn. That's only 3.3A at 120V with maximum output.

back when I used to be in wind we'd do a site survey for a year or more to determine the viability of a wind farm. Basically we measured the wind in the area for the survey.

A $600 battery pack isn't likely to last the night much less a day or more of insufficient wind.

His heaters ought to have a data plate somewhere showing the draw it needs. Add them up and then you can get a better idea of what you need.

Don't forget, either way you go it might be considered a business expense so you might get a tax write off.

Doesn't sound like it'll provide nearly enough power for what he needs it for. You'd be better off spending the money running power out there or looking at what solar options are available.

Can he decrease the cost or running electrical if he does the grunt work? Im not going 1400 feet but I am going to rent a trencher and trench 24" down for electrical to my garage. A retired electrician will do the skilled work. My permit with the township has myself as the installer but many aspects of the job must be inspected and approved before proceeding to the next step.

Maybe my math is wrong.
Isn't 400 watts about 33 amp hours? that is if it is 400 watts at 12 volts vs 110.
Assuming a 15 amp draw, maxing out a normal circuit in a home, isn't that more than enough to power it? Assuming he has 180 amps worth of battery to power it during any lulls?
That would be a 1800 watt heater on a 120 v circuit.
Not sure what the losses are on an inverter though.
That also might drive up the costs quite a bit.

Also OP, don't forget about the noise. Apparently windmills can be quite loud. Vertical wind mills or a bunch of micro ones on the barn might also help.

Thanks for your insight, I have some reading to do.

When it comes to grunt work, my son will do all he can to reduce the cost of any installation. especially if we have to trench a line from the box on the house back to the barn. The good thing is that the soil there is a sandy loom that we can cut a trench in with the tractor and dig out with a shovel.

The heaters that he runs are basic poultry heat lamps in the chicken, turkey and duck pens.