A certified public accountant and a semi-retired couple have both erected wind towers on their rural property on Temple’s outskirts.
Last year, what looks like a single airplane propeller, or huge boat prop, stopped traffic on Texas 53 when it suddenly appeared atop a 30-foot pole.
The owners, Sherryl and Eric Pressler, weren’t home when the contractor finished the job, but they heard about it. Drivers on the highway in front of their house locked up their brakes, almost causing accidents.
One of those dumbfounded passersby was Marvin Green, co-owner of Green’s Sausage House in Zabcikville.
“He was hell-bent he was going to have one. And he got one very soon after we did,” Ms. Pressler said.
The Presslers positioned their wind turbine in an open area away from the house and trees, to catch more wind.
Under a June sun, pulling weeds from her vegetable garden, Ms. Pressler said the turbine has cut electric costs about 30 percent. Leaving the thermostat at 77 degrees, they paid a little more than $100 last month for electricity at their 5,000-square-foot home. (Their three heat pumps, however, may be a factor in that figure.)
A power outage on Good Friday last year was the impetus for the Presslers to make their move. Happy with the unit’s performance, they’re considering adding another one soon.
And they can again save a big chunk of change on their 2009 tax bill by taking advantage of the 2009 Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit.
That was the final factor as to why certified public account Debra G. Taylor bought a Windspire wind generator for her five-acre home site on Cedar Creek Road.
“With the 30 percent credit, that really encouraged me to go ahead,” Ms. Taylor said. “I think the desire to lower our energy cost, we’re right there, where everybody’s going to start in that direction. Congress is really encouraging this with that 30 percent.”
Ms. Taylor used master electrician John Grass to install her turbine. He connected an underground cable to a junction box near the house, and poured a concrete footing 6 feet deep and 2 feet across. After assembling on the ground aluminum sections called airfoils and struts, workers simply hoisted the tower skyward with a pickup and a lever system that comes with the unit.
Grass said this type of setup can’t operate independently, and must be connected to a home’s existing electrical system. It also requires a new meter.
“That’ll track the amount of electricity that this generates. It’ll actually make her meter turn backwards,” Grass said. “Normally, they turn forwards and that’s how they calculate how much energy you’ve used. That’s how she gets credit for generating her own electricity.”
City slickers who want to try making their own juice should first check with their local planner. In Temple, a conditional use permit is required. Meeting with the Planning and Zoning Committee is the first step, Temple senior planner Brian Mabry said.
So far, Mabry said he is unaware anyone has a wind generator inside city limits.
Neither generating system has capacity to store excess electricity. This would require an additional investment of several thousand dollars to purchase batteries.
