Second Boone County couple uses wind generator to supplement power supply

On a hilltop a few miles northwest of Columbia, workers this past week began installing a wind generator to help power the newly constructed home of Derek Fox and Stephanie Essman, veterinarians and assistant professors at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine.

Earlier this year, Nick Peckham, founding partner of Peckham & Wright Architects, and his wife, alpaca farmer Diane Peckham, installed a wind generator at their farm south of the city.

These are the first two homes connected to Boone County’s power grid that are using wind power to supplement their energy supply. And next month, as traditional energy costs swiftly rise, legislation goes into effect that will allow homeowners who have harnessed wind and solar power to sell excess energy back to the utility, a process called net metering.

While those involved in wind generation acknowledge that the technology needs to become more efficient, Fox said at least they’re trying.

“It’s a start,” he said.

He and his wife spent years dreaming about, researching and planning their energy-efficient home. They asked builder Bruce Finley of Design Built homes to build them a wood timber home with efficient windows to decrease need for heating and cooling. During the summer, sunlight will be filtered out, keeping the home cooler. In the winter, the windows allow the low-angled rays of sunlight into the home, heating the wood timbers. The broad concept is called “passive solar” power.

The wind turbine will generate 30 percent of their home’s power supply at peak capacity, Fox said. “That?’ 30 percent less coal,” he said. “Our ultimate goal is to be at zero percent and get off the grid.”

In January, the Peckhams installed the wind generator at their farm on Route K as an experiment. According to Boone County Electric Cooperative, theirs was the first wind generator in Boone County. So far the county has no policies in place for dealing with homeowner-generated power, leaving local pioneers in energy-efficient home-building to take matters into their own hands.

“It is a lot easier to design a solution than to vote for it,” Nick Peckham said.

While the idea of living outside both politics and the power grid may be liberating, energy efficiency must be grounded by acts of conservation, Fox said.

“The greenest energy is the energy that is never used,” said Chris Rohlfing, manager of member services for Boone County Electrical Co-op.

Those who are interested in wind and solar power need to first look to reduce their energy consumption by adding insulation in the attic and using efficient appliances and low-wattage bulbs, Rohlfing said. While Rohlfing does not discourage innovators from investing in wind and solar technology, he said they should first look at the return on investment in using the current technology.

Living in a self-sufficient home or business off of the power grid requires a long-term investment. Finley said a wind-generation system costs about $30,000 to $40,000, and a typical solar system costs between $40,000 and $50,000.

Derek Fox holds two blades from his wind generator in front of his new home being built in northwest Boone County.

Most people who buy homes are looking for a five-year return on their home purchases. Homes built with wind and solar systems will see a return in 10 to 20 years.

But Finley added, “Most people that build custom homes plan on staying for a long time or retiring.”

A recent home built by Finley relies on solar power for 80 percent of its energy needs.

As with any new technology, tomorrow’s innovation will be paid by today’s purchases. Five years ago, consumers paid $1,200 for a laptop with one-third the computing power of today. Rohlfing says wind and solar return on investment could change dramatically in the next few years.