Freedom from the Grid

The 2000W 11-blade Missouri General Freedom II Wind Turbine from Missouri Wind and Solar in the United States is one of the best home wind generator systems available today.  With this wind turbine in your backyard, your neighbours will know you mean business when it comes to renewable energy for the home.

Product overview

With 11 carbon-fibre blades and a start-up speed (cut-in speed) of just 10kmh (6mph), the Freedom II will be generating electricity even in a light breeze.  At the other extreme, the Raptor blades can survive wind speeds of up to 200kmh (125mph) and are guaranteed for a lifetime not to break under normal operation.

All metal parts, including the disc that holds the blades, are covered with zinc, meaning that the turbine assembly will not rust.  You can expect up to 50 years protection under standard operating conditions.

The generator is made up of a 28-rare earth magnet rotor and two stators for greater electricity production.  Its unique stator design allows for easy turning of the turbine shaft and prevents cogging (stickiness due to magnetic attraction between rotor and stators).  With twice as much copper in the rotor as a comparable Delco car-style Permanent Magnet Alternator (PMA) – more copper equals more power – the Freedom II can generate up to 2000W of power.

Missouri Wind and Solar backs the Freedom II with a 3-year limited warranty.

Important features of the Freedom II worth noting include electricity output, durability, noise, overspeed control, versatility and accessories.

Electricity output

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average home used over 900 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month in 2018. That’s about 11,000 kWh in a year.

So, what does that mean for you and your renewable energy system at home? It means that you would require at least a 1200W wind turbine running at maximum output (1200W) for 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year just to meet the current energy requirements of the average American home.  This is not an ideal situation for any home-based renewable energy system, especially if you are thinking of living off the grid or your energy needs increase over time, such as with a growing family.

At 2000W (2kW), the Freedom II is more than capable of meeting these energy demands, now and in the future.  Under constant operation at maximum output, it can potentially generate a whopping 17,500 kWh in a year.

Now we all know that wind turbines do not operate at maximum output all the time.  The availability of suitable wind speeds will determine whether you generate a lot of electricity in a day or none at all.  And we are not suggesting that a Freedom II wind turbine on its own will be enough to power your home.  But even if the Freedom II only provided you with half of its potential maximum electrical output in a year, that’s still enough to make a big dent in your home’s electricity bill.  For those intending to live off-grid, you will still be able to enjoy many of the benefits of modern electrical appliances – you might just need to add another wind turbine or solar panels to meet your total electricity needs.

The Freedom II wind turbine comes in 12V, 24V and 48V models. Which voltage is best for you?  For modern homes, we recommend the 48V generator.  Lower voltages are typically less efficient (i.e. higher power losses along the wire from the turbine to your home) and more suited to boats and small cabins where energy demands are not as great as those of the family home.

Durability

Constant exposure to high wind speeds and turbulent air can have a huge impact on a turbine’s working life.  Light-weight wind turbines are more susceptible to the effects of turbulence, with vibration and irregular forces acting to increase wear and tear, reduce electricity production and shorten the life of the turbine.  Cheaper, plastic wind turbines may only last a couple of years in these conditions.

Therefore, a deciding factor in a turbine’s toughness is its weight.  The heavier the turbine, the greater the chance of long-term survival.

At 21.5 kilograms (47lbs), the Freedom II is one of the heaviest turbines in its class. It weighs about as much as half a bag of cement.  The generator parts are built from high-grade electrical steel and heavy-duty copper and housed within a thick, aluminium casing to ensure a reliable and long-lasting wind turbine that will generate electricity for your home for many years to come.

Overheating, not a problem.  Aluminium is a great material for getting rid of heat and is often used in electrical applications for this very reason.  Large openings have been built into the cast-aluminium ends of the Freedom II generator casing to allow air to flow all the way through and keep the assembly cool.

Noise

The greatest influencer of turbine noise is the turning speed of the turbine.  Generally, the higher the turns per minute (measured as revolutions per minute or rpm), the more noise produced.  Wind turbines with smaller blade sets are designed to operate at higher speeds (higher rpm) to achieve the required turning force (or torque) for generating electricity and therefore tend to be louder.

The Freedom II, with its larger blade set, is so quiet under normal operation that you and your neighbours will hardly know it’s there.  At 45 decibels (dB), this is the level of soft conversation and you will likely have trouble distinguishing the gentle swishing of the turbine blades from typical background noise, even birds chirping.

Overspeed control

Like an aircraft wing, wind turbines use aerofoil-shaped blades to capture as much airflow as possible and convert this into energy.  And while lots of electrical energy is a good thing, a wind turbine would spin itself to destruction without some method of control in high winds.

You will often hear the term furling used with wind turbines to describe a mechanical process by which to take the blades out of the wind, slowing the rotor speed and protecting the turbine from damage.  However, the Freedom II does not have the ability to furl in very strong winds.  Instead the Freedom II uses an electrical process called dynamic braking.  At the flip of a switch, opposing magnetic fields are created within the rotor and stator which greatly slows the rotor or stops it completely from spinning in high winds.  Fast and simple braking.

The advantage of the Freedom II is that the user decides when to apply the brake.  You are not restricted by pre-set mechanical limits (furling) or automatic braking systems that shut down the turbine right at the point of maximum electricity production.  Until you hit the brake switch, the Freedom II will happily sit on its perch and continue to generate electricity for your home.

Versatility

Whether you are currently connected to the power grid and looking to reduce your utility bill (grid-tie) or dreaming of the independence of an off-grid lifestyle, the Freedom II can be easily adapted to meet your needs.

One of the great benefits of the Freedom II is that you can change the blade set across the seasons to maximise your wind potential and therefore the amount of electricity that can be generated.  This is particularly important if you are living off-grid and trying to capture every ounce of wind available to power your home.

During the warmer months of the year when winds are more settled and maybe not so strong (lower wind speeds), you would attach the 11-blade Raptor G4 rotor disc with its low start-up speed of 10kmh (6mph) to improve your ability to produce electricity in the lighter winds.  Then, as you move to the cooler months and wind speeds typically increase, you swap to the 5-blade Raptor G5 rotor disc.  Missouri Wind and Solar estimates that swapping blades sets to match varying wind conditions across seasons can improve electricity production by up to 20%!

Of course, if you are connected to the grid and/or have constant winds all-year-round in your area, then swapping blades on your Freedom II may not be necessary.

Accessories

In addition to the Freedom II wind turbine kit, you will need the following critical components to complete your installation:

  • Tower – turbine mounting bracket fits 40mm (1.5in) Schedule 40 or 80 steel pipe
  • Charge controller
  • Dump load
  • Dual brake switch
  • SOOJ 12/6 three-phase AC cable (runs from turbine to brake switch)
  • Battery-based grid-tie inverter
  • Deep cycle batteries – Absorbed glass mat (AGM) or Flooded lead-acid type


Now I know what you are thinking.  This is a lot of extra equipment to run a wind turbine and how do I start putting it all together.  Well, Missouri Wind and Solar have made it a little easier to set up their wind turbines in the home by developing an all-in-one Charge Controller that combines the functions of the Charge controller, Dump load and Brake switch.  This certainly takes away a lot of the hassle in wiring up your wind turbine.

Final Advice

The Freedom II is a high quality, large output, affordable wind turbine for your home. Its versatility ensures the wind turbine can be used for off-grid living, as a supplemental power supply for the grid, or in conjunction with solar panels for the ultimate DIY renewable energy system.  Blade sets can be easily changed to maximise power production across a wide range of wind conditions.

If you are serious about using wind power to meet the electricity needs of your home, either in full or in part, the Missouri General Freedom II Wind Turbine must be at the top of your list.

I hope you have enjoyed this review and if you have any questions about the Freedom II or want to leave your own personal view, please leave a comment below.

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18 thoughts on “Freedom from the Grid”

  1. I think this is another landmark improvement in our technology, having this kind of device, which generates electricity directly from the home is a welcome development from the science and technology world.
    The component can last for 50 years under normal working condition and the metal part Is made of zinc to prevent rusting, that’s another plus for me.
    A lot of people would be so much interested in this in the coming year.

    Reply
    • Thank you Carol.  You make a good point about advances in electricity generation technology for the home.  Wind power is the fastest growing renewable energy source in the world and this should create a lot of potential for new turbines with greater generating capacity to come onto the market in the next few years.

      Investing in wind power for the home is a long-term commitment with upfront costs for all the equipment and regular maintenance over many years.  Given that the wind turbine will be exposed to the environment 24 hours a day, rain, hail or sunshine, the durability of the equipment is a very important consideration if the homeowner is to achieve any return on their investment, be that savings on their electricity bill or independence from the utility companies. 

      Reply
  2. As the cost of energy in the home seems to be on a permanent increase curve, we have started to look at ways we can supplement our supply and/or reduce our usage to bring down the annual cost. Turning lights off when leaving the room only goes so far though.

    Solar is something we have looked at but the intial outlay has seemed excessive and any positive return would take a while to achieve. Wind turbines is not something I was aware of being able to utilise on a domestic level. I’ve seen the ‘wind farms’ and one of our local medical centres has a large one in their grounds. I never realised you could get them for your home.

    Following a couple of your links I was very, pleasantly I might add, surprised at the low cost. If you add in the installation and a few unforeseen extras, I would imagine the whole thing can be set up for less than $2000. That’s a ‘snip’ as they say considering the amount of savings you’ll be looking to make. It wouldn’t be long before it had paid for itself.

    Where we live, which is situated quite high up, there is always wind, even on the hot summer days, so full year production of energy would be quite possible. A large garden with plenty of trees around would also limit the chances of anyone moaning about its presence. Certainly something that requires some more serious investigation.

    Reply
    • Hi Twack, I’m glad to hear you were pleasantly surprised at the cost-effectiveness of wind power when compared to its more widely-known sibling – solar power.  One of the many advantages of the Missouri Freedom II wind turbine is that it can be easily combined with a solar power system through its charge controller to give you clean, sustainable electricity through all weather, day and night. So if you are still deciding whether to go wind or solar, I would suggest starting with the Freedom II first and then if you wanted to add solar later on, you can.

      Two further considerations that may help with your decision on which home power generation system to choose – first, providing there is wind, a wind turbine can generate electricity 24 hours a day whereas a solar panel only works in daylight for about 8 hours a day typically; and second, ensure your roof is not in need of repair when installing solar panels otherwise if you get a leak in the roof, you will have to lift all the solar panels off, fix the roof and then re-install the panels. Very expensive.  No such problem with a wind turbine – it sits away from the house on its perch (tower) happily generating electricity, regardless of the state of your roof.

      Please let us know how you get on with your investigation into generating electricity at home.  I’m sure many of our readers will be interested to hear about your experiences that may be of benefit on their journey.

      Reply
  3. This is such a step in the right direction and I do think more people needs things like this. I like that it can last for 50 years, this is definitely a plus and the fact that the zinc coating prevents rust is a huge benefit. I think more people need to invest in wind turbines and separate themselves a little from society. Great article about wind turbines and I definitely think more people need to read this.

    Reply
    • Hi Alexandra and thank you for your comments. Having your own wind turbine to generate electricity for your home certainly provides a degree of independence from the local electricity supplier and insulates you from continually increasing power prices.  More than that, a wind turbine like the Freedom II gives you, the homeowner, a direct say in how electricity is generated and supplied to your home as well as the ability to influence your impact on the environment. Who would have thought that having a wind turbine at home would provide such positive economic, social and environmental change all in one go!

      Reply
  4. Hello,

    This is not only a great review of what certainly looks like a great product but it is also an extremely important article to bring about awareness. I’m sure most people are not aware of this type of electricity-saving device and as you mentioned, if the Freedom II potentially takes 6 months off your normal usage of electricity it will have been a valuable asset. There’s been a lot of thought put into the making of this wind turbine and I for one would like to take full advantage of this product. The Freedom II is worthy of everyone’s consideration.

    Thank you.

    Paul

    Reply
    • Thank you Paul.  Yes, the Freedom II is fully capable of cutting your annual electricity bill in half, based on standard residential power usage.  This is important because as a homeowner, you will want your initial investment in the wind turbine to pay off as soon as possible.  With the Freedom II, this could be in only a few short years.  

      In the meantime, you get to enjoy all the benefits of clean and sustainable wind power at home that will be the envy of your neighbours for years to come.  Unless of course they choose to follow your lead and buy their own Freedom II wind turbine!

      Reply
  5. This is great! I love the idea of owning my own wind turbine to generate electricity.  This may seem like a dumb question, but I am not too familiar with these machines yet. I lives in AZ and I am wondering if there is enough wind here to generate enough power to switch my home solely to turbine electricity production ?we do not get much wind in AZ, aside from a few days out of the year when a monsoon or a haboob hits. I actually love the brake feature you describe.  Our monsoons can be devastatingly powerful and it would be risky to keep this product running at wind speeds of up to 100 mph.  i know the federal government has offered tax break incentives for those who switch to solarpower. Obviously many arizonans take advantage of this with our year round sun.  Do you know of any programs offered for those of us switching to turbine power? thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi Ashley, thank you for your great comments and questions. The 11-bladed Freedom II is ideal for areas with low wind speeds and can generate electricity from just 6 miles per hour (2.7 metres per second) of wind. Check out the Global Wind Atlas in our wind power essential checklist to discover the average wind speed at your address.

      I wouldn’t recommend running any wind turbine in an extreme wind event like a monsoon or dust storm (haboob) if you want your turbine to have a long and successful operational life. With the Freedom II, anything above 50 miles per hour (80 kilometres per hour) and you would engage the brake or take the turbine down from its tower before the event. If you’re off-grid, you would have to rely on your batteries until the storm passed and you can restart your wind turbine.

      Regarding tax incentives, according to the Arizona Department of Revenue, in addition to the Federal Solar Tax Credit, the State also offers the Residential Solar and Wind Energy Systems Tax Credit. This income tax credit allows Arizona homeowners to claim 25% of the cost of installing wind turbines or solar panels against your personal income, up to a maximum credit of $1,000. Two caveats to my response here – one, you should purchase a wind power generation system (or any renewable energy system) only if it makes practical and economic sense to do so (tax incentives are the icing on the cake) and two, check in with your local or state power authorities every so often and see what new incentives are available to homeowners who convert to renewable energy systems.

      I also recommend having a look around your neighbourhood and wider community and see if anyone has a wind turbine system on their property. You may be able to ask the owners for some advice on the viability of using wind power in Arizona before making a commitment.

      Reply
  6. I must say that you have done a great job on this article and it would be of great help to the public as it has been of help to me. I would advise everyone to get this wind turbine as my dad’s got one in the last two weeks and we have been enjoying an uninterrupted power supply ever since. What makes me really like it is the fact that it will last our family for up to 50 years. 

    Reply
    • Thank you Feji for your feedback.  The Freedom II has certainly been designed to support a family’s long-term electricity needs, hence the commitment to building a durable and versatile wind turbine.

      Are you using the wind turbine in a grid-tie or off-grid arrangement? 

      We wish you and your family many years of clean, abundant and sustainable electricity from the power of the wind.

      Reply
  7. As an engineer, I appreciate your article very much. Nice to see how far the windmill has come with improving technology. If I lived in a farm, I would definitely buy this. Since wind isn’t always around, would you recommend supplementing wind power with another renewable source of energy to pick up the slack when the windmill isn’t producing much power? I was impressed by how low the noise it makes is, that’s technology for you. 

    Reply
    • Hi Ronald, thank you for your comments.  Advances in technology have made wind turbines much more accessible to homeowners in recent years.

      In answer to your question, if you are living off-grid and generating all of your own electricity needs, then yes, you will more than likely require supplementary power when the wind isn’t blowing. Pairing a wind turbine with photovoltaic cells (solar panels) is a common method of achieving constant electricity production in just about all weather conditions, however bear in mind that solar systems can be expensive to install.  It may be more economical to run off your batteries or a small backup generator for a day or two every so often when the wind isn’t sufficient to generate enough power for your needs.

      If you are connected to the grid, a wind turbine can be used in a grid-tie arrangement as the supplementary power source to help reduce the amount of electricity you draw from the grid.  You could also look to sell any surplus energy generated by your wind turbine back to the local energy authority, offsetting the cost of your monthly power bill and investment in the wind power system itself.

      Reply
  8. Hi, I enjoyed reading your guide on Freedom from the Grid. You are doing awesome work in the right direction and I do think more people need things like this. I like that it can last for 50 years, this is definitely a plus and the fact that the zinc coating prevents rust is a huge benefit.

    There’s been a lot of thought put into the making of this wind turbine and I for one would like to take full advantage of this product.

    I think more people need to invest in wind turbines and separate themselves a little from society. Great article about wind turbines and I definitely think more people need to read this. I will share it with my social media accounts. Keep the great work up.

    Reply
    • Thank you Harish for the feedback. Having the ability to generate your own electricity will certainly help achieve independence from the power/utility companies and the high prices they charge. That has to be a win for the little guy.

      Appreciate you sharing this site within your networks.  Hopefully we can get more people to think about how to live a more sustainable life.  Thank you.

      Reply
  9. Many thanks to you for sharing such an excellent article with us. 2000W 11-blade Missouri General Freedom II Wind Turbine is certainly a great wind turbine. A comprehensive review of this product is a very important article for our awareness. And I’m pretty sure most people aren’t yet aware of this power-saving device. It is made of metallic zinc and for me I think it is a great plus point to prevent rust. 

    Creating this wind turbine requires a lot of thought and lots of research so I would like to thank you for your research and I would like to take advantage of this technology. This is definitely a great article about wind turbines and I think it should be read by more people so that many people will be interested to take it up. This is a very nice way to release yourself from the grid.

    Reply
    • Hi Shanta, thank you for your comments.  The 2kW 11-blade Freedom II is definitely a great wind turbine to invest in, particularly for those homeowners who are new to wind power.  It has also been designed to work alongside solar power, so for those homeowners who already have solar panels installed, they can still take advantage of adding wind power to their generating capacity with minimum fuss.

      Feel free to share this post with friends and family to help raise awareness for generating electricity at home.

      Reply

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