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A lot of the electricity consumed by homes that use well water is used to pump the water into the house, but an easy, lower-carbon solution is to use a windmill to drive the water up and fill the tank. Replacing a well pump with a windmill-powered pump will save money over time (many estimates say that windmills pay for themselves over five years), and is a clean-energy solution for accessing underground water supplies. And the windmill often produces more power than is needed to pump the water, so the surplus can be stored for later use or even sold back to the power grid.
Power from the windmill can also be directed into the house, or in flood-prone regions can be configured to help keep water away from the home.
Take the same application outside, and farmers can use a windmill-powered pump to draw water up for irrigation and watering crops—or, as in the Planet Mechanics episode filmed in Spain, for animals on the farm to drink. It can also help out with drainage requirements, by driving water away from low-lying areas.
So go ahead—homeowners, think about wind power for your own house, and farmers, look into the savings a windmill could bring to your farm and the cleaner air your farm could bring to your community. Windmills are popping up all over, your home could be next.
Catch the Planet Mechanics episode where the eco-engineering team helps out a Spanish farmer pump enough water to feed his cattle.
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