The Zephyr wind generator is currently being sold online on ebay. At this time it can be bought on ebay in the UK, Germany, Italy, and France and plans to expand to other countries soon. The company is also going to be selling online on sites like craiglist, and other similar classified sites in various countries.
The company originally started out with 1kw generators and now only sales 2kw generators. The auctions start around $300 including shipping. The company has said that they sale for around $300-400 including shipping. Compared to other wind generators this is a great deal. Other similar generators can cost $2,000 or more.
The company admitted that they are not the top of the line product but that they offer a great value. They do have similar quality to many manufactures and are continually testing and improving the product. One drawback is they use lightweight weather treated wood while many other companies use plastic or metal but they are working and changing that and have recently changed the design to be lighter weight and more efficient.
Another drawback is they do not come with poles, inverters, etc. Part of the reason they do not is everyone has different needs. Some people may be limited to the height of their product; some buyers may want to run off grid while others on grid. While most of the competitors offer some or all the added features the price does not warrant the extra money and the buyer could easily get inverters, towers, etc on their own for a low price.
The company shipped one out for me to write this article on. I found that while it is not as nice as the most expensive generators it certainly did its job and was similar to others. There were no thrills but many companies add thrills for show like 5 blades that are not only useless additions but also add drag and lower performance. The one I received was the latest model and works fine. For its price it is by far the best value for a wind generator and will pay for itself in a short time.
There are a few problems that the company faces. The first is that they offer high voltages to get the power so high which many people do not like but in reality it is simple to get lower voltage and higher amperage with little lose of power if it is desired by getting a few cheap electronic components. Another problem is that many people who are interested do not understand what they are doing or know what they are buying. The company is very honest about that and in the auction warn buyers not to buy unless they have the expertise or know someone who does to get the generators up and running. A lot of people think that they can put one up and plug it to the house and they will get free electricity and not need to worry about anything. The amount of electricity generated has many variables though, and you can’t plug one of these into a house it doesn’t even come with a plug but with some wires.
The company admits that they make little profit on these especially compared to other companies who charge outrageous prices for their products. A big part of what they want is to see these be used and help fight pollution, etc. When you look at the prices of about $200-300 plus shipping and others have price tags of $2,000-3,000 plus shipping their price is only a tenth of the competitions and while they are not as high performance or nice as the high end $3,000 models they are more then a tenth the quality. So if you do know a little about electronics this is a great deal, even if you don’t what you need to know is simple to learn but best learned before bidding and the company will be happy to help explain things or give links for you to learn before bidding.
