Electricity: Electric power is measured in kilowatts (kW). One kilowatt hour (kWh) is defined as using 1 kW for 1 hour. This is how our power is priced from the utilities. A megawatt hour (MWh) is one thousand kilowatt hours. The average house in the UK and Ireland uses between 3 and 4 MWh a year.

Surprisingly, most people do not know how much they pay for power. In general, consumers pay between 10 and 15p/KWh in the UK and 16€c/KWh in Ireland. Corporate and large user rates are usually lower.

In the UK, all electricity generated by a wind turbine currently qualifies for 2 ROCs (Renewable Obligation Certificates) worth together about 8p/kWh. When you are using all the power from your turbine, the value to you is the combination of the ROC value and the cost of electricity that you would otherwise be buying from the grid. At other times, surplus electricity will be exported to the grid and the value will be the ROC’s plus an export electricity payment of around 5p/kWh.

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