subject: Greatest Wind Turbines For Your Dwelling - The Best Way To Tell What Exactly You Need [print this page] Of course, there is a lot of talk in the media these days about renewable energy and what you can do at home to take advantage of it and reduce your power costs. If you want to find the best wind turbines for the home though, you can't just buy any old garden variety product. You've got to take the time to drill down to a deeper level and understand what your specific need is.
That involves a little homework but it is something you really need to do. You just need to follow a few steps and you'll have all information you need to make an intelligent choice.
This is what you need to do and in the order in which you need to do it:
* First, take some time and scope out several locations where wind turbine might work at your house. The best spot for your wind turbine will be not only the place that produces the most wind energy, but also one that's not annoying to your neighbors. Not everyone will be thrilled by the fact that you installed a wind turbine on your property. That's because they can be a little noisy and the shadow thrown off by the turbine blades can be distracting. Once you have assessed at least two locations that you might install the turbine, you're ready to move on.
* Now that you have several locations picked out, you need to take a little time and collect data there. The way you do that is with a small wind data recorder called an anemometer. An anemometer just sits there and records wind speed and direction for as long as you want. You can take the data for a week or two, and then download the data and your computer and analyze it. You will also need to weigh what you learn against any information you have on the seasonality of your wind flow. For the most part, you need a location that has at least 9 mph, on average.
By now, you have a location picked out that has sufficient wind resources.
* Always check to make sure there are no permitting restrictions that would keep you from putting the wind turbine where you want to put it. That can easily be checked out by contacting your local city government and asking about permitting for windmills.
In summary, the best wind turbines for the home are the ones that fit your particular situation the closest. When it comes time to actually pick a turbine, through straightforward when you understand what your goals are.
