subject: Wind Turbines For Properties May Not Be For You [print this page] It is wise to be looking into wind turbines for homes you may have. This is a form of free energy that can serve you for years in the future with almost no cash outlay.
But, a windmill for your house may be the exact wrong thing for you to do and here is why
There are several conditions, that if you meet them, you might make you a poor candidate to be the owner of a wind turbine.
I suggest you carefully consider this and think about it - if a wind turbine isn't for you there are other options for going green:
1. Live in an area with low wind - this is can be a killer, because most wind turbines (that are affordable) need at least 9 mph average wind to make power in any appreciable quantities. If your wind is less than that, a wind turbine may not be the best option for you. Of course, you can find windmills with cut-in speeds of much less than that - some that will start turning with less than 1 mph wind - but they are new to the market and therefore an order of magnitude more expensive - like double the initial cost!
2. Have restrictions in your neighborhood that prohibit them - because of their blending in more with their environments, it is getting easier in most communities to install the latest and most modern of the vertical wind turbines. Some look more like an ornament than a piece of power generating equipment. However, there is a bias against them in many communities because of the reputation that the classic horizontal-axis wind turbine has for being loud, being a danger to wildlife, etc. These are really problems more associated with large scale wind turbines but the perception still holds. You need to be careful about assessing both of these potential limitations. If a wind turbine isn't a fit, move on. As the technology continues to improve and costs go down, the cost of making a mistake by spending a lot of money and getting a very low return will continue to go down.
In conclusion, if wind is not right for you it is a good idea to analyze and then move on to something else. More and more wind turbine manufacturers are designing products to address these problems, so solutions that offer you better alternatives will be available down the line.
