| By :
Roger Brown
This is a great time to be considering a wind turbines purchase. All the stars are lined up to provide you with a variety of choices and a huge government incentive to boot. Below are three questions that will drive you to the answers you need about how to decide how to purchase a windmill for your home: 1. How well do you understand the wind patterns on your property? 2. Are there any local rules that will modify how and what kind of turbine you can put up? 3. Do you understand the key differences in the optional types of windmills? The average wind speed on your property or on your roof is a very critical piece of energy. It is relatively easy to come about this information at a high level at either U.S. government websites or at Weather Underground.com. However, this is not really the information you will need to figure out how to purchase a wind turbine. Instead, you need to know the wind speed and predominant direction on your land and on your roof. The best way to do this is with an anemometer. This is just a small device that happens to look just like a miniature wind turbine. You can mount the anemometer at several potential spots you might like to install your windmill and record the data for a few weeks. If you have 9 mph average wind, then your project is a total no-brainer. If it is less than 9 mph, you will have to look for one of the turbines on the market that have a cut-in speed at less than that. Then, you need to check your local government and see if there are any rules that might limit what kind of turbine you can put up or where you want to install it. In most cases, there is not a total restriction on wind turbines of any kind but rather restrictions on where you can mount them. Now, you have enough information to start thinking about what type of wind turbine you can purchase. There are 2 basic types - horizontal and vertical-axis. The horizontals are very efficient but have some distinctive downsides like shadow flicker and the tendency to be a hazard to migrating bird populations. Vertical wind turbines are a lot more acceptable to the neighbors in an urban setting and they tend to operate more efficiently in the presence of chaotic winds found on roofs. Lastly, it is wise to look at a wind turbines purchase much as you would any other home project. Study carefully what want to get done, see if there are any roadblocks to project completion before you buy anything, and then drill down to the level of available options.
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