| By :
Roger Brown
There are 2 ways to mount your wind turbine - close to the ground on a foundation or on turbine towers. Turbine towers are usually used for larger windmills and can cost as much as the windmill device itself. The purpose and power of installing your wind turbine on a tower is that you are extending the wind turbine blades higher in the atmosphere, where the more consistent wind is. Usually, that means at least 30 feet above the height of the obstacles on your property, like trees and surrounding buildings. Although most are made out of steel, some smaller towers are made out of a polycarbonate or plastic material. There are 2 basic types of towers: 1. Lattice type - these are like the kind used for power transmission as well 2. Metal (solid) - attached with guyed wires usually The pros and cons of using a tower are: The pros: You are mounting your turbine higher up where the wind is stronger, so you will undoubtedly make more electricity there The cons: The cost of the tower can be prohibitive - when you mount a windmill on a tower, you need to install a foundation. This work is usually beyond the reach of the average home do it yourselfer and will have to be outsourced, so it can really drive the cost of the total project up. The tower puts your wind turbine and its associated moving parts, higher up and more difficult to access when there is a problem - When you work on a wind turbine mounted on a tower, you may have to pay either to elevate yourself with a cherry picker or simply outsource maintenance to someone else. This all just adds costs to your project and institutionalizes the maintenance costs. Danger to wildlife - migrating birds love to fly in the path of wind turbines if they are mounted where they are used to migrating. So, windmills mounted on towers are a target for wildlife advocates.There can be community biases against towers - when people have problems with wind turbines near them, this is usually what they complain about. In the final analysis, it is my opinion that you need to seriously weigh whether or not to mount your wind device on a tower. Unless you have proven that your wind is that compelling higher up, it may make more sense to settle for wind on your roof and avoid the inherent hassles of operating higher up in the atmosphere.
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