| By :
Roger Brown
Should you put a small wind turbine on your roof? It seems like this would be a simple way to harvest all that FREE energy blowing around, but - not so fast! There is certainly wind up on your roof but the problem is, there might not be enough of it to make the kind of power you want. There are several structural limitations that make your roof a bad place to mount your new wind turbine. Here are the reasons why… • Not enough wind and too much turbulence Most wind energy experts recommend placing your wind turbine at least 30 feet ABOVE the tree line, in order to experience their maximum effectiveness. The reason for that is there is too much turbulence due to buildings and trees to make the wind sustainable enough to smoothly power your house. While almost ANY wind can drive a turbine, it is best if that wind is of a relatively consistent speed and direction for wind turbine purposes. • The cost Wind mounted wind turbines can be very expensive for the amount of power they produce. For the same money you would pay for a small wind turbine mounted to your roof, you can buy a much larger unit that can be mounted on a tower and produce a lot more energy. • Size matters To be able to harvest much wind, the wind turbine needs to have some heft. Most weigh at least several hundred pounds and that much weight attached to the roof of your house will cause some unusual stresses when the wind blows hard or gusts. • Neighbors may not like you anymore There is no real reason for it other than small wind turbines have gotten a bad aesthetic reputation. They are not much of a fashion statement in most neighborhoods. Many neighborhood associations closely control what can be mounted on a roof, so be careful about investing in any kind of wind device before you check that out carefully. Philosophically, we Americans are "raised on the mythology of individual action"…"but not everyone can put a windmill in their backyard.", according to Paul Gipe, who has written several books on wind energy. The truth may be though that the larger the windmill, the better the power generation potential. The larger windmills that power companies put in service are by far the most efficient. However, as more people buy the small wind turbine, the faster prices will come down and even the smaller amount of wind that they can harvest will be worth the investment.
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