| By :
Roger Brown
If you live in an urban setting, you need to be looking at a vertical wind turbine for the home. With roofs being the primary real estate for power generation in cities, vertical-axis wind turbines offer the best solution. Vertical turbines are somewhat new to the home wind market but they hold a lot of promise. The fact that there is so much residential roof real estate that is available for these devices means they could conceivably create most of the electrical generation in this country at some point. Here are the 3 main reasons you need to focus on verticals: 1. Roof Effect - the physical dynamics of the roof offer a unique opportunity to accentuate the benefits you get from wind at the height of your roof. Typically, the best wind is higher up - like at least 30 feet above the highest obstacle. But, with Roof Effect, your wind accelerates and is multiplied by up to a factor of 3 by locating the turbine in the right place. 2. Easy to access - vertical wind turbines located on the roof are easy to access when problems arise. If you have any turbine mounted on a tower you will likely have to employ an outside service to do your work for you. Accessing 100 foot high towers is not in most laymen's skill sets and this is just an added cost you will have to factor in. With a vertical wind turbine mounted on your roof that will not be the case. You still will have to get on the roof obviously, but most of the equipment you will need to get to in case of a problem will be accessible through the base. 3. Verticals are ornamental - horizontal-axis wind turbines look like the traditional Dutch windmill. They get a lot of negative press because of some negative associated phenomena like shadow flicker. Verticals spin almost silently and don't have those drawbacks. There have been studies done in Europe indicating people's feelings - positively and negatively - about wind turbines. The overwhelming response has been that people like verticals way better than horizontals. As a matter of fact, they even like sitting and looking at the verticals do their job. They have a calming effect on people just like watching waves at the beach. In conclusion, if your roof is the best place for your wind turbine, a vertical wind turbine for the home is what you should be pursuing.
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articleforbacklinks.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
