With all the talk lately of rising energy prices as well as increased use of solar panels, does anyone know if a domestic wind turbine would be a potentially viable option?
Only if you have a lot of space, see section b here, you need sufficient space surrounding it so that if it falls, the tips of the blades remain 1m inside your boundary.
I've read small domestic wind generation isn't always a good choice, and only really makes sense if you're on a high exposed site.
Thanks for that Leo. Space wouldnt ve an issue and its fairly exposed.
Toying with idea versus solar panels (or both perhaps).
If i were convinced re cost v benefit, ROI, payback then I woukd probably look further in to it.
Theres lots of info out there re solar to help make an informed choice and lots of people now have it set up. Nobody seems to consider wind as a viable option.
From what i read, solar is cheaper to set up and lower maintenance.
I know a guy who put one up in a rural location, it's been up a few years at this point and technology will have moved on, but he's spent a lot more on it that it has ever generated.
No moving parts in solar is a bonus, as is the more predictable nature of solar energy. Most wind turbines will generate little to nothing without a good breeze, and need to be shut down in high winds. Everything I've read points to much longer or potentially negative payback periods for domestic wind.
I don't know the ins and outs of them but there are two that I used to pass most days, one is still there and in a very windy location right on the edge of the sea. The other seems to have been removed in past couple of years and the guy that owns the house is an electrician so be interesting to know what was his reason for getting rid!
Quentin Gargan (former Green Party election candidate) some years ago established a company [Turbotricity] to develop domestic wind turbines for the Irish market.
Thisis the Turbotricity home page today - it speaks for itself!