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FAQ: What You Need to Know
Before investing tens of thousands of dollars in a residential wind turbine, the following questions can help you evaluate whether or not this renewable energy technology is right for your home.
What Size Do I Need?
In general, a 5-kilowatt system can power the energy needs of an individual family home. You can expect the blades on a wind turbine of this size to have an 18-foot diameter. In areas with less wind, homeowners might have to invest in a taller pole as wind speeds generally increase at higher elevations.
What Is the Payback Period of Home Wind Turbines?
Payback periods will depend on several factors, but in general, homeowners can expect to recover their investment anywhere between 8 and 15 years. The expected lifespan of wind turbines is comparable to that of solar panels, generally between 20 and 25 years.
How Much Do Home Wind Turbines Cost?
High-quality wind turbines should cost homeowners anywhere between $3,000 and $5,000 per kW of electricity produced. However, competition in the market is driving down prices. This 5 kW residential wind turbine only costs $5,000, though it doesn’t include the cost of pole mounting and installation.
What happens when there is no wind on my site?
It is essential to recognize that even when you don’t feel any wind near your home, there may be wind currents above your head. Most residential wind turbines are at least 80-feet in height. Suppose you live in an area where wind currents are not relatively stable. In that case, you might consider investing in a home battery system (such as the Tesla Powerwall) to store excess energy from windier periods. You can also research the amount of wind on your site by consulting this wind map provided by the NOAA. A simple anemometer can also be used to measure the actual speed of wind at your house site.
How much wind and land will I need?
Most installers will recommend sites with an average wind speed of at least 12 miles per hour to justify the investment in a wind turbine. Your property will also need unobstructed access to winds. Municipal building codes will often require a minimum lot size for wind turbines, and you certainly cannot have overhead power lines that could cause problems. These zoning and code restrictions are why less than 1 percent of all small wind turbines are used in urban applications.
Do Home Wind Turbines Require Maintenance?
Once installed, wind turbines will generally operate with little external maintenance needed. Unlike solar panels, the turbine will not suffer from reduced efficiency as it ages. However, routine inspections from a professional installer usually occur on a yearly or bi-yearly basis. In some cases, the warranty that comes with the turbine might depend on this regular inspection. Newer models of wind turbines also allow for remote monitoring of their performance from a home computer.
Wind turbines are certainly not appropriate for every home, especially for those of us who live in high-density urban areas. However, in suburban and rural areas, wind turbines offer numerous advantages that can help facilitate our transition towards a renewable energy society.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
