Small wind turbine

Small Wind Turbine

Small wind turbine is a small turbine that is used for house holds and farms. They require less wind to operate than utility-scale wind energy applications.

About Small Turbines

Small turbines range from 20 W to 100 kW. They only have three to four moving parts meaning very low maintenance. They have 20 to 40 year life design.

The Advantages

Average monthly electricity bills less than $100 for 10 kW systemand less than $50 for 5 kW system.It produces around 5000 kWh/yr. They also prevent around 3.8 tons of CO2 per year.The Small turbine only costs around $10,000.So this system has a substantial cost-reduction potential. If you can participate in a California-type 50% buy-down program do so.If you have a net metering and average annual winds of at least 15 mph, your system can pay for itself in about 6 years

Disavantages

There are zoning and permit restrictions that can stop you from installign one. There is a 35-ft height restriction in residential zones. There ia also a noise restrictions and NIMBY attitudes.

Sources

www.awea.org/smallwind.html www.nrel.gov/wind/smalltur.html www.eren.doe.gov/erec/factsheets/wind.html www.eren.doe.gov/power/consumer www.homepower.com

--Lepley189 06:04, 16 November 2007 (PST)