The Residential Wind Turbine
With the rapidly growing need and demand for renewable energy sources, there are a number of residential options that you can use to get in on the act. One of these is the residential wind turbine which might be something that you haven't thought about. These turbines are typically located on top of a tower usually at a high point in your property.
Wind turbines work by collecting the kinetic energy of the wind and converting it into useful electricity for your home. Not only does this allow you to help make a positive impact on the environment, but it also helps to save you money. Typically, if you have such a device at your home, you will also need to rely to some extent on a normal electrical supply. These turbines do not generate any electricity if wind speed is less than 7 to 10 miles an hour.
To give you a few more figures, a typical family home uses up to 10,000 kWh of electricity every year. If you want to make a highly noticeable impact on your electricity bills by using the residential turbine, then you need something around 10 kilowatts but it largely depends on average wind speed that you experience in the area where you live.
Of course, the most obvious advantage of such technology is that it is extremely environmentally friendly. They produce absolutely no pollution whatsoever and this of course is something that we should all be concerned about as any responsible homeowner should be thinking about renewable sources of energy if at all possible.
Unfortunately, there are also disadvantages. If you have a particularly small home or you live in the city, then it is unlikely that you will be able to use this particular type of technology. This is because it does take up quite a considerable amount of space and you ideally need a property with about one acre of space. Also remember that they do generate some degree of noise and some might consider them to be rather unsightly so you need to place them away from neighbors.
If you are going to buy a wind turbine, you will find that they can be up to 120 feet in height so that the blades can collect enough wind. Obviously, with figures like that, you do need to have a lot of space. As for costs, they tend to be upwards of $10,000 but the prices vary greatly.
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