Why not many people have wind turbines?

waqasahmed

Solar panels are quite popular but roof mounted wind turbines not so much. 

Is the reason why wind turbines aren't popular entirely down to the ridiculous cost of them? Or are there other reasons?

https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/home-wind-turbines-pros-cons-and-how-much-they-cost

Spies

Domestic turbines are ineffective and noisy to name just two issues.

Typically houses are not built in the windiest places thus not getting full potential from any wind and its often turbulent from nearby builds and obstructions. 

Thrugelmir

The article you referenced is comprehensive in nature. What other aspects are there left to discuss? 

matelodave

As above, you need a decent sized one, high up in a windy place with plenty of space around it to make it worthwhile. They are also fairly noisy especially if fixed directly to a building where the noise and vibration will get transmitted through the structure

They really don't make a lot of sense in a domestic environment unless you have very large and exposed garden or area of land that's well clear of buildings and trees with space to shove up a tall tower or mast to support it.

Even a 2kw unit has a blade diameter of around 2.5-3metres (8-10ft), so for safety it's probably got to be mounted on a pole of around 6 metres high.

Cardew

In addition to the cost, poor output, vibration and noise mentioned above, they are very efficient at killing birds that fly into the rotors.

Petriix

Just buy into the Ripple wind farm if you want to own a wind turbine.

sevenhills

waqasahmed said:

Solar panels are quite popular but roof mounted wind turbines not so much. 

Is the reason why wind turbines aren't popular entirely down to the ridiculous cost of them? Or are there other reasons?

https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/home-wind-turbines-pros-cons-and-how-much-they-cost

The link from Ovo is rather outlandish in saying that the cost would be £20k+
Here is one for £4k
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152773560101?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=cUA7KWImTmO&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=Kn3EKZLqT-C&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I believe that they are common among the boating community? In a home setting in large turbine would be impractical, but surely a small turbine could be practical in some locations.
Lots of small turbines for sale for a few hundred pounds.

[Deleted User]

sevenhills said:

Lots of small turbines for sale for a few hundred pounds.

And almost all of them are mislabelled and entirely useless.

xeny

As turbines get larger, the output goes up faster than linearly.

This means that small ones generate disproportionately little, so you end up with a device that costs you money both to buy and maintain, makes the house noisier to live in, and doesn't give you much electricity.

If you're on a boat with no other options, then the choice between no electricity and some makes that a reasonable decision. It's not so great if you've got access to the grid, which has wind turbines with all the benefits of scale connected to it.

chris_n

Wind turbines do not work in turbulent air such as around buildings. Another issue is controlling them in high winds. Often the cheapy ones have to be lowered when the wind is going to get high because there is no way of braking them other than by shorting the windings. This works to a point but the blades are still trying to turn the turbine, eventually they will overcome the resistance and start to turn. When this happens the generator will burn out and the blades are free to turn unhindered, leading to huge centrifugal forces and the blades detaching. Must be nice having your neighbours turbine blade coming through your roof at 70mph!

macman

Try getting planning permission for one in a residential area...