Everyone talks about solar, what about wind turbines?

Jebelious

Hi all

Wanted to guage people's thoughts on the availability/viability of wind turbines at home. Has anyone had them installed? Do they play nice with solar being installed? Are the "quiet" turbines actually quiet?

I am asking as it's abnormally windy where we live and I think for an all day generation it would be fantastic but is it too good to be true?

Where do I start with research and pricing?

QrizB

Wind turbines are a great idea for large scale generation but make no sense for 99% of UK households.

There have been several threads here on them in recent months. You should read them.

paul991

If you live on a large farm in the country they are great but for a normal city  house they fail.The bigger a wind turbine is the more efficient they are ,your  best bet would be to invest in Ripple or  something similar.There are several videos on  you tube mainly from remote islands and off grid in america but  for domestic use I would steer clear until technology improves

strawb_shortcake

It's a wind turbine that would have the biggest impact on improving our homes EPC, buy with a suggested cost of £16k and planning on moving in a few years time it's not something we'll explore further. But our home would probably be well suited for one.

dunstonh

We are considering a turbine or two, but the cost is still very high, and planning permission will be needed as the ideal areas for both of them would be within range of listed buildings and relatively close to the boundary.    I suspect I would get permission as there are no other properties within a mile.   So, I am just holding off for a bit longer as prices have fallen but not enough yet.

ispookie666

Planning planning and more planning permission.  As others have echoed, you need to be in an isolated rural area with literally no neighbours.  Bigger sweep areas produce much more power, so smaller turbines are not going to be of much use.  You could add small ones to provide a few 100 Kw 
The lowest point of the blade is supposed to be 5m above the highest point of a building in a built up area (this might have changed).  

ispookie666

dunstonh said:

We are considering a turbine or two, but the cost is still very high, and planning permission will be needed as the ideal areas for both of them would be within range of listed buildings and relatively close to the boundary.    I suspect I would get permission as there are no other properties within a mile.   So, I am just holding off for a bit longer as prices have fallen but not enough yet.

Why not one turbine and ground mounted solar array?  

dunstonh

ispookie666 said:

dunstonh said:

We are considering a turbine or two, but the cost is still very high, and planning permission will be needed as the ideal areas for both of them would be within range of listed buildings and relatively close to the boundary.    I suspect I would get permission as there are no other properties within a mile.   So, I am just holding off for a bit longer as prices have fallen but not enough yet.

Why not one turbine and ground mounted solar array?  

Most of the land is used as paddocks and the bulk of them are surrounded by trees.    But a zone that is half an acre sits close to where the roof-mounted solar panels are going with the barn with the batteries, and no trees for several hundred yards. 

We run a fair bit of 24 hour lighting and dust/dawn lighting.  So, a couple of those small roof-mounted turbines may also be added to provide sufficient trickle to cover those.   It's early stage discussion and planning. So, nothing concrete.

Screwdriva

I used to install micro turbines/ solar hybrid systems in remote third world villages. They are a great solution when paired with battery storage, and perform well during low solar months. If exporting, they will offer an excellent return on investment, much like their giant cousins.

Like everyone has said, if you live in a more remote area and can secure planning permission, a 1-3 kWh turbine will perform well. Just make sure you purchase from a company that has been around for a while and offers good aftersales, as it is basically an alternator with a fan attached to it and will need service every few years with a major repair every 7-10 years.