Benefits of domestic wind energy

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Generate electricity at home with small-scale wind turbines. Wind turbines harness the power of the wind and use it to generate electricity. Forty percent of all the wind energy in Europe blows over the UK, making it an ideal country for domestic turbines (known as 'microwind' or 'small-wind' turbines). A typical system in an exposed site could easily generate more power than your lights and electrical appliances use.

The benefits of wind energy

Cut your electricity bills

Wind is free, so once you've paid for the initial installation your electricity costs will be reduced.

Get paid for what you generate

Through Feed-in-Tariffs, you get paid for the electricity you generate even if you use it. What you don't use, you can export to the local grid - and get paid for that too.

Cut your carbon footprint

Wind electricity is green, renewable energy and doesn't release any harmful carbon dioxide or other pollutants.

Store electricity for a calm day

If your home isn't connected to the national grid you can store excess electricity in batteries and use it when there is no wind.

Costs, savings and earnings

Article:

• How To Install a Home Wind energy Turbine to generate wind energy

Costs

The cost of a system will depend on the size and the mounting method: building-mounted turbines cost less to install than pole-mounted ones. For equipment and installation, with VAT at 5%:

a roof-mounted 1kW microwind system costs around £2,000
a 2.5kW pole-mounted system costs around £15,000
a 6kW pole-mounted system costs around £22,500.

Maintenance

Maintenance checks are necessary every few years, and will generally cost around £100 to £200 per year depending on turbine size. A well-maintained turbine should last more than 20 years, but you may need to replace the inverter at some stage during this time, at a cost of £1,000 to £2,000 for a large system.

For off-grid systems, batteries will also need replacing, typically every six to ten years. The cost of replacing batteries varies depending on the design and scale of the system. Any back-up generator will also have its own fuel and maintenance costs.

Savings

Building-mounted turbines tend to produce less electricity per kW than pole-mounted ones. A well-sited 6kW turbine can generate around 10,000kWh per year:

- equivalent to around 5.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year
- generating income and savings, if eligible for Feed-In Tariffs, of around £3,200 a year

How do wind turbines work?

Wind turbines use large blades to catch the wind. When the wind blows, the blades are forced round, driving a turbine which generates electricity. The stronger the wind, the more electricity produced.

There are two types of domestic-sized wind turbine:

Pole mounted: these are free standing and are erected in a suitably exposed position, often around 5kW to 6kW
Building mounted: these are smaller than mast mounted systems and can be installed on the roof of a home where there is a suitable wind resource. Often these are around 1kW to 2kW in size.

( Reference: ww.energysavingtrust.org.uk/

• More links about Domestic Wind energy

• Videos: How to install Wind energy

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