Small Wind Systems - A Few Facts About Residential Wind Turbines

When researching alternative power systems, specifically wind power systems, you'll often run across the phrase small wind. You may not have paid much attention to it, but it's used to differentiate residential wind energy systems from large commercial systems. Because of the rising costs of energy and electricity, there has been a large investment in both large and small wind systems. You may have noticed a few new small turbines that have been installed at homes and farms in your area. Or maybe you've seen some of the recently installed large commercial turbines that have been gaining in popularity too. Regardless of which one you've seen, one thing is for sure: wind power is here to stay.

Typically, a small wind system is just that; a much smaller turbine that produces 10 kilowatts or less of power. The turbines have smaller diameter blades, and are often mounted on towers that fall into the 30 to 80 foot range. Depending on the electrical requirements of the individual homeowner and the size of the turbine, it's possible to drastically reduce, or even eliminate electricity costs. And in the best case situations, it's possible to generate excess power and sell it back to your local power company. But don't get your hopes up too high, this is normally the exception to the rule.

Often times, concerns about the noise created by a small wind turbines arise. People wonder if their wind turbine will produce a noticeable and bothersome level of noise. To answer the first part of the question, yes. A small turbine will indeed produce noise that can be heard. This noise is mainly from the sound of the wind moving over the blades. But, it's not very loud and bothersome. Studies have shown that the sound level produced is only slightly louder than that of ambient noise levels. And since the level of noise is directly related to the distance from the source, proper positioning of your wind generator can help you to eliminate any noise concerns.

Another concern of most homeowners is will the wind turbine decrease their property values. While there hasn't been any official study concerning this, there have been several informal surveys and related evidence that overwhelmingly suggests that if anything, a wind turbine could increase the value of your home.

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