The sight of wind turbines around the UK is not an uncommon one but it is only lately that domestic wind power is being more seriously considered. The UK accounts for 40% of Europe’s wind energy but this is largely untapped with only about 3.2% of our electricity currently generated by wind power. This lags well behind many other European countries one of which currently uses wind for 24% of its electricity production. Domestic wind power is another way of harnessing this energy thus helping the environment and saving money.
Wind turbines use the wind’s lift forces to turn aerodynamic blades that turn a rotor which creates electricity. Open, high, flat areas are best suited to wind turbines but they can also be used to provide domestic wind power on a smaller scale than those we see dotting the landscape. It is worth looking into the wind in your area, however, and the NOABL database contains information on local wind speeds. Go to the www.renewable-uk.com website for more information. It should also be noted that domestic wind turbine installations usually require planning permission.
The cost of domestic wind power is from £2000 for a roof mounted turbine or from about £15,000 for a mast mounted system. A 2.5 kw turbine can be expected to generate in the region of 4000kWh of electricity a year offering income and savings of about £1300 a year (including income from feed-in tariffs).
Domestic wind power can be used to simply provide power to your home with a battery storage facility or can be connected to the national grid.
Source: www.renewable-uk.com & www.est.org.uk 2011
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