| REUK Shop | REUK Blog | Directory | About Us  |  | RSS Web Feed for Renewable Energy UK 

Roof Mounting of Wind Turbines



Roof Mounting Of Wind Turbines

Mounting micro wind turbines on roofs. It is worth it?

wind
  Printer Friendly Version Print Article     

D400 wind turbine generated mounted to a wall

The debate about roof top mounting and building integration of wind turbines continues with strong opinions on both sides of the argument. While the manufacturers of the D400 Wind Generator, the Windsave 1000, and Air-X wind turbines claim that it is safe to install their turbines on roofs and fitted to the gable end of residential properties, there are many that believe this is both dangerous (turbines falling from and through roofs etc or shedding a blade in extreme conditions), annoying (constant vibration felt through the property on which the turbine is installed), and highly inefficient (the wind at roof height in a built up area is extremely turbulent).

Bracket used to hold a Windsave 1000 wind turbine to the wall of a house

A very detailed argument against roof-top mounting is provided by Paul Gipe in his article on Roof-Top Mounting and Building Integration of Wind Turbines on the Wind-Works.org website in which he summarises Mounting wind turbines--of any kind--on a building is a very bad idea. I've yet to see an application where this has worked or will likely work.

Hugh Piggott agrees with Paul Gipe stating that Rooftop wind turbines are a load of nonsense, and that The manufacturers of rooftop wind turbines invariably make quite unrealistic claims, and present a very strong marketing rather than engineering image. They are always looking for very large numbers of sales before demonstrating the technology in a public way. They often play on public misconceptions of the nature of the wind by quoting high power outputs in absurdly windy conditions.

See also our article Consumers Disappointed with Micro Wind Turbines.



Article Last Modified: 08:43, 2nd Jun 2007

Comment on this Article

If you have any comments on this article, please email them to neil@reuk.co.uk.


Recommended Related Articles

People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:

Windsave 1000
Find out more about the Windsave 1000 system
Article Last Modified: 10:21, 9th Mar 2011
wind

Calculate kWh Generated by Wind Turbine
Knowing average wind speed and rotor size of a wind turbine estimate kWh of electricity generated per year
Article Last Modified: 15:58, 8th Mar 2007
wind | education

Futurenergy 1kW Wind Turbine
Read about the Futurenergy 1kW Wind Turbine Generator
Article Last Modified: 12:11, 15th Mar 2011
wind

Buy a VAWT Vertical Wind Turbine
Understand the advantages and disadvantages of VAWTs
Article Last Modified: 10:37, 26th Oct 2010
wind

Darrieus Wind Turbines
What is a Darrieus wind turbine - Darrieus (VAWT)
Article Last Modified: 16:27, 30th Jan 2007
wind | education

Consumers Disappointed With Micro Turbines
Roof-mounted domestic wind turbines disappointing consumers
Article Last Modified: 13:57, 13th Jan 2009
wind | news

VAWT Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
Understand the advantages and disadvantages of VAWTs
Article Last Modified: 10:36, 26th Oct 2010
wind

Make a Mini Wind Turbine Battery Charger
Convert a PC fan into a wind turbine battery charger
Article Last Modified: 20:19, 7th Aug 2012
wind | electronics | education

© 2006-2013 REUK - All Rights Reserved
Page Last Updated on 23rd May 2013 at 05:09:53pm

Recent
Blog Posts


1.Low Voltage Disconnect with Display and Datalogger

2.Saudi Solar Power Boom About to Begin

3.Compressed Air for Storage of Renewable Energy

4.Offer of the Day – 80W Monocrystalline Solar Panel £71.98

5.Project of the Day – Wind Turbine Dynamic Blade Pitch Controller

6.Morocco Starts Vast Solar Energy Project

7.Follow Up to RC Helicopter Lighting Controller

8.Low Voltage Disconnect – User Programmable Set Points in Binary

9.UK Home Energy Smart Meter Project Delayed

10.EU to Impose High Import Duties on Chinese Made Solar Panels


Latest
Articles


New Simple Hen House Door Controller
Details of our new 2013 simple design for an automatic hen house door controller
electric circuit
11:45, 20th Apr 2013

Automatic Hen House Door Closer Opener
Find out how to put together a DIY automatic hen house door opener and closer
electric circuit
11:40, 20th Apr 2013

Butanol vs Ethanol Fuel of the Future
A brief introduction to Butanol/Biobutanol as an alternative to Ethanol
biomass
11:55, 19th Apr 2013

Cheap Pyroelectric Infrared PIR Detector
Details of a very affordable and flexible PIR motion detector
electronics
20:33, 16th Jan 2013

Heat Pump Tumble Dryer
Reduce power consumption with the latest heat pump tumble dryer technology
energy efficiency
20:16, 3rd Jan 2013

LED Spotlights
Find out about Energy Efficient LED spotlights
lighting
15:17, 3rd Jan 2013

Dimmable Energy Saving Lightbulbs
Find out more about low energy light bulbs which can be used with standard dimmer switches
lighting
14:36, 3rd Jan 2013

Review of Megaman Energy Saving Lightbulbs
Find out more about the Megaman range of CFL energy saving lightbulbs
lighting
14:08, 3rd Jan 2013



REUK Shop

Popular Items


REUK SUPER LDR DUSK DAWN RELAY CONTROLLER
Multi-function light detector triggered light/dark dawn/dusk relay controller
£19.95 each.
Complete Circuits



KARASOULI SCC 20 CHARGE CONTROLLER
20A rated wind turbine charge controller and dump load controller with blocking diode and heatsink
£43.95 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



2013 SOLAR PUMP CONTROLLER WITH RELAY
New solar water heating pump controller with fitted 10A relay
£25.99 each.
Complete Circuits



REUK SUPER POULTRY LIGHTING CONTROLLER
Control up to 8 Watts of LED spotlights to stimulate egg production in birds
£29.99 each.
Complete Circuits



REUK SUPER TIMER 2
User programmable 12VDC powered 16A rated repeating relay timer. 1 second to 99 hours ON and OFF times
£23.99 each.
Complete Circuits



300 WATT POWER INVERTER
Convert 12V DC battery power into 230 AC to power portable televisions, computers, video recorders etc. 300 Watt power rating - peak power 600 Watts
£29.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



CONVERTED PROGRAMMABLE DIGITAL TIMER RELAY
Mains powered programmable timer converted to low voltage with relay board
£21.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



12 VOLT REGULATOR
Supply a fixed 12.0 Volt DC to your devices (up to 0.7 Amp output)
£4.79 each.
Complete Circuits



MR16 CERAMIC BULB HOLDER
Bulb holder for 12 Volt LED spotlight bulbs
£1.39 each.
Energy Efficient Lighting