Saturday, October 3, 2009

Now is the Time for Roof Wind Turbines

By Luke Webber

The world is potentially at the point of being self sustainable. We have the technology to develop energy to power houses with sustainable resources such as solar and wind but the cost of these products are still what is holding us back. One such product which is making leaps and bounds is the roof wind turbine. These have been on the market for quite a while but with recent developments they are much more affordable and efficient.

Previous roof wind turbine models were overly bulky, not highly efficient and quite limited in their operating conditions. The period of time to pay back these models in regards to the money you would save using them was extremely long due to their cost to buy and install. Taking into consideration their maintenance costs this pushed the return period even further back. The newer roof wind turbine models can usually be installed by a good electrician and a far less costly.

Wind turbines are a booming industry. Who really wouldn't want to be independent from the Grid. It makes sense in so many ways. The roof wind turbine market only makes up a small share of this market but it is growing in leaps and bounds as people wish to take the renewable option to save money and help the planet.

In terms of the pay back period of the latest roof wind turbine devices you are looking at about 5 years compared to up to 20 years for ones you would have bought 4 years ago.

If you buy a small scale wind turbine system before December 2016 you will receive a 30 percent rebate from the government. This applies to wind turbine units with capacity under 100 kilowatts.

The traditional wind turbine required a tower for it to be attached too. This presented two initial problems for those wishing to install one on their home in a suburban residential area. One it is very costly to put up a tower that is strong enough to hold such a device and two council approval is hard to get for such a tower which is quite often an eyesore. Modern roof wind turbines take away the need for a tower since, as their name suggests, they attach directly to the roof.

The greatest advance in wind turbine technology has been the replacement of a gear and gearbox system. These systems required a wind of 7-8mph just to start the gears turning, obviously reducing efficiency. Almost a 25% reduction resulting from the initial power required as well as the loss of energy in the gear box. To replace the gear system modern engineers have used hubs and bearings and instead of a gear box magnets are used to generate electricity. New systems also boast greater wind acceptance scope as well as turbine blades which can easily be taken off and replaced in the event of damage.

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