I was over at smart planet.com this morning looking at a news story they had involving small vertical axis wind turbines built for residential use. It appears from the story there are lots of people developing vertical axis wind turbines for home use now with more and more people jumping on the band wagon every day.

One of the things I have noticed about nearly every model of vertical axis wind turbines that I have seen is that they are flashy and designed to be visible. Well as far as I am concerned I want my vertical axis wind turbine to blend in with the environment. I don’t really want it to stand out in the crowd. If it does stand out I would like it to accentuate the senary and not clash with it.

small vertical axis wind turbine With that in mind why do you think that nearly every new model of vertical wind turbines are made from materials that reflect the sun and can be seen for miles if something isn’t blocking your view. I believe that is one reason why so many communities are not completely for the introduction of vertical axis wind turbines in their community.

I can see their point. Imagine if you will a unit setting about 70 to 100 feet in the air with shiny silver blades, 12 to 24 feet in diameter, and a shiny silver pole with the sun reflecting off of it. Kids staring at it could go blind. Reflected light could cause recks, etc.

Yes I know I am strengthening it somewhat but you get the idea when it comes to people apposed to something. What we and companies that build vertical axis wind turbines should do is to construct them in such a manner that they blend as much as possible into the senary around them.

I know that you have to get a vertical axis wind turbine above things that are close enough to block the wind from it because without wind it is virtually useless. Here is the deal. If you don’t have enough open space, about 100 feet in every direction, for the vertical axis turbine to allow the wind flow to get to it at a specific level, like just above your roof, then you have to put it high enough to access the wind.

In urban developments it usually isn’t trees that cause problems, it is usually structures that are taller than yours that block the wind. In that case you will have to get it above the hight of the structure. If you can’t do that then you next bet is to build yourself a solar array to catch the energy from the sun and convert that to electricity.

Well there is good news for everyone. There are a umber of manuals out there that give you detailed instruction on building your on vertical axis wind turbine as well as your own solar panel array. between the two you can produce 100% of the electricity you use and maybe even a little extra to sell back to the utility company.

Have them paying you for a change. Sounds like a far fetched idea doesn’t it or maybe this will cost me so much money that it will take 20 years to pay off the bill for building this power generating array. Well you can relax and rest in peace. You can build a vertical axis turbine with alternator and electrical conversion units for under $200.

You can also build solar panels for your home for about that as well. With this method you could build a solar panel each month and turn your house into a solar home is a year or so. Add to that the vertical axis turbine to convert wind energy to electricity and you are set without and electrical bill.

Sounds good doesn’t it. It does to me and if you think so to, then go get your complete guide to building  your own electrical generating system using wind and solar energy here: Wind and Solar Energy Guide

Technorati Tags: ,