Roof Wind Turbines

What is the appealing proposition of roof mounted wind turbines?

The claimed merits of roof wind turbines are:

• Roof mounted turbines do not require a tall wind turbine tower
• The inverter can be installed in the attic in a close proximity to the wind turbine
• The solution is more cost effective than a residential solar power system

What are the claims against the roof top wind turbine?

The following are the claimed disadvantages and limitations of the roof top turbine:

• Noise, the turbine blade rotates and produce a typical hiss sound; apparently some of the vendors found ingenious ways to calm their turbine down


• Vibration is felt through the building on which the turbine is mounted; improved installation that dumps the vibration coupled from the anchor points to the building might be a solution


• Under severe weather condition it is apparently hazardous to have a heavy object detached from the building or having one blade flying independently; technology is improving and this is a good question to ask before you buy


• Efficiency is not as good as that of a turbine installed on a tall tower because the air at roof level is turbulent


• Due to constraints of size and weight, roof top wind turbines are limited in their power delivery capability (500 Watt to 1500 Watt); this is enough to supply a fraction of the household needs; it can however serve as a a supplement to a residential solar power system

HAWT versus VAWT

Most roof mounted turbines are Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT) and the blades rotate in a vertical plane. A Canadian company, Windterra, developed a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) specifically for roof mounting. I did not see many reviews about the Windterra turbine advantages/disadvantages, I'd rather wait for more data to be accumulated on this specific micro wind turbine

The Community Size Wind Turbine

Not an easy task, try to pull together your community to go on a community size wind turbine, a much more efficient way to bring clean energy to the entire community.