As subject matter experts, we provide only objective information. We design every article to provide you with deeply-researched, factual, useful information so that you can make informed home electrification and financial decisions. We have: Contact online >>
As subject matter experts, we provide only objective information. We design every article to provide you with deeply-researched, factual, useful information so that you can make informed home electrification and financial decisions. We have:
Incorporated third-party data and information from primary sources, government agencies, educational institutions, peer-reviewed research, or well-researched nonprofit organizations.
We won''t charge you anything to get quotes through our marketplace. Instead, installers and other service providers pay us a small fee to participate after we vet them for reliability and suitability. To learn more, read about how we make money, our Dispute Resolution Service, and our Editorial Guidelines.
Let''s make one thing clear right from the outset: Residential wind power is not for everybody. It''s not even for many people. Small, residential wind is a decidedly niche market, limited not only by the forces of geography and land use but also the availability of affordable solar power.
Don''t just take our word for it. Even those who have built careers, expertise, and livelihoods around wind power are the first to warn that it''s probably not the best option for most households.
"Quite honestly, I talk more people out of wind power than I talk into it," said Michael Soriano, director of sales and marketing at Bergey Windpower Co., the top U.S. manufacturer of small wind systems.
"It''s telling that I have solar panels on my roof but don''t have wind turbines in my yard," said Matthew Lackner, director of the Wind Energy Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
However, small wind can be a viable option to power a home under certain circumstances. In limited cases, it may even be economically preferable to solar power. And even when it''s not, some people just really like the idea of a big wind turbine spinning on their property.
"We''ve seen several times that people want to buy a turbine just because it''s a turbine. They want the 80-foot tower," said Bruce Hatchett, owner of California-based turbine installer Energy Options. "They want to be different or stand out, and that will do it."
Residential wind is quite rare, because it only has a chance to work at properties that meet basic conditions. In short, the property must be windy, it should be rural, and it ought to use a lot of power.
Rural locations allow for wide-open spaces without tall obstructions that will get in the way of the wind. In general, a turbine should be elevated at least 30 feet above nearby trees or buildings in order to generate the energy you need. Moreover, while zoning and permitting will differ state by state and community by community, it is safe to assume that the difficulty of installing a turbine will increase with more density of housing and buildings and without adequate setback from roads and neighbors'' property.
Because wind turbines only come in certain sizes, experts say a turbine is generally only a useful investment for large homes that use a lot of electricity. Solar, by comparison, is more customizable to a given property.
These types of smaller-scale turbines may have some uses for consumers, but they are usually used as a "supplement to solar," said Wes Shank, vice president at Missouri Wind and Solar. He described a typical customer for these smaller-scale turbines as living in a very rural location, often a rancher or farmer, who needs power in a remote part of a property. But these smaller models are not suited to power a significant portion of most homes, said Shank, who estimated that wind powers only about 1 percent of the needs of his own off-grid home.
In the best-case scenario, a not-so-small 15-kW turbine could produce as much as 45,000 kWh per year—but it could be much, much less than that. The actual number depends on multiple variables, including the size of the turbine, the strength of the wind resources, and technical aspects of the turbine itself.
The amount of energy a turbine actually generates over the course of the year compared to the absolute maximum it could generate is known as its capacity factor, and it is the key figure to determining how much you can generate. Small wind turbines have an average capacity factor of 17 percent, according to the Department of Energy''s 2018 Distributed Wind Market Report, but there is huge variance in either direction, anywhere from 2 percent to 36 percent.
So if we assume that 17 percent capacity factor, which is probably an overestimate for most residential installations, a 5-kW turbine would produce about 7,446 kWh per year, a 10-kW turbine will produce roughly 14,892 kWh per year, and a 15-kW turbine will produce 22,338 kWh.
The all-in price to install and operate a small wind turbine will vary depending on location, product, installer, and more. Beyond just the cost of the turbine, the price will also include permitting, tower construction, connecting to the electric grid, and/or batteries.
One commonly cited number from the American Wind Energy Association pegs the cost of small wind at between $3,000 and $5,000 for every kilowatt of generating capacity, meaning costs could range from as low as $15,000 for a smaller five kilowatt setup to $75,000 for a larger 15 kilowatt system. However, installers we spoke with put the costs higher, ranging between $100,000 to $175,000.
Permitting costs in particular can vary dramatically by community. Hatchett, the California turbine installer, said this can be a huge barrier for some would-be purchasers in places that require thousands of dollars in upfront payments to even determine whether you can install a wind system.
Policymakers have taken some action to lighten the financial load. Small wind turbines are eligible for a 30% federal tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, similar to solar panels. Additional federal incentives offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for rural businesses and farms can bring down costs even further, but they are not intended for residential use. States may also offer their own incentive programs.
Whether a residential turbine is cost-effective will depend on how much power you can generate and how much power you need. It may become economically viable if you have a lot of wind and a large electric bill. However, small wind turbines also require maintenance that will carry additional costs and labor.
In the vast majority of cases, solar power is a better financial option for homeowners. According to EnergySage research, the average cost for solar installation in the U.S. at the time of writing is $2.86 per watt, and a 10-kilowatt system on average costs $27,300 before tax credits. Based on the pricing estimates above, wind tends to cost more, with best-case estimates for a 10-kilowatt turbine coming in at $30,000 and potentially running much higher. The 10 kW solar array will also likely produce more electricity per year.
About Small household wind turbine
As the photovoltaic (PV) industry continues to evolve, advancements in Small household wind turbine have become critical to optimizing the utilization of renewable energy sources. From innovative battery technologies to intelligent energy management systems, these solutions are transforming the way we store and distribute solar-generated electricity.
When you're looking for the latest and most efficient Small household wind turbine for your PV project, our website offers a comprehensive selection of cutting-edge products designed to meet your specific requirements. Whether you're a renewable energy developer, utility company, or commercial enterprise looking to reduce your carbon footprint, we have the solutions to help you harness the full potential of solar energy.
By interacting with our online customer service, you'll gain a deep understanding of the various Small household wind turbine featured in our extensive catalog, such as high-efficiency storage batteries and intelligent energy management systems, and how they work together to provide a stable and reliable power supply for your PV projects.
