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Micro wind turbines
Commercial scale wind turbines are huge machines mounted on pylons over 100 m tall with capacities up to 3 MW or more. Micro wind turbines on the other hand are small devices intended for domestic use.
Some of the smallest micro turbines are designed to be mounted on the roof of a home or building; these generally range from 200 W to 2.5 kW devices. Larger turbines can be mounted on masts 3 to about 15 m in height and range in capacity from about 600 W to 20 kW. The larger machines in this category could power a farm or a cluster of buildings.
Its unlikely that roof mounted wind turbines will become very common in urban environments in New Zealand. In most cases they won’t operate very efficiently because the wind will be obstructed by other buildings and trees. Also, consents are required because of possible noise and visual issues. A building consent would also be required.
Small wind turbines are likely to become much more common on lifestyle blocks and farms where windy sites with minimal obstruction are available and where noise is less of an issue.
Further information and workshops on micro wind turbines are available from EcoInnovation. See the following website:
http://www.ecoinnovation.co.nz/
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