The quietrevolution wind turbine has been designed for use on or near buildings and the 6kW model will generate 10,000kWhrs a year on a site with an average windspeed of 5.8m/s. This is enough to power two average British homes, but current market prices in the UK for home-generated energy that is exported to the grid do not yet match the price paid for electricity bought from the grid. As a result, it is unfortunately not always cost effective to install a turbine of this size on private residences.
If your consumption is 6,000kWhr+, you have an annual mean wind speed of at least 5.0m/s and a 3 phase (415V) power supply, then a qr5 is a good option. If you need less electricity we would recommend our smaller QR2.5 turbine which launches later in 2008.
The qr5 can be ground or roof mounted. It is installed on 9m & 15m for ground mounts, or 3m & 6m masts for roof mounts. In both instances, we rely on the advice of structural engineers to ensure there is sufficient ground or roof strength before proceeding with an installation.
Our qr5 costs £25,000 installation costs are additional and will vary depending on the type and complexity of the installation. For each installation a feasibility study will need to be conducted, these will incur a separate cost to the installation.
In most instances you will be required to submit a planning application prior to the installation of our turbine. Planning authorities are usually most interested in visual aesthetics and the acoustic performance of wind turbines – quietrevolution would be happy to provide technical information on our turbine as needed.
Useful sources of information:
- www.multimap.com and www.streetmap.com both allow you to look up your Ordinance Survey reference by entering your postcode
- DTI windspeed database can then tell you the annual mean wind speed (AMWS) at various heights above ground level (AGL) in your area
- www.bwea.com has a very good introduction to small wind