Why Aren't Wind Turbines A More Popular Way To Power Homes?

Residential solar power is getting a lot more popular. Yet, if you're looking to break free from the local grid, wind power is a slightly more efficient source of green power than solar. Granted, that applies mostly to large-scale uses, but there are small wind turbines that can provide enough juice for mobile use. That begs the question: Why is everyone talking about solar panels? Why aren't wind turbines a more popular residential solution?

Although wind power is undoubtedly more efficient (the efficiency rate can be between 20% and 40% compared to 15% to 23% achievable with solar panels), it's sadly not feasible for many homes. It may be preferable in rural areas, but because a turbine needs to be at around 30 feet of elevation, it can't really be close to a city. Wind power also only makes sense in windy areas. More precisely, the local wind speed should average about 10 or 11 mph to generate sufficient power.

Say a home meets both criteria. Is putting a wind turbine in your backyard a good idea then? That depends on your overall expenditure. You can pretty much customize solar panel setups to your heart's content until they suit your home's needs. Wind power? Not so much. There simply aren't many choices in wind turbine sizes (residential wind power is comparatively a niche market), so it only makes sense to go for this power-generation method if your home has substantial energy needs. Put all these factors together, and it's easy to figure out why so few homeowners are bragging about their new wind turbine.

Of course, if you fall into the rare category of a person who feasibly could run wind power, chances are you're also considering if it's worth having a wind turbine at home. Unfortunately, there are too many variables to count because location, height, and size of the wind turbine will play a major role in how much power it can ultimately produce. How big of a turbine do you need to run a house? As a rough estimate, a 5 kW turbine produces around 7,440 kWh annually. Taking that into consideration, a rated kilowatt of wind power will cost you between $4,000 and $8,000. So, if you round out your expenditure to 10,000 kWh per year, you're looking at nearly $50,000 in upfront costs.

Getting back to the original question of why wind turbines aren't as prevalent, the cost definitely accounts for part of it. The problem associated with even large-scale wind farms is that it takes nearly a decade for them to pay off, so you'll have to wait a while before you reap the benefits of generating your own power. With solar power, on the other hand, you can slash everything in half. Installing a 10kW solar system for your home will cost you roughly $25,000, and panels are much more forgiving in terms of geographic location and placement: just slap them on your roof where it's bright enough, and you're golden (no pun intended).