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In the UK, the Energy Saving Trust's field trial of domestic
wind turbines is the most comprehensive technical monitoring
exercise of domestic small-scale wind turbines undertaken
to-date in the UK.
The trial was launched in January 2007 to monitor the insitu
performance of 57 turbines installed at UK homes for a period
of at least 12 months. The Energy Saving Trust (EST)
identified participants from a selection of grant recipients
and sites put forward by wind turbine manufacturers.
The findings illustrate that turbine performance is highly
dependent upon the local wind speed - so, it is vital to accurately
predict the wind speed before installing a domestic small-scale
turbine. The report also discusses the technical factors that
impact the performance of domestic small-scale wind turbines,
including installation and proper siting.
As a result of these trials, potential customers should
consider the following as they plan their domestic wind turbine
installation -
- Wind turbines do work but only when installed properly
in an appropriate location.
- There is the potential for delivering nearly 2 million
tonnes of CO2 savings from domestic
small scale wind turbines in the UK. This is equivalent
to the annual emissions of approximately 350,000 homes.
- There is a potential to generate up to 3,500GWh electricity
per annum from domestic small-scale wind turbines in the
UK.
- The highest potential for successful household small-scale
wind installations is in Scotland.
- Wind speeds are difficult to predict and highly variable.
The Energy Saving Trust recommends that potential customers
first utilise the best available wind speed estimation tools
and then, where appropriate, install anemometry to determine
the wind speed distribution.
- The introduction of product and installation standards
will require that information from specific products is
easily comparable.
- Customers are advised to only consider domestic small-scale
wind products and installers that are certified under the
Microgeneration
Certification Scheme.
- The Energy Saving Trust advice network is able to provide
advice to customers to help determine if a wind turbine
may be the right choice for their homes.
- Domestic consumers should consider energy produced from
small-scale wind as one option from a potential suite of
microgeneration. technologies.
As a result of these findings, the Energy Saving Trust has
developed an easy-to-use domestic wind speed prediction tool
to help householders to find out whether their property
may have a suitable wind speed for the installation of a domestic
small scale wind turbine.
Customers may also wish to use the Home Energy Generation
Selector
to help them identify other technologies that might be suitable
to generate heat or electricity in the home.
The Energy Saving Trust's network of 21 UK advice centres
are now trained to provide individual consumers with advice
on whether small wind is likely a suitable technology for
them.
To download the report - Click
Here
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