wind turbine on the roof
But no alternative to solar? Consumer center warns of small wind turbines
This is how The Archimedes from Holland imagines their own energy supply.
© The Archimedes / PR
Balcony power plants are very popular for supplying electricity to your own home. There is also great interest in small wind turbines. Consumer advocates, on the other hand, think it’s better to keep your hands off it.
Although electricity prices have recovered slightly from last year’s peak prices, the short-term shock triggered an unstoppable wave: More and more people are interested in taking care of the supply for their own four walls. Solar systems, often so-called balcony power plants, help here. Although they are far from covering the entire consumption, they form a solid basis with which good money can be saved over the years.
Another way to generate electricity is through wind turbines. There are more and more approaches to this, such as “The Archimedes” from Holland or the “Aeromine” from Texas. However, most of the concepts are not yet suitable for the masses – even if it only fails because of their availability Consumer Center North Rhine-Westphalia.
Wind turbines are only worthwhile in special cases
In the opinion of consumer advocates, it is simply not worth installing the systems at the moment. Because the yields are very small and the savings are correspondingly manageable. In addition, with some models there are vibrations and noises that could disturb neighbors – the requirements for the installation of such a system are correspondingly strict.
A sample calculation from the consumer advice center actually makes little sense. According to this, a system with a rotor diameter of one meter and an area of 0.8 square meters should deliver just 96 kilowatt hours a year – i.e. electricity with the equivalent of 33 euros. The conclusion: Such a system is obviously only worthwhile in the rarest of cases.
If you are still interested in the purchase, the main thing to consider beforehand is the location of the house, they say. Anyone who lives in a built-up area or near many trees must therefore expect slower wind. Only if the system can work in an exposed location will there be a significant yield. A high mast would be perfect, but that’s not realistic for your own garden.
Fear of low durability
In addition, the durability of the systems is a headache for consumer advocates. While one often reads about guarantees of more than 20 years for a balcony power plant, the VBZ NRW expects the wind power plants to have a significantly shorter term. In addition, it could even be the case in individual cases that the system needs more electricity per year than it generates if the location is particularly unfavorable.
If you are still interested in such a power plant, independent reading on portals such as “Klein-Windkraftanlagen.com” is recommended. However, one should not rely on manufacturer information, because the nominal power in particular is often given for unrealistic wind conditions and therefore does not correspond to everyday performance, so the conclusion. If you look at sales platforms like Amazon, you will find many systems that are advertised as having an output of 10 kilowatts. According to consumer advocates, that is extremely unrealistic.