Energy

Field tests, conducted in collaboration with Pusan University in South Korea, demonstrated that, given average wind speeds of 5 meters a second, the device can yield up to 1,500 kilowatt-hours a year, enough to supply about a third to half the electricity a typical home consumes. Mind you, he’s basing the estimate on the average usage of those living in the Netherlands. On average, Americans have residential footprints in the range of 11,000 kilowatt-hours.

And not having spacing between blades, he adds, also makes the structure a lot less susceptible to the kind of vibrations and turbulence responsible for what some who’ve resided near wind have reported to be turbine-induced noise pollution. “Measurements of noise levels near the turbine show a reading of about 42 decibels,” he says. “That’s quieter than the sound of people talking.”

Sounds great like so much of this greenie technology until reality strikes in .... On the usage side, the average American household uses 10,909 kWh per year (it's higher in south because they use electricity for air conditioning, while in the north they burn natural gas or propane rather then electricity for heat -- it's actually much more energy intensive to heat then cool). On the generation site, 1,500 kWh per year is only 171 watts per hour as there are 8,760 hours per year. And that assumes a constant wind speed of 5/m a second or 11.5 mph. But the average wind speed in Albany, 5.5 mph in winter and 3.3 mph in summer. Plus wind turbines are mechanical devices that need maintenance and repair (bearings wear out), compared to solid state devices like solar panels.