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this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2026
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From what I've read, wind doesn't really scale down to home use the way solar does.
And those cheap Amazon generators (whether they are attached to wind turbines or sold as standalone units) never come even remotely close to the advertised output.
Dude, all you need to do is spend $13k for one of these,
https://istabreeze.us/complete-heli-2kw-on-grid-wind-turbine-set-with-tower-inverter-and-controller-installation-kit-for-grid-feed/
And then mount it 30 feet above the tallest tree or building near you.
How hard can it be?
I thought it would be nice to get a wind turbine since that could produce some useful electricity in months that contain the letter 'r'.
Price of electricity is like 10 cents a kWh average throughout the year
11000/2/0.1 = 55000 hours
Will pay off if it produces 2 kW for 6 years straight. I don't think I'm getting one.
i mean, if you're in flat open farmland with a steady breeze why the hell not run up a pole?
Most of us aren't on farms. But yeah, if you are I'd definitely look into it. Especially if you're running large refrigerators and/or freezers.
After the dollar collapses all of us are going to be on farms
Regardless, you can run it at night when the sun isn't out. If you have enough back up battery storage, slow and steady is fine.
Where did you read that?
The main issue is the small size tends to increase the required wind speed required to initially overcome friction, and those higher windspeeds are rarely sustained at ground level. Large turbines work efficiently because they are up above the turbulence caused by houses, trees, buildings, etc.
I don't save links to everything I ever read, so you'll have to search it up if you're curious for more details.
Really depends on where you live. If you're in suburbs they're completely fucking useless. If you're in the country with over a mile of relatively flat fields upwind it'll work, especially if you already have an old antenna tower or can put one up.
Also, the larger commercial tirbines are trying to generate commercial levels of power, not residential. And for a given wind speed the power generation scales by blade length, and a lot of that height is also needed as clearance for the blades
This guy tested a $100 solar panel and windmill and found the solar panel was much, much better. https://youtu.be/iHulKsD35Hc
This guy gets into the math behind the Tesup Atlas wind turbine. Basically the real output people are getting could be matched by 200-400watts of solar. https://youtu.be/6ixUmlN-cYc
The 2 biggest problems with scaling down turbines.
Hard 60% efficiency limit called the Betz Limit
Wear and tear on smaller parts is the same as bigger parts but with lower output efficiency.
I guess a 3rd is that the surface area to volume ratio is probably what makes large turbines practical in the first place.
Less efficient doesn't mean it's useless, especially at night.
It does if the wind isn't blowing fast enough to move the turbine. They cover that in the 2nd video.
Get a different turbine?
https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/09/urban-windmills-harm-the-environment
Physics are quite simply not on the side of small-scale wind power. Which is fine, it doesn't have to - solar works really well for small-scale applications.
Trees and rolling landscapes block a LOT of wind. You need to be someplace flat and sparse to have any luck.
I've looked into it for exactly this reason. 1 kW at night would go a long, long way for me. It doesn't work.
If you're lucky, a small turbine might be able to charge your phone. Maybe. Intermittently.
The turbines scale exponentially with blade size, not linearly. And none of it works well at suburb/city height. You need this things 100ft in the air with large blades.
At that point you might as well get a real one and power your neighborhood. Those things really don't scale down effectively.
Here is a handy guide: https://ecowised.com/best-home-wind-turbines-for-residential-use-top-models-costs-what-to-look-for/
Edit: Here's one from Europe: https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/wind-turbines/
Wind is too variable. Sun comes up every day, and getting laminar wind is difficult in suburban areas. Expensive and turbines wear and get iced in winter. They can work in rural settings which is why they have been using turbines on farms for over 200 years.
Sure, technically
Where I come from, solar energy doesn't work in the winter, but wind (large scale) usually does. Output difference of a solar system between winter lowest vs summer highest is ~30x, as we get an average of around 20 hours of sunshine in the entire month of December and it's not exactly at a great angle for those few hours. Wind would be pretty much the only way one could really stop relying on fossil based energy here. Kinda sucks if they're not a real option.
Depends on geography and climate. Some places in my area are 24/7 windtunnels.
But you need laminar wind. It suburban areas there is too much turbulence from objects.
Im not going to make a bunch of links. Just search why home wind sucks.
What the hell do you think "It depends on geography" means?
The top one says it’s 10000W!
Then the same looking unit below it is 3000W, then the only realistic looking turbine is 1,500W.
I suspect if your knock a 0 off the end you might be in the ballpark for the modest rated ones.