| Wind energy is a tried and tested technology that has | | | | cause serious damage to your house, as would trying |
| been used for centuries. More recently it has become | | | | to go for a bigger turbine to generate a larger |
| a popular way to generate electricity, as concern has | | | | proportion of your electricity. |
| grown about man-made Climate Change. Electricity | | | | The only case when you should consider a wind |
| generated from the wind does not produce any | | | | turbine is when you can site it far enough from any |
| carbon dioxide, and has none of the worries | | | | obstacles like buildings, and in a relatively windy site. |
| associated with nuclear power. As a result, many | | | | Some people who live in the country are able to set |
| have come to see it as a major part of the solution | | | | up turbines that generate a significant proportion of |
| for man-made Climate Change. If we could generate a | | | | their own electricity. |
| substantial portion of our electricity from wind, we | | | | However, the vast majority of people live in cities, |
| would massively reduce the amount of carbon dioxide | | | | where small wind turbines are next to useless. So |
| that we emit into the atmosphere. Furthermore, the | | | | what should you do instead? The first thing you should |
| cost of generating electricity from large wind turbines | | | | focus on is using energy much more efficiently, by |
| is falling, and is expected soon to be cost competitive | | | | insulating your home to save heat, installing a |
| with electricity generation from fossil fuels. | | | | super-efficient condensing boiler, buying |
| As a result of this, wind farms have sprung up all over | | | | energy-efficient appliances like fridges and washing |
| the place, with enormous turbines that each generate | | | | machines, and installing low energy light bulbs. |
| enough electricity to power thousands of homes. | | | | Once you have taken these basic measures, you can |
| Some people have also tried to replicate this | | | | start to think about generating your own energy using |
| technology on a small scale, by installing a small wind | | | | other 'clean' technologies. The most cost effective of |
| turbine on their house. Most famously in the UK, David | | | | these is generally solar hot water, where solar panels |
| Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, had a | | | | on your roof provide up to 70% of your annual hot |
| small wind turbine installed on the roof of his London | | | | water needs by using the sun's heat. You can also |
| home. | | | | consider using a ground source heat pump to heat |
| However, for most households, especially in cities, wind | | | | your home, and solar PV panels on your roof to |
| turbines are an expensive way to achieve very little. In | | | | generate electricity, but these measures can be |
| fact they are almost useless. It has been calculated | | | | expensive, and so will not be for everyone. More |
| that a 1.75 metre diameter wind turbine, in an area with | | | | details of all these technologies are available on |
| UK average wind speed of 4 metres a second, will | | | | downwithco2.co.uk. |
| produce under 5% of an average UK household's | | | | Unfortunately small wind turbines in their current design |
| annual electricity consumption. And this assumes that | | | | are not the way forward for the vast majority of us. It |
| the turbine is working efficiently. | | | | is possible that in the future someone will come up with |
| However in cities, the buildings cause a great deal of | | | | a better design that can work in cities, but until then we |
| wind turbulence, and slow down wind speeds. | | | | will have to carry on building the larger versions, and |
| Therefore to make a turbine work efficiently it would | | | | take other actions to reduce our home's contribution to |
| need to be fixed far above a house (up to 10 metres). | | | | Climate Change. |
| Fixing a windmill on a long pole like this would likely | | | | |