A wind turbine marketed by Honeywell could make generating electricity a home-based business.
The compact turbine resembles a 6-foot in diameter bicycle wheel that sits on a suburban roof. It can function at wind speeds as low as 2 mph, doesn’t make loud noises or vibrate excessively – two objections to competing turbines.
The average U.S. household uses about 10,000 kilowatt hours of electricity in a year. WindTronics, the Michigan firm that developed and manufactures the turbine, says their turbine on the roof of a close-in suburban home can be expected to generate about 20 percent of the electricity a household needs.
The installed cost of the turbine, including a connection to the local electric grid, averages about $8,000 to $9,000, WindTronics estimates, but that cost is offset by a federal tax credit of 30 percent. It may also be reduced by state and local tax credits.
Source: Washington Post, Katherine Salant (01/30/2010)