Can Wind Turbines installed on the roof of a residential home damage its structure?

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Comment by Home Wind Turbine on September 27, 2009 at 5:51am

>> But can a rooftop model capture enough wind currents? If your next neighbor
>> has a 2 story colonial, and you have a 1 story ranch , then you
>> have some major wind blockage?

No, just like you wouldn't put a solar panel in the shade, there will be sites where it is not ideal. But even in your scenario depending on how close the home is and what the normal wind direction may be it could still be an acceptable site. Like here at my home wind is 90% coming from the west to northwest, so a home on backside of that is less a problem than one that would be between me and the wind.

Here's a picture of a recent install in Hawaii where we have installed the most advanced and inventive home energy system in that state. I now have installations fro Hawaii to Massachusetts and have been exporting to foreign countries from Ohio where I am a US manufacturer.



Anyone wanting one of our patent pending rooftop wind turbine kits, fill out the contact form and I can connect you with the dealer for your area. There are still areas open in most states for new dealers but many counties and a few entire states are taken up and several people are saying they are going to get their territory. So, if you are interested in becoming a dealer fill out the same form and we can see if your area may still be open.

Comment by Tim Heming on March 2, 2009 at 6:05am

Well I got the answears that I was hoping for from you. I asked you earlier this year about information, and you gave me a couple links to look at, but by goding you to answear this blog and made in U.S. questions, I got a more in depth answear. Yes I am still interested in buying and installing one of your products, and also becoming a distributor/dealer, or installer. Now you may ask me what my qualifications are? If you look at my picture, look closer at the log arch, I built that out of aluminum, off a picture I got online. I work for a top display/exhibit company in the Detroit area. I am a journeyman carpenter, working in this line of business for over 23 years, (getting close to retirement but not ready to give up working) I can fabricate just about anything you throw at me. I have extensive expierence in the metal fabrication in our company, consisting of welding steel and aluminum. If you have ever been to the Detroit Auto Show, or Chicago/New York , then you have an idea of the type of diplays that our company builds. I have a sawmill that I purchased 2 years ago, and plan on building a timber frame home on some acreage that I own in the Upper Pennisula of Mich. I want to have a PV solar system coupled with a wind turbine. I would have to mount mine on a derek/tower to get above the tree line of 50 to 75 feet, I do have a high elevation ridge line that might be ideal, but the distance from the tower to the proposed home would be 200 to 300 feet. I am worried that the voltage drop would offset the benifit.
I am interested in your roof top model for my home in the Clarkston area, and this type of model would probably sell better in Oakland county, rather than tower installed turbines. But can a rooftop model capture enough wind currents? If your next neighbor has a 2 story colonial, and you have a 1 story ranch , then you have some major wind blockage?

Have you got information that you can mail me?

Comment by Home Wind Turbine on March 1, 2009 at 3:16pm

I agree that you would not want to mount a turbine on a roof especially if that's not your expertise. So, do not expect to just "put a turbine on a roof". There is size, weight, and engineering limits of what makes sense. That's why we sell kits, not just turbines and expect that you just slap it on a roof, or a tower and be "OK". WindEnergy7 does not sell parts, we sell systems, for that reason. If I sold you a larger tower system I will not sell a turbine so you can just put it up on some flimsy pole and have a failure.

The Turbine:There is also the fact that "turbine" is a very generic term. Not all turbines are designed to be vibration resistant or smooth and balanced in operation. So, if you want to put a turbine on a roof, buy it from someone who does it, has done it. It takes a FAR SUPERIOR turbine to run well on a roof than just out on a pole.. Of course.

The worst case I read about was a guy puts a homemade junkyard turbine on a roof. It is a pole fastened to a brick & mortar chimney. Of course the wobbly home made junk turbine vibrates like crazy, brick & mortar work loose, turbine and chimney wind up in a bedroom floor through the roof. Nice... This the kind of retarded science project that leads to people making broad statements like. "Never put a turbine on a roof".

Now, let's not compare that to anything reasonable. Just like you would not mount a 200 pound turbine ontop of a flimsy PVC plastic pole. Nor would you ever fasten a pole to a chimney. There are idiots who have done both.

But I recently had 2 700 watt wind/solar systems on my roof and was having no issues. I am rebuilding another newer system to go on the roof soon where I am now putting three ontop where I had 2. Done right and put on a good structure it's not a problem. The "done right" part takes R&D trial and error and good basic fundamentals of design and engineering.

The Structure: If you put a rooftop turbine on a shack or a failing structure, that would be your fault. Just like if you built a tower turbine on mud with no concrete. But again just say "roof" or "house" that can mean allot of different things. You can put my systems ontop of any US Home Built To Code that is in good structural shape and it should be no problem. But that's not just any generic "turbine". It's a system designed to do this and done correctly. It's a rooftop kit and comes with all the appropriate hardware. If you aren't using my kit, I agree that rooftop is not a good idea.
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WindEnergy7.com

Comment by Brian Pellerin on February 28, 2009 at 11:02am

I install Wind Turbines for residential customers. In most cases you do not want to put a turbine on your home, at least not one of any size to provide you with meaningful energy. The vibrations can turn your house into a very loud speaker. If you hit a particular frequency it can amplify the sound and cause both an unbearable sound and structural damage. You are much better off to put a tower next to the house or somewhere on your property and install the wind turbine on it.

Let me know if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to assist.

Brian Pellerin
Freedom Renewable Energy (NH)

Comment by Jack Costantino on February 27, 2009 at 8:38pm

I have no experience with wind turbines...but as a carpenter/builder I would hesitate to mount such a structure on a building. Of course there are different size units but the torque and wind velocity would be unpredictable. At the least the mounings would be under continuous stress so would need to be connected to the super structure. The height of the average home, even a full two story with a steep roof is rarely more then 35'. It doesn't seem high enough for collecting serious and continuous wind.

I'm sure there's a wealth of this data on the web.

Good luck with your project.

Jack Costantino