Rooftop Wind Generator:
A Great Alternative for
Solar Energy System

Not unlike the cold war that rages between Pepsi and Coke ever since they were born, makers of solar panels and wind turbines do not see each other face to face either. With a view to offering a real challenge to the PV people, Wind Power enthusiasts finally came up with a forward looking compact rooftop wind turbine that promised to generate between 3000 ad 4000 kWh per year. This vertical-axis machine, they argued, could work efficiently even if wind comes from several directions and is not consistent. Customary, horizontal-axis turbines can function only when steady wind comes from one direction.

However, controversy never left the rooftop ever since it was launched in Europe first. A turbine, however small, creates some amounts of vibration as it spins at a fairly high speed to generate electricity and may end up damaging most wooden raftered roofs in Europe and North America. But the makers were adamant. “What about the Helix Wind Turbines in California, which is based on similar concept?” one of them posed before the public. But Helix or no Helix, the controversy continued. Added on to that hullabaloo was the abnormally high price tag. Quiet Revolution’s (that was how the manufacturer was known for) QR5 Rooftop model was retailing for around $44,000 that sure was not economically feasible for the average household.

Nevertheless, Quiet Revolution not only managed to bag several installations that included the Kings College in Wimbledon, some high rise buildings near about and a few pubs but also secure several technical awards for outstanding designs in the making of wind turbines. But that didn’t help much as far as the sales were concerned

Arizona’s Southwest Windpower had to face protest as they launched their rooftop micro turbine for the average American home. “All wind turbines vibrate,” said some, “and they transmit this vibration to the structure on which they are mounted. And all rooftops create turbulence that interferes with the wind turbine’s operation.” However the fact remains that the Southeast Windpower engineers could design a very practical dampening system which was able to isolate the turbine from the structure. They were thus successful in solving the problem.

Rooftop wind turbines were also made in Holzhausen, Rheinland-Pfalz in Germany during the fifties. Most of them were some versions of the same Allgair modeled by Ulrich Hütter, the father of German wind energy. According to reports made available about the project, around 200 units were built, ranging in size from 6 to 10 kW after which the mission was abandoned.

Yes there have been some controversies surrounding the rooftop wind generator, but in reality, most new innovations are faced with such challenges, and the same was the case here too. However the PV people probably had the last laugh as none have ever raised any accusing finger at them at any stage. Apart from the hassle relating to the scraping of ice and snow from their surface, solar panels have never posed any problem during their working life.