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With popular DIY stores now offering “off-the-shelf” wind power solutions there has never been a greater demand for domestic wind turbines. But is this green addition to your property a viable investment?

More and more people are becoming aware of the need to reduce their carbon emissions at a personal level. Some savings can be made by turning down your thermostat, switching to low energy lightbulbs and adding extra insulation to your loft.

But when it comes to installing a wind turbine in an urban area there are a few things which you should know. Things which may change your mind and actually save you quite a lot of time, money and heartache.

With this rise in public awareness there are, inevitably, some unscrupulous firms who will try to cash in on the green revolution. You may see claims that a wind turbine could generate as much as a third of your domestic electricity. However, this may be a misleading statement.

Before you go spending months applying and waiting for planning permission for a wind turbine to be installed at your property, you would be well advised to arm yourself with the facts. Most importantly you should ascertain the potential for electricity generation via wind power at your property.

It is a sad fact that the majority or urban properties in the UK are not suitable sites for the installation of a wind turbine. The reason being that there is simply not enough wind in these areas. Unless the wind is blowing really quite hard there is little chance of generating a usable amount of electricity using the kinds of turbines you may see in the DIY stores.

The problem lies in the relationship between wind speed and power output. Every time the wind speed halves the power output is reduced to 1/8 of its initial level. Because of this most domestic wind turbines would need to be operating in wind speeds which are close to gale force to get any useful power output.

Taking London as an example, the average wind speed comes out at about 4 metres per second which would deliver, at best, 18 to 20 watts of power assuming you’re using one of the standard turbines available on the market today.

When you consider that the average low-power lightbulb consumes around 9 to 11 watts of power then you realize that the investment you would make in a domestic wind turbine is hardly worth it. With these kinds of figures it doesn’t take a genius to work out that you’re getting nowhere near one-third of your domestic electricity requirements from the average wind turbine.

So unless the technology improves dramatically it really is a false economy installing a domestic wind turbine at your property. This doesn’t mean that wind power is useless it just means that you need to find different ways of reducing your personal carbon footprint.

Wind power is more suited to open areas such as out at sea where the wind speed remains more constant and is invariably much stronger since there are no obstructions. Another bonus in erecting windfarms offshore is that it eliminates complaints from the “not in my backyard” brigade.

If you’re determined to reduce your domestic carbon footprint then you should consider installing solar panels which are a much more viable option for the homeowner. Solar powered domestic water heating technology has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years and homeowners with properties located in the southern half of the UK can now expect to generate 50 to 70 percent of their annual hot water requirement using solar power.

The message is, don’t give up on your carbon neutral quest but make sure you do your research and install the most appropriate systems for the situation. For more information on domestic solar hot water heating check out JD & Sun who operate out of Pembrokeshire.

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