Today, the Energy Saving Trust announced the first independent UK wide assessment of household wind turbines. The Energy Saving Trust helps consumers save money, reduce their energy consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The assessment will help consumers to make informed choices when considering a wind turbine for their home. The target is to monitor one hundred household wind turbines. The assessment will take into account a number of factors including the local wind resource, where they are installed on the house and the impact of nearby buildings and trees on the performance of the turbine. The trials will also take into account the impact the wind turbine has had on the householder’s energy bill, as well as other factors such as their experience when buying it and what impact it’s had on their daily life. There is the potential that household wind turbines could supply 4 per cent of the UK’s electricity and reduce carbon emissions by 6 per cent. To achieve this, the consumer needs to know what will work most effectively for them. Large scale wind turbines are a proven technology, and although household wind turbines are now available on the high street, they are still very much a developing technology. Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust, said: “To date there is no independent, real life assessment of wind turbines installed on homes. Consumers need to know how much electricity they can expect to generate from a wind turbine, how much money it will save them, and how much it can reduce their carbon footprint.” “The experience of other wind turbine owners will also be of tremendous benefit in helping potential new owners to decide whether a wind turbine is right for them.” The project is joint funded by the Energy Saving Trust’s partners: B&Q, British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON UK (Powergen), Northern Ireland Electricity, RWE (npower), Scottish & Southern Energy, and ScottishPower. Installation of the monitoring equipment is scheduled to take place between now and June 2007. The trial is scheduled to run for 12 months, with results in Autumn 2008.

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