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Putting one of those giant wind turbines in my backyard has never seemed like a great idea - aside from the zoning issues, they just aren’t very attractive. A couple of small 400W wind generators like the one pictured here are far more to my liking. They wouldn’t be enough to power the electric heater in my home, but they would provide some light and handle some of the other basic power needs. The Air X Wind Generator charges 12V batteries providing an effective remote power source. The system is smart enough to automatically shut down when your battery reaches full capacity, extending the life of the unit. Best of all the price (minus a mounting tower) is just under $600, which should mean the units will get even cheaper over time. Two moving parts on the entire unit mean you hopefully will avoid needing any maintenance for the 3 year warranty period. I haven’t seen any data to indicate whether these are a threat to birds the way the industrial sized units tend to be, but I’m definitely interested in a sustainable way to have some reserve power. More details at SunForce.
I saw the Helix Wind first hand at the Green California conference … very cool stuff … a mobile sculpture.
http://www.helixwind.com/
The Mariah Power Windspire looks nifty, too:
http://mariahpower.com/