What is a wind turbine?

Wind turbines harness the power of the wind and use it to generate electricity.

How do wind turbines work?

Wind turbines use large blades to catch the wind. When the wind blows, the blades are forced round, driving a turbine which generates electricity. The stronger the wind, the more electricity produced.

There are two types of domestic-sized wind turbine:

Pole mounted: these are free standing and are erected in a suitably exposed position, with generation capacity of about 5 to 6 Kilowatt (kW).

Building mounted: these are smaller than mast mounted systems and can be installed on the roof of a home where there is a suitable wind resource. Often these are around 1kW to 2kW in size

The benefits of wind turbines at home Cut your electricity bills: Wind is free, so once you've paid for the initial installation your electricity costs will be reduced.

Wind is free, so once you've paid for the initial installation your electricity costs will be reduced. Cut your carbon footprint: Wind electricity is green, renewable energy and doesn't release any harmful carbon dioxide or other pollutants. ​

Wind electricity is green, renewable energy and doesn't release any harmful carbon dioxide or other pollutants. ​ Store electricity for a calm day: If your home isn't connected to the national grid you can store excess electricity in batteries and use it when there is no wind.

How much could a wind turbine save me?

Costs, savings and financial support The cost of a system will depend on the size and the mounting method. Building-mounted turbines cost less to install than pole-mounted ones, but they tend to be less efficient. For equipment and installation, with VAT at 5 per cent: a 6kW pole-mounted system costs between £23,000 and £34,000. Building-mounted turbines tend to be less efficient than pole-mounted ones. A well-sited 6kW turbine can generate around 9,000kWh a year. This can save around 2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Wind turbines were eligible for Feed-In Tariff payments. The FITs scheme closed to new applications on 31 March 2019, but details about the scheme are still available here You may now be able to claim Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) payments instead for any surplus electricity you export to the grid. For more information about these schemes please visit our Smart Export Guarantee and Feed-In Tariffs page. A well sited 6kW pole mounted turbine could typically save you around £250 a year on electricity bills and earn about £440 per year in SEG payments.

Wind turbine maintenance

Maintenance checks are necessary every few years, and will generally cost around £100 to £200 per year depending on turbine size.

A well-maintained turbine should last more than 20 years, but you may need to replace the inverter at some stage during this time, at a cost of £1,000 to £2,000 for a large system.

For off-grid systems, batteries will also need replacing, typically every 6 to 10 years. The cost of replacing batteries varies depending on the design and scale of the system.

Any back-up generator will also have its own fuel and maintenance costs.