Doing Your Research: A Good Location
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Often the choice of exact location for your Windspire may be limited within your property, but to the extent you can, it is worth thinking through the location within your site where you are planning to erect your Windspire. First, think about prevailing wind directions (if any), and ensuring the most clean, unobstructed access to the wind. Second, if there are any obstacles such as trees, buildings, or other tall structures, make sure you space your Windspire as far away from them as possible.
How far should Windspires be from buildings, trees, or each other?
The following are recommended minimum distances between a Windspire and an object. For the purpose of this table, position references are relative to the prevailing wind direction. For example, "in front" means that the object is blocking the prevailing wind; "behind" means the Windspire gets the benefit of the prevailing wind before it reaches the object. The reason there is still a minimal distance is because objects cause turbulence, even if behind the Windspire. Regardless of the distance recommendations, you should check that the wind speeds are still adequate in the exact spot where you plan to site the Windspire.
| Obstacle |
Position |
Min. Distance |
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|
|
| Buildings, trees, etc. |
in front of Windspire
beside Windspire
behind Windspire |
100 feet
50 feet
30 feet |
|
|
|
| Other Windspires |
beside each other
diagonally from each other
60 degrees behind
75 degrees behind
directly behind each other |
8 feet
11.2 feet
15.4 feet
26.5 feet
50 feet
|
For more information, see this guide
Can I put a Windspire on top of my house?
No. The Windspire is built for ground-mounting. Residential roofs are not made with the load of a Windspire in mind. The only building a Windspire may be mounted on is a commercial building with adequate structural strength in place.
Can I mount Windspires on a commercial building or skyscraper?
Yes - in some cases. Commercial buildings present a few extra challenges. First, the wind flow over and around buildings is very different from that in an open field, and there are some very specific areas where the wind is likely to be strong, but many where the wind is likely to be far below average wind speeds for that area. It is highly advisable to do some wind flow analysis of your building prior to doing any large wind installations. There are professional consultants who do this, or you can do a shorter study with anemometers in various locations.
Second, there are structural considerations. Most commercial buildings are adequately built to handle the loads from a Windspire, but it is worth checking in detail. There are some concerns about vibration too, although in the case of the Windspire it has built-in damping that minimizes any vibration.