How do wind turbines work?
Wind turbines use the kinetic energy of the wind to create electricity. This happens when the wind spins either horizontal or vertical blades to run a generator. The amount of electricity that is generated depends on how fast the wind blows up to a point- when wind speeds remain constant above 60mph, most new turbines have a regulator to slow the turbine down for safety reasons.

• a rotor, or blades, which convert the wind's energy into rotational shaft energy -an enclosure containing a generator
• a tower, to support the rotor and generator assembly
• electrical cables, a meter to measure the power the turbine is creating, and interconnection equipment.

How do wind turbines connect to my home electrical?
The turbines that Sustainable Power Systems represents are made to connect directly to your circuit breaker panel. When the wind isn't blowing, you get your energy from the utility company. But when it's windy out, the turbine's electricity supplements the utilities, and if it produces more energy than you are using, actually turns your power meter backwards, enabling you to offset times of greater use.

Do wind turbines have an adverse effect on birds?
There have been few studies on the long term affect on the avian population, but the ones that have been conducted suggest that the numbers of bird and bat deaths as a result of wind turbines are nominal, with collisions with windows posing a far greater risk.

Why is my utility bill so expensive?
PG & E has a five tiered billing structure that coincides with what they consider to be "baseline" usage. It starts out with $.11559 per Kwh for up to 351 Kwh in any one billing period, and goes up to $.35876 per Kwh for over 300% of this baseline, in increments. The turbines that SPS represent are designed to remove you from the top tiers of this billing structure, thus exponentially lowering your electric bill by supplementing the most expensive power costs. They also insure that your costs remain consistent over time, thus insuring you from future price increases that are proposed by PG & E.

Are wind turbines noisy?
The turbines SPS represent are extremely quiet and make a small amount of operating sound similar to the level of a small office. It generally cannot be heard over typical background noise such as the sound of the wind. They do not interfere with TV reception.

How can I determine a good location on my property?
Typically, the higher a turbine is, the more wind it gets. In most instances, as long as there are no real obstructions like a house or trees, a 33 foot tower should be sufficient to make the turbine cost effective and useful. We do offer towers up to 60 feet if need be.