Emails from R. Perez and Windmill Manufacturer
Email from Richard Perez of Home Power Magazine
See HP#46, pgs 30-34, for a discussion of the impact of wind gennys on birds. Basically, there isn't any. This article was written by Mick Sagrillo and has the straight facts. Also see an article in HP#47 pgs 6-13, for info on zoning and neighbor problems with wind gennys. I'd send you both articles in Acrobat PDF (they are out 200K each), but our local phone lines are acting up and modem speed is down to 1200 BAUD. The reduce property values is totally bogus. As long as your tower cannot fall on a neighbor's property, the only issue is noise. In our experience of hundreds of wind systems, this is also bogus. Local wind noise from buildings and trees easily masks the wind genny noise. Our wind genny here is 450 feet from the house and I we never hear it. You can order paper copies of these back issues from our 800 number or on our web site. Access info is on my signature line at the end of this message.
Richard Perez rap@snowcrest.net
Letter from Ken Buehler, salesman for the manufacturer of the Whisper 4500
Dear Douglas,
Thank you for your interest in World Power Technologies! We've been manufacturing
machines for
over 24 years and have thousands of them all over the world. The Whisper line of
generators is a
newer model and was designed to be quiet, hence the name "Whisper." By
aerodynamically
designing the blades in a long, stiletto shape they catch but don't hammer the wind. Hence
they are
very quiet, usually less than the ambient sound of the wind after 200 feet. The only sound
tests
conducted were on our Whisper 1000 and after 200 feet it couldn't be heard above the sound
of
the wind and rustling trees/leaves, grasses.
I hope this helps. I know you'll enjoy your new Wind Machine once it goes up.
Sincerely,
Ken Buehler
218-722-1492
More emails from Ken Buehler, not included in Planning Board letter
24 July 1998
Dear Douglas,
There is noise associated with a wind generator. What we have done is to make that as minimal as possible by using a true airfoil and tapered blades. Also our angle governor eliminates "chatter" during governing. Three blades make the generator smoother running. Your planning board won't find a quieter running machine on the market. The study you have is the best information we have on noise levels.
To my knowledge no one has ever taken down a machine because of noise complaints. The one running on the roof of our building right now is cranking out between 10 and 20 amps. (Whisper H500) The winds are ten to fifteen miles an hour off the lake and I know its governing, but I can't hear it. The traffic is making more noise. Tell the planning board when they move the road away from the front of your house so you don't have to listen to the cars driving by, then you'll worry about the wind generator.
Hope to hear some good news from you in the very near future. We're running into a lead time problem with the H4500 and I'd like to get started building yours soon.
Sincerely,
Ken Buehler
Dear Douglas,
Am working on your problem, but must admit I've never seen this kind of stubborn opposition. How close are your neighbors going to be to the machine? If they are over 400-500 feet it's very likely they'll never hear your machine!
Because it's a three bladed machine the H4500 is going to be quieter than a two bladed model. Also smoother running. We've put up machines in the remotest areas and we've put them in residential areas. We have a Whisper 1000 in a Duluth neighborhood with houses on all sides.
I've referred this issue to our Sales/marketing manager to see if we can create some sort of package for you and others who face zoning boards that don't know what they're doing. In the meantime why don't THEY do the homework and give us a call at the factory. Sincerely,
Ken Buehler