We all have a picture in our heads of what a wind turbine looks like. But there's a new device out there, that can also harness the power of the wind. It's called a vertical axis wind turbine. It does basically the same thing as the traditional turbines do. But, it's not as tall and not as controversial.

"In general everyone thinks these aren't as unattractive as some of the tall turbines. They are without guide wires and make no noise and in general the community felt like they were acceptable," says Dan Fien a Wind Specialist with eVanHee in Rochester.

The company has been showcasing this new technology at homearama in Victor. And, they got a lot of feedback from the people who visited the show.

"If you can put a flag pole up on your yard, you can put this up. And the roi on this is much better than on a flag pole because every time it spins, you generate electricity," says David Neale the Project Manager.

On display was a 1.2 kilowatt wind turbine. In a windy location it could generate about 2 megawatts of electricity. That's enough to cover between a quarter and a third of your energy use for a year. The cost for one this size is about $10,000.

"After you've looked at reducing waste in your house and increasing efficiency, now you can think about generating your own sources of energy and save money," says Neale.

Of course, you'd have to check your town's zoning laws before putting one of these up. But many of the concerns people have about traditional wind turbines, don't apply here. Issues like bird safety, noise, and height. "The blades on the va wind turbine are pulled around like a sailboat and move with the wind speed so they don't make a noise as they're rotating even in high winds," says Neale.
For more information click here.