Intresset för småskaliga vindkraftverk på byggnader har ökat under de senaste åren. Allt fler människor blir mer energi- och miljömedvetna samt ser fördelarna med att elektriciteten produceras där den konsumeras; i den bebyggda miljön. Det är dock en större utmaning att installera ett vindkraftverk i urban miljö, jämfört med i öppet landskap, då det finns många faktorer som skall beaktas. Stadens komplexa uppbyggnad gör att vindens hastighet och riktning varierar och ger upphov till turbulenta strukturer i den omgivande luften. Många av dagens vindkraftverk kan ej operera effektivt vid turbulens, därför måste dessa vindkraftverken placeras på höga höjder för att nå den laminärt strömmande vinden över staden, vilket ger orealistiska längder på de master som krävs, även om vindkraftverket monteras på en byggnad. För att kunna utnyttja de vindar som uppkommer i urbana miljöer bör vertikalaxlade vindkraftverk med en helixformad geometri på rotorn användas. Dessa har visat sig vara både de effektivaste och de vindkraftverk som utsätter omgivningen för lägst nivå av störningar. Att placera ett vindkraftverk på en byggnad i urban miljö, där många människor vistas, kräver god kunskap om säkert montage samt vilka störningar som vindkraftverket kan generera. Ett vindkraftverk som monteras felaktigt kan bidra till hälso- och säkerhetsrisker, och om dessa risker blir för stora kan vindkraftverket tvingas att tas ur drift. För att vara säker på att vindkraftsanläggningen är tillförlitligt bör vindkraftverket och montaget vara stadardiserat och certifierat, något som i dagsläget saknas i Sverige. I dag finns inga direkta stöd för småskaliga vindkraftverk i Sverige, vilket är en bidragande faktor till att ekonomin kring dessa vindkraftverk är bristfällig. Elcertifikatsystemet som skall ge stöd åt förnyelsebar energi är inte utformat för småskalig elproduktion. Men i takt med att detta användningsområde för vindkraft utvecklas samt att priset för energi förväntas stiga kommer troligtvis byggnadsmonterade vindkraftverk bli en lönsam investering i framtiden. / The interest for small-scale wind turbines mounted on buildings has increased during the last couple of years. More and more people are giving more consideration to energy and environmental questions and are appreciative of the benefits of producing electricity where it is consumed; in the urban environment. However it is a greater challenge to install a wind turbine in the urban environment, compared to an open landscape, because of the many factors that needs to be taken in consideration. The complex structure of the city has an effect on the speed and direction of the wind and causes turbulent structures in the surrounding air. Many of today’s wind turbines cannot operate effectively in turbulence, this is why these turbines need to be placed on high heights to reach the laminar wind flow over the city, which gives unrealistic lengths of the towers that are required, even if the turbine is mounted on a building. To be able to utilize the existing wind in urban environments a vertical axis wind turbine with a helix shaped rotor should be used. These turbines have shown themselves to not only be the most effective but also the turbines that expose the surroundings to the lowest level of disturbances. To place a wind turbine on a building in an urban environment, where a lot of people reside, requires a good knowledge of how to securely mount the turbine but also what kind of disturbances that a turbine can emit. A turbine that is mounted incorrectly can contribute to health and safety hazards, and if these risks become to great the turbine may be forced to be taken out of operation. To be certain that the wind turbine and its components are trustworthy the turbine and mounting should be standardized and certified, a feature that don’t exist today in Sweden.  Currently there is no direct support scheme for small-scale wind turbines in Sweden, which is a contributing factor to the inadequate economics surrounding these wind turbines. The Swedish system with certificates is meant to give support renewable energy but the system is not suited for small-scale production of electricity.  But the more this field of application for wind turbines develops, together with the assumption of rising cost of energy will most likely make building mounted wind turbines a profitable investment in the future.

Small wind turbines, and especially urban-mounted turbines which require no dedicated pole, have garnered great public enthusiasm in recent years. This enthusiasm has fueled widespread growth among energy conservationists, and estimates predict that the power produced nationally by small wind will increase thirty-fold by 2013. Unfortunately, most of the wind resources currently available have been designed for larger, rural-mounted turbines; thus, they are not well suited for this nascent market. A consequence of this is that many potential urban small wind turbine owners over-predict their local wind resource, which is both costly and inefficient. According to a recent study published by Encraft Ltd., small wind turbines mounted to buildings far underperformed their rural pole mounted counterparts. As a proposed solution to this problem, this project introduces the concept of a Web-based Wind Assessment System (WWAS). This system combines all the necessary resources for potential urban small wind turbine customers into a single web-based tool. The system also presents the concept of a modular wind measurement system, which couples with the WWAS to provide real-time wind data measurements. The benefits of the system include its ease of use, flexibility of installation, data accessibility from any web browser, and expert advice. The WWAS prevents potential clients from investing in a system that may not be viable for their location. In addition, a small wind turbine is designed in this project, which has a unique modular mounting system, allowing the same baseline wind turbine to attach to various structures using interchangeable mounting hardware. This includes such accessible urban structures as street lights, building corners, flag poles, and building walls, among others. This design also utilizes concepts that address some of the challenges associated with mounting small wind turbines to existing urban structures. These concepts include: swept tip blades and lower RPM to reduce noise; vibration suppression using rubber shims; a netted duct to protect wildlife; and a direct-drive permanent magnet generator to ensure low starting torque. Finally, the cost of this system is calculated using off-the-shelf components, which minimize testing and certification expense. This small wind turbine system is designed to be grid-connected, has a 6 foot diameter rotor, and is rated at 1 kW. This design features a unique modular interchangeable mounting system. The cost for this complete system is estimated to be $2,050. If a users' site has an average wind speed of 14 mph (6.5 m/s), this system will generate a return on investment in 8.5 years, leaving over 10 years of profit. The profit for this system, at this sample average wind speed, yields over $4,000 during its 20-year design life, which is a two-fold return on investment. This project has implications for various stakeholders in the small wind turbine market, including designers, engineers, manufacturers, and potential customers. Equally important is its potential role in guiding our future national--even global--energy agenda.