On 2006-10-05 14:30:37 +0100, David Hansen
said:

On 5 Oct 2006 05:48:53 -0700 someone who may be "Chris"
wrote this:-

Was actually referring to the ones in B&Q

That doesn't alter the fact that the energy used to make them will
be recovered, except in the strangest of circumstances.

Obviously it is likely that such turbines will not be ideally
situated in many cases and they will not be as efficient at
converting wind into electricity as a large turbine. Thus it is
likely that they will take longer to recover the energy used to make
them, let's say a year to be generous.

That is an energy balance however. A financial balance is a
different thing. I expect that, as with almost anything else, the
early adopters will have other reasons for purchase and that the
result of their purchases will be to drive the cost down.

If there were enough, that might be true. However, at £1500 this is
not going to produce a significant sales volume.

It has taken legislation to introduce condensing boilers being
virtually mandatory, and in that case there almost always is a clear
financial gain.

Set against this backdrop, these toy windmills really don't stand much
of a chance. £300 installed and they might be interesting as a
curiosity to those with disposable income, but £1500 is a different
discussion altogether.

The reality is that the vast majority of people are only eco-minded to
the extent that it doesn't inconvenience them and solutions will stand
up to financial justification.