BRE IP1/10 PDF

INTRODUCTION

In recent years, BRE Trust has published the results from studies into micro-wind turbines on low-rise pitched roof buildings in urban environments. One of the conclusions from these studies was that inappropriate siting can lead to ineffective installations with severely limited power-generation possibilities. It was also shown that micro-wind turbines on low-rise buildings in urban environments are only likely to be viable on the outskirts of towns or in the windier parts of the country due to an inadequate wind resource and high levels of building generated turbulence.

The roofs of taller buildings, even in urban environments (Figure 1), are likely to provide a much more suitable location for siting wind turbines because wind speed increases with height so the potential wind resource is greater and the shelter effect from surrounding buildings is reduced. However, inappropriate siting of the turbine will still lead to an ineffective installation. The previous BRE Trust studies did not provide the necessary information to inform the siting of wind turbines on tall flat-roof buildings. Therefore, further guidance was required. This Information Paper describes the results from a wind tunnel study carried out in 2009 at BRE and sponsored jointly by BRE Trust and Marks & Spencer PLC, to measure wind conditions over the roofs of a range of tall and large-plan-area flat-roof buildings. The results from this study can be used as an aid to optimising the location of micro-wind turbines on buildings such as tower blocks and large retail and commercial buildings.