Can I sell any surplus electricity?

Not with small systems at the moment. Some of the medium sized systems, for example the Iskra’s 5KW generator can generate more than a home can use (on average) and are designed to be connected to the electricity grid so you can sell any unused electricity.

Generally, building-mounted systems are not powerful enough to warrant connection the extra cost of connecting to the grid and even those that are powerful enough can earn much more in savings from electricity used than can be gained from exporting power to the grid. Bigger systems are not designed to be fitted to a building - the brickwork could never stand the enormous wind stresses - so the installation is more expensive and you need the space for it, which might sound simple but you have to think of the guy ropes too.

The latest breed of building-mounted turbines are a world away from the battery-charging systems used for boats and caravans - but don’t expect to get wind power when the mains electricity fails. It’s likely that the turbine electronics will need to be synchronised with the mains supply frequency so if the mains fails, so will your wind generated supply! The advantage of course is that the system’s working life is down to mechanics rather than battery life. You should expect to get a ten year maintenance-free life from a modern system, maybe 15 years if some regular servicing is made.