Agreed on both points. With planning restrictions, I hope that something small and noise-free could please the nimbyists. Something(s) the size of a Dyson fan

Agreed on both points. With planning restrictions, I hope that something small and noise-free could please the nimbyists. Something(s) the size of a Dyson fan on the roof-line would look cool. With regards efficiency, I think it's not about replacing the large centralised turbines but augmenting the house's existing solar. A typical single solar panel that generates 200w peak makes about 500Wh/day (on sunny days). If (big if) a turbine can generate 20w average over 24 hours, that's 480Wh extra. But as @desdiv correctly points out - the idea is nothing new. Here's a good looking 20w turbine that I would be happy to have on my roof: http://wind-kinetic.com/index.php/other-products/polar-20w-3.html http://wind-kinetic.com/index.php/other-products/polar-20w-3...