Pulaski

All well and good, but I wonder how that compares to living near motorways, railways, airports etc.?

I'd also say it is likely very personal - living near the commuter railroad in NY just about pushed me over the edge because I was already suffering job related stress. The frequent flights of choppers was also disturbing. And these problems I experienced in NY are despite living a similar distance from one of London's busiest commuter lines, and only 120 from a dual carriageway, and not having a problem. I also lived under the (generally inward) flight path at Heathrow, and I quickly got used to the continuous (though generally not at night) flights over head.

Bink

I recommended Offshore power generation but they didn't want to do that! (There were 2x cables being run which is incredibly expensive!)
DC wasn't a feasible option. There were many variables involved in the decision making process that were operational rather than design based which limited our options on a solution.
We get asked to look at DC quite frequently for submarine cables from a concept standpoint, but it normally gets thrown out quite quickly. There are a few projects coming up though where it is being looked at quite seriously.

jeffreyhy

I think we need to define what we mean by the word "near". There are regulations for how close a large wind turbine can be to a residence, and what's an acceptable distance is a debatable subject.

Regards, JEff

Pulaski

Did ..... they're long gone ... removed about 25 years ago!

kimilseung

The pictures of them on t'internet still exist though.

WEBlue

Thanks for all the replies! Lots to cogitate on indeed. And I hadn't even thought about power transmission lines....

Exactly. We've heard different things, so these regulations may vary by municipality (?). One realtor said the rule presently in her territory was 2,000 feet. Someone else (in another area) mentioned 1/4 mile, and we also have heard 1/2 mile mentioned as a "better" distance.

One town we're interested has some, though not near any houses we've looked at. But it seems that one of the turbines causes distracting "flicker" on a major roadway in the morning with the sun behind it. Residents lobbied to stop the blades moving during rush hour, because there was fear of accidents. (Plus there was a danger of so-called "strobe-light-induced seizures".)

We drove this road several times & did not find the turbine's motion a problem, but then the sun wasn't shining much. So we're not sure what to think of the issue. Some residents are trying to get rid of the turbines, apparently.

RICH

Just noticed a Canada thread on the topic. Have not read it.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=786045

Yorkieabroad

Oh crap...is it really that long? I'm older than I thought......

Used to love going ov rthe moors and seeing the old golf balls.....seem to remember reading they'd been replaced with some pyramids now....doesn't sound quite right, but may be worth a shufti...

Yorkieabroad

If its that close, I would definitely go on a quiet windy night with the wind towards "your' house and check out the noise...

Quite a few of the campsites we stay on have small wind turbines, and the hum from those is clearly audible from 1/2 a mile away. Granted, they're different beasts, but I'd be cautious.

AZ_Alba

If you want to get into the semantics, it is not the power being moved but rather the power loss. Higher voltage less current for the same power. Lower current less power lost in transmission.
Power = current (i) x Voltage (V)
power loss of the line i^2 x resistance (r)
There is also the question of frequency which will affect impedance as well as the current path through the cable.

There is at least one case of a sub sea DC link in Canada from Vancouver to Vancouver Island.

WEBlue

Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't seen that thread.

One poster there mentions that a relative in England lives half a mile from a smaller one and has no issues. The house we're looking at is two miles from the nearest one, so the house itself is (probably) a safe distance from any issues...

I suppose the only turbine we should worry about is another one on the main road to the next town, the one I mentioned that commuters have complained about as having the distracting sunshine "flicker". But I don't see that as much of a problem...though maybe we need to drive by it at different times of the day to make sure.

jeffreyhy

Highway safety is important, and it's not a good idea to make a road less safe than it could be. On the other hand, I currently commute on an interstate highway with east-west sections where I'm looking directly into the sun on the way to work and again on the way home. It's hard for me to imagine flicker being any worse than near blindness.

Do these same residents call for roads to be closed when there's a heavy fog, or other dangerous driving conditions? Or have they considered driving more carefully when the flicker exists? Yup. Regards, JEff

Weeze

It would put me off and I would expect to pay less because of it. As do power lines and being overlooked. To a lesser extent, being too near a school I find off putting as well. Near enough to walk, good. Near enough to be fed up with the kids/parking, bad.

jeffreyhy

Not to mention the inconvenience of having to slow down when passing by.

Regards, JEff

Bob

How nearby are we talking? Back garden kind of near and the whine would get on my tits, though like a train track, I'm sure you'd get used to it and not notice after a while.

Resale could be a issue, especially if the farm grows.