We've covered plenty of wind turbines over the years, but most tend to be awfully conceptual or rather unsuited to consumer applications. Being eco-geeks at heart we're happy to report on a new one that is both consumer-friendly and in production now. Mariah Power's Windspire is a 9 meter tall vertical turbine intended for residential or commercial installation, capable of providing about a quarter of the power an "average" household needs (2000 kWh annually). It's "bird-friendly" thanks to a relatively slow maximum blade speed (2.5 times that of the wind) and even includes WiFi so you can watch your carbon footprint shrink wirelessly. The company is accepting orders now, and while prices aren't listed on the website (you'll need to request a quote), we hear you can get yourself into a 2009 model with a 5 year unlimited rotation warranty for around $5,000 -- plus customization if you want one in something other than "Soft Silver." We'll take ours in magenta, thanks. [Via Digg]Continue reading Windspire vertical turbine on sale now, aiming to capture the consumer wind power marketFiled under: HouseholdWindspire vertical turbine on sale now, aiming to capture the consumer wind power market originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read