Wind Turbine
The Windy City's "greenest home" just got greener
A new addition to Smart Home: Green + Wired is the wind turbine in the southeast corner of the home's landscape. It's the first downwind rotor turbine installed in the Chicago metropolitan area.
This Skystream 3.7 wind generator has a 45-foot-high tower with a 12-foot-diameter rotor, and can generate up to 2.4 kilowatts. It begins producing power in an 8 mph wind, and reaches full output in 29 mph winds. It produces approximately 400 kilowatt-hours per month in a 12 mph wind.
Southwest Windpower’s Skystream 3.7 is the first small wind generator designed specifically for utility-connected residential and commercial use. Together with the Smart Home's solar panels, the wind turbine is expected to help make the home 100% renewable-powered under certain climate conditions.
- Museum Hours
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- holiday hours (through Nov. 29)
- Monday – Thursday: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Friday – Saturday: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Sunday: 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Open every day except Christmas Day
- holiday hours (through Nov. 29)
- Museum Location
- Getting Here
Learn More
- Find out more about the mkSolaire and the architect who created the home.
Read Michelle's blog - See the Smart Home on NBC Nightly News.
- Check out the story
Smart Home Podcast
- Meet the architect of "Chicago's greenest home" in our interview with Michelle Kaufmann.
Download the Smart Home Podcast
Exhibit Resource Guide
- Download our updated guide to the Smart Home and its eco-friendly products, along with more "green" ideas and resources!
- Exhibit Resource Guide (PDF)