100-Year-Old Cottage, 21st Century Remodel

"We chose one only 50 feet high to be sensitive to our neighbors, so if it ever fell over it couldn't hit any house but ours," says Curt, who had no trouble obtaining a city permit and three years later still seems surprised by the uproar that ensued. Another lesson at the Mann Family Living Lab: Don't assume everyone sees a sleek little windmill as a neighborhood asset. "It was a civics lesson for our kids," Curt continues. "A handful of people had misinformation. Once the truth surfaced"—and the TV crews went away—"we had people profusely apologize." The turbine also turned out to be a lesson in wind dynamics. At only 50 feet, below the fastest winds, the SkyStream has been a helpmate but not a replacement for their grid-supplied kilowatts.