I swear, if a neighbor installs one of these things, and I can hear it (whooshing noises, or it develops a noise from just normal wear and tear), one way or another, its coming down.
People have so little respect for others around them concerning noise pollution. Leaf blowers, lawn mowers, noisy air conditioners, motorcycles, etc
I'm a victim because I can't sleep through the sound of landscapers early in the morning, even with the widows closed?
I remember a long time ago the town where my dad lived was going to build an animal shelter with an outdoor fenced in area for dogs, which would result in nonstop barking. The neighborhood got together and put a stop to that. Sounds like you would have told them all to just buy better windows and stop being victims.
Do you think that the solution to the stink from the new pig farm next door to you is appropriately handled by you installing year-round filtered air conditioning?
An apartment where I lived in Manhattan had unbearable noise. The bill for installing soundproof windows would have been $1800 and wouldn't block any of the low frequency noise from a nearby bar, so I moved to a quiet street in Brooklyn...
Perhaps these concerns with regard to residential windmills are yet another aspect/reflection of the poor outcome of having a lack of an effective public energy policy and initiative. Communities and governments refuse to address the problem in a coordinated fashion. Everyone ends up "doing their own thing" and, all too often, the neighbors be damned.
Noise pollution has remained a hidden environmental degradation and health risk. Hidden in plain sight.