In a good year at a good wind site, a small turbine might be running 6,000 hours over the course of a year. For comparison, this is about the same as driving your car 200,000 miles! Not suprisingly, your small turbine will last longer and perform better if maintenance is done regularly. For most systems, you should plan to either tilt down the tower or climb the tower once a year to check for signs of unusual wear, tighten bolts, lubricate moving parts and perform other general maintenance. You should check with the manufacturer or dealer of your turbine for specific guidelines, or contract with your installer for future maintenance.