Residential Wind Turbines: Just What Is The Most Widely Used Type?

When you finally make the decision to take advantage of residential land and the free power they can give you, there are many choices that will be available. Your job initially is just to figure out what all those options are and pick out the one that fits your location and your requirements the best.

By far, the most popular wind turbine out there for the residential wind market is the horizontal axis wind generator. It is much like the windmill concept that we are all used to seeing in the Netherlands. It has a horizontal shaft that spins parallel to the planet's surface. The blade system of course rotates perpendicular to the surface of the earth.

The reason that this wind device is so popular for residential wind is that it is very simple and cheap to install. These horizontal devices have been out there for a long time and the economies of scale kick in and driven down the cost. Many of them are even built in China to take advantage of super-low labor rates.

Basically the alternative you have is to install a vertical axis wind turbine somewhere on your property where it fits. The problem with the vertical axis wind turbine though is that it is not as efficient as the horizontal axis wind turbine. For residential wind applications you have to do everything you can in order to make sure you're making the most energy you can.

The vertical axis wind turbine also only functions optimally in a chaotic wind environment. Because it's inefficient, it needs to operate where it is the most at home. They're actually quite powerful in a roof type application.

However, there is just no substitute for a horizontal wind device if you're trying to make a lot of energy out of your residential wind situation. The horizontal turbine needs to be mounted on a tower at least 30 feet above the tree line.

Locating the wind turbine there will offer the strongest winds in the most consistent winds over the course of any given year. Even when winds are very chaotic and turbulent they can be very strong. So, you can get a lot of wind energy out of your location if you will push the issue and install a horizontal wind turbine 30 feet above the level of most obstacles.

Summarizing, of the two types of residential wind devices the horizontal axis wind turbine is by far the more popular. It is been around the longest and simply is the most efficient.