| By :
Roger Brown
There are several types of wind turbines for homes that will likely work for you. While there are certainly other creative designs out there, the 2 most common types are the ones you need to be focusing on initially. The two most common designs are... Horizontal axis Turbines - The horizontal axis wind turbine is the most efficient design out there now. This device looks like the traditional Dutch windmill with the shaft spinning horizontally, or parallel to the surface of the earth. These devices can achieve efficiencies of over 50%. There are several reasons for that, but the strongest reason is that these devices are typically located on towers high above the obstructions that normally impair a wind turbine on the roof, for example. Also, horizontal when devices take advantage of tail section technology. The tail section's sole purpose is to orient the device in the direction of the strongest wind. So, the horizontal wind turbine is constantly seeking the prevailing wind and it tends to shift a lot in the breeze. This can be a problem for neighbors in many cases, because the turbine is constantly moving back and forth, which many people consider annoying. Vertical axis Turbines - These vertical axis home wind turbines may well be the best thing available for you if you live in a city. City dwellers in most cases, do not have the opportunity to locate a wind device on top of the tower. That is because the only real estate that they really have control over is their roofs. These vertical axis devices are not nearly as efficient as their horizontal axis wind turbine counterparts. That is because they have no tail section to orient them in the direction of the strongest wind. That makes them somewhat inefficient, but it also makes them perfect for the roof which has a lot of angular diversity and therefore causes the wind to shift directions spasmodically at times. In conclusion, wind turbines for homes work best with either horizontal or vertically oriented devices, depending on where you are locating them on your land. If you have the option of locating your device on top of a tower high up in the atmosphere, then that is what you need to do if you are trying to optimize power production. The strongest wind is always going to be up higher. But, if you have no choice and must locate your device on a roof then you definitely need to consider the vertical axis wind turbine, which will be a lot more aesthetically pleasing.
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