

"It's a technology that works, but it has some problems," said Veers. They can also accept wind from any direction with equal efficiency. Vertical turbines also tend not to be as tall and have a steady gravity load, meaning the effects of gravity don't change as the turbine spins, unlike in horizontal axis turbines. Their narrower vertical footprint allows them to be placed closer together, though spacing is limited by how much energy is extracted from passing breezes and by support structures like guy wires.

Since the turbines are vertical, the generators can be placed on or close to the ground, lowering maintenance costs. Where the Darrieus turbine spins by generating lift, the Savonius rotors spin from drag. Savonius rotor turbines are another design, where air scoops are mounted on the shaft of the generator, forming a spinning cylinder. The blades have a cross section similar to an airplane wing and generate force in similar fashion. The Darrieus rotor uses arced narrow blades anchored at both ends of a shaft, akin to a whisk or an eggbeater.
#Home wind mills generator#
The turbines come in two main varieties of rotors - the part of the generator that catches the wind and spins - and share many of the same advantages. "The simple story is that the companies that were commercializing were unable to make the inherent advantages exceed the inherent disadvantages," said Paul Veers, chief engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Wind Technology Center. Vertical axis turbines, where the rotating axis stands upright, have been around as long as their horizontal brethren but have failed to catch on at large scales. The tall three-bladed fans are the ubiquitous symbol of wind energy, but they aren't the only design on the market. Propeller wind turbines are the most common way of using one of the most abundant energy sources on Earth to generate electricity.
