types of turbines
There are 2 main types of turbines.
1. Horizontal axis wind turbines (H.A.W.T) which resembles propellers on an airplane.
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By nature of their design, they produce considerably more power than the Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (V.A.W.T).
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Latest designs are very quiet e.g. "Soma 1000", the "Whisper" series and the "Skystream 3.7" (with built in inverter). ReWind now sells Danish designed H.A.W.T's on the south coast of NSW - these have variable tilt blades that make them more efficient.
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H.A.W.T's generally need to be mounted on tall towers increasing the cost of installation and make maintenance more difficult.
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Require a yaw control mechanism to turn the blades into the wind.
Soma Turbine
2. Vertical axis wind turbines (V.A.W.T) have blades connected to a vertical axis and come in a number of different designs. Recently there has been an increase in the number of small V.A.W.T's coming onto the market.
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V.A.W.T’s are more tolerant of turbulence and do not have to be located as high as H.A.W.T's. As a result they are suited to both rural and urban environments.
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They are bird and bat friendly as they appear to be a solid object when rotating and do not spin as fast as H.A.W.T's.
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They are very quiet and generally begin rotating at lower speeds.
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They are always "facing the wind" and therefore don't require a yaw mechanism.
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V.A.W.T's are more likely to withstand very strong winds.
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V.A.W.T's can be mounted directly on rooftops.