When we think of wind turbines, we almost certainly picture the massive wind farms atop countryside hills, or built out to sea. We probably don’t think of buying one for our home. Thankfully, technological advancements in renewable energy are such that you can now buy vertical wind turbines for home use, which are sleekly designed, efficient when it comes to space, and can begin harnessing the power of the wind even in a light breeze.
Whether you’re looking to power a specific part of your home, store surplus energy in a backup generator in case of a power outage, or you want to add a further renewable element to your ongoing green energy home project, investing in a vertical wind turbine is a sensible way to make the most out of one of nature’s strongest, most bountiful, and free resources: the wind. We recommend using a vertical wind turbine in addition to a solar panel installation in order to get the most out of your renewable energy setup.
Editor’s Picks
We’ve reviewed the market and chosen the very best home vertical wind turbines for a range of needs.
Best Value
TOPINCN 12V 600W Vertical Axis Wind Generator Kit
The TOPINCN 600W vertical wind turbine kit is the most affordable kit on the market, whilst still promising to deliver around 600W of 12V power. This kit is highly durable, and recommended for use in powering home outdoor lighting systems – able to begin generating in just 6.56 ft/s of wind. TOPINCN’s kit is really easy to install, even for first time renewable energy users, and has a compact, lightweight and attractive design.
Quietest Design
NINILADY Free Energy 600w Vertical Wind Turbine Generator
The NINILADY 600W vertical wind turbine for home use has a strikingly original design, with aeroplane-wing styled blades to maximise efficiency, whilst minimising the noise emitted during use – hence why we’ve awarded it ‘quietest design’. But far from just being attractive, this wind power kit is cleverly designed with a smaller rotation radius than most other models – ensuring that you don’t have to take up much space to get the most out of its 600W of 12/24/48V power.
Most Versatile
MONIPA Wind Turbine Generator 600W DC 24V
This vertical wind turbine from MONIPA starts generation electricity at just 2 m/s of wind speed, and is safely operational up to 45 m/s, and in temperatures ranging from -40℃～80℃, making it one of the most durable vertical wind turbines you can buy for home use. With its market-typical lantern-shape design and nylon fibre blades, the MONIPA kit also remains affordable, whilst efficient.
How Do Vertical Home Wind Turbines Work?
From the photos of our best in class products above, you’ll immediately be able to see that the vertical wind turbines on sale for home use are unlike any you’d see on a conventional wind farm. Whereas those on wind farms look like giant windmills, with large enough rotors to obviously be of use in the production of electricity, those designed for home use look redundantly small in comparison. In fact, there are many different types of wind turbine for use in different situations and landscapes.
Nonetheless, they work. The only question is: how, exactly? First let’s deal with the general process of energy production in wind power technology. Unlike solar tech, which utilises the natural phenomenon of the photovoltaic effect (explore how solar energy transforms into electricity) in cells comprised of specific materials, wind power is an entirely mechanical technology.
First off, wind hits the blades of the turbine, the kinetic energy of which forces the blades to start turning on their rotor. (These blades are designed with the variable directions of the wind in mind, often curved and even twisted so as to maximise their exposure to the driving force of the wind.) The kinetic rotation of the blades is connected to a generator in the turbine housing, via a system of gears which serve to increase the torque of the kinetic energy. Once this energy reaches the generator, it forces the interaction of a magnet and a series of copper coils: this interaction generates electricity. The electricity is then passed through a transformer which amplifies its voltage for usage within your home and/or business.
Whilst vertical home wind turbines might look very different to largescale turbines, they function almost identically. The main difference is simply the shape and position of the blades. Vertical home wind turbines are designed with blades which point straight toward the sky, rather than outwards (though are just as aerodynamic as horizontal turbine blades) – this is to maximise the space available to the homeowner, who likely does not have the free available land necessary to install a standing horizontal turbine. The vertical design also makes these turbines more versatile, and as such they can be installed on RVs and boats, as well as around the home.
Read also: Onshore and Offshore Windpower Compared
Pros and Cons of Vertical Wind Turbines for the Home
Wind powered technology is the fastest growing sector in renewable energy (even outstripping solar power), and as such is becoming ever more available and affordable. Still, there are both pros and cons to this technology.
Pros:
- Versatile. Thanks to their space-saving design, you don’t need a massive lawn to install one of these turbines in your home. You can even attach it to your roof, or take it with you for installation on a motor home or motorboat, thanks to the weatherproof materials with which these turbines are constructed.
- Green energy. Our world is suffering due to the current climate crisis, and the last thing it needs is more fossil fuel use. Swapping out grid electricity in your home for green, renewable electricity is not only cost-effective, it’s kind to the earth.
- Save on bills. And speaking of cost-effective, with renewable power fuelling your home, you’ll quickly find that you’re saving heaps of cash on your energy bills. Whilst the initial investment capital required to install an eco-power array in your home might be high, it will pay for itself and more in time.
- Combine with solar. Combining a vertical home wind turbine setup with a solar one can ensure that you are never short of renewable electricity. When the day is overcast, and your solar panels aren’t receiving enough sunlight, the chances are the winds have picked up, and your wind turbine will reap the benefits. Similarly, on a still, sunny day when your turbine is inactive, your solar panels can pick up the slack.
Cons:
- Expensive. Whilst wind turbine technology is becoming ever more affordable, these kits can sometimes still be rather expensive. For the budget-conscious eco-consumer, solar technology may be the more attractive option.
- Low energy output. Unfortunately, whilst vertical home wind turbines do what they can with the space available to them, there’s just no competing with the efficiency and output of their horizontal cousins. Wind power, like solar power needs sunlight, needs plenty access to wind. This means lots of free space around the turbine, and turbine blades with a large surface area. These much smaller, much more compact turbines simply cannot produce all that much electricity.
- Wind dependent. Like any renewable energy technology, wind turbines rely on the presence of the natural source of their power: wind. If you live in an area with little wind, or often experience calm days, you have to be prepared for the fact that you’re unlikely to benefit greatly from wind turbine technology.
Best Products Reviewed
Having taken a look at our top category picks, it’s time to have a more in-depth look at the very best wind turbine generators the market has to offer. Here they are, with pros and cons, at a glance.
TQ 500W AC 12V 24V Wind Turbines Generator Lantern
As you’ll find with the majority of lantern-shaped wind turbines on the market (which tend to have similar operational margins), this 500W kit from TQ begins harnessing the power of the wind from 2 m/s of wind power, and is operational from -40℃～80℃ and in up to 45 m/s winds.
The actual blades of this home wind turbine are made of die-cast aluminium-alloy, mounted on a patented, intelligent microprocessor, electromagnetic axis, ensuring that it makes the most of even a small wind. A little expensive compared to its competitors, the TQ 500W would still make a good addition to your wind power system; though beware of the misleading information on its listing (states a power rating of 5000W, rather than the actual 500W of its output).
Smaraad New Energy 400W Vertical Axis Wind Generator Turbine
Like our ‘Quietest Design’ pick, the Smaraad New Energy 400W wind turbine utilises smart aeroplane wing-shaped blades to minimise its consumption of space, whilst maximising its power output. Smaraad promise this product has 20 years of life in it, and offer their customers a 1 year warranty guarantee.
Small, light, and stable, the Smaraad is functional in wind speeds of 2.5-25 m/s. Much more expensive than many of the products on this list, with a narrower field of optimal operation, and producing only 400W of power, we’ve still chosen to include this on our list for its <20db noise levels in operation, and the fact that it is only 1 of 2 options which give you this sleek design, whilst coming in multiple colour choices.
FLYHERO Wind Turbine Generator 600W 12V/24V
Another lantern-designed home wind turbine for your renewable energy systems, the FLYHERO puts out an impressive 600W, and begins generating electricity at just 2 m/s of wind. In a sleek all white colour, and with five nylon fibre blades, you can choose to purchase this wind turbine with 12V or 24V capabilities, depending on your needs.
FLYHERO promise an easy install, and even easier maintenance. With a controller too, building your green energy home installation couldn’t be simpler with a straightforward product such as this.
TOPINCN 12V 600W Vertical Axis Wind Generator Kit
We named this home wind turbine our ‘Best Value’ buy, but don’t be fooled into thinking that ‘value’ is code for cheap. Far from it. The TOPINCN 600W 12V vertical wind turbine is made from aluminium alloy and stainless steel, and is designed to stay working in all but the most extreme weather conditions.
With an easy-to-follow 6-step installation method, the manufacturer provides super detailed product disassembly diagrams to help you master the dismantling and reassembly of your wind turbine. Furthermore, its magnet three-phase AC motor helps to reduce the resistance torque on this wind generator, effectively increasing its efficiency and the power it generates.
NINILADY Free Energy 600w Vertical Wind Turbine Generator
It might be a much more expensive design than the more typical lantern-design of other vertical wind turbines, but we can’t help but love the NINILADY 600W kit. Designed cleverly to make the absolute most of the space available to you, the NINILADY is operational in just 2.5 m/s winds.
This is also our ‘Quietest Design’ top pick, meaning that if its noise reduction you’re concerned with, than we highly recommend you take a look at this particular product. Its design’s only major drawback is that, whilst near-silent, space-saving, and easy to install, it doesn’t have as dynamic an operational range as the lantern-designed competitor models, and is only operational between 2.5 and 25 m/s winds.
MONIPA Wind Turbine Generator 600W DC 24V
With 5 nylon fibre blades arranged in an attractive lantern shape, and pumping out 600W of 24V DC power, the MONIPA vertical axis wind turbine makes the most of wind energy despite its small, compact frame. It is perfect for homes, street lamps, light monitoring, marine use, and the supplementation of your pre-existing power system.
Affordable, too (only a little more expensive than our ‘Best Value’ kit), the MONIPA’s 3-phase Maglev generator is operational from winds as slow as 2 m/s, and up to 45 m/s, whilst can withstand temperatures of -40℃ lows and 80℃ highs.
Buyers Guide
When considering the installation of a wind turbine for your home, there are several things it’s important for you to consider.
Space and Location
Where are you intending to install your home vertical axis wind turbine? You’ll obviously want to install it where your property gets the most wind – telephone poles, for example, make great supports for wind turbines. However, you’ll also need to make sure the kit you choose has enough length of wiring to reach your main power grid or renewable energy system. As for space, if you’re pushed for it, then one of the aeroplane-wing bladed kits is preferable, whereas if you’ve room to spare, a lantern-shape wind turbine will be just fine.
Noise
The size of wind turbines we’ve discussed in this article are really not big enough to be particularly noisy, but presuming that you live in a quiet area, and don’t want any extra disturbance, then again, those aeroplane-wing bladed kits are preferable (albeit more expensive).
Budget
This one may seem obvious, but it’s a crucial element to consider. Bigger doesn’t always mean better, and in the case of home vertical axis wind turbines, neither does expensive always mean more power. In fact, our ‘Best Budget’ turbine packs a really good kick for a super attractive price, and is durable too. Don’t be tricked into spending more unnecessarily – be careful with your money and weigh up the cost with how your chosen product compares to other cheaper options.
Power Required
This is undoubtedly the most important thing to consider. Specifically: what are you looking to get from your home wind turbine? Simple fact is, if you want a wind turbine to contribute a large amount of electricity to your home energy system, then using a vertical wind turbine alone is just not going to cut it. We highly recommend bringing a vertical wind turbine in as an additional element to a renewable energy system, preferably coupling your turbine with solar power, so that even when there’s little wind, you can still be harnessing renewable energy from the sun. Moreover, if you’ve got the land for it, and you want to go totally off-grid, we’d recommend investing in a horizontal wind turbine – more money, sure, but equally you get a whole lot more power.
Final Verdict
Taking into consideration noise levels, space efficiency, power output, versatility and budget, we’ve decided that the very best vertical axis wind turbines on the market are those produced by MONIPA, especially the MONIPA Wind Turbine Generator 600W DC 24V. The 600W MONIPA’s compact, lantern-shape design and ease of installation, coupled with its attractive price point and impressive 600W 24V output makes it a safe-bet, especially if you’re a cautious first-time buyer, or first-time user of green energy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you recommend coupling wind energy with solar?
If you use only wind energy, then what happens on a still, sunny day? Coupling your newly purchased vertical axis wind turbine with a home solar system means that even on those days you can be harnessing renewable energy; and then when you’ve got sun and wind, you can be pulling in all the green energy one possibly could.
What’s the difference between the 2 main designs of vertical home wind turbines?
The taller of the two, which we’ve referred to here as ‘aeroplane-wing bladed’, are designed to maximise space efficiency and noise reduction, whilst the ‘lantern-shape’ turbines go for power over space, and produce a little more noise (though still boast fairly quiet operating levels).
What’s the difference between ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ home wind turbines?
Much the same as the difference between the two different designs of the vertical kind – one prioritises space over energy, the other energy over space. ‘Horizontal’ turbines – the likes of which you’d see on a wind farm – produce a lot more energy than their vertical cousins, but as such take up a lot more space; whereas ‘vertical’ turbines are small and compact enough to be installed in almost any property, regardless of space, but tend not to produce all that much energy.
Are these home wind turbine systems easy to install?
Most of them are, yes. However, you’re going to need to have a generator to wire them into, or wire them directly into the appliance you wish to power with wind power. Arguably more difficult to install than solar power, as do require some electrical wiring know-how.
