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You may be thinking about switching to renewable energy in your home, and one of the first questions to consider is: Solar panels? There is another type of vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT), however, which is becoming more and more popular. VAWTs, however, are not a "cure-all" solution to all power grid issues, but possess important characteristics for home applications that warrant their consideration for home integration with the energy grid.
What Makes Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Different
VAWTs are different than propeller-like horizontal axis turbines (HAWTs) which are commonly found in wind farms. They rotate around a vertical axis, and hence the structure is quite compact, which is an opposite face to the wind turbines that are built tall.
The advantage of this kind of design is that VAWTs are able to work without any need to face the wind or yaw it in order to generate power from wind. They have a four-direction rotational feature making them very effective in windy urban and suburban areas with variable wind direction.
Key Benefits for Homeowners
The use of a VAWT for domestic wind power has many advantages, particularly in rural and urban settings where problems exist with conventional wind turbines.
Suitable for Urban and Suburban Spaces: VAWTs are compact, and can be installed on rooftops or in backyards with limited space. They come in handy, as alternatives to the space consuming HAWTs that require open space and a tall tower.
With residential power generation, acoustic factors are of paramount concern because neighbors do not want the power to become a disruptive sound pollution source. This is unlike the many existing, large-scale wind farms, whose chopping action of the wind generates quite significant amounts of noise and vibration. VAWT designs, by contrast are quite distinct and operate in a much quieter fashion, and also generate significantly less vibration. Indeed studies have suggested that several prototype VAWT designs create less acoustic output then natural wind, which makes for an ideal, quiet, neighboring presence for homes, businesses and the general neighborhood.
Omnidirectional Wind Capture: There are also VAWTs which capture wind from any direction, as described above. Around buildings and trees this is a great benefit in the crazy, whirling winds. They are able to continue to produce energy from any wind direction and do not miss out on energy that a HAWT may miss.
Are They the Best Choice?
While all that's quite advantageous, there are circumstances where VAWTs are not a on-the-perfect match for all residences. This is in fact an issue that depends on your scenario. Are not as efficient as HAWTs when wind speed is high. A HAWT will generate more energy in open rural areas with strong and stable winds. Research shows that the aerodynamically efficiency of VAWT's is not as high as that of HAWT's, VAWT's capacity factors 20% to 35% are less than HAWT's 40% to 50% and also gives some major benefits at the residential level.
A combination of both solar panels and VAWTs would be best for most residential structures. It is suggested that small wind turbines generate 20% more energy per year than solar panels in Hawaii and that in such sites solar and wind power is best utilised during the day as well as at night. The authors also conducted another study that determined the vertical-axis turbines for residential roofs would have a yearly payback period of 6 years and save or prevent 36% of the building's yearly energy consumption.
Conclusion
An interesting and increasingly practical solution for homeowners hoping to wean themselves from their dependence on the grid and transition to renewable power is vertical axis wind turbines. Small size means that they are perfect and when coupled with the wind direction regardless nature, they can perfectly fit into residential/urban setting.
Since 2009, Jiangsu DHC Environmental Si-Tech Co., Ltd. has been dedicated to providing new vertical wind turbine, solar panel and LiFePO₄ battery to commercial markets especially focused on wind-solar hybrid system. DHC is committed to quality, energy production and having one-stop purchasing to make home wind power a reality.
