Wind Turbine Design Types

Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines

• The horizontal axis wind turbines, also known as HAWT, are the type that probably comes to mind when you think of a turbine. The design resembles a wind mill and its blades are propeller-like and spin on the horizontal axis. This turbine lends to high efficiency because the blades always move perpendicularly to the wind in order to receive power through the whole rotation. It requires much effort to assemble because of the weight and complexity of the materials used.

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

• Unlike the HAWTs, the VAWT generator and its other pieces can be placed on the ground, which makes maintenance easy. Because it can be kept at lower altitudes on the ground, it is not as energy efficient as the HAWT. However, if it is placed on a roof, the wind speed could double over the turbine, helping the efficiency greatly.

Darrieus Wind Turbine - Subtype of VAWT

• These turbines are usually referred to as eggbeater turbines because they resemble an eggbeater in shape. Even though they have decent efficiency, they produce large torque ripple and cyclic stress on the tower, which makes them not always reliable.

Savonius Wind Turbine - Subtype of VAWT

• This is a drag type turbine, often used to deal with ventilation and anemometers because of its outstanding reliability. Although they are less efficient than the HAWT, they are self-starting and handle high winds well.