Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) Designs

There are a number of vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) videos and designs on the internet. We have sorted through quite a few and will present here, some of the better ideas for the do it yourself (diy) handyman who is interested in building their own turbine.

If you are more inclined to purchase off the shelf, keep in mind our comments regarding the total power you can expect to achieve at your home. As a general rule of tumb, most household sized wind turbines, will produce an "average" of one tenth of their rated output. Thus a 1kw (1,000 watt) wind turbine would produce an average of 100 watts per hour. Look at your electrical bill and figure out how mach power you consume per day-month-year. Don't let a salesman get away with telling you their 1kw wind turbine can take you off the grid!

Back to the DIY wind turbine enthusiast. We'll start with some videos of turbines we like here at GreenTerraFirma. Note that we have not built these units as of our review date, so you will want to form your own opinions as well.

55 Gallon VAWT by Jeff Berezin

These two 8 minute video's walk you through constructing a very large wind turbine made from two 55 gallon plastic drums. Total cost for Jeff's project is only $100.

What we like: size and cost of project. Simplicity of design. Easy access to parts required.

What we don't like: noise from the bearings. Build your own gears.

Suggestions: use pulley system if you can't make the gears.

Part one BELOW:

Part two BELOW:

Lenz2 VAWT - 52 watts @ 12.5 mph

The following link will take you to a site that includes detailed plans for making the blades of a 3 ft diameter, 4 ft high, VAWT. This turbine is reported to produce 52 watts of power at wind speeds of 12.5 mph.

The blades are made from plywood and 1 inch strips of wood, covered with aluminum foil. A bit of welding is required to build the cage structure and attach the generator.

The plans also include instructions on how to change the size of the blades, should you wish to try a larger or smaller turbine.

What we like: very detail plans.

What we don not like: generator is exposed to rain, ice, snow. Need a machine shop to manufacture some of the parts.

Link to homemade alternator.

Link to smaller VAWT.

Link to VAWT Blade Designs.