It is good to peruse some wind turbine reviews before thinking of buying something now.
Here are the 3 best horizontal axis home wind turbines and for your reference: (They are in 3 formats, to end the tedium)
* Windmax HY400 Wind Turbine Review
Windmax is one of the most popular small wind turbines on the market today and is available through amazon.com.
This manufacturer produces a range of products, but in this review we are taking a closer look at the HY400 model.
The biggest limitation that a small wind turbine or any wind turbine has is the poor performance of the wind. The Windmax unit starts spinning at a starting speed of 6.7 mph, while many popular home wind turbines don’t start producing power until at least 9 mph.
How much does it cost and what comes with the kit?
Whenever you make an investment in a home wind turbine, there are 2 aspects of the cost that you should carefully consider:
Initial Cost: Includes the cost of purchasing the product and installing or commissioning the device and getting it up and running. Ongoing Costs: Regular maintenance and any scheduled replacement of parts. In this case, the Windmax HY400 itself costs $650. You should budget at least that amount to install the system and connect to your home’s electrical system. If you are going to connect the unit to charge a battery, you do not need to call an electrician.
450 watts max/400 watts rated
Generator
blades
Controller (and screws/bolts)
tower not included
The generator is brushless, which means it requires less torque to start spinning, giving it a much lower starting speed. Also, brushless systems are easier to maintain because there are fewer things to wear out.
Important things about the components.
Blades – These are made from injection molded fiberglass and nylon making them very strong yet lightweight. This is another reason why Windmax offers such a low starting speed. The 3-blade system has a diameter of 4-1/2 feet. Aerodynamically, the blades have been designed to prevent them from accelerating too much, which can be costly.
Controller: It is a hybrid design that incorporates solar and wind technologies. It is also controlled electromagnetically to slow the turbine before “winding” occurs, that is, when the wind is blowing too hard and the unit speeds up. When a wind turbine is revved up too much, it is expensive to restart it.
Maximum Speed: The maximum wind speed the unit can operate in is 134 mph. At that point, the unit will roll up and protect itself from being destroyed.
The entire unit weighs 60 pounds (without the tower), so you can mount it to your roof without fear of damaging the underlying structure in high winds.
In a nutshell: Windmax is a quick and easy way to start producing energy from the wind that blows around you every day. I would even go so far as to say that these types of small wind turbines represent the future in this category.
It’s small enough to be quickly assembled and assembled and configured to produce power, yet durable enough to last at least the 20-year average lifespan that a home wind turbine should have. You could have a variety of these Windmax units on your roof, doing your bidding and producing power 24/7.
* Sunforce 44447 900 Watt Wind Turbine Review
What about that?
This unit is almost ready to go right out of the box.
Cutting speed = 7.5 mph (starts making power)
It only has 3 moving parts, so there’s not much to break.
Warranty: 5 years, but it will probably last you 20.
US Department of Energy – Southwest Windpower works with the DOE to develop its products. That means they really focus on safety and reliability.
True DIY – These are units that can be easily done by the average handyman.
What comes with the kit: controller, generator, windmill, no tower.
What’s wrong with it?
It’s not the cheapest on the market – $1,864.
It won’t power a whole house, but it will charge a backup battery. (Grid connection CAN be done, but the price to achieve it may be too high for this size of windmill)
I need to buy a tower to mount it. ($450 additional)
You need an average wind speed of 12 mph.
This Sunforce home wind turbine is highly recommended for its price and reliability.
* Windtura 500 Home Wind Turbine Kit Review
What’s good about it?
Excellent Construction: Powder-coated, weather-resistant steel exterior construction, weighs only 53 lbs., mounts discreetly to the ceiling: 3 blades are 35″ in diameter. Price: approximately $700. What’s wrong with it?
*Charges only one battery bank
* Maximum wind 28 mph
When considering any home wind turbine kit, it is wise to first understand the wind on your property. That takes a bit of time, because you’ll need to take some data if you’re going to do the analysis correctly.
The best way to understand the wind energy available on your property is to use an anemometer. Anemometers measure and record the speed and direction of the wind. They are small enough to mount on a pole and control the wind in various places on your property.
The best place to consider mounting your wind turbine kit will be at least 30 feet above obstacles that could block the flow of the wind, such as trees and other buildings. However, that is not always practical and can be expensive if you have to invest in a tower to get the wind turbine tall enough.
There is usually some sort of tradeoff involved where you have to compromise wind output to some extent for the cost of installation.
Another factor you should consider is the local ordinance. Many communities prohibit the installation of wind turbines entirely or at least partially through maximum height restrictions. So it’s wise to check with your local city or county zoning authority to make sure it’s okay where you want to install your windmill.
There may be a permit involved, but it won’t be prohibitively expensive.
You can always buy blueprints and build your homemade wind turbine kit from scratch. That, too, is certainly within the capabilities of the average weekend home handyman. However, the cost will likely be a bit lower and the hassle factor much higher.
It is our recommendation that you also read other wind turbine reviews.