Independent Tests: Vertical Axis Wind Turbine vs Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine

Windsunwisdom produces the best videos on youtube for those interested in wind turbines. Excellent work!

A useful summary, and good advice. I always wondered how much the manufacturers specs. left out!

A guy here in the UK who has been building and using vertical wind turbines for over thirty years said to me that he favours the less efficient vertical set up because it is easier to build them to last and maintain/service them.
The hours other people wast over the years on messing about fixing horizontals makes them (in his experience) more expensive in the long run (or equates to a higher Total Cost of Ownership).
He is retired now but many of his are still working on boat sheds and remote agricultural buildings all over Britain where reliability and convenience was the over riding factor. This meant they were expensive per watt back then compared to to-days solar arrays. So, what is best should be based on the particular application and all its other requirements.
Also, if his customer had any old automotive batteries (fisherman and farmers etc., always have old batteries knocking around), he could often convert them into deep cycle batteries simply by changing the type of electrolyte. Thus it didn’t matter if they had a lower charge capacity as they were otherwise just scrap.
The average wind speed here in the UK is about 16 mph.

Very helpful video thanks so much. I own a farm in a rural area (technically "on grid" but in between two small towns, ie with no other buildings nearby). According to the local meteorology station in the nearest town, the general area receives on avg 3m/s wind - that said, and in my personal experience, the exact spot where farm is the wind is significantly stronger, at least 2x as strong; again, my estimation. Important to point out that there are already several state owned large wind turbines scattered around the area. My farm is on a hill with an elevation from 130 to 90 meters above sea level with no obstruction, so my question is: would a small turbine still require that 10 meter high position? I would like to keep everything discreet an in line with the surrounding landscape. Thanks again.

Excellent video, thanks! It would have been interesting with a test under more normal, sub-optimal conditions, like most potential users will have. Inland, some trees generating turbulence, etc.

Thank you. Very informative. Another thing not mentioned here but worth looking into: how big is the risk for birds being hacked to death by the blades of the windturbines? It somehow seems that horizontal blades here cover a bigger area, whereas the vertical axis centers more around it's own mast and are therefore more visibly and less dangerous?

Very nice video and very interesting channel !! I have a question.. if I want to measure wind over period of a year, just to see if my location is OK, what would I need , some cheap option, if you have something on mind ?

Their website says the rotor is 4 meters tall and 4 meters diameter. Its MUCH larger than the skystream. The total surface area is more like 16m2 compared to the skystream.

I have been tempted to get a wind turbine to top up our batteries in Winter when the PV is not enough. I couldn't find any turbine that could generate enough without installing it very high. So, we bought more cheap PV and switched to using wood in the Winter.

Fine analysis of current market; do consider the general pros are that wind balls can be arrayed denser with (unmeasured) benefit and accessible to the ground in comparison to wind towers.
Imagine if I told you my 20%-40% less efficient design can be placed 10x more: thats 6-8x the output of the single more efficient model and would change the general efficiency understanding, but again less of a single buyer perspective and more general analysis comparison importance. (I dont know the specific array density of these models just general important analysis consideration with windmills. 🐧🐉)

What is the life expectancy of each unit, and what causes them to die? Kind of important information, no?

get to it already..

the winner is the old stile water pump ,made of steel slow moving but powerful.

You're a clone of a colleague of mine in Stuttgart... with the very same accent and weirdly enough, deeply convinced that US technical validations are UNBIASED! 😆That's so naive! Industrial considerations are paramount, meaning that a better technical solution may be beaten as it's been already the case with heat engines as a matter of fact.
Once I asked him how trustworthy are Tüv tests and certifications: Are they to be less reliable than their american counterparts? It was an inner national struggle for my colleague... Oh Gosh! Corporates can bring down the most wonderful ideas. It's appalling that you ignore it! Hans!🤣😂

Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine 25 mph wind you may get 2-5 watts from a 400 watt turbine there shit. it will never charge a 12 volt battery. 2-3 volts ac. you never get pay back of fan and mask. wait for the windmill fan that thhey do not said 400 watt ebay and others is max wind speed. over 100 mph

Has anyone told you that your exposé look like an East German communiqué? btw, there's a hole in your chest... Removing green background may kill you🤣😅😆

I can't take your references for granted Hans! They're not biblically reliable!

Strange little haters in the comments, maybe its a Euro thing ? There's a new pinwheel horizontal axis wind turbine that's all the range now, would like to see a sq. meter to sq. meter comparison there too. Thanks