Vertical-axis wind turbines use an aerodynamic effect to rotate the blades and transform wind into mechanical energy, which is then transformed into electric power through a generator. The modernized wind turbine can achieve power conversion efficiency between 20-40%.
These turbines are independent on direction of wind, and overall more tolerable to turbulence than their horizontal wind turbine counterparts. Wind speeds up when it moves around the vertical-axis turbines, but the vertical arrangement of the blades on downstream turbines can catch that wind effectively to generate more power. Horizontal turbines can only catch some of this faster wind as it passes by, and upon doing so the stress on the blades is increased, which hurts the performance of the blades.
As wind passes around and through the vertical wind turbine, it produces turbulence that may reduce the power output and increase wear and tear of a downstream turbine. However, with robust positioning, each vertical-axis turbine will boost the power output of its neighbors enough to outweigh this slight disadvantage.
Small wind turbines are much easier to install and maintain. Thus, these have been widely used to provide power for a variety of applications around the world such as on- or off-grid residences, telecommunication systems, street lighting systems, remote monitoring systems, and other purposes that require energy where there is no stable electric grid.
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