Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines Custom Search 
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT) is the very common type of wind power turbines. The other type, Vertical Axis Wind Turbine, (VAWT) is less used. To find more on VAWT, click on its link at the very bottom of this page in the blue writing.HAWT are built today with a "propeller" type rotor on a horizontal axis or the main shaft. The rotor converts the 'linear' movement of the wind into 'rotational' type of energy that is used to drive a generator which produces electricity.(A hydro turbine, (water), uses the same principle when producing energy. The water flows parallel to the axis of the blades.) Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT) have been build for many centuries. They were made from wooden shutter or fabric sails with at least 4 blades. We can envision these Windmills with thousands of tulips! These turbines were pointed into the wind by human power or by a 'tail'. The power generated from this long ago windmill "ground up grains" and "pumped water" from low lying areas to higher ground.
Today's modern Horiztonal Axis Wind Turbines..
...can be seen on residential rooftops or commercially. Commercial Turbines are gray to blend in with the sky, standing up to 300 feet tall, have 3 blades averaging up to 130 feet and rotating at 10-25 revolutions per minute. These turbines have computer controlled motor that keep the blades turned into the wind. They have high tip speeds of up to 6X the wind speed, high efficiency and low torque ripple....making it very reliable. The computerized motor also shuts down power during dangerously windy weather. Gear boxes attached by rotor dictate wind speed.
Simple Residential Turbines may not be as complicated but with every new wave of technology, new advanced improvements and efficiency are increasing. Some small turbines don't have to have the blades directed by the "wind vane".
Go to "Vertical Axis Wind Turbines"
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