Hi. I'm doing a little research for my dad. He wants a Vertical-axis wind turbine for his home. I've searched and searched but I can't find any kits for sale except one, and naturally the price isn't listed. I'm assuming it must be expensive. Do you know of any good home kits? For that matter, is a VAWT a good bet? And about how much would one expect to pay for decent kit that would actually collect enough power to matter? We live on the coast and we get some pretty powerful winds now and then.

My dad's a very hands on, do-it-yourself kind of guy, so if there's a kit out there he can handle it, I'm sure. He's just not very handy when it comes to the mysterious internets.

Hi Gribble,

Check out this earlier post about vertical axis machines.

We also have information about choosing a turbine on our web page.

Some things to keep in mind about vertical wind turbines. They tend to have a higher "cut in" wind speed. I have also heard they are subject to vibration.