The following information has been extracted from Home Power Magazine's 2010 Wind Generator Buyer's Guide, which provides an outstanding overview of many of the considerations that go into properly selecting a small wind turbine. This annual Buyer's Guide and the many other small wind articles published by Home Power throughout the year are definitely recommended reading. In the coming weeks and months, we will be adding more small wind turbines to this directory as their information becomes available, as well as improving the format to make comparisons more straightforward and comprehensive.
It is important to remember that the turbine and generator hardware purchase prices listed below are only a part of the total cost of a small wind project and have only been provided to allow a quick relative comparison between systems. The total cost of a project will include not only the basic hardware, but also includes the cost of a tower (included in some of the prices below, but not all), additional equipment and maintenance, installation, compliance with local regulations, and incentives, all of which vary greatly from location to location. Working on the wind estimates provided in our WindCheck G and WindCheck S analyses, our WindCheck E report accounts for these factors and more and provides an economic analysis tailored to your specific project and location.
Why don't we include the rated power of the turbines? Like many others, we feel that the rated power of a small wind system can be a confusing and even misleading number. Throughout the wind industry, the convention is to calculate power ratings at very high wind speeds, usually 25 mph or greater, at which any wind turbine produces much more energy than it does at the more moderate speeds that are usually found in almost every location. At smallwind.com, we want consumers to have realistic expectations for any small wind turbine they are considering, so we choose to provide Annual Energy Output (AEO) at the more reasonable average annual wind speeds listed below.
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| Manufacturer | Model |
Rotor
Diameter (ft) |
Swep
Area (sq ft) |
Tower-top Weight (lbs) |
Annual Energy Output (AEO) Annual kwh generated by an average annual wind speed of |
Price |
Warranty (yrs) |
|||||
| 8 mph | 10 mph | 12 mph | 14 mph |
Battery- less Version |
Battery Version |
Tower Included? |
||||||
| Bergey | XL-1 | 8.2 | 53 | 75 | 420 | 840 | 1400 | 2040 | - | $2,790 | No | 5 |
| Southwest | Whisper 200 | 9.0 | 64 | 65 | 794 | 1483 | 2254 | 3005 | - | $3,450 | No | 5 |
| Raum | Raum 1.3 | 9.5 | 73 | 86 | 908 | 1539 | 2479 | 3365 | $3,650 | $3,650 | No | 5 |
| Kestrel | e300i | 10.0 | 76 | 165 | 973 | 1726 | 2551 | 3356 | $6,440 | $4,138 | No | 5 |
| Proven | Proven 7 | 11.5 | 104 | 420 | 1704 | 3494 | 5627 | 7842 | $25,000 | - | 30 ft | 5 |
| Xzeres | ARE 110 | 11.8 | 110 | 315 | 1629 | 3039 | 4801 | 6643 | $12,650 | $11,800 | No | 5 |
| Southwest | Skystream 3.7 | 12.0 | 113 | 170 | 914 | 1925 | 3216 | 4575 | $9,695 | - | 33 ft | 5 |
| Kestrel | e400i | 13.0 | 135 | 331 | 2010 | 3807 | 5996 | 8285 | $13,3281 | $11,1781 | No | 5 |
| Raum | Raum 3.5 | 13.2 | 135 | 170 | 2021 | 4380 | 7447 | 10272 | $7,000 | $7,000 | No | 5 |
| Southwest | Whisper 500 | 15.0 | 176 | 155 | 1474 | 2907 | 4637 | 6445 | - | $8,795 | No | 5 |
| Fortis | Montana | 16.4 | 211 | 440 | 3459 | 5443 | 7410 | 9132 | $15,800 | $15,800 | No | 5 |
| Evance | Iskra R9000 | 17.7 | 246 | 660 | 3500 | 6670 | 10590 | 14500 | - | $18,800 | 50 ft | 5 |
| Proven | Proven 11 | 18.0 | 256 | 1323 | 2773 | 5752 | 9526 | 13606 | $38,000 | - | 30 ft | 5 |
| Eoltec | Scirocco | 18.4 | 265 | 450 | 3496 | 6746 | 10751 | 14983 | $29,130 | - | No | 5 |
| Endurance | S-343 | 21.0 | 343 | 600 | 5249 | 9498 | 14065 | 18375 | $35,000 | - | 120 ft | 5 |
| Bergey | Excel-R | 22.0 | 380 | 1050 | 3600 | 7500 | 12100 | 16800 | - | $24,750 | No | 10 |
| Bergey | Excel-S | 23.0 | 415 | 1050 | 5000 | 9600 | 15900 | 23300 | $29,500 | - | No | 10 |
| Fortis | Alize | 23.3 | 426 | 847 | 11098 | 18456 | 26156 | 32925 | $31,100 | $31,100 | No | 5 |
| Xzeres | ARE442 | 23.6 | 442 | 1600 | 7081 | 13198 | 20628 | 28267 | $39,600 | - | No | 5 |
| Proven | Proven 35 | 29.5 | 685 | 2424 | 10759 | 20400 | 30895 | 40863 | $79,000 | - | 50 | 5 |
| WTIC | 31-20 | 31.0 | 754 | 2500 | 7295 | 14966 | 25836 | 38552 | $43,225 | - | No | 1(5) |
| Gaia | 133-11 | 42.6 | 1425 | 1984 | 11535 | 22962 | 35263 | 48676 | $51,6523 | - | 60 ft | 2(5) |
| Halus | V-17 | 56.0 | 2462 | 17000 | 37820 | 75165 | 122375 | 174371 | $110,000 | - | No | 1(5) |
| Endurance | E-3120 | 63.0 | 3120 | 8800 | 48145 | 91758 | 139955 | 186254 | $250,000 | - | No | 5 |
| Northern | Northwind100 | 69.0 | 3725 | 16100 | 49099 | 98996 | 158135 | 220558 | $475,000 | - | 120 ft | 2(3+) |
Notes:
1 - the Kestrel e400i price does not include controls
3 - the Gaia 133-11 price includes a foundation for the tower
