Horizontal Wind Turbine
Horizontal wind turbines (HAWT) are the most common style of wind turbine used today. They are the most efficient available wind turbine in today’s market.
A horizontal wind turbine is classified as horizontal because the axis of the rotating turbine is horizontal, or parallel to the ground.
The HAWT as many advantages if you compare it to a vertical wind turbine.
But, the biggest disadvantage of the HAWT is that it needs to be facing the wind in order to operate efficiently.
Some HAWT systems will be constructed with a wind vane and yaw mechanism, which will automatically turn the nose of the turbine to face the direction of the wind.
The diagram below shows the rotating axis of the horizontal turbine:
Notice from the diagram above that the axis of rotation from the horizontal wind turbine is parallel to the ground.
Horizontal wind turbines usually have one to three blades, and are usually the type of wind turbine that you will see used in wind farms. Wind farms use several wind turbines in one location for large-scale electrical production.
Take a look at a more detailed diagram to learn how a wind turbine works.