Wind Turbine Calculator Sent Pair a Wind Turbine to your needs.
Twelve quick questions and we'll point you at the two or three turbines in the range that fit your set-up. Nothing to sign up for. If none of them fit, we'll say so. Already know what you want? Skip to the Quote Form.
Put your postcode or zip code in question 1 and we'll fill in the average wind where you are.
Area Wind: NASA POWER, 20-year average (2001–2020) at 10 m and 50 m; the figure at your height is worked out from those two. Postcode locations: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).
Add what you run. Every figure can be changed — the one on your own appliance’s label or plate beats ours.
A rough guide from typical figures. It works out the energy you use in a day — not what size inverter or battery you need.
Where These Figures Come from
| Battery Size | 12 V | 24 V | 48 V |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 200 Ah | under 2.4 kWh | under 4.8 kWh | under 9.6 kWh |
| 200 to 500 Ah | 2.4 to 6 kWh | 4.8 to 12 kWh | 9.6 to 24 kWh |
| 500 to 1,000 Ah | 6 to 12 kWh | 12 to 24 kWh | 24 to 48 kWh |
| Over 1,000 Ah | over 12 kWh | over 24 kWh | over 48 kWh |
You can buy any turbine without using this. It's here to save you buying the wrong one. Want the long version first? Read our Guide to Choosing a Wind Turbine.
Get A Quote For Your Set-Up
Tell us what you've got and we'll come back to you by email with the right turbine, controller and delivery to your door. Or email us direct: quotes@bushline.com.au
Wind Turbine FAQs
-
- Start with two questions: how much wind your site actually gets, and how much room you have.
- Vertical turbines (the X-300, H1000 and H2000) start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s and take wind from any direction, so they keep working where the wind swirls and shifts — around buildings, trees and rooflines. They run from 300 W up to 2000 W.
- Horizontal turbines (M-400, M-600, M-800, and the L1, L2 and G series) want cleaner, steadier wind and a clear run at it. In clean, steady wind a horizontal of the same rating is usually the better harvester, and they scale further — 400 W up to 5000 W.
- Match the turbine to your battery bank, not to the biggest number. 12 V suits a camper, 4WD or tinnie; 24 V a van, cabin or boat; 48 V a shed or remote block.
- The largest models run at mains voltage, and the L2-3000, G-3000 and G-5000 are ground-mount only — they need a 10–15 m mast and are not rooftop units.
- Rated power is measured at 10–14 m/s, depending on the model. What you get at your place depends on your wind, your mast height and the season — not on a number on our website.
-
- No. Wind turbines generate "wild" 3-phase AC power that changes voltage constantly with the wind speed.
- Connecting it directly to a battery or a standard solar inverter will destroy your equipment.
- You must wire the turbine into a dedicated wind charge controller (pure-wind or wind-solar hybrid) with a dump-load resistor.
- The controller converts the power to stable DC to charge your batteries safely.
-
Match the turbine and its controller to the voltage of your existing battery bank:
- 12 V: compact mobile setups — caravans, 4WDs and camper trailers.
- 24 V: medium setups — off-grid sheds, cabins and motorhomes.
- 48 V: most of this range, and the sensible choice for a full off-grid system. Higher voltage means less current in the cable, so less loss over a long run and lighter cable.
-
- When your battery bank is fully charged it stops accepting power.
- If a storm hits at night with the batteries full, a turbine with nowhere to send its power will free-spin out of control and can physically fly apart.
- The controller prevents that by diverting the excess into the dump load resistor, which burns it off safely as heat and acts as an electronic brake to slow the turbine down.
- Yes, you need one.
-
- Usually quieter, but not silent — no turbine is.
- Why a horizontal is louder: its blade tips travel several times faster than the wind, and blade noise climbs steeply with tip speed. The whoosh rises and falls as each blade comes round — a rhythmic swish that carries through wind noise more than a steady hiss does.
- Why a vertical is usually quieter: its blades turn more slowly, so there is less of that whoosh.
- What we won't tell you: that it's silent. Every turbine gets louder as the wind picks up. The wind often covers much of it in a strong blow, but a close neighbour can still hear one in light to moderate wind.
- The manufacturer publishes no noise figure for the turbines themselves (the "65 dB or less" on some Specs tabs is the controller's), so we don't quote one.
- On a building, use vibration isolators — a turbine bolted to a structure carries its sound into the rooms — and check your council's rules on noise, height and placement before you order a mast.
-
- It will turn, but turning is not charging. The blades start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s (about 7 to 9 km/h) — a light breeze.
- Charging starts at the cut-in speed: 3 m/s (about 11 km/h) on every model except the X-300, which starts and charges from 2 m/s. Output then climbs steeply with wind speed.
- The rated figure is measured much higher — 10 to 14 m/s depending on the model, a 36 to 50 km/h wind, not a normal afternoon. Each product page's spec table gives that model's own numbers.
- A gentle breeze keeps the turbine ticking over; it takes real wind to push real power into your batteries. Every horizontal model has its measured power curve published on its product page — work from that, not from the number in the product name.
-
- Yes — connect the turbine to a battery bank first, through a dedicated charge controller.
- Never straight to an inverter. Connecting a wind turbine directly to a standard inverter will damage the equipment or cause the system to fail.
The correct order:
- 1. Wind turbine — generates wild, fluctuating 3-phase AC as the wind changes.
- 2. Hybrid or wind charge controller — converts it to steady DC, and protects the turbine from over-speeding with an electronic brake.
- 3. Battery bank (12 V, 24 V or 48 V) — absorbs the gusts and provides a steady source of energy.
- 4. Off-grid inverter — connects to the battery, converting stored DC into AC for your appliances.
Why you cannot skip the battery:
- Unstable voltage: wind changes second by second. Without a battery to smooth it out, a direct-connected inverter would constantly cut out.
- Turbine damage: when a battery is full or disconnected, the turbine loses its load. Without that resistance the blades can spin out of control in high wind and destroy the unit. The controller uses the battery connection to dump excess power and slow it down.
-
- This turbine generates 3-phase AC power and cannot be connected directly to a battery, a solar controller or a home inverter.
- It must run through a dedicated wind charge controller (pure-wind or wind-solar hybrid) with a dump-load resistor. The dump load stops the turbine over-speeding and destroying itself in high winds once your batteries are full.
- Installation and commissioning must be carried out by a suitably qualified and licensed electrician.
- Cable, breakers, isolators and all protective devices are selected to suit your site and are the electrician's call, not ours.
-
It is almost always one of three installation issues. Check them in order.
1. The multimeter is set to DC — the most common mistake.
- Measuring the three turbine wires with the meter set to DC volts gives a false reading near zero.
- Wind turbines generate 3-phase AC directly from the stator. Switch the meter to AC volts (V~).
2. The turbine is stalling because of a short.
- The blades turn heavily and slowly, or lock up: if any of the three AC output wires touch each other, or the controller's braking diodes have short-circuited, it acts as a magnetic brake — the turbine can never spin fast enough to build voltage.
- Disconnect the turbine from the controller. If it frees up and spins much faster, the problem is a short in the wiring or a faulty controller.
3. Voltage drop from thin cable.
- Thin solar or automotive cable over 20 metres or more loses the power as heat before it reaches the controller.
- Use heavy cable between the mast and the controller on long runs — minimum 8 AWG, ideally 6 AWG. Final sizing is your electrician's call.
-
- The number in the name is a peak rating, not a promise.
- A turbine's rated output is measured at a specific wind speed — 10 to 14 m/s depending on the model, which is about 36 to 50 km/h — and most sites see far less than that most of the time.
- Your display shows what the wind is delivering right now, so it will sit well below the rated figure and move second by second as the wind changes. That is physics, not a fault.
- As an example, the L2-2500 is rated 2,500 W at 11 m/s. On a decent steady coastal breeze of 7 m/s the manufacturer's own curve gives about 813 W. That is why we publish the full power curve on every horizontal turbine's product page.
- Where these machines earn their keep is time: they keep charging through the night and through the weather that shuts solar down.
- If the display shows 0 W while the blades are spinning, that is a different problem — see the 0 W question.
-
- Not necessarily — this is one of the most common questions we get, and it is rarely a faulty unit.
- It is usually a quick settings check, or (on a first-time install) how the wiring and start-up sequence were done.
- See our full Wind Turbine 0W Troubleshooting guide for the complete walkthrough, or the Set-Up Guide — or contact us and we will help you sort it out.
-
- Wire your bus bar and breakers before and after the controller, then power up in the right order. Getting the sequence right prevents almost all wiring issues, including the common "spinning but 0 W" problem.
- Fit a breaker before the controller (turbine/solar side) and after it (battery side), landing on a DC bus bar.
- Keep the turbine-to-controller cable run to 2–10 metres to limit voltage drop.
- Power up in this order: battery breaker first, then solar, then wind turbine last.
- See our full How to Install & Start Up guide for the complete step-by-step walkthrough and wiring diagram.
X-300 Vertical Wind Turbine 12/24/48V
Before you price it up, make sure this turbine pairs with your system.
Run the Wind Turbine Calculator first. It asks about your battery voltage, daily use, mounting and site, then shows which turbines in the range suit you best.
Open the Wind Turbine CalculatorPick Your Postcode
Delivery is priced to your door in Australia and New Zealand. Just put in your postcode to see the sea and air options.
Freight is priced in Australian dollars. New Zealand orders are converted to NZ dollars at checkout.
We quote delivery to your door before you order.
Your quote tells you whether import duty, customs charges and tax on arrival are included or payable by you.
Delivering Outside Australia or New Zealand? We quote delivery to your door before you order — choose Other country above or email quotes@bushline.com.au. Your quote tells you whether import duty, customs charges and tax on arrival are included or payable by you.
Tracking
Tracking
Keep an eye on your gear.
Simply enter the tracking number sent to your email to see exactly where your package is and when it is estimated to arrive.
Note: It may take 24-48 hours for tracking information to update after your order has been dispatched.
X-300 Vertical Wind Turbine 12/24/48V
Made for the Swirly Wind Around Buildings.
The wind around a house, a shed or a city rooftop is a mess. It comes over the ridge, curls around walls and trees, and changes direction every few seconds. A propeller-style turbine hates that — it spends half its time hunting for the wind instead of harvesting it.
The X-300 is a helical vertical-axis turbine: three twisted blades, no tail vane, no yaw hunt. One thing about photos of this turbine family you may see elsewhere: a drum-shaped rotor in the middle of the blades is an auxiliary starting rotor that helps the machine begin turning in low wind — it is an optional extra at additional cost, not part of the standard unit. It takes wind from any direction at once — 360 degrees, no turning to face it — which is exactly what turbulent, built-up sites serve up. It starts turning at just 2 m/s, and at 20 kg it suits urban rooftops, gardens, street lighting, and camera or telecom poles.
Straight Up About the Numbers: the 300 W rating is measured at 12 m/s — a 43 km/h wind. In everyday breezes you will see far less; a vertical this size is a trickle-charge assist for a battery bank, not a household power plant. If raw watts per dollar is the goal, a horizontal turbine in clean air beats it — this machine's job is making power on sites where a horizontal will not behave.
Why There Is No Power Curve
The manufacturer publishes no power curve for any of its vertical-axis machines — a considered position, not a gap. On a vertical rotor the output depends heavily on the installation environment: turbulence, wind-direction change, starting behaviour and rotor speed all shift it, and the airflow at the rotor is not the wind speed you measure on site. A watts-per-wind-speed curve for this machine would mislead, so the factory publishes a rotational-speed curve instead — we have asked for it and will add it here when it arrives. Until then: rated 300 W at 12 m/s, maximum 320 W, and expect a small fraction of that in ordinary breezes.
What It Solves
- The Turbulent Site: wind that swirls around buildings and trees is unusable for a propeller — and normal service for a vertical.
- The Neighbour Problem: it turns slowly and there is no tail swinging around, which matters when the mast is visible from next door. The supplier publishes no noise figure for it, so we will not quote one.
- The Camera and Lighting Pole: street lights, gate cameras and telemetry gear — small constant loads, fed day and night.
- The Overnight Top-Up: panels stop at dusk; a breeze keeps trickling amp hours into the bank until morning.
- The Gusty Spot: jetties, headlands and exposed corners where the wind never settles in one direction — a machine that does not care which way the wind arrives.
Key Features
- Takes Wind from Any Direction: 360-degree auto windward — no yaw mechanism, no tail, no hunting.
- Starts at 2 m/s: a 7 km/h breath gets the rotor moving.
- 12V, 24V or 48V: matches the battery bank you already run.
- Disc Ironless-Core Generator: low starting resistance, so light air actually turns it.
- Built to Survive 50 m/s: 180 km/h — the same survival figure as our mid-size horizontals.
- Compact and Light: 900 mm tall rotor, 20 kg net — one person can lift it. Getting it up a 6–10 m mast and wired in is still a two-person job, with a licensed electrician on the electrical side.
- Two Layers of Protection: electromagnetic brake for overspeed, controller over-current protection plus dump load for overload.
- Three Ways to Buy: the turbine on its own; with the manufacturer's matched WCMD pure-wind controller and dump load (wind only); or with the Mars wind-solar hybrid controller (wind and solar, WiFi built in).
Kit, Or Turbine Only
The kit pairs the turbine with the manufacturer's matched pure-wind MPPT controller for your voltage — LWCMD400W-12V on 12V, LWCMD800W-24V on 24V, LWCMD800W-48V on 48V — plus the dump-load resistor. Wind only: this controller has no solar input. Running panels as well? Give them their own solar charge controller on the same battery bank and the two charge side by side. Full controller details in the Specs tab.
Already sorted for control? Pick Turbine only.
What Else You'll Need
A pole in the cleanest air you can give it, cable sized for the run, breakers and an isolator, and a battery bank to feed. Cable sizing depends on run length, voltage and current — that is your electrician's call. Browse bus bars, breakers and wiring in the Electrical Supplies collection, and the full controller range here.
Representative photos: the manufacturer supplies one set of photographs per turbine family, not per model. The X-300 you receive is this design in white, at the sizes in the spec table.
Q & A
Will it Really Make 300 Watts?
At 12 m/s — a 43 km/h wind — that is the manufacturer's rating, with a 320 W maximum. In ordinary breezes expect a small fraction of it, trickling in around the clock. No measured curve exists for this model, and we will not fake one; treat it as a top-up source, not a supply.
Why Buy a Vertical Instead of a Horizontal?
Site, not watts. In clean open air a horizontal makes more power for the money. Around buildings, trees and rooflines — where the wind swirls and switches — a helical vertical keeps working while a propeller hunts. If you have clean air and a free choice, look at our horizontal range first; that is honest advice that costs us a sale.
Does the Kit Controller Take Solar Panels?
No. The WCMD kit controller is wind only and has no solar input. Run your panels through their own solar charge controller onto the same battery bank, and the two charge side by side.
Want wind and solar on the one controller? Choose With Mars Hybrid Controller under Package: the Mars wind-solar hybrid MPPT controller, Wind 1000 W / Solar 1000 W model, 12/24/48 V automatic, with WiFi built in.
The Mars takes the place of the kit controller. See the Wind and Solar Controllers collection.
Why Don't you Publish a Charging Current in Amps?
Because the supplier has not published one, and we will not calculate one by dividing watts by volts. Do not size cable or breakers from the wattage in any product title.
What is the Warranty Position?
Twelve months. Professional installation by a licensed electrician is a condition of it — keep the electrician's invoice. The manufacturer treats blade damage from consistently extreme wind, and motor burnout after prolonged high-speed running, as case-by-case assessments rather than automatic cover.
How Long Until it Arrives?
Built to order and shipped from the factory. Delivery to Australia and New Zealand is priced to your door by postcode — put your postcode in above to see the sea price (4 to 6 weeks, allow up to 7 for WA and regional addresses) and the air price (around 2 to 3 weeks), then pick one at checkout. New Zealand freight shows in Australian dollars and is converted to NZ dollars at checkout. The kit arrives as separate boxes: the turbine, and the controller with its dump load.
Not Sure This is the Right Turbine?
Read Choosing a Wind Turbine first. It covers which size suits your site and battery bank, vertical or horizontal, what wind will and will not do, and the parts you need around it.
Why is This Rated 300 W and Not 5 kW?
Because the rotor decides the power, not the number on the box. A turbine this size makes a few hundred watts in a strong wind. Is a Cheap 5 kW Wind Turbine Real? shows how to check any turbine's claim with a tape measure and one sum.
Specs
| Specification | Detail | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rated Power | 300 W at 12 m/s (43.2 km/h) | ||
| Maximum Power Output | 320 W | ||
| Rated Voltage | 12 V / 24 V / 48 V | ||
| Maximum Voltage Output | 13.2 / 26.4 / 52.8 V | ||
| Start-Up / Cut-in Wind Speed | 2 m/s (7.2 km/h) | ||
| Rated Wind Speed | 12 m/s (43.2 km/h) | ||
| Survival / Safe Wind Speed | Up to 50 m/s (180 km/h) | ||
| Rotor Diameter | 0.65 m (650 mm) | ||
| Blade Length / Rotor Height | 0.9 m (900 mm) | ||
| Number of Blades | 3 | ||
| Blade Material | Nylon | ||
| Body Material | Aluminium Alloy | ||
| Magnet Material | NdFeB | ||
| Generator Type | Disc Ironless-Core Generator | ||
| Generator Speed | 500 rpm | ||
| Over-Speed Protection | Electromagnetic Brake | ||
| Overload Protection | Controller Over-Current Protection + Dump Load | ||
| Wind Direction Adjustment | 360° Auto Windward | ||
| Generator Protection Grade | IP54 | ||
| Working Temperature | -20°C to +50°C | ||
| Working Humidity | 0-90% RH (Non-Condensing) | ||
| Mount Height | Ground: 6-10 m; Rooftop: 3-6 m Above the Roofline | ||
| Design Life | 20+ Years | ||
| Warranty | 1 Year | ||
| Colour | White | ||
| Net Weight | 20 kg | ||
| Gross Weight | 22 kg | ||
| Packing Size | 1060 × 270 × 470 mm | ||
| Certification | CE marked to the Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU, EMC Directive 2014/30/EU and Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. Tested to EN 61400-2 (small wind turbines), EN ISO 12100 and EN 60204-1. CE is a European mark and carries no legal standing in Australia. | ||
The Kit Controller
| Specification | LWCMD400W-12V (12V Kit) | LWCMD800W-24V (24V Kit) | LWCMD800W-48V (48V Kit) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Controller Type | Pure-Wind MPPT (No PV Input at All) | ||
| Battery Voltage | 12 V | 24 V | 48 V |
| Max Wind Power | 400 W | 800 W | 800 W |
| Max Wind Input Voltage | 80 V | 180 V | 180 V |
| Wind Charging Method | Boost / Buck / Boost-Buck MPPT | ||
| Unloading | External unloading — dump-load resistor included with the controller; an enclosed resistance box is available as an optional extra | ||
| Load Output | None | ||
| Protection | Over-Voltage, Over-Current, Reverse Connection, Over-Speed & Dump-Load Protection | ||
| Display | Built-in LCD | ||
| Working Temperature | -20°C to +55°C | ||
| Static Loss | 1.8 W or Less | ||
| Warranty | 1 Year | ||
| Maximum Battery Charging Current | Not specified by supplier — do not size cable or breakers from the wattage in the product title | ||
The kit wires this way — wind only, no solar input:
Turbine Spinning But Showing 0W?
It is almost never a faulty turbine or controller. Read the 0W troubleshooting and correct installation guide before you assume something is broken.
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Wind Turbine FAQs
-
- Start with two questions: how much wind your site actually gets, and how much room you have.
- Vertical turbines (the X-300, H1000 and H2000) start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s and take wind from any direction, so they keep working where the wind swirls and shifts — around buildings, trees and rooflines. They run from 300 W up to 2000 W.
- Horizontal turbines (M-400, M-600, M-800, and the L1, L2 and G series) want cleaner, steadier wind and a clear run at it. In clean, steady wind a horizontal of the same rating is usually the better harvester, and they scale further — 400 W up to 5000 W.
- Match the turbine to your battery bank, not to the biggest number. 12 V suits a camper, 4WD or tinnie; 24 V a van, cabin or boat; 48 V a shed or remote block.
- The largest models run at mains voltage, and the L2-3000, G-3000 and G-5000 are ground-mount only — they need a 10–15 m mast and are not rooftop units.
- Rated power is measured at 10–14 m/s, depending on the model. What you get at your place depends on your wind, your mast height and the season — not on a number on our website.
-
- No. Wind turbines generate "wild" 3-phase AC power that changes voltage constantly with the wind speed.
- Connecting it directly to a battery or a standard solar inverter will destroy your equipment.
- You must wire the turbine into a dedicated wind charge controller (pure-wind or wind-solar hybrid) with a dump-load resistor.
- The controller converts the power to stable DC to charge your batteries safely.
-
Match the turbine and its controller to the voltage of your existing battery bank:
- 12 V: compact mobile setups — caravans, 4WDs and camper trailers.
- 24 V: medium setups — off-grid sheds, cabins and motorhomes.
- 48 V: most of this range, and the sensible choice for a full off-grid system. Higher voltage means less current in the cable, so less loss over a long run and lighter cable.
-
- When your battery bank is fully charged it stops accepting power.
- If a storm hits at night with the batteries full, a turbine with nowhere to send its power will free-spin out of control and can physically fly apart.
- The controller prevents that by diverting the excess into the dump load resistor, which burns it off safely as heat and acts as an electronic brake to slow the turbine down.
- Yes, you need one.
-
- Usually quieter, but not silent — no turbine is.
- Why a horizontal is louder: its blade tips travel several times faster than the wind, and blade noise climbs steeply with tip speed. The whoosh rises and falls as each blade comes round — a rhythmic swish that carries through wind noise more than a steady hiss does.
- Why a vertical is usually quieter: its blades turn more slowly, so there is less of that whoosh.
- What we won't tell you: that it's silent. Every turbine gets louder as the wind picks up. The wind often covers much of it in a strong blow, but a close neighbour can still hear one in light to moderate wind.
- The manufacturer publishes no noise figure for the turbines themselves (the "65 dB or less" on some Specs tabs is the controller's), so we don't quote one.
- On a building, use vibration isolators — a turbine bolted to a structure carries its sound into the rooms — and check your council's rules on noise, height and placement before you order a mast.
-
- It will turn, but turning is not charging. The blades start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s (about 7 to 9 km/h) — a light breeze.
- Charging starts at the cut-in speed: 3 m/s (about 11 km/h) on every model except the X-300, which starts and charges from 2 m/s. Output then climbs steeply with wind speed.
- The rated figure is measured much higher — 10 to 14 m/s depending on the model, a 36 to 50 km/h wind, not a normal afternoon. Each product page's spec table gives that model's own numbers.
- A gentle breeze keeps the turbine ticking over; it takes real wind to push real power into your batteries. Every horizontal model has its measured power curve published on its product page — work from that, not from the number in the product name.
-
- Yes — connect the turbine to a battery bank first, through a dedicated charge controller.
- Never straight to an inverter. Connecting a wind turbine directly to a standard inverter will damage the equipment or cause the system to fail.
The correct order:
- 1. Wind turbine — generates wild, fluctuating 3-phase AC as the wind changes.
- 2. Hybrid or wind charge controller — converts it to steady DC, and protects the turbine from over-speeding with an electronic brake.
- 3. Battery bank (12 V, 24 V or 48 V) — absorbs the gusts and provides a steady source of energy.
- 4. Off-grid inverter — connects to the battery, converting stored DC into AC for your appliances.
Why you cannot skip the battery:
- Unstable voltage: wind changes second by second. Without a battery to smooth it out, a direct-connected inverter would constantly cut out.
- Turbine damage: when a battery is full or disconnected, the turbine loses its load. Without that resistance the blades can spin out of control in high wind and destroy the unit. The controller uses the battery connection to dump excess power and slow it down.
-
- This turbine generates 3-phase AC power and cannot be connected directly to a battery, a solar controller or a home inverter.
- It must run through a dedicated wind charge controller (pure-wind or wind-solar hybrid) with a dump-load resistor. The dump load stops the turbine over-speeding and destroying itself in high winds once your batteries are full.
- Installation and commissioning must be carried out by a suitably qualified and licensed electrician.
- Cable, breakers, isolators and all protective devices are selected to suit your site and are the electrician's call, not ours.
-
It is almost always one of three installation issues. Check them in order.
1. The multimeter is set to DC — the most common mistake.
- Measuring the three turbine wires with the meter set to DC volts gives a false reading near zero.
- Wind turbines generate 3-phase AC directly from the stator. Switch the meter to AC volts (V~).
2. The turbine is stalling because of a short.
- The blades turn heavily and slowly, or lock up: if any of the three AC output wires touch each other, or the controller's braking diodes have short-circuited, it acts as a magnetic brake — the turbine can never spin fast enough to build voltage.
- Disconnect the turbine from the controller. If it frees up and spins much faster, the problem is a short in the wiring or a faulty controller.
3. Voltage drop from thin cable.
- Thin solar or automotive cable over 20 metres or more loses the power as heat before it reaches the controller.
- Use heavy cable between the mast and the controller on long runs — minimum 8 AWG, ideally 6 AWG. Final sizing is your electrician's call.
-
- The number in the name is a peak rating, not a promise.
- A turbine's rated output is measured at a specific wind speed — 10 to 14 m/s depending on the model, which is about 36 to 50 km/h — and most sites see far less than that most of the time.
- Your display shows what the wind is delivering right now, so it will sit well below the rated figure and move second by second as the wind changes. That is physics, not a fault.
- As an example, the L2-2500 is rated 2,500 W at 11 m/s. On a decent steady coastal breeze of 7 m/s the manufacturer's own curve gives about 813 W. That is why we publish the full power curve on every horizontal turbine's product page.
- Where these machines earn their keep is time: they keep charging through the night and through the weather that shuts solar down.
- If the display shows 0 W while the blades are spinning, that is a different problem — see the 0 W question.
-
- Not necessarily — this is one of the most common questions we get, and it is rarely a faulty unit.
- It is usually a quick settings check, or (on a first-time install) how the wiring and start-up sequence were done.
- See our full Wind Turbine 0W Troubleshooting guide for the complete walkthrough, or the Set-Up Guide — or contact us and we will help you sort it out.
-
- Wire your bus bar and breakers before and after the controller, then power up in the right order. Getting the sequence right prevents almost all wiring issues, including the common "spinning but 0 W" problem.
- Fit a breaker before the controller (turbine/solar side) and after it (battery side), landing on a DC bus bar.
- Keep the turbine-to-controller cable run to 2–10 metres to limit voltage drop.
- Power up in this order: battery breaker first, then solar, then wind turbine last.
- See our full How to Install & Start Up guide for the complete step-by-step walkthrough and wiring diagram.
