Which wind turbine suits an off-grid setup in Australia or New Zealand, and what it will and will not do
Solar stops at sundown and struggles all winter. A wind turbine keeps charging whenever the wind blows, day or night. That is the whole case for one. Everything below is about picking the right size, knowing what it cannot do, and not buying the wrong parts around it.
1Start with your Site, Not the Wattage
Start with two questions: how much wind does your site actually get, and how much room do you have.
Rated power is measured at the maker's rated wind speed, 10 to 14 m/s depending on the model, which is about 36 to 50 km/h.
What you get at your place depends on your wind, your mast height and the season, not on a number on a website.
The blades start turning in a light breeze, but turning is not charging.
Charging starts once the wind clears the cut-in speed — 3 m/s on most of the range, 2 m/s on the X-300 — and output climbs from there.
We publish the measured power curve for every horizontal turbine on its product page, so you can read off what a given wind speed delivers.
The maker has published no curves for the vertical models, so we do not quote output figures on those.
Seen a "5 kW" turbine in a box you could carry to the car? Read Is a Cheap 5 kW Wind Turbine Real? to check any power claim yourself with a tape measure and one sum.
2Vertical or Horizontal
Vertical Axis
Best inSwirling, shifting windSuitsRooftops, tight blocks, near neighboursGoes Up to2 kWNoiseSlower blades — usually quieter, not silentHorizontal Axis
Best inClean, steady windSuitsOpen ground, a mastGoes Up to5 kWNoiseFaster blade tips — a louder whooshIn the same clean wind a horizontal makes more of it.
A vertical trades that away for taking wind from any direction without turning to face it, which is why it wins on a roof, in a gully, or anywhere the wind never settles.
Vertical turbines (the X-300, H1000 and H2000) start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s.
Horizontal turbines (the M-400, M-600, M-800, and the L1, L2 and G series) want a clear run at the wind and scale further.
3Which Size for What you are Running
Boat, Caravan or Camper
Look atX-300, M-400Rated300 to 400 WCabin, Donga or Off-Grid Home
Look atM-600, M-800, L1 series, H1000Rated600 W to 2 kWOff-Grid House with Sheds, Farm or Worksite
Look atL2 and G series, H2000Rated2 kW to 5 kWMatch the turbine to your battery bank, not to the biggest number.
The largest models generate at 220 to 240 V, the same band as Australian and New Zealand mains, and need a mast, not a roof.
The L2-3000, G-3000 and G-5000 are ground-mount only: they need a 10 to 15 m mast and are not rooftop units.
Whichever you pick, the turbine never connects to your mains.
The controller converts its output to charge a battery bank.
412, 24 or 48 Volts
You must match the turbine and its hybrid controller to the exact voltage of your existing battery bank:
12 V: compact mobile setups. Caravans, 4WDs, camper trailers, a tinnie.
24 V: medium setups. Off-grid sheds, cabins, motorhomes, a boat.
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.
5What Wind will Not Do
Not 24/7 power. It makes power when the wind blows and none when it drops. A turbine assists solar; it does not replace it.
No output promise from us. The number on the box is a peak rating at the rated wind speed. Your display shows what the wind is delivering right now, and it will sit well below the rated figure most of the time. That is physics, not a fault.
Not plug-and-play. It needs a hybrid controller, a dump load, and cable and breakers to wire it up, and a licensed electrician to install it.
6The Parts you Must Have Around it
A wind turbine generates "wild" three-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. The system runs in this order:
- Wind Turbine: generates fluctuating three-phase AC.
- Hybrid Wind & Solar Charge Controller with a Dump Load Resistor: converts that to steady DC and protects the turbine from over-speeding.
- Battery Bank (12, 24 or 48 V): stores the energy and smooths the gusts.
- Off-Grid Inverter: connects to the battery and makes 240 V AC for your appliances.
⚠ The dump load resistor is not optional.
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 diverts the excess into the dump load, which burns it off safely as heat and acts as an electronic brake.
Between the mast and the controller, keep the cable run to roughly 2 to 10 metres where you can, and use heavy cable on longer runs.
Thin cable over a long run loses the power as heat before it reaches the controller, which shows up as the same "spinning but 0 W" symptom as a settings problem.
Fit a DC-rated breaker before the controller and another after it, landing on a DC bus bar, so you can isolate the controller from either side.
Our hybrid controllers and cable, breakers and bus bars are in their own collections.
7Noise, Neighbours & Mounting
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.
8Delivery & What it Costs
Turbines are built to order and shipped from the factory. The X-300, M-400, M-600, M-800, L1-1000, L1-1500 and L1-2000 come with air freight to your door in Australia and New Zealand already in the price — about 2 weeks (allow up to 3 for WA and regional). Not in a hurry? Tap Sea Saver on the product page: the same order by sea for less, 4 to 6 weeks, allow up to 7 for WA and regional.
The L2-2000, L2-2500 and L2-3000 are priced to your door by postcode: put your postcode in on the product page to see the sea price (4 to 6 weeks, allow up to 7 for WA and regional addresses) and the air price (2 to 3 weeks), then pick one at checkout.
New Zealand customers choose New Zealand on the product page; freight shows in Australian dollars and is converted to NZ dollars at checkout.
Remote areas, the Northern Territory, Tasmania and New Zealand's island postcodes are quoted individually.
Four turbines — the G-3000, G-5000, H1000 and H2000 — are quoted to your exact address before you order.
Call 0400 333 898 or email Quotes@BushLine.com.au with your postcode.
9Before you Order
You know your battery bank voltage, and the turbine and controller you are buying match it.
You have a clear site for the turbine: a roof or tight block for a vertical, open ground and a mast for a horizontal.
You have budgeted for the hybrid controller with dump load, the cable, the breakers and the bus bar, not just the turbine.
You have a licensed electrician lined up. Installation by a qualified specialist is a safety requirement and a warranty requirement.
You have read the install and start-up guide, and you know where the 0 W troubleshooting guide is for the first week.
Not sure which one? Ring 0400 333 898 or email Enquiries@BushLine.com.au with your postcode, your battery voltage and a line about the site. We are not electricians and do not claim to be, but we can tell you which of these units suits which setup, and your sparky is welcome to call us for the specifications.