For photos of small Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) for household use, see the section on Vertical Axis Wind Turbines.

Most of the following are my photos. However, there are some photos of rare wind turbines that were either produced for the Department of Energy or the original photographer is unknown. This will be noted in the caption.

The definition of what is a “small” or household-size wind turbine has changed over the decades. Many of what we considered commercial-scale wind turbines in the 1980s are “small” turbines by today’s standards. Internationally, small turbines can be up to 200 square meters in swept area or 16 meters in diameter, somewhat more than 50 feet in diameter.