Vawts can fill some niches and if you want something to watch spin and make a little power why not a vawt? The thing is most vawts tend to be yard art that can make some power and tend to be more art than anything else. One big drawback is how material intensive a vawt is when compared to a hawt of the same output. The extra weight means they are usually placed on a low tower or at ground level. This just compounds the power output problem due to lower wind speeds. Will a vawt work at ground level? Yes! Will it work well? No! Is it worth doing even if it ends up with just watching them spin? All the neighbors and the wife think so. Sometimes I'm not sure.