Connell holds part of one of his wind turbines. Photo courtesy of Daniel Connell .

Connell, who's originally from New Zealand but now splits his time between Germany and Scotland, began work on his vertical wind turbine project back in 2013. The inventor got the chance to perfect his project this October, when hundreds of inventors, designers and engineers gathered in a French castle for " Poc 21 ". The event's organisers describe it as an innovation camp aimed at promoting the idea of a "zero-waste society", as well as the creation of open-source products that anyone can build. Connell's wind turbine is composed of a wooden frame that supports a bike wheel with three blades attached to it. He's also made a prototype with six blades.To show others how it's done, Connell has created a meticulous 52-step tutorial , available in both written and video formats, that sets out in detail how to build the turbine. Following the instructions, a team of two people can have their own wind turbine up and running in around six hours. What's more, it will only set you back about 30 euros, which is enough to pay for the tools and materials. Compare that with the price of a regular home wind turbine , which can cost upwards of $30,000 (€28,000).Connell's DIY turbine won't allow households to meet all their energy needs with wind alone. But it could, for example, produce a few dozen kilowatts of electricity, or power a home water pump. However the inventor says it only takes a few prototypes to start making big energy savings, a contribution which he believes could help tackle climate change.