A critical assessment of the factors associated with the implementation of rooftop VAWTs: A review

•The assessment of the factors associated with rooftop VAWTs is necessary due to the rise in interest towards urban wind energy.•Assessment of the urban environment and wind resources are important alongside the design factors of VAWTs.•Critical factors associated with urban wind resources, building aerodynamics, VAWT design and power augmentation mechanisms have been discussed.•A generalized framework based on the assessment of said factors is provided, which can act as a guide for future work associated with rooftop VAWTs. Amongst the various natural and readily available renewable energy sources, wind has been one of the most sought-after sources for energy generation due to its virtually inexhaustible nature and availability over vast geographical areas. The rise in urbanization and the development of high-rise buildings have shown great potential for local wind power generation via locally setting up small-scale turbines on rooftops, specifically for decentralized and off-grid power generation and usage. While the said technology possesses potential, a major question regarding its overall feasibility arises due to the plethora of factors to be considered during the design and implementation of such systems. The following review gives an in-depth understanding of the current status of said technology, along with a discussion of the critical factors that must be given proper attention and how they can impact the power output of the turbines implemented on rooftops. These factors generally include wind resource assessments, the urban environment’s architecture, the wind turbine’s design parameters, and power augmentation mechanisms. Following this extensive discussion, a basic framework for studies on rooftop wind turbines is proposed. This framework can act as a guide for future work on the said topic and discusses in brief the methodologies and the workflow process one can follow when it comes to assessing rooftop wind turbines.