Wind turbine bonanza
Ah, the wind — an infinite source of energy just waiting to be harnessed. Sure we’ve got wind farms, but installing them is definitely not for everybody: they’re large, require land, cost a lot to build, expensive to install, etc. You’d think with all our technological and design advancements, we’d have overcome these hurdles by now?
“The wind-turbine design out there right now is a thousand years old,” claims inventor Doug Selsam. With that in mind, this post is dedicated to innovations in the world of wind turbines.
1. Sky Serpent
First of all, I think “sky serpent” is a great, great name. Besides that, this design by Selsam smartly adds multiple smaller rotors to a single shaft, getting the same or more power from fewer materials.
The key to increasing efficiency is to make sure each rotor catches its own fresh flow of wind and not just the wake from the one next to it, as previous multi-rotor turbines have done. That requires figuring out the optimal angle for the shaft in relation to the wind and the ideal spacing between the rotors. The payoff is machines that use one tenth the blade material of today’s megaturbines yet produce the same wattage.
Above is the picture of Doug Selsam under a 25-rotor turbine prototype (the other end is held up by a balloon). This produces three kilowatts of power. A smaller version, which uses two rotors to produce 2,000 watts, is commercially available and already being adopted by home owners.
Photo & info from Popular Science: Ten Times the Turbine
2. Highway Power
A student at Arizona State University has proposed overpass-mounted turbines that, based on windspeeds of at least 10 mph kicked up by cars, could each produce enough electricity to power one small home.
Looks good in the render. I wonder if it can power the highway lights?
Also from Popular Science: Alternative Wind Power
3. Designer Wind
You may recall Phillipe Starck, the godfather of product design, recently proclaiming “design is dead,” but he’s right back at it. This shiny new product, titled “Democractic Ecology,” is a personal windmill that promises to generate 20-60% of the energy needed to power one’s home. It’s a bold claim, but I guess we’ll see when it hits the market *this* September. Could be the next must-have item.
From Inhabitat
4. Floating Turbine
Developed by Magenn Power of Canada, this turbine is named MARS, and unlike its wind turbine counterparts, it floats: up to 1,000 feet in the sky, where there is high velocity wind. So unlike other stationary turbine designs, MARS can actually be used almost anywhere, ergo its motto “Wind Power Anywhere.” And even when we don’t feel any wind on the ground, this thing is getting it from the jet stream!
MARS is a lighter-than-air tethered wind turbine that rotates about a horizontal axis in response to wind, generating electrical energy. This electrical energy is transferred down the 1000-foot tether for immediate use, or to a set of batteries for later use, or to the power grid. Helium sustains MARS and allows it to ascend to a higher altitude than traditional wind turbines. MARS captures the energy available in the 600 to 1000-foot low level and nocturnal jet streams that exist almost everywhere.
Magenn plans to start manufacturing the MARS next year.
More information here: Magenn.com
That’s it for now folks. I’ll be sure to keep bringing you more. If you’ve seen any other interesting wind turbine designs, please share!
Comments
News » Wind turbines Jul 27, 2008 at 6:20 am
[...] PopTech blog rounds up some interesting wind turbine designs. I’m particularly intrigued by the placement of turbines on or near highways. One of the [...]
Gerry Rising Jul 27, 2008 at 7:05 am
Interesting proposals.
Some represent problems that may not as yet be addressed. For example, the floating turbine could be a problem for aircraft as well as migrating birds and bats, most of which migrate at night higher than current turbines. However, we need such energy sources and they should be encouraged.
Tim Rightmyer Aug 5, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Another design to add
Here is a design you may have overlooked being used in Chicago.
http://www.aerotecture.com/
Angie Sep 10, 2008 at 9:42 am
cool wind turbines
Ryan Sep 12, 2008 at 1:16 am
I’m in aerospace engineering and aerotecture is a JOKE. I know the average person doesn’t do calculations on a daily basis but the efficiency of the aerotecture is EXTREMELY LOW. In fact, from the top of my head I would guess the payback period is about 60 years. Ridiculous. 1 kW at 35mph winds?!? How often have any of you seen those wind speeds? Plus, 1 kWh which is a kW for an hour costs about 12 cents here. So if a huricane blew over your house, it might save you about $3 a day. But the rest of the time it will be a yard decoration. I’m not hating on the inventor but he’s definitely not a ‘wind wizard’ which he proclaims on his website.
Angie Oct 6, 2008 at 12:52 pm
u need 2 add more designs i am checking regulary!