Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines: The Future of Micro Wind? [w/video]
Walking the floor of WINDPOWER 2008, the annual conference and trade show for the wind energy industry, one couldn’t help but be transfixed by all of the different types of turbines - at least I couldn’t. The wind turbine has become the iconic of clean, renewable energy. But the classic three-bladed horizontal axis wind turbine, with its gracefully swooping blades, has become the symbol of not only renewable energy, but also of environmental consciousness and ecological possibility.
Despite the ubiquity of the three-bladed turbine, the oft-overlooked vertical-axes turbines are making quite a splash in the world of wind energy, especially in small and micro-applications. So what’s all the fuss about? Vertical-axis turbines apparently do not suffer from some of the same problems that plague small wind applications in urban settings including, aesthetic concerns, space requirements and sound levels
Other advantages of vertical-axis turbines:
- Can produce up to 50% more electricity per year than conventional turbines with the same swept area;
- Generate electricity at much lower wind speeds, as low as 4 mph (1.5 m/s)Will continue to generate power in high wind speeds, up to 130 mph (60m/s) depending on the mode;
- Direct-drive units with no gearbox means a more efficient transfer of energy and no leaking oil;
- Will not harm wildlife, in terms of bird and bat strikes.
Below, I’ll cover some more basic differences and show you a few photos and short videos of some of these turbines I saw down in Houston at WINDPOWER 2008.
The designers from Taiwanese start-up A.N.I.T.A. Energy (pictured above) showed me why their models have a low start-up wind speed, and that is because of the light metal bands you can see surrounding the turbine itself. Apparently this design allows users with a less substantial wind resource (particularly those in urban applications), squeeze some electricity from the local winds. The larger model pictured above (and in the second video below) is scalable and can be stacked as many as three-high and integrated with the rooftops of large buildings.
Unlike three-bladed designs, vertical-axis turbines do not need to “right themselves” into the wind, they are always in a fixed position in terms of their orientation. A few of the models I saw, most notably the designs from the Korea-based KR Windpower, (video above) had a manifold-type device that would swing around and funnel more wind into the turbine from the direction the wind was strongest. Continued…
That helical Savonius turbine is interesting. I don’t think I’ve seen a helical configuration of one of those before. Looks nice. Curious if it has any significant performance improvement over the normal variety.
Here’s an idea…
Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could design a wind energy kit for cars - an easy add-on kit to improve mpg by generating wind-power electricity while traveling at speed?
get in touch if you think this is possible.
lihan.mindseye@gmail.com
In the southwest deserts we have used wind driven turbines for years to draw the hot air from our attics to reduce the heat load of the roof on the home. They spin wildly during the days when there is no much wind. Why can’t this be combined with a small vertical generator to achieve both reduced cooling loads and some of the power needed to energize the homes?
To Bob Aman: helix configuration allows a flatter profile of torque unlike a straight savonius where the torque fluctuates depending on the orientation of the wind turbine against the wind.
To Li Han: adding something that will increase drag will increase fuel consumption. if you can extract energy from the relative movement of the wind with respect to the car, that will definitely be lesser than the input energy from consuming more fuel because of drag.
Great website with lots of information. Where can I find a list of local (I’m in Washington, DC) or national wind turbine installers?
Thanks! Kelly Vielmo - kvielmo@gmail.com
[...] Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines: The Future of Micro Wind? reddit_url=”http://cleantechnica.com/2008/08/07/new-study-says-rooftop-wind-power-doesnt-pay-off/”;reddit_title=”New Study Says City-Based Rooftop Wind Power Doesn’t Pay Off”;green_options321:http://cleantechnica.com/2008/08/07/new-study-says-rooftop-wind-power-doesnt-pay-off/ Tags: carbon trust, solar, solar power urban wind power, transmission lines, Wind, wind power, windmill, windmills Add a comment or question Recommend this post (1) Share/Email Stumble It green_options321:http://cleantechnica.com/2008/08/07/new-study-says-rooftop-wind-power-doesnt-pay-off/ « Previous post Next post » aj_server = ‘http://rotator.adjuggler.com/servlet/ajrotator/’; aj_tagver = ‘1.0′; aj_zone = ‘green’; aj_adspot = ‘396776′; aj_page = ‘0′; aj_dim =’300798′; aj_ch = ”; aj_ct = ”; aj_kw = ”; aj_pv = true; aj_click = ”; [...]
I have not been able to locate contact info for the Taiwanese start-up A.N.I.T.A. Energy ….can you help to provide their website or other contact info?
Many thanks,
Saed Taweel
[...] White Nose Syndrome in Bats Stalls Wind Farm [...]
In the town that I live in off Nantucket sound oponents of the wind farm that is proposed have bene fighting the wind power plans of nearly every person that wants to install a wind turbine on there property.
Tower heights, lot line set backs, etc.
Vertical wind turbines look so great and would not have so much oposition. I would love to have one or two of these on my roof. And it is nearly always windy here. And I think they are very apealing to the eye. I WANT ONE!!
GS
I work for WindEnergy7.com We design, develop, and fabricate small wind/solar hybrid systems. In all the designs that we have reviewed, none of the vertical designs stand up to the top of class horizontal axis small wind turbines. The three bladed horizontal axis design is simply a smaller version of successful wind power designs used for utility scale. These are a sideshow diversion and I don’t believe will ever succeed in RESULTS over existing designs on the market. There’s a reason there’s no data on most of them.