Small Wind Turbines
For home use, small wind turbines are an excellent way to create clean energy. With costs being much less than solar panels capable of equivalent output levels, small wind turbines are also much easier to install. Using the wind to create energy isn't new. A quick look at the famous windmills of Denmark and the less famous ones in Greece are proof of our harnessing of wind energy for hundreds of years. Historically, we used windmills in farming and power generation. Our use of wind in everyday life is quite prevalent, if you stop to think about it. Sail boats use wind energy as their primary means of motivation, while computers use artificial wind in their small cooling systems.
Less traditional windmills are becoming more and more popular. The wind farms we're used to seeing with large upright spinning blade systems may be gone. What we're used to seeing may soon be replaced by a variety of shapes and sizes tailored to the individual need and space constrictions.
A Michigan company, Mariah Power, operating out of a former automobile factory, has created what they call the Windspire. The Windspire is a cylindrical wind capturing contrivance that takes up much less space than traditional rotating wing turbines. This design change may help it get by many limiting residential by-laws restricting the installation of more traditional systems. Windspire is 30 feet tall and is optionally available with a 20 foot extension mast and is more pleasing to the eye than the older upright spinning blade design.
A company in The Netherlands makes what they call The Energy Ball. This device looks like a futuristic take-off from a weather vane, with the vane portion rotating horizontally. The Energy Ball is driven by 5 rotating blades and is 6.5 feet in diameter. The Energy Ball is capable of producing a maximum of 2500 watts when fully assembled on its 45 foot tall mast.
Less traditional windmills are becoming more and more popular. The wind farms we're used to seeing with large upright spinning blade systems may be gone.
Back in the US, government contractor Honeywell has developed a small turbine that looks like the fans in a jet engine. The Honeywell design is meant for areas with lower wind speeds, which is most urban and suburban areas in the US. This design works by eliminating most of the mechanical system found in most turbines, allowing it to be moved by much lower wind speeds. Honeywell claims this design will be the lowest cost per kilowatt hour and have the highest energy output than other residential or small turbine designs in the same class.
