Wind Turbines- New Wind Tree Vent

I have been looking into a small turbine that can go in an urban setting that will generate but not be huge. While discussing this and thinking about this, it was brought to my attention that I would need a brake for those high wind days. I watched a couple of youtube videos and the brake was always manual. Where I am, sometimes the wind kicks up unexpectedly. I am sure there is a censored one or one that will shut the turbine down automatically but I imagine it would be costly. Always weighing what you put in vs. how long it will pay itself off.

Someone showed me this new wind turbine. New Wind is a French company (may have to stop the boycott) but it is an interesting product. they are durable enough to withstand Category 3 winds, which can reach 178 - 208 km/h (111-129 mph). That solves a brake issue for where I am.

Here is info and video on the New Leaf. Maybe members have seen a similar product but I like this. I would not want a tree but a shrub size is an interesting thought.

New Wind Turbine That Looks Like A Tree Is Coming To Paris

 

I've been using an Air Breeze for the last ten years. No problems although it could use a new set of blades.

These units are about $600.

Air Silent....
Air 30 Turbine, Wind Power Systems :: Primus Wind Power
Manufactured in Colorado

 

Some more interesting designs
Hot Home Wind Turbines You Can Actually Buy, Plus One You Wish You Could

 

I like this one that @Ganado linked:

My thought is hiding in plain site. Finding a turbine that looks decorative but actually serves a purpose. The one I linked or the one above just look pretty and no second thought. Say SHTF, those with solar cannot hide it. The people that want are going to think, that house has power, I want it.

 

Hey Motomom34. Next time you come south just off the highway is a person that makes wind sculptures that are pretty cool and look strong enough to drive a generator. I have been thinking that I might pick something and see if it can drive one of my old gen sets! I bet is could!

 

A friend posted something about this, on Facebook. Interesting look, but I'm a bit confused by their power claim. In the video I saw, it said these would be able to power an electric car for 1 hour? Doesn't seem like all that much power! Yes, I know the electric car motors are more power hungry than, say, an LED light....but it still seems to be a device that takes up an large amount of space, for not that much generation capability, if that claim were true.

Then again, the video here says they'll pay for themselves with 2 years....so maybe I was just misunderstanding what the first video was talking about?? Wouldn't be the first time!

One question I would have, though, is how sturdy they are. Living in Tornado Alley, anything like this is going to have to be sturdy enough to withstand straight line wind storms, and/or hail. And believe me, they grow hail BIG, in the midwestern United States!

 

Mon Du!

 

I did play around with a water wheel driven Generator, and it works pretty well for it's size. I took 2 big 250 amp alternators belt driven through a step up chain drive off the water wheel and I can generate enough to power the lights and electric heater in my shop! It will not power the Ice boxes, or my compressor, but for general power, it's pretty good! I think if I Gang two more Alt's into this, It might be enough to run the ice boxes with the shop! We certainly get enough wind to make a turbine possable, but as you know, the winds can be brutal and we would need a way to control things! I may go dig around the Aircraft parts yard and see if I can find an old radial engine propeller hub and see if I can rig a automatic pitch control to it to keep the RPM's below a set thresh hold!

 

I haven't been able to re-find the link, but I once read a very in-depth article on home-made wind turbines and ran across a
design that used 6-ft 2X4's for blades.

Right off the shelf, no shaping of any kind.

What the article said was that rectangular turbine blades were surprisingly efficient, but had the very desirable capability of being self-feathering in a high wind.

At a certain point, the turbulence they generated blocked the lift they produced, so no matter how fast the wind blew they just galloped along at their maximum speed, which wasn't a runaway speed.

Knowing from my aero design experience that flat plate propellers are highly efficient I can see some possibilities there. If the thin ones weren't so inherently weak, nobody would carve props. So a thicker one couod be strong, and pay for it with a more draggy thick profile, and there you go: Bob's yer other Uncle.

Wish I could find that site again. It had a nice article on custom generators made from magnets (& bearings, etc,) housed in stacked plywood shapes. A laminated wooden generator housing, IOW.

On thread, I've been watching these guys for years, and they don;t seem to making any progress toward the marketplace.
Wind Sail Receptor, Wind Power, Recovering Air-Pollution Systems

That, I would buy!

I think that tree generator will make it in the marketplace, and I already see some improvements they may not have, uh, twigged onto yet.

 

I forgot about hail. The original post could withstand 110 mph and I figured anything more and there will be damage all over. But plastic vs. hail or a metal sculpture. That is a consideration. We have had large hail come over us and knock our satellite from the proper direction. We were about to adjust it back but hail is one thing I forgot about. These turbines are pricey so I need to make sure my investment can withstand the elements.

 

Any thing you put out side is a potential risk for anything.
Especially stuff that moves.

Mine is very similar to the Primus

I don't get enough wind to worry about over speed ,more often than not, there is not enough wind to really make it work hard at all.
I have it, in the event I move, and where I end up has more wind.
This unit is attached to my shop trailer which has my solar and battery bank .
One's system should not be with out a battery bank, to store power when the demand for power is at a minimum.


In the event I ned to move it takes about 5 minuets to take it down .
Being attached to the trailer there are no permits required .the mill head comes off for traveling.
the bigger job is moving stuff out of the way.

 

That turbine you pictured Sloth has quite the base that is flat. Not is not for roofs is it? Or are those just to be free standing?

 

Don't waste any time or money on a small wind turbine in an urban area.
Go for solar. Forget the wind.
I have already tried it.
You would be better off spending that money on solar.

 

Perhaps...but no two locations are the same, especially when wind energy is concerned. Having wind for an alternative power source is not a bad idea. Investing in wind when you haven't performed due diligence is bad.

 

I am thinking wind is cheaper then solar. Plus shelf life and fix-ability in a tanked economy. Good solar is a huge investment. We have hail so I am thinking hail would be harder on solar then wind, I maybe wrong.

 

Depending on the hail it won't matter what you put up there. damage is going to occur,unless you do something extraordinary.
A savinous mill (DKR introduced) turns horizontally so damage when it occurs from hail is not likely to do damage that will inhibit the function

 

Wind is not cheaper than solar.
Problem with small wind is it produces 0 most of the time.
If you look at installed cost wind looks lower.
But solar consistently produces most days close to rated name plate power while the sun is on them. Where wind inconsistently produces a small fraction of name plate rating some days.

If you really want to do wind, put up one wind turbine, connect it to grid tie and a kill-a-watt meter to track what it actually produces. You will be surprised how little it makes. See for your self how little they make if you don't believe us.

 

At the same time, it wouldn't hurt to make a small investment in a wind generator, as a back-up to solar. With the concept of "making SOME power is better than making NO power".

Around here, solar would be great in the summer, okay the rest of the year. Wind would be hit or miss. But on spring storm days, when there's plenty of cloud cover, it's almost a given, that a strong wind turbine is going to match, or beat, solar for generation.

 

I do both.