Wind turbines are normally big, noisy, and expensive.  Several inventors have created home wind power options that are efficient, productive, and more affordable than the traditional methods.  Not all of the products that are mentioned in this article are available – yet.  When all of these home wind power products will be manufactured for sale is unknown as are the possible prices. Some of the products mentioned below are available and such information that can be found on pricing is included.  Each inventor took a different approach and created different look.

The most versatile wind turbine is the Wing Personal Portable Windmill.  This little windmill can be carried in its own sack on your back similar to a portable lawn chair.  This portable windmill was designed by a couple of Croatians to power a variety of personal gadgets when electricity is not available.  The Wing folds and unfolds similar to an umbrella and can be easily set up and taken down.  Unfortunately, this unique design is currently only in prototype.

  Micro Wind Turbines work together to generate power even in low wind conditions.  These micro turbines come in sets of 8 for $150 and cover about one square meter.  They will fit about anywhere and will produce about 131kw/year.  If more than one square meter can be found for these little guys, the savings could be substantial since these sets of eight can be connected to each other to generate even more energy..

  The Helix wind turbine has very unique look that allows the turbine to work regardless of which way the wind is blowing.  The turbine was created for urban use and works at lower altitudes than traditional wind turbines.  It generates about 1-2 KWh of power depending on the system.  The estimated cost of a small wind system is $3,000 to $5,000.

Ben Storan’s Shape Shifting wind turbines are remarkable in shape and usage.  First the simple shape should allow the cost of the turbines, once in production to be cheaper to make although not necessarily cheap to buy.  The shape of the turbine fluctuates depending on wind speed so that it can take better advantage of varying wind speeds.  The turbine can also be tied down in extremely strong winds.  The turbine also functions at much lower altitudes than traditional commercial turbines.

 The Quiet Revolution also has a unique blade design.  The blade design achieves two purposes: !.) the turbine is quieter, 2.) the turbine uses a vertical axis. The vertical axis requires less maintenance and fewer engine parts.  The Quiet Revolution generates about 6 KWh. The Quiet Revolution costs “£25,000 installation costs are additional and will vary depending on the type and complexity of the installation.”

The Loopwing Personal Wind Turbine has a unique blade configuration as well.  The Loopwing is a Japanese creation that requires only 3.5 mph of wind to work.  This turbine also claims to be very quiet and efficient.  The specs for this weird looking turbine are as yet unknown as is the price.  This wind turbine can be seen in Japan but is not available in the US as yet.

All of these different designs and configurations offer another power source for home owners looking to either lower their current electric bill or to eliminate it all together.  The prices of the systems vary considerably as does their availability.  A few of these wind turbines look like art projects gone useful like the Helix, the Quiet Revolution and the Shape Shifter.  They have reduced the ugly factor of wind turbines considerably.  The Loopwing appears to be a combination of a weather vane, abstract bird and a whirly gig.  The micro wind turbine looks like it would be easy to make since it appears to be nothing more than a series of plastic gears connected together.  However, the simplicity and beauty of the visual aspects of these wind turbines disguise the complexity of the motors required for the power generation to occur and the amount of labor that may be required to install these turbines.

For myself, I think I would like to begin with the Wing Portable Windmill, segue to the micro wind turbines, and then see if the costs for the larger wind turbines comes down.   All of them offer savings.  It just depends how much you are willing to spend up front for your desired reduction in power costs. 

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Entry was posted on Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 2:32 pm under Japan, Science and technology.

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