Swedish Energy Ball adds whimsy to wind turbines
By Susan Wilson
Looking more like a whirly gig than a wind turbine, the Energy Ball is a new Swedish wind turbine specifically designed to be quiet and efficient. Home Energy, the company that created the Energy Ball, primarily designs green energy systems for the home.
Inhabitat reports that Swedish company Home Energy designed and developed this unusual wind turbine. The Energy Ball can function at low wind speeds making it ideal for many different locations.
This new wind turbine utilizes the Venturi effect. One example of the Venturi effect is the increased wind speed of winds funneled between buildings. The unique design of the Energy Ball funnels the wind through the spherical blades increasing the energy harvested. Taking advantage of this principle allows this wind turbine to generate at wind speeds as low as 2 m/s or 4 mph.
The Energy Ball is also extremely quiet making it more acceptable to neighbors and zoning boards. Since this wind turbine is not your typical three bladed giant, it may also gain points in the looks department. The design looks fun and whimsical rather than utilitarian.
Home Energy has designed a home wind turbine that is very reminiscent of the Japanese Loopwing. Both systems use very different blade shapes and both designs are easier on the eye than the three bladed wind turbine.
Unlike the Loopwing, Home Energy does not have an English translation of its website and Yahoo’s Babelfish doesn’t translate Swedish. There are email addresses and phone numbers to contact them, but no guarantee that anyone at the other end can understand you any better than you can understand their website.
Like Loopwing, Energy Ball distributors in the US are non-existent. Too bad, because this is an attractive wind turbine that I would like to be able to use. Since it requires less wind speed than many other small wind turbines on the market, it might actually be able to generate a decent amount of energy in variable wind locations.
via Inhabitat
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Entry was posted
on Saturday, September 6th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
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Read more entries by Susan Wilson.
Stumble It!
November 23rd, 2008
This design may satisfy some of the crowd that seems to find standard turbines ugly. I resonally find all wind machines beautiful.
Great post!
November 24th, 2008
ironic that a company called “Home Energy” doesn’t publish material in English. Unless it’s a coincidence and Home Energy is a Swedish phrase.
February 25th, 2009
They have an English website now:
http://www.homeenergyamericas.com/Start.html