Micro Wind Turbines

So you are looking at micro wind turbines, huh? No doubt, wind energy is the way of the future. Many countries and people are beginning to realize this. Realization is one thing, implementation is another. Although many people would love to run their homes on wind power and save on their electricity bill. The initial costs of setting up wind turbines both commercially and on a residential level is very high.

The good news is that, there are inventors and companies out there who are developing smaller and more affordable wind solutions. Their goal is to develop solutions that are energy efficient but also cost effective and easy to produce. There are already a few choices available on the market, with more to be introduced to us in the coming years. In this article, we will be looking at two options that are currently available for those who seek a viable wind energy solution.

The Wind Belt Micro Wind Turbine

This is an alternative to the non turbine type of wind generators. It’s first design was in 2004 by Shawn Frayne. He went on to start a company called Humdinger Wind Energy, which has been researching and further developing his concept. In addition to the  wind belt they are also working on developing a medium and large scale version of this micro wind turbine. This is an idea he first developed in middle school after watching the collapse the Tacoma Narrows bridge in 1940.

Wind Belt Generator

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The Wind Belt uses aeroelastic flutter, which can be compared to the bow of any musical instrument. What happens is when air is allowed to pass through the surface, the belt begins to vibrate. The setup is very simple, all you need is a membrane with tension or some kind of belt. VHS tape has been used by some for this purpose. Shawn used nylon coated Teflon which is more commonly used for building kites.

Shawn wanted to design a wind generator that can be used in rural areas in developing countries for less. With Haiti as his target market, he wanted to design a wind turbine that costs less than five dollars to build. The Wind Belt can be ten times more efficient than traditional wind turbines as it does not use any bearings. This is a simple micro wind generator that anyone can build using simple materials. The power generated can be used to power lights, radios and other small appliances.

Motorwind Micro Wind Turbines

Motorwind turbines were invented by Lucien Gambarota who is based in Hong Kong. He decided to develop micro wind turbines that would help him harness energy and potentially lower his electricity bill. These turbines are very small and can be installed pretty much anywhere, including rooftops and apartment balconies. In Africa HAIKO Energy based in South Africa is a distributor  and they have installed these on top of billboards, schools and other buildings. The turbines are versatile so you can install them both on a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) or even the horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT).

MotorWinds Turbines

Traditional wind turbines need high wind speeds to generate energy. The problem is many parts of the world do not have these high wind speeds available to them. This results in higher costs for setting up wind turbines or wind farms. Motorwinds turbines are more cost effective as they can operate in both low wind speeds as well as high wind speeds. These turbines are smaller and can be produced on a massive scale. They are very easy to install and can start turning at wind speeds of only 1 m/s, which is way lower than the 6 m/s required by conventional wind turbines.

Motorwind turbines are also produced from 100% recyclable materials. Not only are they easy to install, they are also easy to maintain and replace. They operate on the system of mass parallel processing, which makes any one blade loss insignificant to energy lost. You can easily replace that one blade and not have to worry about shutting down the whole system. These micro wind turbines can be used to generate electricity, power lights and small appliances. You can purchase a set of 60 for as little as $100 USD. They will produce enough power to power a small apartment in ideal wind conditions.

So there you have it, two choices that are currently available for sale. I personally would try out the Motorwinds turbine, it seems like it would be useful in many more areas. These two options mentioned above are by no means your only available options. Everyday more designs are being revealed to the general public. It takes a little time though to test and approve some of these new innovations, but it is all worth it at the end of the day. Whether it is powering your home or a small village in a third world country, micro wind turbines maybe the perfect solution for your needs.