Wind Turbines to be Installed at Home
With the increase in pollution through environment along with demand for energy, man has been working to find a pollution free energy source. And wind turbines fully meet this requirement. However installing wind turbine /tower in residential areas is not convenient or even impossible. The reason is that we need enormous number of wind turbines to full fill the electricity needs of a single city. The oddest thing is that each turbine is as high as a five story building and nearly as wide. So it can only be used by large utility companies.
But the things are becoming easy as technology is flourishing and now residential wind turbines are possible. A French business company “NewWind” has recently introduces a new mode of wind-energy generating turbines. They call it “wind tree” as it looks like an ordinary house tree. The wind tree can easily be installed at the backyard of the user’s home to supply electricity to home.
What it is made of ?
A 36ft tall and 26ft wide wind tree consists of 72 “leaves” each of which is a mini-turbine. These plastic leaves, nearly of conical shape, act like the blades of a turbine. They are lightweight and turn easily even with low speed breeze. The white structure of the tree i.e. its stem and branches are made of steel.
Wind Tree working:
As the wind blows it rotates the “leaves” of the Wind Tree that generates electric power to use it at home. A traditional wind turbine operates at nearly 8 or 10 miles per hour wind speed, which is possible only for a few months throughout the year. However a typical Wind Tree does not requires such high wind speed to operate. It may operate efficiently at a wind speed of only 4.4 mph (2 meter per second) and this makes Wind Tree use-full, on the average, over 280 days of the year. Along with its low speed operating capability the Wind Turbines are also durable to survive under “category 3 winds” which may have wind speed approaching 129 mph.
Wind Tree Power Output
The total power output of a typical Wind Tree with 72 blades is estimated to approximately 3.1kW. This amount of power is enough:
- to turn on 15 lamps (50W)
- for meeting the 83% electricity needs of a French family
- to run 100m2 of a low energy office
- to charge an electric car (16,364 km per year)
- for 50m3 of a pool over a year
Advantages:
Design:
The Wind Tree is designed so that it looks more like artist creativity. You might guess that this tree is actually a wind energy turbine. All the technology is hidden giving it a pleasing look. There are no cables or generator visible. Everything is incorporated inside the stem and branches of the Wind Tree.
Noiseless:
The leaves are installed vertically and they turn around the vertical axis which cancels the noise production and you get electrical power just silently.
Durability:
Leaves of the wind turbine are treated with a green resin which makes it durable and it can last up-to 25 years even under drastic weather conditions.
No air contamination:
2400 kWh power generated by a Wind-Tree avoids the release of 3.2 tons of CO2 which would be produced in generating same power from a fuel oil power plant.
Comparison:
A Wind-Tree produces same amount of electric energy as produced by 846kg of coal or 15 litters of fuel oil.
Demo Video:
Price and Purchase:
Every Wind Tree is estimated to cost $36,500. However it will pay you back within few years.
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