A Dutch company has launched a new type of wind turbine that is small enough to fit onto the roof of a house. The turbine looks like a Nautilus shell, and their website explains how it works:
Most today's wind turbines require that a difference in pressure between the front and the rear side of the rotor blades be maintained in order to be effective. However, this difference in pressure also has a negative effect called "drag".
Our turbine rotor captures the kinetic energy of the wind due to its speed, and, by reversing the wind and reducing it to almost zero Beaufort converts it into mechanical energy. By doing this the wind speed's effect (in kinetic energy) on the rotor is maximized and "lift" is obtained by the wind's acceleration over the rotor plane.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Monday June 02 2014, @06:47PM
"zero moving parts"
There is the noise and vibration issue, which I've never understood WRT residential-ish wind. Nice silent solar, sure. But wind?
I live far north of the peak of tornado alley but we get plenty of t-storms and blizzards with rather high winds, another mystery to deal with roofs and windmills. Usually the sun doesn't decide to be 10 times as bright on a random-ish basis.
(Score: 2) by computersareevil on Monday June 02 2014, @08:51PM
"Usually the sun doesn't decide to be 10 times as bright on a random-ish basis."
I think I read a short story about that once.
Ah yes, here it is [wikipedia.org].