Until a little time back, to be a dedicated energy conserver through wind turbines, one had to be extremely particular about the location where the turbine is placed; special open areas like wind farms and roof tops were favourite destinations. The heavy and boring designs too made it unsuitable for the picturesque urban environment. The cost to purchase and maintain too were not quite lucrative.
AeroCam, a new wind turbine from Dallas based Broad Star Wind system, is designed especially to be used commercially. Whether in a high rise or low rise, it is apt for any sort of architectural design (read unconventional sites). The water wheel type compact and small design (when compared to conventional turbines) with multiple horizontal blades, can handle wind of any magnitude and from any angle making into a constructive energy. The automatic maneuvering of the blades is similar to the changes that wings of birds go through during a flight.
The major innovation in the design, however, is the ability to automatically and interactively adjust the pitch or angle of attack of the aerodynamic blades as the turbine rotates, thereby optimizing its performance for much the same reasons a bird changes the shape of its wing in flight.
The air in any high rise building moves upwards, therefore, conventional horizontal wind turbines would find it difficult to bear the pressure.
Four years of hard research has resulted into this unique design which is based on principles of French aeronautical engineer Georges Jean Marie Darrieus (1888-1979). The company is now in negotiations with two Fortune 100 companies. The first preview of this much talked about product will be in Wind Power 2008, in Houston and at a later date in London to hit the high potential European market.
Vouched for being more cost effective than any turbine available, AeroCam is a 250KW machine for $25000 i.e. $1/ every watt! Like the president of the company Stephen Else, himself explains,
In essence, our efficient aerodynamic design lends itself to smaller wind turbines, which can operate closer to the ground or on a rooftop. They can handle a wide range of wind velocities, anywhere between 4 and 80 mph. They generate their power at lower rotational speed, so there is less noise and vibration hence less wear and tear. But most importantly the AeroCam can be manufactured at a lower cost than conventional turbines. This makes the overall economic argument very compelling.
