th comments
Emily said: "wow. that's impressive...." [read]

John Laumer said: "Editor's remark: Sierra Club spokesperson has supplied the following in response to a comment... -------------------- In answer..." [read]

Cybercat said: "@Joe I think they're going off the flat gas price, rather than before or after government and state taxes. I wouldn't mind seeing another ..." [read]

Cybercat said: "There isn't a percentage for how much is generated from feeding animals other animal by-products so all the assumptions made below are part on that..." [read]

BenSchiendelman said: "Live in cities, use the public transportation, buy fruits, vegetables and grain at the farmer's markets. Seems like a no-brainer to me. Gre..." [read]

Turby — A Wind Turbine that Loves City Turbulence

by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 04.19.06
Science & Technology (alternative energy)

turby.jpg

How many products do you know that proclaim, “Hey, we’re 18 times more expensive to operate than the competition”? Well, Turby does, and it’s darn fine see some product honesty once in a while. Of course, they do go on to explain that if one factors in environmental and economic constraints not covered by their opposition, then the difference drops to just 1.8 times higher. Then they ask if your children’s future will be a livable one, if we stick with finite fossil fuels? That’s an easy question to answer. The harder one is, what makes the Turby 40% more efficient than many other wind turbines? Seems it has hit on an optimum design compromise between vertical and horizontal bladed turbines. And this makes them ideal for city use, which is notoriously bad for windpower generation, because the wind comes from all directions. In fact, The Turby works best when some updraft is funneled up a minimum of six storeys. On this point, they don’t recommend them for houses, though tall apartments work just dandy. We are further informed that none less than William McDonough himself has declared that the Turby should be the “worldwide symbol for renewable energy.” But we ramble. Download their 16 page PDF for all the nitty gritty. Thanks for tipster Vjekoslav R. ::Turby

Apparently 800 Turbys have been suggested for the top of the new Freedom Tower and 102 for the new JET stadium, both in New York.

Comments (6)

Check this german Wind Converter for urban use too: http://www.windwandler.de/eng/index.html

jump to top Jens says:

so what do they Tell the bird-philes?

jump to top sam says:

How about one or two of these on top of cell phone towers? power not only communication but extra energy flows onto the grid. Get more use out of those ugly things.

jump to top D M Bauer says:

That's actually a very good idea, IMHO.

jump to top MGR [TypeKey Profile Page] says:

I've heard this design of windmill is supposed to be substantially less harmful to birds, assuming there is actually any harm posed to birds by windmills in the first place...

jump to top ihavacavalier [TypeKey Profile Page] says:

At a total cost of well over 12,000 euros?! I would NEVER consider buying this thing knowing that there are wind turbines on the market for incredibly less. The cost of this is utterly ridiculous. I bought a 1kW Bergey XL for less than 2,000 dollars. The idea and design are appealing but those in no way justify that price.

jump to top houston says:

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

th ads
th top picks
th ads