New Wind Turbine Harnesses Aerodynamics of Buildings
by Justin Thomas, Virginia 
on 10. 2.06
A company called Aero Vironoment, has unveiled a compact wind turbine that sits on the parapets of a building rather than the roof. It catches the wind as it travels up the side of a building, which, in some cases, results in a 30% increase in energy production. The "Architectural Wind" turbine is 6.5 feet tall, and weighs 60 pounds. It requires only a 7 mph (3.1 m/s) breeze to start up, and produces roughly 55kWh per month per unit. There are two available optional extras for the turbine: a canopy, and an "avian protection" option, which is designed to keep birds out of the turbine. it was recently displayed at Green Pavilion of Wired's Nextfest. :: Via: EcoGeek
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I didn't find a price on this, so can I assume its tres expensive? With all the wind power gadgets available, I wonder why they are not more widely used. Is it the expense? Or are potential clients waiting a year to see how they work long-term (which gives the company time to go out of business)?
At $0.05/KWH this produces only about $2/month. Still, I think it's a great way to go, and I look forward to the day when our everyday environment is dotted by energy harvesting devices like miniature wind turbines and solar panels.
I did a post on this a little bit back and talked a lot on the pricing. It's a cool concept, really.
Let's just say it's not cheap...actually, there's no real breakeven on the thing either. We're talking about a 6 kilowatt with 15 turbines for $34,500.
According to Environmental Building News:
"The cost is about $5 to $7 per watt of installed capacity—comparable to photovoltaics (PVs) and less than most building-integrated PVs (see EBN Vol. 10, No. 3). This cost includes the wind turbines as well as all of the electrical management and grid-interconnect (balance of systems) equipment, some of which is also produced by AeroVironment. AeroVironment is currently offering a minimum-size six-kilowatt system (15 turbines), including installation and maintenance, for $34,500. Under decent wind conditions, this system should generate about 10,000 kWh per year, or about $1,000 worth of electricity at average retail rates."
See Wind Turbines on the Parapet
$34,000 vs $1000/year, so it pays off in 34 years. Hmmm, I would bet that investing the $34,000 in better insulation and more efficient lighting and maybe solar hot air or water heating would pay off a lot faster.
It is far cheaper in most situations to save a watt than to generate one. Google RMI and negawatts.
If you were going to go with wind power, I bet that getting a single larger wind turbine would give you a lot more bang for the buck.
I think these units are an interesting idea, but until they are cheaper, they are a vanity thing for companies that want to retrofit a green image on their corporate headquarters.
There is one simple answer to why not more wind everywhere: noise.
Having the quietest one I could find on the planet attached to my very-urban house in Toronto has opened my eyes (again). The SPL on windy nights is enough to wake the dead - might have to move on to solar from EnerWorks.
Any axial wind turbin on building is really not good idea , too much noise and to much vibration. Better solution are vertical turbin, very quiet.