Firewinder Wind Powered Light is Finally Here
by Jaymi Heimbuch, Central Coast, California on 09.22.08
Photo Credit: Firewinder
The Firewinder is a new(ish) gadget that puts a cool twist on outdoor lighting. While we’ve been hearing about it for quite some time, it is finally here for the taking!
For just a second, it reminds me of one of those spinning wooden mobiles hung on a front porch that makes me just a bit dizzy while compelling me to watch it spin in the breeze. The Firewinder, however, makes these old fashioned mobiles seem intensely out of date.
The vertical axis wind turbine has 14 LEDs attached to it and as the wind blows, the LEDs illuminate and optically blend into one another to create a mesmerizing outdoor light. The turbine needs winds faster than 3 mph, but higher speeds means brighter lights. While not bright enough to light the surrounding area to guide passers-by, it definitely is a hip way to add a pinch of renewable snaz to an outdoor evening party.
You can pre-order a Firewinder from it's very first production run, which is set for delivery this Fall.
More on Wind Powered Lights:
Light my Firewinder - A Wind Powered Lantern
A Double Whammy - The Wind Powered Bike Light
Wind Powered Light from Demakersvan
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although at first glance this seems like a novel product, it is odd that the website doesn't mention anything about a photovoltaic sensor... so the device is going to light up during the daytime which is a bit wasteful. Also, if this is supposed to address green lighting it fails to store the energy created when it's daylight... i think it would be fairly easy to integrate some kind of charging system to a simple 9v-12v battery. seems perfect for a DIY system. None the less, they will probably sell a bazillion of these.
I fail to see how it is wastefull, its not like its going to uselessly use up all the wind in the daytime and there will be none left for the night.
Does it actually produce any usable light or is it just a decoration? I think I could do better for $200
Firewinder is the first in a series of products. In its first guise, yes, it is purely a decorative object. It does give out loads of light in a breeze, but it's unlikely (certainly in the UK where we are!) that one would be reading a newspaper outside at night in a gale...
We will have products with charge storage and a whole bundle of 'useful' applications in the future. One day we want to get rid of kerosene lamps with a real cheap, collapsible, detatchable version, but first things first...
Firewinder as it is is designed to lift moods, be a wonderful spectacle and simply remind people when they see it that there is abundant energy in the wind.