Five Cool Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines
While the case can be made for vertical-axis wind turbines as the leaders in the aesthetics category, many folks may find themselves drawn towards horizontal-axis turbines because of their efficiency, lower cost, and simplistic designs. But like VAWTs, horizontal-axis turbines are not your grandfather's windmill. Below, I put together a list of five interesting new horizontal-axis wind turbine designs and the companies that produce them. Like my
list of vertical axis turbines,
this list is not concerned with engineering-related specifics such as power generation efficiency or minimum
"cut-in" speed. Instead, this is a beauty contest of sorts! Visit
the link included in each turbine description for detailed specifications if you
need to "geek out" on the numbers for each machine.
1) Southwest Windpower
In business since 1987, Flagstaff, Arizona-based
Southwest Windpower makes a pretty simple-looking wind
turbine: the Skystream 3.7. While not necessarily radical or earth-shaking
in design, the Skystream is still updated enough to make this list. There is a healthy combination here of the "tried and
true" along with just enough of a tweak to make this electrical windmill a little
different than other contenders in the HAWT pack. Southwest claims
that it's Skystream will start generating power at 8 mph, and is rated to
generate up to 2.4 kilowatts of electricity.
2) Swift Wind Turbine from Renewable Devices
This
thing just looks cool, period. It doesn't hurt that Britain's
Renewable Devices picked a Midwest-based company (Cascade Engineering of Grand Rapids, Michigan) to help produce this forward-looking HAWT - thereby helping the United States' manufacturing heartland gain a little significance in the world of renewable energy equipment production. Renewable claims that it's Swift Turbine will produce approximately 1.2 kilowatts of electricity per year in winds averaging 11.2 mph.
3) donQi Urban Windmill
It should surprise noone that a company based in the land of windmills and wooden
shoes would offer the world another of many new ways to capture the wind for
power generation, and do so with elegance and style.
Rotterdam, Netherlands' donQi
is making waves in the growing "small-wind" sector with it's "Urban Windmill",
which donQi is positioning for residential and commercial use in metropolitan
environments. The housing on the Urban Windmill allows for the addition of
graphics - so an owner of this turbine can use a rooftop to advertise a
business, promote a cause, or show off some artistry!
4) Home Energy "Energy Ball"
The
Home Energy "Energy Ball" deserves a mention in our list of wind turbine designs for the simple fact that it looks the least like any wind turbine - horizontal axis or vertical axis. The folks at Home Energy claim that the Energy Ball has a very low cut-in speed and produces nearly undetectable noise. The Energy Ball's unique design also gives it advantages over other horizontal-axis turbines because it creates a "Venturi effect" - where wind converges and then accelerates through the rotor. This appealing wind device can be roof or pole-mounted.
5) Eclectic Energy StealthGen
British firm
Eclectic Energy takes the standard horizontal-axis design and jazzes it up a bit, while maintaining efficiency. Eclectic positions it's D400 "StealthGen", pictured at right, as a device designed to produce approximately 20% of the average household's electricity; while being economical enough
that the individual energy producer can consider installing several StealthGen machines.