As the world’s need for electric power grows, there are certain effects of fossil fuels that require us to look for other opportunities with alternative power sources. Solar power, tidal and geothermal power as well as the classic of wind power turbines has been on the rise in terms of green energy.
Wind power is one of those natural resources that simply don’t go away, so you can make great use of it around your home as well as in terms of powering industrial facilities and so forth. Whether you want to have wind power around your home, in your garden or as part of your landscaping solutions, as a supplement to your power grid are up to you. The following article will cover the upcoming or already developing technologies in terms of wind power and what it has to offer:
Airborne wind power
Makani is working on an airborne energy kite, which is one excellent solution to using the higher altitude strong winds and using their energy with efficiency. Wind in the upper atmosphere are far more consistent, which means any turbines can be used to great benefit, but it will be a while before we see any widespread implementation of the concept beyond the current stage of its work. There is also the Altaeros wind turbine which works with an inflatable, helium-filled shell that allows access to high altitude winds. Projected lowering of energy costs is at a whopping 65% with this technology, assuming it ever becomes widespread and used across the world.
Low-speed winds and power
Another interesting solution is the one offered by Wind Power Innovations. The Wind Harvester is a great, horizontal approach its design, which makes use of aerofoils to create electrical power, even in lower speed winds. It may also work in various wind speed conditions, but it takes a bit of space.
Bladeless Wind Power
The Windstalk is a great new solution which consists of a hollow pole which houses ceramic, piezoelectric discs that are connected with cables from to bottom. As each of the disks is connected, the swaying of the pole and movement of the disks generates a current. This makes them excellent for saving up space and eliminating moving parts, thus making them safer for garden installation, garden landscaping and so forth.
Wind lens
Japanese researchers have been looking into ways to boost the traditional wind turbines and their efficiency up to the amazing three times. A wind lens placed around the turbine blades is expected to give a massive boost in performance for the current designs.
Vertical wind power
This is one way of handling the challenge of wind power, which is seen in the designs of the previous examples. The Windspire design is believed to allow a 2000 KWh for an average of 11 mph wind speed, working with a rotating horizontal design that looks more like an antenna, instead of the traditional look. Eddy turbines on the other hand have a sleek design that allows it to work safe with wind speeds reaching up to the quite serious 120 mph. It has the ability to produce up to 600W of power, which may allow it to work wonders when paired with a good solar array.
This post is by Guest Energizer Sofia Lewis for Gardening Services Gardeners Ltd. who offers garden design services. She is a passionate freelance article writer and blogger. She is inspired by home improvement projects and writes mainly about gardening and landscaping, green living home solutions and other home related topics.