Honeywell Wind Turbine

webels

I don't know if this has been mentioned here before but I though this was a novel type of Wind turbine requiring 2-3mph of wind to begin rotating.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/home_improvement/4321836.html

quentingargan

There are many well-meaning people trying to make a turbine suitable for urban dwellers – after all, they make up the majority of our population. However, I don’t think you can get away from the fact that the energy in the wind, and the turbulance makes this a non-starter in most cases. You can read more on this here.



Also, concrete has virtually no tensile strength. Unless a building is specifically designed to take a turbine, there is a huge risk of structural damage, and this has happened with rooftop turbines.



I think in a few years time solar PV will come down in price sufficiently for this to make more sense. Nanosolar for example, is promising systems for US$1 per watt, about 1/3rd of current ex-factory prices. Personally, if I was an urban dweller, I would wait for that.

Doctor_L

I would agree with Quentin Solar PV is going to offer urban dwellers and rural who don't have a large site with good exposure to clean wind the opportunity to generate cost effective energy.

Similar to other forms of tech, once mass production kicks in and technology advances a few generations i.e. 2 -3 years we should solar PV reach an affordable price.

This is something I am waiting for.

Liam