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hexosan

http://www.treehugger.com/energy-efficiency/lets-get-real-about-cute-little-wind-turbines.html
Took from C&P forum

my3cents

But most of his arguments are about efficiency and just look at the human race how much do we do because its efficient and how much do we do just because we want to.

Its hardly efficient to grow a crop of anything by hand when its massively more efficient to grow the same crop in huge fields and use huge tractors to sow and harvest. The point I'm coming to is that if you don't have any electric and need it for some reason then an inefficient wind turbine is better than none just in the same way some food is better than no food.

All his points are valid if you are looking at return on investment, here we are probably have different priorities.

Bobking

hexosan wrote: »

http://www.treehugger.com/energy-efficiency/lets-get-real-about-cute-little-wind-turbines.html
Took from C&P forum

Thanks.

I want to play with turbines and it's good to know the competition isn't steep.

Do you guys know of a building or structure that funnels or directs air into a narrow pocket?

Although the air is turbulent when it's pushed into the ground and obstacles we still understand how it behaves so it's not a leap to assume that in the future we'll be building massive structures that are long enough or large enough to create the required flow to be pretty efficient.

Something like the beautiful shapes of wind deflectors beside motorways in the Netherlands. But backwards.

Wind catchers if you will directing flow to generators.

Bobking

my3cents wrote: »

But most of his arguments are about efficiency and just look at the human race how much do we do because its efficient and how much do we do just because we want to.

Its hardly efficient to grow a crop of anything by hand when its massively more efficient to grow the same crop in huge fields and use huge tractors to sow and harvest. The point I'm coming to is that if you don't have any electric and need it for some reason then an inefficient wind turbine is better than none just in the same way some food is better than no food.

All his points are valid if you are looking at return on investment, here we are probably have different priorities.

I agree.

To be truly inefficient to me the cost of building and maintenence would have to be greater than the cost of the same amount of electricity.

The writer makes some good points about the dangers of ignorance and the waste of resources.

I mean why is the top of that building not only purely aesthetic but also counter intuitive?
Did they think it would work? Or did they scam an energy grant of someone?
Sales pitch? Technically they do have rotors on the roof.

After reading a bit I see that some turbines are put in terrible places and there are challenges to integrating turbines and buildings.
But that's all, challenges to increase efficiency.
Lots of building turbines getting near top efficiency but too noisy.
Some beautiful inexpensive low rated turbines contributing to aesthetics and the grid.