Ridgeblade Wind Turbines

B-D-P--

Was chating to a few relatives in Holland and one who is also building a house at the moment,
They suggested to look into Ridgeblade system.

Just wondering, has anybody in Ireland looked into this system.

Building on a very windy spot so would be interesting to know about it,
Also however as we are already well past the planning stage, is it too late to add this to the house as it will change the aesthetics of the house?

DrPhilG

I'm keen to know about this too. I also live in a very windy spot, pretty much constant wind and all in the same direction due to our location on the side of a hill.

mike_2009

Hi,
Reading a good book - "Wind Energy for the rest of us: A Comprehensive Guide to Wind Power and how to use it" - by Paul Gipe
Basically the summary is that it's all been tried before, an urban solution is usually smoke and mirrors. Most are now tied off and non operating. There's a reason the wind industry currently builds wind turbines on 100 meter towers with 3 very large blades and he explains how this developed very clearly.
I would suggest checking out the book and see where the industry has come from before making a purchase decision. If you have enough land a standard domestic wind turbine would be a better bet once you have taken an extended set of measurements of the wind power (6-9 months at the proposed height of the turbine) to ensure you can generate the kWh you purchase!
Wind is great and a free resource but taking advantage of it to generate power (vs pumping water/milling) has taken a century of trial and error to get right . There's always a new never heard of idea that's promoted, particularly over the last decade fooling entire Governments, Departments and companies into chasing them down (New Zealand Pension fund lost $50 million investing in the Ogin ducted turbine) and guess what the Ridgeblade system appears to me to be....a ducted turbine! And how does it handle overspeed in a storm? It can't be furled....
I may be wrong but you would want to see actual site installations and independent testing results before considering.....
http://www.seai.ie/Renewables/Microgeneration/Microgeneration_FAQ/#roof
As with all things - it's Buyer Beware....
Update: Just another thought: do you align your ridge 90 degrees to prevailing winds but does that then impact ideal solar pv/thermal configurations? You may not be allowed build a house facing the ideal direction, it will also affects views etc. If the wind changes direction how much of a dropoff in generation does that create? You can't mount the whole house on a turntable unlike a small standalone wind turbine which aligns to the wind direction.....

dathi

B-D-P-- wrote: »

Was chating to a few relatives in Holland and one who is also building a house at the moment,
They suggested to look into Ridgeblade system.

Just wondering, has anybody in Ireland looked into this system.

Building on a very windy spot so would be interesting to know about it,
Also however as we are already well past the planning stage, is it too late to add this to the house as it will change the aesthetics of the house?

wind turbine can not be placed on building in ireland under the planning exemptions so you would need to get planning permission.

babybuilder

dathi wrote: »

wind turbine can not be placed on building in ireland under the planning exemptions so you would need to get planning permission.

Waste of time. Contacted Mr gipe a few years back about an Italian turbine vertical system that was being sold in West Donegal. Thankfully He advised to avoid like the plague. Britain had a scheme a few years ago, i think it was called windsave. A neighbour bought one up north and first but of wind it was gone.