Conventional wind turbine technology has been a bit out of reach for most residential consumers living in urban areas—until now. Researchers at Hong Kong University and Lucien Gambarota of Motorwave Ltd. have developed Motorwind, a micro-wind turbine technology small enough for private use in both rural and urban environments. Unlike large-scale wind turbines, Motorwave’s micro-wind turbines are light, compact (25 cm rotor diameter), and can generate power with wind speeds as low as 2 meters/second.
The gear-like turbines can be linked to fit just about anywhere and a row of eight turbines costs just $150 for now (prices may decrease once the turbines are mass produced). A portion of the revenue raised from the sale of Motorwind turbines (available for purchase here) will be donated to Hong Kong University to continue researching renewable energy technology.
According to tests, turbines arranged within a surface area of one square meter and a wind speed of 5 m/sec generate 131 kWh/yr. We’ll be watching when the Hong Kong Sea School installs 360 micro-turbins (20 square meters) next month. A second installation of another 880 micro-turbines will be realized if the first installation is a success. Plans are also on the way for the World Wildlife Fund’s Hoi Ha Marine Reserve to install micro-turbines some time in the near future.
$150 – Motorwave Mirco Wind Turbines
how many would it take to power a house that uses about1,200 kwh a month ? And what is the noise of the system?
horizontal turbine needs wind seeking divice
i don’t see it in the picture.
please reply
Dear Micro Wind Turbines…..I am very interested in this idea. I live in Kona, Hawaii on the leeward side of the Big Island. We seldom get 8 mph wind but every day and night we have 4 mph wind and during storms we have consistent wind and no sun. How do I purchase your micro wind turnbines and do they need to be hooked to a battery as the PV cells are? My cell number is 808-640-2235 and I only speak English fluently. I mutter a bit of French and a bit more of Hawaiian……Mahalo Nui Loa…..Debra Zager
To Whom it may concern, esp. staff concerned:
Hi,
This is a great discovery of the century, as far as wind power and renewable energy field is concerned. I can\’t
believe it! The revolutionary design and other features of the micro wind-turbine is amazing but truly
ingenious.
It so happens that I took a walk this afternoon and met one Hongkong lady. We had a good chat and that\’s how she first introduced me to these Hongkong \’windfans\’. In fact, she informed about them after I showed that I am studying Renewable Energy. Immediately after I checked for it at google search and there,
at last!
I am so interested to know more about this product. Now, I will decide to include it as part of my study, especially will intend to implement it as part of my hybrid energy system project. So what is the life time of the systems? Can it be integrated with other renewable sources to produce a hybrid system?
Best regards,
Tiante Western Australia
This is a great Idea. The Company I work for, Building Turbines, is making wind turbines for buildings as well. They cog together also, allowing all turbines to share one gearbox and one generator. We moved our third prototype from our wind tunnel to the Roof of our 5 story building, works and looks great just as it did day 1. Thus far all funding has come out of the pockets of the inventor, John F. Graham. There aren’t existing products on the market for this type of technology. We need to engineer, and manufacture our own gearbox and generator specific to our application. So, we are now looking to get outside funding to continue R&D to get patent protected turbines into production asap. Up to date info can be seen at our site http://buildingturbines.com and at our main site: http://austinpartners.net http://www.AustinPartners.net is a portal of Mr. Graham’s many companies.
These turbines together also. Company is based in Austin Texas. The past three years of development has been out of pocket..searching for capital to continue R&D and get into production by the end of the year.
any thoughts suggestions on http://buildingturbines.com ? Thanks for taking the time to let the site load (it\’s 20 mb) Ideas as to where to go for funding??
Thanks for all of your help in advance, fair winds,
JR
j@buildingturbines.com
I think your idea is fantistic, for areas with low wind speed and small land size, affordable add-on wind fans in phases idea, colored in white or black or bright multicolors for in the garden, I think there is potential; except I would be concerned that the plastic might shatter after 2 years of being in the sun. I plan to watch your progress, and consider a possible purchase in the future. (Calif. USA)
What is the highest speed that these turbines can create energy at?
How much energy would they make at this speed? (Per Hour Is Easier For Me )
I need information on more than one turbine, up to 10kw.
Thank you
how many kilowatts would one of these turbines make at 55 miles per hour?
I meant each hour, how much would it make per hour at 55 mph
How much does it cost to make your wind tubines? Is it made out of eco friendly plastic? I would love to know because i want to purchase some of your wind tubines. I need to know if they are efficiant and good for powering a company.
Thank you
Maria Castrillo
castrillo_maria@yahoo.com
Very nice and useful article
Great looking idea! One suggestion: set a unit up vertically with a vane in a simple plywood frame or some such and picture that as your demo. Many of your responders seem to not see with that configuration it can follow the wind direction change. Of course, that increases the complication factor again! Ultraviolet resistant plastic is available. Make that known. Set a row of these along roof ridges and columns at each house corner and see the increased draft, too. I suppose many will scream \”too ugly!\” but so is smoke and strip mines and radioactivity.
Very cool. I saw a video of this on http://www.greenenergytv.com and loved it. Eventually, those little things will become more powerful and produce more energy. Look how fast cell phones and others things have improved in a short time.
Kimberly
These things are ingenious! Wish I had thought of that. I actually built my own turbine out of PVC and some other parts (http://www.mywindpowerhome.com), but I think I may just try to put a system like this in place if I ever move to the City.
will this be able to help families in rural africa with thier energy needs and help the enviroment.
Hello,
I am seeking a good solution for powering a temporary site cabin.
This may eventually work and would like to know if they are already available for purchasing.
Also would appreciate to know the cost and the capacity needed for all the auxiliary components.
Regards,
Alessandro Antonioli
alessandro.antonioli@areva-td.com
Please kindly give me more details of wind turbine like its installation & commissioning cost ,technical specification etc
Hi
I would like to now in what Voltages and wattages does the wind turbines is coming like 12V, 24V and / or 48V and how many will it take to power a 3 Bedroom house that uses about 900KW/month
I also want to know where in South Africa I can get them if they are available in South Africa
Koos Pretorius
South Africa
diepetoorsies@telkomsa.net