Inhabitat » HELIX WIND TURBINE: Small Wind Gets Smart

November 8, 2007

HELIX WIND TURBINE: Small Wind Gets Smart

by Ali Kriscenski

Helix Wind Turbine, Personal Wind Turbine, Residential Wind Turbine, Residential Wind Power, Helix Wind Savonious 2.0, Savonious, vertical turbine, helical turbine, renewable energy, wind energy, wind mill

Harnessing wind power for use in residential applications has been a challenge, but a new breed of vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) from Helix Wind offers a promising design that may change the way we do wind at home. The Helix Wind Savonious 2.0 uses a unique rotor capable of capturing omni-directional winds to provide quieter, kinder small wind power for your urban home.

The Helix Wind Savonious 2.0 is a 2kW rated turbine that can be tower-mounted between 14 and 35 feet or roof mounted just 2 feet above roof line. The rotor measures 6ft by 4ft (1.8m by 1.2m) and utilizes long helical blade scoops to maximize energy performance in turbulent, gusty or multi-directional wind conditions.

The capabilities of the rotor to spin in any wind make it ideal for urban settings. The combination of lower height and quieter action make Helix’s turbine more neighbor and zoning commission friendly. As far as noise, the Helix Savonious 2.0 operates at less than 5 decibels above background noise.

And there’s good news for the bird lover in all of us - the Helix is safer for wildlife. The rotor spins at much slower speeds than horizontal turbines and both birds and bats recognize the rotor as a solid object. Bird-blade collisions are mostly a concern in “big” wind but the fact that the Helix rotor doesn’t fatally confuse our feathered friends is a big plus.

At present, the Helix Savonious 2.0 is undergoing evaluation for UL and cUL listings to make it eligible for rebates under all state Renewable Energy Programs. The base price for the Helix Savonious 2.0 is $6,500 before tower and installation. A low wind version starts at $8,500 and a larger 5kW model starts at $16,500.

+ Helix Personal Wind Turbine
+ Helix on YouTube

26 Responses to “HELIX WIND TURBINE: Small Wind Gets Smart”

Joyce Says:

November 8th, 2007 at 11:56 am

What an innovative design! Hopefully, it indeed will be eligible for energy program rebates across the nation.

SonnoProfondo » Blog Archive » Turbine Eoliche Bladeless Says:

November 8th, 2007 at 1:30 pm

[…] [Fonte: Inhabitat] […]

Christopher P. Says:

November 9th, 2007 at 4:43 am

Clearly a sophisticated piece of aerodynamic engineering! Whimsically, the segments look like a jai alai xistera!

Poloynis Says:

November 9th, 2007 at 3:10 pm

Cool. These scaled-down personal types of energy generators spread the infrastructure costs across a broader base of consumers, reducing installation costs and increasing the feasibility of using alternative energy resources. They act like a ’shoe-horn’ of sorts, decreasing our need to attach to larger energy supply grids.

Peter Says:

November 10th, 2007 at 12:00 pm

Distributed technologies have much to offer. Although at that price they still look like an option for the more affluent.

Do they come in (much) smaller versions? e.g. for mobile use?

Is there a density above which they degrade each other’s performance? i.e. in urbanised areas where there are lots of close-packed houses, rather than single multi-occupancy units.

Neece Says:

November 11th, 2007 at 7:00 pm

What a great design and alternative to wind at home! I’m glad it’s bat and bird friendly. That’s a real concern.

» Helix Wind Savonious 2.0 Wind Turbine is Suburb-Friendly - Your Gadget Live Says:

November 12th, 2007 at 6:05 am

[…] stylish residential turbine, you could do worse than Helix Wind’s Savonious 2.0 (via Inhabitat). It’s a 2kW turbine than can be put on a 14-35 foot pole, or–and I like this […]

AJ Says:

November 13th, 2007 at 10:48 am

Peter- Many companies market the Savonius type turbines in smaller sizes (See http://www.windside.com and http://www.oregonwind.com). Generally the yields of these drag-based turbines are much lower than the regular lift-based designs. The obvious advantages are however their compact bodies, and their low speeds- which can be important in urban areas. Turbines are normally positioned at a distance of at least twice their diameters to prevent interference from one another. This distance may be higher for the Savonius turbines, however.

AJ Says:

November 13th, 2007 at 10:54 am

Peter- Many companies market the Savonius type turbines in smaller sizes (See http://www.windside.com and http://www.oregonwind.com). Generally the yields of these drag-based turbines are much lower than the regular lift-based designs. The obvious advantages are however their compact bodies, and their low speeds- which can be important in urban areas. Turbines are normally positioned at a distance of at least twice their diameters to prevent interference from one another. However, this distance may be larger for the Savonius turbines.

Khue Nguyen Kim Says:

November 13th, 2007 at 10:13 pm

Dear Sir,
We are Viet Design and Development LTD. Company in Viet Nam country - HoChiMinh City.
We are interested in your wind power product to deploy our power supply projects.
We highly appreciate if you could send us your product infomation :
- Catalogs
- Technical Data
- Prices
Sincerely yours,
Note : our demand
power output : 50 kw/h - 500 kw/h
wind speed : 3-8 m/s

Peter Says:

November 19th, 2007 at 4:09 pm

AJ - thanks. I was curious about the size/density issues as the UK has a lot of low (2 storey) but closely packed occupant-owned housing, and European housing is often more closely packed than in the US (excluding flat/appartment/tenement-styles).

Vish Rao Says:

December 10th, 2007 at 12:38 pm

Sir,

I have been researching alternative energy solutions for a India where there is an abundance of wind power everywhere. I am currently working as an IT consultant in the USA with some serious plans to return to India and help save the environment in India at the same time offer a clean energy source for a country that is virtually straved for energy. Compared to all the other competing solutions out there, I would have to say this is by far the best and the cutest windmill out there.

I would really like to hear from you and hopefully build a relationship. If you could send me the technical details from an infrastructure standpoint, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks
VISH RAO

Steve Says:

December 17th, 2007 at 12:38 pm

To whom it may concern,
The cost of these units is ridiculous. Do we need a Henry Ford to make these units affordable for everyone? Are the electric companies keeping this technology from being implemented? With the advent of compact flourescent light, 75% less enegery use, and now LED bulbs, 90% less energy use, we can stop building powerplants and the use fossil fuels. I suppose we need to have the Chinese build these wind units for us since we can’t do it affordably, no disrespect to them. Imagine every house with these units on them…how much energy would that produce? No more blackouts and far less reliance on polluting fossil fuels….Is this just me?

Steve Says:

December 17th, 2007 at 1:55 pm

Why are you deleting this??
The cost of these units is ridiculous. Do we need a Henry Ford to make these units affordable for everyone? Are the electric companies keeping this technology from being implemented? With the advent of compact flourescent light, 75% less enegery use, and now LED bulbs, 90% less energy use, we can stop building powerplants and the use fossil fuels. I suppose we need to have the Chinese build these wind units for us since we can’t do it affordably, no disrespect to them. Imagine every house with these units on them…how much energy would that produce? No more blackouts and far less reliance on polluting fossil fuels….Is this just me?

ray Says:

December 22nd, 2007 at 2:36 am

I am pretty much there with steve. Why would I buy this? I can drive down to the home depot and buy myself a gas powered 5kW generator for $400 and run it for a very long time on $16000 worth of gas.
If I pull off the 10 HP gas powered motor I now have a 5kW generator. The rest is pretty simple. Extend the drive shaft of the generator, add a drive bearing and some supports then bolt some plastic on to the extended drive shaft. Where on earth could the additional $16100 come from? Cant be a whole lot of NRE costs associated with this item. Pretty much all prior art so there cant be too many patents associated with the design. Certainly not as many as there are in a new $16000 car anyways.

This item is much simpler than its gas powered counterpart so why is it 2 orders of magnitude more expensive. If the price were to come down to its appropriate $1000-$1500 range for a 5kW model people couldnt help but buy the darned things.

matt Says:

January 4th, 2008 at 3:19 pm

I agree with both steve and ray, $16000 is way too much for this. Although I’m sure that the actuall production only runs around 1000-3000, the extra mark-up may be for R&D (wind tunnel testing, airfoil desins, ect) but its marked up too high.. I personally was looking at building a similar design, and thrus far, have not been able to break $1000 for material (currently total is around $700 for everything), though this will probably be the equivilant to the 1-2Kw model. If they really want to make a huge difference to increase popularity and usage of this type of energy, they should consider a different price range. Most people will be conserned with the initial start-up cost, as with any type of green energy, solar or wind. For companies, that may not be a big issue, but for a small family it is. Ray makes a good point with the generator as well.

Matjaz Says:

January 7th, 2008 at 6:49 am

Hello Matt!

I also did math and i just do not understand the price. Can we work togehter on building similar thing?

Best regards,
Matjaz

gerald duffy Says:

February 2nd, 2008 at 10:50 am

They sure look better than the ones that do not work now. What is the wind speed they need. Lets hope our government does not get involved with these. Like they gave the oil companies a tax breaks, and they have record profits. They gave the present wind outfits 60% tax breaks and they produce a trickle of power. The carbon credits are sold to coal plants so they can burn dirty coal . They are destroying rural America and would but them on the Statue of Liberty if they could. Go solar, put solar on every public building. Solar produces power when we need it not just when the wind blows Enron again!!

Hybrid Says:

February 15th, 2008 at 12:08 am

Just a question are there larger models in the making for industrial use or will they only be focused towars the home market

KACZMAREK Says:

February 19th, 2008 at 12:12 pm

hello,hour society sell new technology .we are interressting by your product
can you inform us,about price
thanks
T.KACZMAREK

Sheldon Beckham Says:

March 4th, 2008 at 12:28 am

Very interested in this system,a full data package of the makeup and operating parameters would be appreciated!
Thank you!

Sheldon Beckham
S.J. Beckham Distributors

Jamie Says:

March 13th, 2008 at 11:06 pm

Steve and Ray,
Obviously you’ve never worked with alternators and dynamos before. It takes ALOT of torque to energize these devices. That is why that gas gernator that you mention has a 8 to15 hp engine. It’s also why wind turbines are so large. It’s the reason why the mini wind turbines and handcranked dynamos only put out 5 to 12V and less than 2 amps. The altnernator from the gas generator that you mention would have to be stepped down so many times and become very inefficient. As far as the price goes. Take it from someone who has made several wind turbines and a gas generator from an old discarded lawnmower, R &D takes a very long time and costs REAL money. Economies of scale is the only thing that will help renewable energy become more mainstream. You can help by buying as much as you can comfortably afford to lower production costs per unit and show these new start ups and the free market as a whole that there IS a market for thier products.

screamingservers Says:

March 16th, 2008 at 3:18 pm

The free market startup cannot sell $16k products that produce $5k energy over 10 years. No one will buy them. I could sell 1000s in just my mid sized city Wichita, KS if it has a 3 year roi. Make it cheap or give up. If you do not have the financial backing for mass production, or the ingenuity to cut costs, go work for someone who does or keep this as a hobby.

whodoes Says:

March 22nd, 2008 at 1:16 pm

In response to the worn out and road weary “return on investment” argument, i say… HOGWASH ! POPPYCOCK ! and… hmmmmm ,… BALDERDASH! This argument completely ignores how markets and consumers actually function. This is similar to claiming that I wont buy locally grown produce until I can get it for a comparable price. WRONG, I’ll buy it now.I’ll pay more for a product that tastes much like the imported stuff from walmart’s grocery. Ill do it happily and regularly and as many other locals do the same I’ve noticed that there is a growing selection and increased availability. It is well understood that the “overpriced” (yet somehow still purchased) runway/fashion magazine apparel of today will be the source material for the mass produced, and almost universally affordable, walmart / J.C.Pennys merchandise of tomorrow. This holds true for the P.C. gamer who will pay twice as much for a video card which is only 20% better or tenfold as much for a sports car which is only twice as fast. First adopters are those willing to pay a premium beyond that of your average consumer ( lets go WAY back and remember the iPhone <–sarcasm.) . These early adopters help encourage and kick start the mass production which allows the average consumer to benefit.I’m willing to pay extra for the option to have recycling service for my household waste rather than insisting that it “pay for itself” before I opt in. I’m willing to pay the “first adopter” premium for green technologies that allow me to step outside the cycles of pollution and dependency on foreign energy.
sorry for the length… happy day to you all !

tieole Says:

April 27th, 2008 at 4:46 pm

What a piece of crap. Savonius machines have been around for centuries, but they are not as efficient as horizontal wind turbines. Ask yourself why large wind turbine manufacturers with large engineering offices don’t build these, because they are not sound designs. A machine built by losers for losers - can capture the wind from all directions, defies the betz law. I think you all need to go back and take a look at your high school physics courses.