NL Architects based in Amsterdam have designed an attractive and effective wind turbine for use in urban areas. The so called Power Flowers - or Urban Windmills - are the result of investigation in the sculptural potential of wind energy.
According to the architects, until recently focus was on turbines with 3 blades which are currently the most successful producers of wind energy. In order to be fully effective and neutralize the effects of turbulence, the spacing of these windmills needs to be 5 times the rotor diameter, so the main concern was to find ways of optimizing space consumption. Also, the 3 blade turbines are noisy and therefore placed relatively far from where the energy is needed, requiring heavy duty infrastructure.
With the emergence of smart grids it becomes feasible to design smaller units that may be less effective but are also less obtrusive. NL Architects found inspiration from a vertical axis wind turbine called Eddy, manufactured by Urban Green Energy.
Eddy is a wind turbine that is strong, affordable and silent and because of the vertical axis design Eddy can produce energy with wind from any direction and can also be mounted virtually anywhere. The wind turbine can be assembled in under an hour and has a maximum safe wind speed of 120mph (55 m/s) and a 20 year lifetime. The Eddy can also connect into a solar powered system so that homes can make use of both wind and sun to provide power.
Using the Eddy in various formations results in Power Flowers - wind harvesting in attractive designs. Although these devices have a lower height than 3 blade turbines and therefore produce less power, the noise level is low and the blades do not need to be angled to the wind direction. The main advantage is that energy is produced right where it is consumed.
These Power Flowers would be ideas for use in parks, along roadways, next to railway stations, in gardens and parking lots to provide power for signs, lights and many other urban requirements.
Credit and images: NL Architects
For more read : Energy Harvesting and Storage for Electronic Devices 2010-2020
