A revolutionary new design for personal wind turbines wins top prize at the BSI Sustainability Design Awards .

Ben Storan, a student graduating with an MA in Industrial Design Engineering from the Royal College of Art (RCA), has been working for the past year in conjunction with Imperial College to design an affordable personal wind turbine suited to the urban environment.

The result is a unique design which uses vertical, rather than traditional horizontal, rotation.  This feature gives a slower rotational speed, which allows the turbine to capture more energy from turbulent air flow, common to urban environments.  It also means quieter operation.

As a result, it is able to generate more energy than domestic models currently on the market.  Similarly sized existing personal wind turbines claim to generate 1kW at a wind speed of 12 m/s, but typically produce just 40% of what is claimed.  Ben?s design should realistically produce 3 times that (1.2kW) of those currently on the market.

The clever vertical rotation design uses lightweight materials, which means Ben?s turbine is more stable than other personal turbines leading to better energy capture and making it is easier to install.

Speaking of winning the award and ?3,000 first prize, Ben says ?I?m delighted to win such a prestigious award.  Growing up in the windy west of Ireland I?ve always been acutely aware of the huge potential in harnessing such a free, clean and renewable source of energy which, along with a spinning clothes line, gave me the idea in the first place.?

Whilst still at the early stages of development, Ben hopes that his design will be in production in the not too distant future.

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Comments (4) >>

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luis said:

Great post! If the economics don't work, recycling efforts won't either. As our little contribution to make this economics of recycling more appealing,http://LivePaths.com blogs about people and companies that make money selling recycled or reused items, provide green services or help us reduce our dependency on non renewable resources.

August 24, 2007

ecobob said:

In the UK, local councils and local panning rules are not supportive of households wanting to install small scale energy generation sistems such as wind turbines and solar panels - come-on wake up and smell the coffee - it is about time that planning departments ease small scale renewables.

September 07, 2007

TobG said:

How do I get one? Is it worth the money? What is the output? Anyone know the answers to my Qs?

September 07, 2007

alvinwriter said:

I remember a time when wind turbines were just a curiosity and a favorite of directors as a backdrop for movie scenes. Now, it seems to be getting as much attention as solar panels. With this new development, wind turbines could not be used in less open environments. Still, it would be good to have a "grove" of them generate more than enough electricity for the needs of a small town or city. As the technology behind them improves, wind turbines may become a major source of electricity for many nations. Denmark banks on offshore wind power for 'clean' future: http://www.thenewsroom.com/details/287619?c_id=wom-bc-ar Award-winning Skystream 3.7 Backyard Wind Turbine Now Eligible for State of California's Renewable Energy Rebate: http://www.thenewsroom.com/details/746453?c_id=wom-bc-ar - Alvin from TheScienceDesk at the Voxant Newsroom

September 29, 2007

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