Recently, I wrote about the low-profile Aerotecture wind turbines, which are designed to be installed on the rooftops of city buildings. Now I’ve heard of another rooftop wind turbine under development. It’s called the Helyx Wind Generator, and it’s composed of two twisted wings of fiberglass that rotate around a vertical axis. The turbine is also colored bright green, which I find quite appealing for some reason. It was invented by Toby Kinkaid in Portland, Oregon, and Kinkaid says the turbine is especially designed to take advantage of low wind speeds. You can see the turbine in action in these videos:
The 40-inch tall turbines will soon be tested on the rooftops of several buildings at Portland State University, with the help of faculty and students. The aim of the project is to see if the turbines will adequately harvest energy in an urban environment.
These test turbines will power 40-watt generators and send out data over a wireless computer network telling researchers how efficient the devices are and whether they have a place in Portland State’s active sustainable energy program. Students and faculty members will measure the output of the generators at various places on the roofs, finding just the perfect windy spots for them.
Kinkaid estimates the devices can be mass produced for $1.50 per watt, meaning a 40-watt machine would cost $60, excluding installation. He said the prototypes cost about $200 each because they’re made one at a time, by hand.
Toby Kinkaid’s company is Oregon Wind.
For more information see these articles: Newhouse News Service and The Bee News
Found via: Earth Times
12 responses so far ↓
1 Plain Jane // May 2, 2007 at 3:22 pm
This is terrific!
2 Terry // May 3, 2007 at 11:29 am
Looks like a rip off of the picoturbine at http://www.picoturbine.com Nothing new here.
3 Toby Kinkaid // May 13, 2007 at 11:45 am
I’ve been awarded a Patent from the US Patent Office for my Helyx Wind Turbine Technology because it is new and unique. You can’t imagine how much work went into this, and how many details are involved. I suggest you do your homework before you make such casual comments.
4 john // May 20, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Why is a helix shape used? Is that to get more uniform torque? Wouldn’t that shape make it less effective? I would think it would tend to direct the wind upward lowering the affect of the wind hitting the upper part of the turbine. Has this been wind tunnel tested, simulated, or compared to a more straightened version?
5 Jared // May 21, 2007 at 1:00 am
How is this different than the helical design that has been manufactured for 25 years by Windside (www.windside.com)? Also, did a search of the USPTO website, and can’t find the patent under your name…
6 Toby Kinkaid // May 23, 2007 at 1:26 pm
The devil is in the details. The information you’re asking for is confidential. In the 3QR’07 the HelyxTM will be available for purchase, I invite you to test the unit yourself. The Hx40 will be for 12 volt battery charging systems and will cost less than a PV panel of the same power rating. We’ll have brackets for Marine, RV, and pole deployment.
7 ed // May 28, 2007 at 8:11 pm
what will the hx40 cost?
8 ed // Aug 30, 2007 at 11:36 am
There are dozens of variations of this design that are currently in development. And as for confidential information, this is wind energy! The designs are impossible to patent protect and prevent others from using. (Companies will never be able to produce these for less than what the average home owner can build them for). The age of patents and confidential information is long gone.
9 kasia // Aug 30, 2007 at 11:39 am
These guys already have one working:
http://www.aerotecture.com/
10 kasia // Aug 30, 2007 at 11:55 am
These guys perfected the spiral design years ago and they also will email you construction details or you can buy it.
http://mariahpower.com/
11 Chin Fee Liew // Jan 23, 2008 at 11:37 pm
May I know this will work at low wind speed? Maybe 4 ~ 8 mph.
12 Robert Smith // May 20, 2008 at 2:33 am
Whats the latest news on the availability of the turbine?
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