New Darrieus Wind turbine
Mariah Power of Reno Nevada has introduced a new wind generator called the Windspire. Standing at only 30 foot and with a footprint of 2 foot in diameter, makes this wind generator an attractive option for those living in a more confined area. The big plus for me is it doesn’t take a crane to put the Windspire up nor does it require guide wires. The Windspire is hinged so you can assemble it on the ground then raised with the use of a hand winch.
The Windspire design is not new. It is referred to as a “Giromill or Darrieus” Wind turbine and was first used by the Egyptians to grind wheat. When it comes to looks though, the Windspire is a far more attractive Darrieus turbine then most. In fact, I think it is quite attractive.
Darrieus Turbines come in a few varieties. Some have rotors with curved blades that look like an eggbeater and rotate about a vertical axis. Another variation uses straight-sided blades (airfoils) and is called a Giromill. Darrieus turbines, as with all vertical axis turbines, do not need to orient themselves with the changing wind directions and they readily capture wind energy from any direction.
Like propeller turbines, Darrieus turbines utilize lift to capture wind energy. Darrieus turbines operate with tip speed ratios in the middle range: their tips spin slower than propellers but faster than Savonius designs. Mariah Power has used extensive engineering to find the optimal airfoil configuration, one which circumvents self-starting problems that are associated with Giromill turbines. Thus, unlike most Giromill turbines, the Windspire does not need to be started with a motor or drag device in order to start capturing energy. Windspire is also unique in its tall slender style, which is more aesthetic and provides a smaller footprint than other Giromills, making it appropriate for a variety of settings.
As for power output, the Windspire is rated at 1.2 Kw. with an annual production of 2000 Kwh. I have not seen a cost as of yet, but the Mariah Power says the unit comes in under the cost of other units in its rating category. Pay back time is estimated at 10 years and if you take the US Federal Government 30% tax write-off, it makes this unit price quite attractive. The Windspire also comes with a WiFi monitor (I love the techie stuff) to monitor power production from your computer. I wish more manufacturers of RE equipment would incorporate wireless monitoring.
Mariah Power website: http://www.mariahpower.com/technology.html
Comments
2 Comments on New Darrieus Wind turbine
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Sustainability guide Climatarians on
Sun, 19th Jul 2009 5:23 am
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Brother Donald Paul on
Sat, 17th Jul 2010 11:02 am
Hi, that’s great news. Many of us are mostly familiar only with windmills with large fanlike blades. These are enormous and would probably need a lot of land area and equipment to be installed. Whereas the Darrieus wind turbine looks so small and trendy, I guess to could be installed in almost any home. An extremely positive development.
Thanks for the information.
Joost Hoogstrate
We paid $14,000.00 for two of these contraptions in May of 2009. Sixteen months later, the largest amount of electricity we generated was .80 cents a month. You read that correctly, EIGHTY CENTS a month. As early as three months after the install, the company acknowledged that the turbines and inverters were “defective” (their words, not mine) and offered replacements “when available”. A year and dozens of empty promises later, our Windspires are still not replaced. The corporation talks a good game but is unable and/or unwilling to deliver. This has truned into a sad and disappointing, not to mention very expensive experience. We would advise anyone considering small scale windpower to look elsewhere. Caveat emptor!
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