The Fuller Wind Turbine: A New Bladeless Roof Top Micro-Wind Turbine
Green Futures, 6 Aug 10
by Andrew Purvis
Critics of wildlife-unfriendly wind turbines have quietened down since the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds installed one on its flagship visitor center and applauded the 175-piece London Array (see 'Bird Spotters Convert to Wind Power'). Now, a new technical development could just silence them altogether.
Solar Aero Research, New Hampshire, has patented a bladeless wind turbine with a mesh-covered air inlet, which poses no danger to bats and birds. Nor will it disrupt radar used by air traffic controllers and the military.
The Fuller Wind Turbine, developed over four years with £215,000 of private investment, harnesses the viscosity of air passing over the rims of thin discs to generate energy. Designed with urban rooftops in mind, the entire housing swivels almost silently as it tracks the wind – the only visible motion.
“This enclosed turbine should produce significant power at half the life-cycle cost of the windmills,” says Howard Fuller, its inventor. The savings are due to the elimination of up-tower maintenance – to rebalance the blades of conventional wind turbines, for example.
A proof of concept model exists and a prototype is expected to generate 10kW, with production units ranging from 5 to 100kW. An insignificant amount, perhaps, compared to a 3MW windmill, but – argues Fuller – power generation can be scaled up by grouping arrays more densely, with blade clearance no longer a concern.
Nick Medic of Renewable UK (formerly the British Wind Energy Association) welcomed the innovation: “The fact that people are coming up with such a variety of solutions testifies to the vibrancy and viability of the wind energy market, and shows that there is a lot of potential”.
Whether the Fuller can boost micro-wind for the home remains to be seen. As Dale Vince of Ecotricity remarks, it’s “a huge challenge – nobody seems to have cracked it yet.”
Solar Aero is seeking tax-deductible grants to develop the technology further. Manufacture will be licensed to franchisees, and Fuller expects “many thousands” to be made.
This post originally appeared on Green Futures.
Editor's Note: For more on micro-wind see also:
- Micro-Wind for the Home - Jamais Cascio, 5 Jul 05
- Quietrevolution - Sarah Rich, 28 Apr 06
- Skystream Residential Wind Turbines: An Interview with Frank Greco - Sarah Rich, 6 Feb 07
- The Right Wind Turbine for You - Sarah Kuck, 19 Jul 08
- The Jellyfish, Plug-In Wind Power For Every Home - Sarah Kuck, 11 Feb 09
- Innovation Powers Growth of Small Wind on Urban Rooftops - Yale Environment 360, 12 Jul 10: The new WindTronics windmill is discussed among the recent innovations in micro-wind.
Very impressive guys! I’m amazed at what you guys are doing.
When it will be in production?
Posted by: Shlomo Sham on 7 Aug 10
OH man, I want one right now. I'm getting tired of waiting for all the cool new alternative power stuff to come out.
Posted by: Don Julio Pheromones on 7 Aug 10
Pardon me for being a skeptic, but all I see is a sheet metal box with a rather small intake and a bit of mumbo-jumbo (with invocations to Tesla and the US patent office)
I would like to see the inner workings (which, I believe, should be available as part of the patent description.)
I've had a quick look online, but haven't turned up much beyond what is stated here. Until I do, I'm reserving judgment.
Posted by: Tony Fisk on 8 Aug 10
Another skeptic here. Presumably the laws of nature remain unchanged. I don't doubt that it can rotate in a strong wind but it looks far less efficient than a conventional turbine.
Posted by: Nick Grant on 9 Aug 10
Please note that comments will remain open for only 14 days after the article is posted. While previous comments will remain visible, attempts to post new comments after this period will fail. This helps stop comment spam, so your forebearance is appreciated.
The Worldchanging comments are meant to be used for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in our posts. Please note that, while constructive disagreement is fine, insults and abuse are not, and will result in the comment being deleted and a likely ban from commenting. We will also delete at will and without warning comments we believe are designed to disrupt a conversation rather than contribute to it. In short, we'll kill troll posts.
Finally, please note that comments which simply repost copyrighted works or commercial messages will be summarily deleted.
