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59 Comments
- cle2105, on 10/16/2008, -0/+18Sounds good to me. How do I get one installed on my roof?
- FlareHeart, on 10/16/2008, -1/+12I've seen pictures of these before. They are far more efficient than the fan style turbines because the wind can be coming from any direction and it will still work. I am really hoping that these become a commercially viable source of electricity.
- grantmoore3d, on 10/16/2008, -0/+9The video really should have given stats on how much it was generating for a given wind speed.
- FLUX, on 10/16/2008, -1/+7actually they are far less efficient than fan styles but you are correct that they offer the ability to work well in areas where the direction of the wind varies greatly and does so rapidly making fan style turbines ineffective
- jiqiren, on 10/16/2008, -0/+5I wish the soundtrack wasn't so loud. Would like to hear how bad the noise is. One reason we don't already see turbines on houses is the noise they make.
- Tcasey0478, on 10/16/2008, -0/+5I'm sure that these will be the future of wind power, and I can't wait to see them popping up in the US.
- lfrankow, on 10/16/2008, -0/+4Combine the turbine with some batteries and you could live almost entirely off the grid. Now all it takes is making it cost effective enough to implement.
Wind power? Yes, please. - cynicalcheeto, on 10/16/2008, -0/+4from helixwind.com:
Does the turbine make noise?
The Helix Wind turbines are nearly silent because they operate with tip speeds close to the wind velocity. This dynamic is similar to the wind blowing around any stationary object such as a tree or house. Conventional (horizontal) wind turbines spin at up to 10 times the wind speed which causes the whistling sound that can be heard around them. - FLUX, on 10/16/2008, -1/+5I wish they wood show the actual watt output of the unit not just a pretty vid of it whirling around
- IsoscelesCircle, on 10/16/2008, -0/+3You would not be able to hear the Helix Wind because of the noise of the wind tunnel that it is in, so in this case the music is irrelevant.
The Helix Wind spins at wind speed and as result it can be barely heard at all. The propeller driven turbines spin much faster and are traditionally the noisier types.
There are other videos of the Helix Wind in action where you can hear it running and it is surprisingly very silent. Also, unlike the large propeller designs, the flashing ground shadow of the Helix Wind is very small and is far less irritating. If you had this on your roof you would barely notice that it is there aside from the electrical savings. - Jams, on 10/16/2008, -0/+3Looks cool. Shame the music sucked so much on the video. It would be better without.
- fluxion, on 10/16/2008, -0/+3solar is the way to go....but high-winds generally mean cloud coverage, so solar may not be an effective replacement in those areas. so the 2 complement each other well. there's room for any manner of clean energy on the market today. we need everything we can get
- 2Bnor2B, on 10/16/2008, -0/+3With the current generation of grid tie systems. There is no reason why companies, homes and businesses can't have these on the roof. Grid tie systems allow the power to be directly dumped back into the grid, which the utilities have to buy back. Its just one small box which eliminates the needs for large battery banks.
This reminds me of all the small startup companies in the 70s. There were even rooftop solar panels on the white house. Unfortunately, when Reagen took office, all the companies went out of buisnbess when the supply of oil normalized and all the tax incentives were removed. I just hope American's recent enlightenment toward energy independence does not waver like it did in the past. If we had maintained our resolve in the 70's the world would be very different then it is today. - coryvb123, on 10/16/2008, -0/+3Gappy?
- cynicalcheeto, on 10/16/2008, -0/+3I have no idea what you mean by "gappy." Use your words, son.
- LowFuel, on 10/16/2008, -0/+3Sky Camo!
- cynicalcheeto, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2Being that one of the main arguments against wind power is "it looks ugly," this is a very good thing.
- GreenGrassyNoel, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2from helixwind.com: Does the turbine make noise?
The Helix Wind turbines are nearly silent because they operate with tip speeds close to the wind velocity. This dynamic is similar to the wind blowing around any stationary object such as a tree or house. Conventional (horizontal) wind turbines spin at up to 10 times the wind speed which causes the whistling sound that can be heard around them. - camiller, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2Skip to 1:30 in the vid, the first 1:30 is worthless.
I like how it assembles from relatively small sections, looks like it could be sold as a kit. - Altotus, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2Contemporary wind turbines make very little noise, generally less that the noise generated by the wind blowing across the adjacent terrain or past the pole the turbine's mounted on. The principal reason you don't see more of them is cost, value, zoning, and issues related to placement or size. There's a lot of factors that go into installing these things -- they can't just be plopped down anywhere, and they aren't very cheap.
- helixwind, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2Actually the Helix Wind turbines are available for purchase as of October 1st. Just fill out one of those 'applications' forms on the left hand side of our website in order to get the process started :)
- NOD32user, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2Soundtrack available for download here: http://www.vixy.net/
- ophello, on 10/17/2008, -0/+2its called "testing", smart ass. the thing will work in any windy environment.
- knowitall, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2That's cool. Was just talking to a dude yesterday about this design.
- helixwind, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2The Helix Wind turbines do have the same capabilities for battery ties, in fact it is an option when you purchase a turbine from us.
- themajor, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2by "storage of energy" do you mean batteries? If so, batteries can be used with a wind turbine as well.
- inactive, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2It's easy:
1. Remove Bottom Assembly from Base by loosening
screws (a) with hex key.
2. Place Vertical Assembly on Base (b). Make sure the
External Tube is loosely secured by lining up cut-out
with guide inside Base (c).
3. Use M12 screw and hex key to secure the Vertical
Assembly to the Base (d). Make sure the screw face is
flush with the underside of the Base
4. Tighten Screws (a) and Clamp Disk Screws (g) with
hex key to secure. - fluxion, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2it was pretty though. i almost want one on my roof purely for bling factor
- Zomgondo, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2Paint it sky blue and I'll take it!
- LowFuel, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2Sadly I think our enthusiasm for energy independence is directly proportional to oil prices.
- rif42, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2About your created/destroyed wind, even if we got all our electricity from wind turbines, it would still be a small fraction of actual winds.
Your point is like worrying that breaking in your car may cause the earth rotation to slow down.
PV solar energy is great but it is still much more expensive per MW than wind turbines. Most locations around Europe PV solar are not a cost effective option. Thermal solar power for house heating is a good investment for reducing the heating bill, but that is probably not what you are looking for. - rif42, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2Nonsense, from the HelixWind FAQ:
http://www.helixwind.com/en/faq.php#faq-65
Disadvantages of vertical wind turbines
* Most VAWTs [Vertiacal axis Wind Turbine] produce energy at only 50% of the efficiency of HAWTs [Horizontal axis (standard 3 blade) Wind Turbine] in large part because of the additional drag that they have as their blades rotate into the wind. This can be overcome by using structures to funnel more and align the wind into the rotor (e.g. "stators") or the "vortex" effect of placing straight bladed VAWTs closely together.
Note that if you have to add the funnel you also have to add the complexity of turning the funnel according to wind direction. This also makes the whole turbine more expensive.
The helix system is only for tiny installations 1KW-2KW, that is 1000 times smaller than standard wind turbines. - DiScDuCe, on 10/16/2008, -0/+2The music was produced by Chad Benton.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1193824/ - inquebiss, on 10/16/2008, -2/+3i want the soundtrack to the video
- Mutiny32, on 10/17/2008, -0/+1That picture looks like there's one near Union Hill or Southwest Boulevard in KC. Maybe I'll go check it out next time I'm downtown.
- inactive, on 10/16/2008, -1/+2before this can go residential. we need to know how loud it is. and im not sure if multibillion dollar buildings would want to ruin their aesthetic integrity just to save a few bucks.
- themastersb, on 10/16/2008, -1/+2you missed the chance to type "FIRST!"
- greatgazoo, on 10/16/2008, -0/+1Inspired by Watson and Crick.
- rif42, on 10/16/2008, -0/+1Yes that info would be interesting.
On the Helixwind site in the FAQ it says they sell two models rated too 1KW and 2KW.
http://www.helixwind.com/en/faq.php#faq-63
That is a factor 1000 smaller than the typical wind turbine installed in the country side (on-shore). Off-shore wind turbines are even bigger 2.5MW to 5MW.
That does not mean that the helix system is without merit, but this is tiny systems only meant for one family. Other usage could be as generator for mobile phone masts or relays, or remote meteorological equipment. - GeorgeStone2, on 10/16/2008, -0/+1I was thinking that too. A running MPH speed in the corner or something.
- Matricul8tr, on 10/19/2008, -0/+1Please don't Digg me down for this but, I doubt the helix blade design in itself can be patented.There's nothing special about that design, people been hanging helical bamboo mobiles in their gardens forever (and bamboo sticks are modular). I personally have a patent pending on that exact design for a hydroponics station (modular), hope there's no conflict, but if there is, I hope I get precedence...or support. :D)
- greenfalcon69, on 10/26/2008, -0/+1What a cool design - makes the traditional towers look outright ugly!
- DiScDuCe, on 10/23/2008, -0/+1Wind changes direction constantly and quickly. If you want to capture the most wind and turn it into usable energy then you would be more likely to use a vertical access wind turbine (VAWT). Some horizontal solution do change direction with the wind but do so extremely slowly and can't move fast enough to account for quickly fluctuating winds.
- ophello, on 10/22/2008, -0/+1data isnt necessary, its ***** common sense, retard.
- helixwind, on 10/16/2008, -0/+1Sorry for the confusion but those numbers were based on an older model turbine. Please take a look at that FAQ again as we have updated it.
http://www.helixwind.com/en/faq.php#faq-63 - Wisgary, on 10/18/2008, -0/+1I thought this was a new 3dmark or something.
- EhBlueDuck, on 10/17/2008, -0/+1hmm....I swear I remember hearing something like that about burning fossil fuels...
and btw I never said I knew ANYTHING about physics, but thank you so much for your valuable lesson with no data/sources/information of any kind. Post links to some of the experiments you've conducted or data you have to support your position? - themajor, on 10/16/2008, -0/+1unfortunately, that reduced speed also hurts the output.
- ophello, on 10/17/2008, -1/+1Why cant we make a horizontal wind turbine that points to face the oncoming wind?
SOLVED. -
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