Wind Turbine In A Box...Clean Energy For EveryMan...
The headlines are pretty easy to dream up for this story. Plans were
announced in June by E-Net, LLC, a technology development company has
come to an agreement with electronics manufacturer EarthTronics to be
release a small wind turbine for sale at home improvement stores for
less than $2,000. Homeowners will be able to use the 36" turbine to
provide up to 20 percent of their electricity, according to the company.
The unit was developed by Grand Valley State University through its
Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center.
EarthTronics envisions selling hundreds of thousands of the highly
simplified turbine units to homeowners who want to do the right thing
for the planet and save money by producing some of their own clean
power.
The units, which will need to be installed by a licensed electrician,
will produce about 200 watts at full output and will begin producing
power in a breeze as light as 3 mph. This is a great deal more
efficient than the majority of current units, which require at least 8
mph of wind to begin producing electricity. The cost and performance
efficiencies are due to the use of carbon fiber construction and
gearless drive design.
While the development is intriguing and the wide-spread proliferation
of affordable small wind turbines across the nation is great news, the
small size of the E-Net / EarthTronics unit may make the practical
application somewhat limited. The typical homeowner would be better
served putting money into simple conservation measures than in a $2,000
wind turbine. It's perfectly conceivable that an average home in the
United States which has not had a focused conservation effort, probably
uses more than 200 watts in phantom loads.
Of course, a combination
of conservation and a small renewable energy project investment would
have the greatest benefit for both the homeowner and the environment.
Skystream 3.7 Wind Turbine
The
Bottom Line on the $2,000 Wind Turbine In a Box
Kudos to EartTronics, Grand Valley State University, and E-Net for
innovative thinking and design. This type of risk taking and
development will be central to improving our global warming and foreign
oil dependence problems.
For the green small business owner, it might be helpful to remember
that buyers of these small wind units will need assistance in
installation site selection, physical installation, and tying into a
home's electrical power system. There is also the largely unserved
niche of home electrical efficiency consulting.
