http://www.househacker.com/ househacker/tags/wind previously). Essentially, Paul deems this device everything but a dream:

Ok, let's take another approach. Mag-Wind says its wind turbine will produce 5 kW at a rated speed of 28 mph (12.5 m/s). To produce that much power at that wind speed it would need to be 281% efficient! Yee ha. That's some windmill. Modern wind turbines, at best, can deliver 40% of the energy in the wind at any specific wind speed. This turbine has a specific rotor loading of 3,360 W/m² of rotor area. Let's compare that to the over rated AirX. The AirX is somewhat smaller so we won't compare actual production, just rotor loading. Remember, the AirX doesn't even deliver what is promised. The specific rotor load for the AirX is about 400 W/m². The Mag-Wind claims to produce from its rotor almost ten times more power than the AirX which can't even meet its performance claims. Ouch. I've never seen such outlandish claims before-and I've seen a lot of them.

Link: Wind-Works.org

Via TreeHugger]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Update-on-the-MagWind-Levitated-Vertical-Wind-Turbine here.

From the site:

The Chispito Wind Generator is a 100W machine. It outputs 14volts at 280 rpm, so it starts putting power into your batteries in low wind speeds (7-10mph). It makes a perfect addition to an existing solar, or other alternative energy, home system. On its own, it will power lights, radio, and conservative use of appliances such as computer, satellite, blender, drill, etc.

It's interesting to see smaller companies attempting to build/improve wind power systems instead of waiting for some of the larger players in the industry to offer products at more affordable price points. Some of the offerings out there are more than a little pricey and would take many years to produce a postive ROI.

Via Digg]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/Make-Your-Own-Wind-Generator Update: please see this post for an update on the claims of this product. -Sean
If you can't tell by the picture, this is, of course, a "Magnetically-Levitated Axial Flux Alternator with Programmable Variable Coil Resistance, Vertical Axis Wind Turbine". It's called the Mag-Wind MW1100 and, thanks to some interesting technical maneuvering, promises 1100 kWh/month in a 13 mph average wind. The unit will cost around 3.5 cents/kW or, put another way, ROI will be reached in 3 years for someone with an average monthly electric bill of $300 - which sounds very high; a 6+ year ROI might be more realistic for home use. Nevertheless, the inventors claim the unit is cheaper than solar or horizontal wind turbines while requiring much less space to operate. The site's page on roof effect describes how the device can produce as much electricity as it does with such a small footprint:

So, how is it possible to make as much electricity as we do with only a 4-foot sweep? We use the roof of a house or other building to extend our reach and increase the volume of air reaching the sails of our VAWT. This gives us the effect of a larger surface area without actually having a larger vane. The great thing is that every house or other building also has a roof. The roof moves the wind, and that wind has a lot of energy.
The two major factors that determine how much energy is available are the vertical rise of the roof and the pitch, or angle, of the roof. The more rise there is, the more wind will hit it and be moved upward towards the VAWT. This is good. However, the steeper the roof is, the more wind energy will be lost in pressure against the roof and wind moving around the roof and the building as a whole. This is not so good.
A roof with a 10-foot vertical rise and a 30% angle will provide nearly a 200% increase in the amount of wind energy that is available to be turned into electricity. Compared to the same turbine just sitting on a pole, the roof effect increases the power yielded by operation of the wind turbine dramatically.

So, although it might be cost prohibitive for some (most), it might be worth looking into if you live in a fairly windy area, as the faster the average windspeed, the quicker it will be to see significant returns on your investment.

Via Greengeek.ca]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/MagWind-Magnetically-Levitated-Vertical-Wind-Turbine
Perhaps the most fascinating feature of this new design is the fact that it not only gathers energy from the push on the front side, but actually is pulled forward on the back side through a lift effect, similar to the principle that causes lift on a wing. "The back pressure creates a vortex that pulls it around, turning drag into lift," says Taylor.

The result is that the turbine spins just slightly faster than the wind speed -- 1/100ths faster on average, beginning with winds of about 5 miles per hour.

This facet is the "technology breakthrough" that makes it unique, according to Taylor.

Very cool.]]> http://www.househacker.com/permanent/New-Wind-Power-Design