PowerSwitch

So why is this idea bonkers?

http://vortexbladeless.com/home.php

http://grist.org/news/this-wind-turbine ... ts-better/

biffvernon wrote:So why is this idea bonkers?

I don't know, so why is this idea bonkers?

I have no idea if it will work efficiently or be cost effective, but the basic concept is sound enough.

The idea is to be cheaper and have a lower visual and noise impact than a conventional turbine, using an oscillating or flapping mast (it flaps for the same reason flags flap) to power an induction coil to generate electricity.

It is less efficient overall at extracting energy from the wind, and I suspect it will generate a fair amount of heat which will need to be dissipated.

I can imagine NIMBYs taking one look at a wobbly mast and immediately calling it even more of an eyesore and source of mysterious disease than a turbine.

It may not work, but it might be a revolutionary design. Worth a punt, probably better odds than a lottery ticket.


techy bit

http://vortexbladeless.com/blog.php

the only photo I can find

http://vortexbladeless.com/gestor/uploa ... 366271.jpg

I can't see this scaling to the multi-megawatt scale. More an on-shore option where visual impact is a problem.

Superficially I would not invest. I would be interested to use my own multimeter on the outputs from a system. Not really sufficiently interested as to pay any substantial travel costs, however.

Sorry to hear about your election result John. You, unlike many of your former colleagues, were doing a lot of good work.

Though on the bright side, John may have more time to post on PowerSwitch.