Tag Archives: turbines

Shine Turbine is one compact and portable wind energy generator

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Wind turbines are slowly becoming a more important part of the energy industry. They are being designed and deployed in more countries in different ways. Some will say the more significant in size, the better, but it’s not always the case.

The Shine Turbine may be small, but it is good enough to power your mobile devices. It is the best way to juice up your small gadgets like smartphones, tablets, cameras, or lights. You can bring it anywhere, especially when you plan on having outdoor adventures.

Designers: Cat Adalay and Rachel Carr

Shine Turbine

Aurea is a company based in Canada headed by two ladies: mechanical engineer Cat Adalay and designer Rachel Carr. They designed this portable wind turbine that can self-charge its internal battery, which is enough for small gadgets. However, what makes the Shine Turbine a possible bestseller is the fact that it can be fast in storing and generating electricity. Even in extreme weather conditions, it can generate energy. However, it’s small that it can collapse into an average size of a 1ML water battle.

Shine Turbine

Shine+Turbine+Home+Hero

Area’s founder Adalay said it’s a “wind power that fits in your backpack”. She noted that wind is the second biggest clean energy producer, but it’s not that accessible. The Shine Turbine is designed to address several problems faced especially by outdoor enthusiasts. Adalay’s team developed a wind power product that allows everyone to produce clean energy for their own personal use.

Shine Turbine

It’s a wind turbine, so it obviously needs the wind. This means it’s ideal to use, especially during windy days, whether night or day or even when raining. It is set on a tripod and features its own 5V 12,000mAh battery. The device itself is 40-watts and weighs three pounds only.

Shine Turbine

The Shine Turbine can charge most mobile devices via USB. However, we imagine it can be used more for smartphones. It can be helpful as it only needs 20 minutes to juice up a phone. The crowdfunded project has been a success, with more than $400,000 in pledges.

Shine Turbine

This lightweight and compact wind turbine can fit your backpack. It mainly uses wind to charge gadgets on the go. The mount and blades are collapsible and can collapse into a smaller housing. You can say it looks like a blimp —a small one that kids may think it’s a toy. But it’s not a toy, so make sure kids don’t go near one because of the blades.

Shine Turbine

Shine Turbine Compact

Shine Turbine Tech

Shine Turbine

The post Shine Turbine is one compact and portable wind energy generator first appeared on Yanko Design.

James Dyson Award winner O-Wind turbine can generate electricity even under cross-winds

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The wind is one of the planet’s renewable sources of power, but its inconsistency and almost whimsical nature make it almost unreliable. Unlike solar panels that don’t mind where the sun is coming from, wind turbines are actually dependent on where the wind blows. Fortunately, a pair of engineers may have figured out a way to harness the power of the wind, even chaotic ones, while living plenty of room to spare in cramped urban neighborhoods.

Designers: Nicolas Orellana Olguin and Yaseen Noorani

Wind turbines unsurprisingly conjure up images of large blades spinning to generate an alternative source of electricity to fossil fuel. These behemoths were initially at the literal mercy of the winds, useful only when it comes from a certain direction. More advanced turbines can now change which direction they’re facing, but that doesn’t account for times when winds blow in almost all directions or change every second.

Two students from Lancaster University figured out a way to harness the full power of the wind without missing a bit, no matter which way the wind blows. Their first prototype was a wind rover inspired by the design of alveolar kites. It was a relative success, and the rover would roll forward in a single direction, regardless of which direction the wind was coming from. Of course, a turbine can’t be mobile, so they upgraded it to become an omnidirectional wind turbine or O-Wind for short.

The O-Wind is more spherical in shape, actually more like a polyhedron than a ball. It has vents facing in different directions to accept wind coming from different directions. However, thanks to the unique shape and design of those vents, the turbine still spins on just a single axis, similar to a conventional turbine. That, in turn, means that it can be used just like a typical wind turbine to generate electricity.

The designers made the O-Wind for use in urban settings where conventional turbines are too large and too complicated for such cramped spaces. Rather than spinning in the direction of the wind, rotating on a single axis makes the design simpler and requires less maintenance in the long run. In addition, the omnidirectional wind turbine’s compact and almost spherical form means that even apartment dwellers can have one outside their window, generating green power even on the most chaotic of windy days.

The post James Dyson Award winner O-Wind turbine can generate electricity even under cross-winds first appeared on Yanko Design.

This wind-powered bicycle light is set to transform the way we utilize sustainable, reusable energy!

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Designed to be the world’s first wind-powered bicycle light, Vento was created to reinvent the ways we use and produce energy.

In recent years, we’ve had our sights set on renewable energy sources. From tidal turbines that can generate electricity for thousands of homes to small-scale green roofs that host solar panels to power up bus stops, renewable energy is the future and designers are taking note. Aimed to be the world’s first bicycle light to use wind energy for power, Vento from student designer Andy Bestenheider is currently in its prototyping phase, gearing up for a working model by the end of summer 2021.

Inspired by his desire “to reinvent the ways we use and produce energy,” on small-scale levels, Vento is not merely a bicycle light, as Bestenheider describes, but “a power plant, a way to question energy consumption, and an object to connect like-minded individuals. Vento is a mindset.” Composed of four main components, Vento is like a miniature wind turbine. Constructed from recycled plexiglass and aluminum, Vento’s microturbine harvests wind energy while the bicycle is in motion. Then, the energy is converted into electricity through electromagnetic induction that takes place in the turbine’s generator. The bicycle light’s battery then stores this energy and the LED bulb generates light. While moving in your bike, the wind is always whipping past you, so the light will always work when needed. Positioned conveniently right between the handlebars, Vento also features on/off and blinking switches for day use.

Following some sketching and multiple ideations, Bestenheider then moved onto 3D-print modeling before working towards a final working prototype.

In close collaboration with a fellow engineering student, Bestenheider conducted interviews with cyclists and friends to understand the feasibility of Vento. After finalizing a 3D-printed model, Bestenheider and his engineer friend worked together to strike a balance between efficiency, cost, and durability, reaching a final product that equips the light with a working circuit with a twice as large turbine. Built to be entirely self-sufficient, Vento was designed to start the conversation around renewable energy sourcing.

Designer: Andy Bestenheider

Six innovative wind turbine designs

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By Cat DiStasio The International Energy Association (IEA) announced last week that renewable energy capacity around the globe has eclipsed coal power for the first time ever. Wind power makes up a large percentage of global renewable energy, and wi...

Toshiba Isn’t Happy about US Jury Verdict in Class-Action LCD Price-Fixing Suit

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Toshiba has issued a statement regarding the jury verdict in a case in the United States against it and other companies for LCD price-fixing. Toshiba announced earlier this week that a jury in the...

Study says wind turbines raise surrounding area temperature, but only at night

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Study says wind turbines raise surrounding area temperature, but only at night

Who said the butterfly effect couldn't apply to renewable energy? Though wind farms are considered pretty green on the energy-generating spectrum, it looks like they, too, have an impact on the planet. According to a study published today in the journal Nature Climate Change, turbines can raise the local temperature -- albeit slightly. From 2003 to 2011, researchers monitored satellite data for west-central Texas, which is home to 2,350-plus turbines and four of the world's largest wind farms. In that decade, scientists observed a temperature increase of 0.72 degrees in wind farm regions compared to areas without turbines. That warming trend was especially marked at night, when the temperature difference between the ground and the air is highest. The temperature increase was also higher in winter; researchers say that these cooler, windier conditions cause turbines to generate more electricity and therefore create more heat. Since the study didn't find any change in daytime temperatures, it looks like we don't have to ring the global warming alarm just yet.

Study says wind turbines raise surrounding area temperature, but only at night originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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