Aeroturbine free energy or a cost disaster

Aeroturbine by Aerotecture are being called the future of urban wind energy. Despite of this positive reputation of Aeroturbine many are arguing that the asking price by Aerotecture is a too high. Assuming that one could get 5 KWH per day out of the 1KW 510V model of Aeroturbine and assuming that the value of the KWH is $0.12/KWH, yearly income equivalent would be;

365days/yr x 5KWH/day x $0.12/KWH = $219/year
Therefore payback time in years would be
$15,000/($219/yr) = 68.5 years

Even if you could get 10 kWH per day (which is doubtful because where are you going to have wind blowing at 30mph 10 hours/day), the payback for Aeroturbine would still be about 35 years. However, Bill Becker’s Aeroturbine its self would probably breakdown long before that.

Being a strong supporter of green energy, the cost of Aeroturbine does not disturb me, but Aerotecture should consider a more sensible pricing for Aeroturbine as green technology should be consumer friendly and so that its implementation can be wide spread. Aeroturbine its self is not an expansive set of equipment, in fact it’s simple and cheaper in terms of manicuring compared to the regular wind turbines. Aeroturbine is a light weight easy to install low thought regular yield equipment that should be sold in bulks on more retail grounds.

Aeroturbine by Aerotecture

Aeroturbine was developed by Chicago-based Aerotecture International in 2007 and is a remarkable design in the field of renewable energy. Aeroturbine is known for its innovative design that is perfect for urban wind power generation. The turbines of Aeroturbine are designed for rooftop installation on either commercial or multi-family residences that have access to strong winds. Aerotecture started selling the commercial prototypes of Aeroturbine in late 2007.
Aeroturbine’s design has the interesting aspect of both a vertical prototype for multi-directional wind locations, and a horizontal version for locations with a steady primary wind direction. Aeroturbine has been designed to operate at slow speeds, with little noise and maintenance. The reflective finish and slow turning speed of Aeroturbine reduced the risk to birds and wildlife. A 510V Aeroturbine produces an estimated 1kW of power in 30 mph winds with the 520H produces an estimated 1.8kW from similar wind speeds. Each Aeroturbine is custom fitted to the architecture of the building with a ballpark cost for the 510V of $15,000 and the 520H of $21,000. As Aeroturbine is easy to move and install it can be easily considered as the next generation of wind energy, for our ever urbanizing world.
Potential installation locations for Aeroturbine needs to be 40 feet above ground, unobstructed by trees or other structures, with wind speeds averaging over 10mph. Many are arguing that the asking price is a too high for the Aeroturbine, but tend to forget that the payback time might be too long for Aeroturbine, but is still less then the cost we are and will be paying with our ever increasing carbon foot print.

Aeroturbine Next Generation Wind Energy.

Aero turbines can be easily considered as the next generation of small-scale wind energy generation. As most of us are aware that installing a windmill on individual basis is not preferable because of both, cost and production efficiency, and that’s why till now wind energy was limited to windy regions all over the world, other factors like noise pollution and dangers of bird killing made windmills non popular amongst many for the past 2 decades. But all this is about to change with the invention of Double-helix wind turbine, more commonly known as aero turbines. This invention of DR. Bill Becker of university Illinois & Chicago is down to earth and simple when it comes to design but the approach to harvest the wind energy is very efficient and cost effective. The propellers of these aero turbines look more like an electric beater then a blade, because these wind turbines are absolutely silent and not very large they can be easily placed on rooftops and fixed on windy edges of high raised buildings. Aero turbines are caged in a pipe frame are light in weight, and slow moving wind energy generators so they do not propose any threat to wildlife, and work fine in heavy snow fall. Hence special zoning, code exemptions or high insurance rates are not required for installing these wind machines. With two different types of propellers infused in the same structure aero turbines are efficient starters and efficient producers, at the same time. The inner savonius wind blades are efficient starters, with low production rate and start working in wind speed as low as 6mph, no matter if the wind is gusting and irregular or non directional, while the outer darius wind blades start working in high winds, though these blades are poor starter but efficient producers, and can continue to generate electricity up to 70 mph., yet there unique design prevents them from a run away in high winds. Aerotecture International has developed two models, 510V AND 520H with a production capacity of 1kw and 1.8kw respectively. The cost of these aero turbines is $15,000 for the 510V and $21,000 for 520H, which is quite high but is expected to reduce with mass production, but the simplicity of the design has actually made it possible for many to attempt and make one for personal use. Once the technology hits China, the cost should drop to as low as $ 1500 to $ 2000 a unit or may be even lower which is not bad for such a low maintenance windturbine. It wont be a surprise to find these wind machines installed under the bridges or on the roof tops of urban sky scrapers, maybe railway stations or highways to full fill the never ending energy needs.