Nov 30 2010
Ace Hardware will offer the Honywell-branded Windtronics wind turbines in its stores. The Windtronics turbine is different from the traditional windmill, which produces power in the fins’ center and makes more noise and vibration. The conventional windmill models are heavy in size and thus need extra structural bracing, which in turn increases the difficulty in retrofits.
The Windtronics turbine has energy-producing magnets at the edges of the blades. This design increases the speed of the blades at the edges, which in turn provides more power production and needs less wind to commence production. The turbine begins producing energy from 2 mph speed and carries on up to 45 mph speed at which the energy is sidetracked to a brake system, which controls the turbine. The system, which includes mounting hardware, can handle a wind speed of up to 140 mph.
The Windtronics turbine comes with a weight of 185 pounds and a height of six feet. The system can be installed on the rooftop of a building by using a roof cap alone. The recommended minimum height of installation is 33 feet and the system should be placed in an undisturbed location to generate maximum power.
The Windtronics turbine can generate as high as 1,500 kWh every year as per the results of the wind tunnel test carried out by the Department of Energy. The energy production is equivalent to 15 to 20% of average energy consumption by a house per year. The low-noise feature of the wind turbine allows it to be tested wherever it can be.
Source: http://www.windtronics.com