Wepower vawt

russ
russ Solar Expert Posts: 593 ✭✭
Take a look at how this turbine is being promoted - fantastic payback if you do the calculations their way.

Couldn't believe it when İ ran across this article - what a joke!

http://cleantechnica.com/2010/01/05/how-to-calculate-cost-per-kilowatt-hour-of-a-small-wind-power-install/

Comments

  • russ
    russ Solar Expert Posts: 593 ✭✭
    Re: Skystream--$20,000 lawn ornament

    New boy on the block and according to the writeup should take over the industry in a month or two - providing the writer had any idea what they were writing - which they didn't

    http://cleantechnica.com/2010/01/05/how-to-calculate-cost-per-kilowatt-hour-of-a-small-wind-power-install/
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Wepower vawt

    Lets keep discussions of the same product in one thread.

    Power output based on 30 MPH winds 10-40% of the time... Article says that you may not have those winds--but outside of town in the industrial park may...:roll:

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • russ
    russ Solar Expert Posts: 593 ✭✭
    Re: Wepower vawt

    Sorry about posting two places!

    İ never thought about industrial wind power before.

    Guess it stands to reason that an industrial park would have higher wind speeds than the residential or business area.;)
  • GreenPowerManiac
    GreenPowerManiac Solar Expert Posts: 453 ✭✭✭
    Re: Wepower vawt

    In reality, 10-40% of what they tell you. 833kwh * 10% = 83.3 to 333.2kwhs per month. Average wind speed throughout the year may be around 6-12mph depending on location and height.

    The advertisement was formerly PacWind with Jay Leno's Green Garage (Delta II Vawt 10kw). I believe the owner passed on a few months ago and renamed later. I'd really like to see the actual test results for this model if anyone knows.
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  • Slappy
    Slappy Solar Expert Posts: 251 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: Wepower vawt

    in the article it has jay leno to help promote it ? "i guess". but jay is using one of these on his garage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg_-dif2M2E ....who knows it might be from the same company?;)
  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    Re: Wepower vawt
    Guess it stands to reason that an industrial park would have higher wind speeds than the residential or business area.

    Ah, yes... Those industrial parks that are "zoned" for wind production. Mother Nature made application to the city to blow wind in certain areas. The city amends the municipal laws and now stronger wind can blow in industrial zones. THAT's why there's no wind in residential areas. Silly I always thought it was due to physics or something abstract like that.

    The claims on the website are some of the most exaggerated I've ever seen.
  • GreenPowerManiac
    GreenPowerManiac Solar Expert Posts: 453 ✭✭✭
    Re: Wepower vawt

    They who haveth the mountain, controleth the wind & weather !
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  • russ
    russ Solar Expert Posts: 593 ✭✭
    Re: Wepower vawt

    @Slappy - believe İ saw Jay Leno's name (and photo) on their site - He and Ed Begley are big into promoting things - no matter how silly. Guess it makes them feel important.

    İ have not come across any 3rd party test data - wonder why?

    Mariah had tests done by NREL which they totally failed so they found a more sympathetic company to do new testing in which they, surprise, surprise, did OK. NREL found all sorts of failures while the private company was quite satisfied.

    İt was really smart of the city to zone the industrial area for higher wind speeds! Take a politician to come up with that! İ wonder if they could do the same for PV - say declare a 2000 watt per m2 insolation value?
  • russ
    russ Solar Expert Posts: 593 ✭✭
    Re: Wepower vawt

    Following up and looking at more of WEPOWER there is even better news from one of their press releases!

    'The AuraGen generators are axial flux induction machines, which create 2.5 times the amount of energy per unit volume than other solutions. The weight of AuraGen's moving materials are approximately one third less than other generators and therefore require less torque to generate the rated power. This unique design makes the AuraGen more efficient.'

    'These innovative wind energy technologies will also be applied to WePOWER's revolutionary Windvertising(TM) branded media platform. This newly launched platform enables the placement of advertising on WePOWER's turbines which, in turn, generate clean wind energy to power corresponding advertising billboards through the firm's patented application.'

    'With its own intellectual property and patents, WePOWER manages all economics of the energy created by these innovative technologies including the tax incentives, energy rebates and carbon credits.'

    İ guess the advertising is so that when the thing is sitting still it looks like a billboard rather than a broke turbine.

    A group like this you can certainly expect to be on top of the incentives & subsidies!
  • GreenPowerManiac
    GreenPowerManiac Solar Expert Posts: 453 ✭✭✭
    Re: Wepower vawt

    You've got to watch the Ed Begley Jr.'s show to see for yourself, however there are a few items that he promotes that are a scam. One of them is the Water For Life Scam. Just a fancy chromed deionizer tank is all.

    Bottom line, I wouldn't trust anything that does not have accurate data for at least a couple years of service.
    Nature's Design & Green Energy on FaceBook : Stop by and "Like" us anytime.. Many up-to-date articles about Renewables every day.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Wepower vawt

    Wepower probably is the new investors buying out the old PacWind company (pacwind.net goes to wepower now).

    The complete Jay Leno video and May 2007 PopSci online article is here.

    As always, do not invest/pre-pay without doing your due-diligence. Company appears to have just relabeled all of PacWind's old literature.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Wepower vawt

    Saw it/heard with my own eyes/ears, It is the RARE EARTH Magnets that are the reason that Leno's VAWT is so productive...;););)
    Never mind that it is 2 stories tall...

    Has to be TRUE, It was on TV!!!

    Eric
     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
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    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Wepower vawt

    When will people learn? if the power isn't there in the wind it can't be converted to electricity. There's no way to get 10 kilowatts of power out of 5 kilowatts of moving air. Some of these proudly promoted wind turbines would have to run at efficiency rates exceeding 100% to achieve the results claimed, and that just doesn't happen.

    I like Green Power Maniac's turbines; they look nice, actually produce some power, and don't cost $20,000!:D
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Wepower vawt

    Well--it is a system... You have to have good (6-8 mph wind just does not have much energy per sqft of turbine area), non-turbulent wind (typically 60+ foot and 30+ feet and 300-500 feet from obstructions)--then it gets into blades, gears, alternator, conversion, storage, and reliability of hardware...

    If any of the above are poorly executed--then the system is basically a failure for its intended use.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Wepower vawt
    steevee wrote: »
    My point exactly...there are quite a lot of variables and things to consider when interested in a wind energy system. But it all really comes down to how much energy can my site generate if I get the system installed and sited properly.;)

    And almost invariably when they are selling such a system to a prospective client they gloss over these little details. :p