philippe starck micro wind turbines

‘revolutionair WT 400W’ by philippe starck

we are all used to a type of wind turbine for sailing boats, and micro wind turbines are rapidly becoming popular in urban areas. the blades of philippe starck micro wind turbines are made of transparent plastic, which is great, as it will be virtually invisible up on the roof.

‘revolutionair WT 1KW’ by philippe starck

the turbines were officially debuted by philippe starck after a lengthy 2 years of research in collaboration with the italian company pramac. the micro wind turbine is revolutionary for two reasons: the innovative shape and the ability to be used at home. it is, in fact, a true object of design, aesthetically pleasing and suitable for mass-production, in line with modern patterns of distribution of energy from renewable sources. the turbines, which will be made in the tuscan city of siena, can be placed in the garden or on the roof and consist of a quadrangular model with a power output of 400W and the helicoidal shaped form, which can generate power of 1 KW (the wind blowing at 14 m per second). prices will start from about 2,500 euros (,515) and 3,500 euros respectively. installation cost are around 1,000 – 2,000 euros. a family might need 3 turbines (12.500 euros), they pay themselves back because of the lower electricity bills.

two days ago, french designer philippe starck gestured during a news conference at the milan triennale to present a new line of micro wind turbines

starck’s windmill is one of dozens of alternative energy sources to be coming on to the market, a quick search on the internet learns that there’s a bunch of mini wind turbines around, all of which are priced at around the euro 1,000 to euro 3,000 mark. most are miniature versions of those found in wind parks beside the sea and in windy areas. a 5 meter pole in your backyard or a high roof top will do for most mini wind turbines. they generate on average a couple of kW of electricity power. wind power can be stored in battery banks of various makes and is then passed through inverters to make the type of voltage of electricity you need to power your home applications. some mini wind turbines do generate quite a bit of noise, so you will be hard pushed to find them in built up areas. others classify as absolute eye sores. unlike the traditional turbines with horizontal axis, those with vertical axis are independent of wind direction and able to take advantage of the phenomena of turbulence as well as being extremely quiet.

‘energy should not be a punishment, we should create a desire among people to produce it‘ , starck said. ‘I would love to see them on sale in supermarkets.‘

images via reuters