chen liao hsun: wind cube modular wind power system

‘wind cube’, a modular wind power system designed by chen liao hsun

‘wind cube’ is a modular wind power system designed by chen liao-hsun for household use.

the units, 100-watt turbine generators, advantage from telescopic blades, which can be pulled out to activate the system when there is a gentle breeze, and retracted in heavy winds or bad weather to avoid possible damage. individual units are designed to fit together in a honeycomb structure and can thus be tiled to fit entire exterior walls and roofs.

‘the concept,’ chen liao-hsun states, ‘is to use three-dimensional wind fields to make up for the insufficiency of two-dimensional ones.‘ he estimates that each ‘wind cube’ can generate about 21.6 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month, approximately 1/15 the household usage of a family of four.

while it is unclear how efficient the devices would be implemented in reality, an additional possibility for ‘wind cube’ may be the use of the honeycomb structure as a free-standing fence, to prevent the deleterious effects the system might encounter in terms of wind speed and device efficiency when installed upon an existing wall.

video demo of the ‘wind cube’

a single turbine unit of ‘wind cube’

the retractable blades can be pulled out in just three steps to activate the system for use in appropriate conditions

concept illustration of the system in the protected, retracted mode (left) and active use (right)

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication.