When we think of wind power, we often conjure up images of windmill type turbines or vertical wind turbines called VAWTs. Soon we may see a new type of device on the market, the Windbelt by Humdinger Wind Energy.
Instead of using conventional geared, rotating blades or scoops to generate energy from the wind, the Windbelt utilises an aerodynamic phenomenon known as aeroelastic flutter. Researchers at Humdinger say the effect can be used for catching the wind at scales and costs beyond the reach of wind turbines.
Humdinger Wind Energy has developed several variations of the technology: a “micro” Windbelt, for applications with low power requirements such as wireless sensor nodes, a “medium” version called a Windcell, designed to power individual applications such as lighting and WiFi repeaters, and a one-metre square array of 1-meter long Windbelts called a Windcell Panel, developed for grid-tied electricity.
Each Windcell Panel has a power rating of 100W and a projected cost of manufacture of US$1/Watt. According to the company, this translates to an uninstalled cost of roughly US$0.03-$0.05 per kWh in average wind speeds of 6m/s; around 21 kilometres per hour. The Windbelt has a cut in speed of around 9 kilometres an hour and operates in wind speeds of up to around 36 kilometres per hour; self-trimming in higher wind speeds for constant power output.
Windbelt products haven’t hit the market as yet. Humdinger is seeking strategic partners interested in licensing intellectual property rights to manufacture and sell products incorporating Windbelt technology.
