Super-proficient designer Philippe Starck is working on a new line of products he's named "Democratic Ecology" products. Produced by Pramac, the first commercially available design in the series is a miniature rooftop wind-turbine (at left) that is said to produce up to 80% of a home's energy. The blades are made of the same transparent plastic that Starck is famous for which makes them nearly invisible on a roof...
The turbine will be introduced in Europe this fall, and in the United States early next year. It is priced between $780 and $1,250. The next item in the series from Pramac is a solar panel. Check it out: And Now, to Try and Catch the Wind.
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Comments (13)
I'd love to have a few of these on my windswept balcony!
i would be curious to see how much energy does it generate and how long does it take to break even cost wise.
Isn't clear blades a bad thing for birds? I recall some featured home having custom turbines that were specifically designed so that birds could see/avoid them but be aesthetically discrete.
Errr, "Aren't clear blades...."
80% of how big a home using what appliances and how many kilowatts and how much wind? I'm interested, but I want to know if this really puts out or if it's more on the line of his 'affordable' 100-euro chair.
The turbine is the cheapest part of the system. You'd need an inverter, which would cost a couple thousand dollars. And then either a bank of batteries (a couple thousand dollars) to store the electricity, or you'd have it tied into the electric company's grid (a couple thousand dollars).
i didn't know the blades were transparent. there is a big family of parrots that always come onto our property... I wouldn't want to injure them. :(
Spraypaint it whatever colour you want.
Problem solved.
This story has appeared before and still lacks credible detail. How big is the tubine? What is the wattage rating? What numbers are they using to estimate 80% of household usage? What wind rating must be present to produce the stated result? Exactly how does the generator integrate with power input (junction box) supplied by power companies? I used to do communications in the windpower industry, so I could go on and on. It's an attractive concept, shoddily reported all around.
And for those worried about birds: birds can see and avoid transparent objects as least as well as people, especially if the object is spinning. Except in the dark - anyone thinking about siting any kind of turbine would be wise to observe the area (preferably for a full year to account for seasonal activities) for roosting sites and flight paths that may be problematic.
Apartment/highrise/skyscraper windows are responsible for the deaths of many more bird than wind turbines.
Uh, duh, there are far more apartment/highrise/skyscraper windows than wind turbines in the world. So yeah they kill more.
Birds have extremely good vision, if I remember right.
And "clear" isn't the same as "invisible," so I'm not concerned we'll be knocking out any Blue Birds. Though we do have a pesky Wood Pecker I wouldn't mind sending to "the great bird feeder in the sky."
Great news.