The race for clean, renewable energy never stops. While the focus was previously on solar panels, today it is time for wind energy, through wind turbines. More specifically, an omnidirectional wind turbine that promises to surpass solar panels, generating up to 200 W from all directions. While before we needed super sunny days and the correct inclination and orientation of the panels, it seems that now we have a solution that works all day long and non-stop, of course, as long as there is wind.
The time for vertical wind turbines has come
This turbine is not like the ones we are used to, because unlike the large horizontal wind turbines we see in wind farms, this one has a vertical axis and an omnidirectional design. In other words, it can capture wind coming from any direction without needing to reposition itself. And why is it so revolutionary? Well, basically, it solves one of the main challenges of residential wind energy: the unpredictability of wind direction.
We need to remember that today, most turbines are horizontal and need to turn their rotors to align with the wind, which this new vertical turbine can do continuously. In addition, it is still compact in size, operates below 30 decibels and does not have those dangerous propellers, which is why it is so ideal for homes, cabins and installations in rural areas.
An omnidirectional wind turbine that can generate 200w
And who was responsible for creating this innovative turbine? We’re talking about the Icelandic startup IceWind, which has just launched this six-blade vertical turbine, also known as IceWind Freya. Breaking this tool down further: it has three internal blades that help it start rotating in light winds, while three external ones are in control at higher speeds. The result of this combination is an exceptionally wide operating range, ranging from 7 km/h to over 200 km/h. According to Cmuel Gerbus, mechanical engineer at IceWind:
“The big difference is these big turbines: when the wind comes from different directions, you need to use a gearbox to change the blades to that wind direction, or stop them and change direction”
And how much energy can we expect? Well, if we think about normal situations, where the average wind speed is around 40 km/h, we can expect that a single omnidirectional wind turbine unit can generate between 150 and 200 watts of energy. Even though this amount is not enough to power an entire house, the combination of several units of this wind turbine can cover a good part of the needs of a hybrid system with solar energy (it might be a good idea to combine it with these solar panels that can generate infinite energy from your windows).
Will this wind turbine work for you?
As we said before, just one IceWind Freya is not enough to power an entire house, but it can be used very well in the following scenarios:
- Remote cabins in mountainous, coastal or open areas with good wind.
- Hybrid systems that combine solar and wind energy, ensuring constant supply even at night or on cloudy days.
- Reduced dependence on the public grid in rural areas or regions subject to power outages.
- Sustainable projects that seek to combine performance, aesthetics and positive environmental impact.
This new omnidirectional wind turbine highlights the challenge that solar panels currently face: consistency. This is because, while the sun is intermittent and requires expensive batteries to store energy at night, the wind can be present at any time, even when solar production is zero. It is no wonder that yet another invention, this time a wind sphere, ended up destroying solar panels in power generation.
