Photovoltaic energy continues its unstoppable ascent towards decarbonization, but it has yet to consolidate in self-consumption due to a clear problem: lack of space. Surprisingly, a company has just presented the most unexpected and innovative solution, with a sphere that produces free electricity in the garden without solar panels. The best part? It is capable of doing it at 200 km/h, and it does not use any sunlight, so it works even in extreme climate conditions (in fact, that’s when it works best).
No more solar panels, you don’t need them: Now, you’ll have a “sphere” at home
O-Wind Turbine is a new invention in wind energy industry that aims to bring difference with spherical shape that can generate power from any direction. Designed by a start-up company from Lancashire, this innovative turbine could soon change the face of the renewable energy sources — at least in the urban contexts.
The O-Wind Turbine has a spherical structure, which is the turbine’s greatest strength because it ensures that it is able to capture energy from wind coming from different directions without having to be moved. This agility actually makes it differ from the normal wind turbines that necessitate specific wind directions for the best results.
The design of the turbine fully resembles another NASA-developed technology known as a Savonius turbine. It is a box of 25 cm diameter vertically opened in the middle, with little apertures through which wind can freely blow from the four corners. When the wind blows across the sphere, it turns the turbine on its axis and produces power at the same time.
O-Wind Turbine, to revolutionize the way we produce energy: It works even in hard climate conditions
However, there are no official figures concerning the efficiency of the O-Wind Turbine; still, the concept of this wind turbine looks quite perspective. The wind turbine design allows for capturing wind from any direction, thus enhancing it operation time compared to those turbines which require specific direction.
The developers of the O-Wind Turbine have stated that their turbine can produce electricity even at 2 m/sec wind speed. This particular low wind speed threshold turned out to be especially useful for urban terrain, where wind speeds are typically lower and more uneven. In regard to the power output, it was found that an early prototype could develop up to 3 watts in a wind tunnel.
Although this may appear small, it ought to be pointed out that, due to the size and portability of the turbines, many of them could be stationed in different places and could disperse large amounts of energy collectively. The O-Wind Turbine was invented by two international students from Lancaster University, namely Nicolas Orellana and Yaseen Noorani.
This innovative wind turbine produces energy in your garden but, what’s beyond?
O-Innovation Ltd. has exhibited great efforts to make the O-Wind Turbine to be a market reality. The established company is still in the preliminary stage of its evolution, has recently created an MVP, and is gearing up for actual distribution. In the process of commercialization, the major achievement was the intermediate funding of £300,000 received at the beginning of 2023.
This funding by the Lancashire County Council via Lancashire Innovation Fund has been fundamental in offering the last few finishing touches needed in the development of the products for the market. In the short run, the company’s primary concern is to refine the product for it to be placed in the market.
This includes enhancing the efficiency of the turbine, guaranteeing that it is durable when placed outdoors, and reducing the exercising of design parameters for large-scale production. The O-Wind Turbine is aimed at both households and businesses by O-Innovation Ltd. On the domestic front, the turbine could be mounted on balconies or the roofs of houses.
The O-Wind turbine could be the future of clean electricity generation at home, with an efficiency that shatters that of solar panels. It is better than innovations in photovoltaics that we have seen before, such as perovskite or even titanium cells (we will soon talk about diamond cells). What do you think of this invention? Hopefully we will soon see it commercialized on a large scale, it looks promising and, if implemented in domestic self-consumption, it will contribute to decarbonization.
