Product Pick of the Week - The Energy Ball

Though their definitely seems to be some doubt as to the ultimate effectiveness of small-scale wind turbines, particularly in urban environments, that hasn’t stopped new development of home-based and roof-mounted wind turbines. While Phillipe Starck’s wind turbine is little more than eye candy at this point, the Windspire is one option which you can purchase. Here's another innovate option that you actually buy.

The Silent Spherical Wind Turbine:
Designed by Swedish company Home Energy (website only in Swedish), the Energy Ball breaks from most wind turbine design by using a spherical structure. Home Energy says that by using such a design significantly higher aerodynamic efficiency can be achieved, as compared to traditional designs. What's more the Energy Ball is claimed to be “completely silent”.

Two Models Available:
Two models are available, the 0.5 kW Energy Ball V100 with a diameter of 110cm (43”), and the 2.5 kW Energy Ball V200 with a diameter of 198cm (78”). Home Energy claims that the V200 can provide up to 50% of a typical home’s electrical needs, while the V100 should be seen as a supplement to other energy sources. Both can produce power starting at wind speeds of 3 meters/second, and max out in wind speeds of 40 m/s.

The V100 has a list price of just under SKr 30,000 ($4,600); the V200 sells for about SKr 53,000 ($8,100). Both prices are just for the turbine, inverter and cabling. Mounting materials are additional. Installation on either stand-alone post or on the roof requires two people and is expected to take about 4-6 hours.

For more information please contact Trevor Sievert at ts@windfair.net