Idea Profile
Idea:
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Location: AW, BE, CN, GD, IT, NL, NP UK, US
Overview: The SmartWind RoofBlaster forms an integral part of the roof, catching wind from most directions. The wind is funneled –while turbulence is stabilized- to the small turbine located under the ridge, well insulated and vibration protected, and thus practically invisible and inaudible. Low wind performance and financial viability are excellent.
Submitted: Jan 28, 2011
comment(s) (618)
support (205)
Attempts to beat: 0
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Jul 5 2012 by Nitin Khare
While waiting for financing (probably until the year 3535) I suggest you try it on a small scale and then promptly dump the idea.
Sep 15 2011 by russ1
+1
While waiting for financing to become available, I am happy to guide fellow contenders in marketing. For this purpose I open a special website:
http://www.internetmarketing-mentor.com/green-energy-marketing
http://www.internetmarketing-mentor.com/green-energy-marketing
Aug 4 2011 by Smart Green Energy [SmartSolar]
The ECOmagination contest is over and I still maintain good contacts with fellow contenders with some of whom we have partnered up. A question I regularly get is how we fared with respect to financing. Well, at this time we have a choice! As some offers take some time to become effective we have postponed our decision who to work with until the end of 2011. You will certainly hear about us, if not via the ECOmagination site then via the media or our brand new website: http://www.smartgreenenergyintl.com
Those who are interested to contact our partner in electronic design, contact http://www.engineering-spirit.nl/en
If you are interested in marketing, you may wonder how this challenge page reached a Page Rank of 6... (as high as the challenge home page): Check http://www.internetmarketing-mentor.com/high-tech-marketing
For any questions please feel free to email me at jamesgrenada@gmail.com
Those who are interested to contact our partner in electronic design, contact http://www.engineering-spirit.nl/en
If you are interested in marketing, you may wonder how this challenge page reached a Page Rank of 6... (as high as the challenge home page): Check http://www.internetmarketing-mentor.com/high-tech-marketing
For any questions please feel free to email me at jamesgrenada@gmail.com
Aug 4 2011 by Smart Green Energy [SmartSolar]
Now that we are talking to potential distributors, architects and builders, as well as suppliers of sustainable prefab materials, we regularly get offline questions. I decided to publish the Q & A's here and also included some "hot" online questions that are of quite a while ago and thus practically invisible. If you are new to the Challenge, read these FAQ's and you will understand our approach better.
Q. A wind turbine mounted inside a building sounds very futuristic, but how do you know it will work?
A. We made several conceptual designs for residential wind turbines and, while the design with a roof-integrated certainly is the most technologically and architecturally challenging, the advantages (aesthetics, cost, performance) are so significant that it is worth the extra effort. The aerodynamic aspects have been properly evaluated so we know it will work and the next step is to build (possibly several) prototypes to optimize the design. Since this is a new field, exact results cannot be predicted; they are targets. Extensive testing will be required as with any other completely new product.
Q. Is the design the same as the animation shows? It looks incomplete.
A. Since this is a conceptual design we only showed one of the 3 aerodynamic approaches we will evaluate. After consulting with a fluid dynamic expert with over 40 (!) years experience in wind energy design, we decided to give preference to the other 2, on theoretic grounds. And that’s not even all, we also did not take a decision on which type of rotor to use; we will test them against each other by building a demo house with turbines facing the same wind direction and use data loggers to determine the best rotors in a competition approach.
But the animation shows what is unique about the concept: The wind can enter the funnel formed by part of the roof and is concentrated and has much less turbulence because of the open roof, while the way how rain and snow is returned is elegant making use of part of the funnel, reliable and not much more expensive than a regular roof. What it does not show is the fine mesh that prevents birds and bats to enter, the way how the funnels and turbine are mounted, the storm protection and several other details.
Q. Wind conditions at roofs are known to be bad at roofs, turbulence and a lower speed. Many articles support that.
A. It is absolutely correct that all attempts to place small wind turbines on residential roofs have proven to be uneconomical and we were very well aware of that. Dozens of articles only prove that it was done wrong until to date. About 24 years ago everybody, including the press said that the recently introduced IBM PC was not suitable for CAD/CAE work. We looked how others were doing it and started from scratch and after a few years we came with a PC based CAD/CAE tool that supported real time design rule check and with a cheap video processor even hardware pan & zoom, often not found on the 40K$ workstations.
We learnt from this and in the case of SmartWind we decided to drop all existing approaches and design from scratch. We consulted several –some of them famous- aerodynamic specialists who had (sometimes very) different opinions. But we know we are on the right track.
Our approach will win because we create less turbulence because of the open roof approach, have several meters to stabilize it, we concentrate the wind and we are aesthetically definitely the best, but moreover affordable solution. We certainly did not make it easy to ourselves by choosing a new construction approach that is unconventional to say the least, but we have an aggressive road show planned whereby only in the first year after prototypes we will meet architects and contractors in small groups on 140 locations.
Finally I would like to remind that revolutionary ideas are always first met skeptically; watch history…
Q. How do you deal with vibrations and noise?
A. Both are a matter of good design and the good news is that –since we will only supply the SmartWind RoofBlaster in new construction- our industrial designers are experienced in these fields. While finding solutions for existing constructions requires costly evaluation by an engineer, we tackle these issues by cooperating with architects and structural engineers. As our turbine is on the attic we have ample opportunity to isolate audible noise. On top of that the attic itself is also well insulated.
Q. What do architects have to say about this?
A. Every revolutionary design is first met with skepticism and it takes quite some time and energy to break through the wall. Then, enthusiasm and cooperation slowly takes over. We are now talking to a supplier of sustainable building prefabricated materials who have an in house LEED architect. We plan to work with them on designing the prototype Zero Energy Home, while using their prefab system. After we proved the concept we will do massive road shows and meet in small groups in venues close to them. That will slowly accelerate acceptance and as all our systems include a data logger we will publish performance on the Internet.
Update 14. June 2011: The LEED architect and associated builder are formally on our team and 3 other architects are now looking to join our work group that we formed last week. The work group consists of architects in different markets to ensure we create solutions that will work in most markets. What makes our proposal attractive is that we let them offer their Zero Energy Home Design version for licensing and we will promote these during our road shows, where we will eventually meet 5,000 contractors over a ~ 3.5 year time frame on a worldwide basis. Our motto is: Green Technology Meets Architecture. And meanwhile we know: Green Technology Needs Architecture.
Q. How do you deal with heavy winds and storms?
A. Our first safety level is that we use electromagnetic breaking to keep the speed at the maximum level. As opposed to other solutions –such as dummy loads- this has the advantage that we maintain maximum output. The second level is to “short-cut” the wind to the other side of the roof where it leaves the building, thus protecting the rotor.
Q. From the photo and video it looks that the roof is open for the biggest part. Will consumers accept that odd look?
A. The color of the funnels and the horizontal fins is the same; if you look from a distance it looks a bit like a tiled roof. Our graphical designer, who made the animation, even had to create some contrast between the fins and funnel to demonstrate the concept. Looking from below on a shorter distance would also not reveal the openings. So we are confident that this approach will be accepted. It is definitely the most invisible and inaudible residential wind turbine.
Q. What is that structure on top of the roof with pipes?
A. That is a custom version of Dr. Shawn Buckley’s (a solar PV pioneer) solar PV concentrator. It delivers both electrical and thermal energy, which works well together in our total approach for Zero Energy Homes.
Q. Do you use a drag machine approach for the rotor?
A. No, we would not consider that as this has the lowest power coefficient (Cp = ratio of the aerodynamic power of the turbine to the power of the incident wind, as a function to the speed ratio) that is in the range of 0.05 and 0.07. The Cp value of a straight forward Savonius rotor is ~ 0.2 while there are improvements on Mr. Savonius’ design of around 1920. The patent claim of the Benesh Profile Savonius i.e. is a spectacular Cp = 0.37. When that is even partly true we will discuss licensing. But before that we will put all designs –including our own- on the fryer. Our approach is very simple and effective. We build a demo house in which we install 2 turbines, next to each other. Each turbine has another candidate rotor prototype. Data loggers will tell us the exact results under different wind conditions. The next step is that we remove the losing prototype and replace it by another candidate. This procedure allows us to select the best rotor based upon real world, well documented testing.
We welcome proposed rotor designs that should include a CP value calculation.
Q. Wind conditions in a residential environment are known to be unfavorable. You and others keep trying over and over again. Why not concentrate on proven concepts?
A. Proven concepts are either too expensive or esthetically unacceptable but usually both. In a residential area the average wind speed is about 30% less than in the close-by open field, while winds are also more turbulent, especially when the wind hits the roof. So a good design must perform well under low wind conditions and must be able to cope with turbulence. In case of the SmartWind RoofBlaster, a big part of the roof is aerodynamically open and acts as funnel input. Then the wind is channeled through the funnel and thus concentrated, leading to a higher performance. I am not at liberty to describe the details of our turbulence stabilization approach. Soon, this will be a proven, preferred concept.
Q. What is the price difference between a regular, tiled roof and your wind catching roof?
A. We believe that the fins should be less expensive than traditional roofing materials (we don’t have to waterproof) and that labor will be lower in case of prefabrication of the fins, which is certainly feasible in housing projects or standardized designs (that will become available as a result of our cooperation with architects).
Q. What if I want a hipped roof?
A. Our system would not work for you in that case. But if you could compromise and use a hip & gable roof (aka hip roof on a vertical plan) then it will work. as long as the gable is big enough (depending on the wind regime 40 ft = 12 m wide). There is even a chance that we can use the hip sides on the attic as funnels too, but at this time we did not perform aerodynamic nor cost evaluations on that.
Q. Do you use a grid-tied inverter?
A. Yes, we do have our proprietary design, which is not just suitable to connect to the grid, but also has the option to connect batteries, either for off-grid application or as a giant UPS (with an optional built-in transfer switch). In some markets, where there are no (favorable) feed-in tariffs, the house can run on the batteries and switch only to the grid when necessary. The inverter is shared by the wind turbine and the solar PV concentrator and is mounted on top of the attic with excellent wind cooling, which gave the designers the opportunity to save substantially on production cost. Another unique aspect of the inverter is that it has an interface for a anemometer that measures the wind speed just before it reaches the turbine, thus allowing to offer the optimal load at exactly the right moment (this improves the efficiency of the turbine). Furthermore, every inverter has a built in data logger; results can be viewed online.
Q. In the Ecomagination competition your profile shows that your team members are in many different countries, but where are your headquarters?
A. Our corporate approach is that we select the best of the best specialists in every discipline and ask them to work with us on an as needed basis. This approach touted as the “high tech startup of the future” not only takes away career and relocation hurdles but also works far more efficient. To answer a complex question on electronic design, firmware or aerodynamics, the very experienced engineers will answer the question sometimes off heart, while an average engineer may take weeks to figure it out. Where our headquarters will be is an open question which greatly depends on the position of investors we are now talking to. Meet our team: http://tinyurl.com/smartsolarteam
Q. How big is the market for these Zero Energy Homes with your wind turbine and solar air conditioning?
A. In our business plan we assumed a very gradual growth ending up after 3 years with 750 units in year 3; a very conservative approach. New construction is our (only) market, but a very big one especially when after the recession is over the building boom will start. Acceptance by architects and builders is a key issue and this is the reason why we will spend a lot of attention to getting them on our team. One thing is certain… it may take time but SGE is touted for explosive growth, being the first in the world to offer not only complete, but also affordable solutions for Zero Energy Homes.
Q. Is your wind turbine safe for birds and bats?
A. We have planned for a course grid that covers the full size of the wind entrance on the roof that will effectively prevent birds and bats to enter and as there are no moving parts on the roof there is no other danger.
Q. What is the lifetime of the wind turbine?
A. As common in the wind industry the active components are designed for 20 year lifetime at an average wind speed of 7 m/s (15.5 mph). Al lower wind speeds a longer lifetime can be expected, while at higher wind speeds bearings and/or blades may need replacement earlier, as with all rotating devices that are subject to high stress.
Q. How do you deal with snow?
A. Just like traditional designs, the roof of the Zero Energy Home needs to be designed to be able to carry enough weight. Clearly when the roof is fully covered you will not harvest wind energy. One of the issues on our list for the detailed roof design, for which we will consult architects, is a way to automatically melt the snow.
Q. Who can perform the installation?
A. The roof and funnel can be built by any licensed general contractor. The wind turbine needs to be placed by an installer certified by SGE, while the inverter needs to be installed by a licensed electrician. We expect that many of the contractors we will be dealing with have all disciplines available in-house. As our prices include installation of the turbine and placement of the inverter, the home owner only needs to pay for the connection from the inverter to the house installation.
Q. Does the system require any maintenance?
Although in most cases –like in traditional building- the Zero Energy Home roof will be usually self cleaning by rain washing away leaves etc., but again as with a regular roof it may be needed to manually clean. A further advantage of our approach is that outgoing wind blows leaves away -but only if the wind turns-. Other than that the system is 100% maintenance free.
Q. Will you have only one model?
A. The turbine design is modular and is built up in units of approx. 105 cm (3.5 ft) wide; thus already covering a broad range of applications. In cases of very low wind and or small roofs, smaller PMG’s (generators) can be used, while for application in high wind regimes larger PMG’s can be used. The design hardly changes in such case, but a larger inverter will be needed to handle the additional output. Our base model that has a maximum output of 3 kW (peak) covers a wide range of residences and is economical for wind speeds starting at 4 m/s (~9 mph).
Q. What is the price of the wind turbine and the solar PV concentrator?
A. At an output @ 10 m/s is approx. US$ 3,000 per kW including inverter. The solar PV concentrator is US$ 2,500 per kWp; both prices are INSTALLED (usually the bottleneck; in new construction only). These prices are extremely competitive and are comparable (on a per kW basis) with midsize wind parks.
Q. When will the Zero Energy Homes with the SmartWind RoofBlaster turbine be available?
A. During the rest of 2011 we plan to install prototypes with some design variations in order to allow us to determine the optimal performance. We do this by installing 2 units with differences in design next to each other in several iterations. As each system will have a built-in data logger we determine the winning design by comparison testing. We will then publish the results online.
Prior to that we compiled a list of 25 house owners (or builders) who are interested to purchase a Wind Turbine, Solar PV Concentrator and Solar A/C system (http://tinyurl.com/smartsolar) for homes that are ready to be installed during Spring 2012. Owners in this pilot run will have the benefit of being early, be exposed to a lot of positive PR (if they want), get free personal attention by our executives and dedicated –free of charge- discussions with their architect and builder who in turn get free training (and exposure they WILL want).
The home owner must allow us to use their performance data (automatically collected by the built in data loggers) and publish them on the Internet, including the climatologic area (i.e. South Coast California). Other than that they can remain publicly invisible –if they want-. If there are more than 25 interested parties we will make decisions based upon meeting our goal of having a diversified trial run from a climatologic point of view. Should we decide to make design changes after the trial run, these owners will get free upgrades including installation if applicable. In order to be considered for a trial installation home builders are requested to send an email with their location, size of the roof ridge and the type of roof as well as contact information of their architect and builder (if already known) and email this to jamesgrenada@gmail.com
Mass production is expected to be available by late fall 2012.
Q. Will you have standard Zero Home Designs available for those who cannot afford an architect?
A. Yes, we will! But you and your builder must be a bit flexible, especially with respect to roof angle, attic and cellar designs and a little bit on size. Floor planning however is more flexible. Please realize that the Zero Energy Home is designed to be exactly that. So the designs we will be publishing –in close cooperation with partner architects/builders and green building materials- will be based on “going green all the way” and the number of free designs is limited.
We will initially concentrate on Zero Energy Home designs with the best price/quality ratio as we believe that in the current economy this is a sensible approach. These will be based upon prefab building materials that are very well insulated, a requirement for a Zero Energy Home; these materials will be available worldwide. The designs in this category are free. In addition we expect to get proposals for higher end homes; we even invited one of the leading green architects to work with us. This category will carry a license fee for sure. SGE has no financial interest with architectural or building material suppliers. We go the extra mile to provide the builders and owners of Zero Energy Homes with a good infrastructure and support.
Q. A wind turbine mounted inside a building sounds very futuristic, but how do you know it will work?
A. We made several conceptual designs for residential wind turbines and, while the design with a roof-integrated certainly is the most technologically and architecturally challenging, the advantages (aesthetics, cost, performance) are so significant that it is worth the extra effort. The aerodynamic aspects have been properly evaluated so we know it will work and the next step is to build (possibly several) prototypes to optimize the design. Since this is a new field, exact results cannot be predicted; they are targets. Extensive testing will be required as with any other completely new product.
Q. Is the design the same as the animation shows? It looks incomplete.
A. Since this is a conceptual design we only showed one of the 3 aerodynamic approaches we will evaluate. After consulting with a fluid dynamic expert with over 40 (!) years experience in wind energy design, we decided to give preference to the other 2, on theoretic grounds. And that’s not even all, we also did not take a decision on which type of rotor to use; we will test them against each other by building a demo house with turbines facing the same wind direction and use data loggers to determine the best rotors in a competition approach.
But the animation shows what is unique about the concept: The wind can enter the funnel formed by part of the roof and is concentrated and has much less turbulence because of the open roof, while the way how rain and snow is returned is elegant making use of part of the funnel, reliable and not much more expensive than a regular roof. What it does not show is the fine mesh that prevents birds and bats to enter, the way how the funnels and turbine are mounted, the storm protection and several other details.
Q. Wind conditions at roofs are known to be bad at roofs, turbulence and a lower speed. Many articles support that.
A. It is absolutely correct that all attempts to place small wind turbines on residential roofs have proven to be uneconomical and we were very well aware of that. Dozens of articles only prove that it was done wrong until to date. About 24 years ago everybody, including the press said that the recently introduced IBM PC was not suitable for CAD/CAE work. We looked how others were doing it and started from scratch and after a few years we came with a PC based CAD/CAE tool that supported real time design rule check and with a cheap video processor even hardware pan & zoom, often not found on the 40K$ workstations.
We learnt from this and in the case of SmartWind we decided to drop all existing approaches and design from scratch. We consulted several –some of them famous- aerodynamic specialists who had (sometimes very) different opinions. But we know we are on the right track.
Our approach will win because we create less turbulence because of the open roof approach, have several meters to stabilize it, we concentrate the wind and we are aesthetically definitely the best, but moreover affordable solution. We certainly did not make it easy to ourselves by choosing a new construction approach that is unconventional to say the least, but we have an aggressive road show planned whereby only in the first year after prototypes we will meet architects and contractors in small groups on 140 locations.
Finally I would like to remind that revolutionary ideas are always first met skeptically; watch history…
Q. How do you deal with vibrations and noise?
A. Both are a matter of good design and the good news is that –since we will only supply the SmartWind RoofBlaster in new construction- our industrial designers are experienced in these fields. While finding solutions for existing constructions requires costly evaluation by an engineer, we tackle these issues by cooperating with architects and structural engineers. As our turbine is on the attic we have ample opportunity to isolate audible noise. On top of that the attic itself is also well insulated.
Q. What do architects have to say about this?
A. Every revolutionary design is first met with skepticism and it takes quite some time and energy to break through the wall. Then, enthusiasm and cooperation slowly takes over. We are now talking to a supplier of sustainable building prefabricated materials who have an in house LEED architect. We plan to work with them on designing the prototype Zero Energy Home, while using their prefab system. After we proved the concept we will do massive road shows and meet in small groups in venues close to them. That will slowly accelerate acceptance and as all our systems include a data logger we will publish performance on the Internet.
Update 14. June 2011: The LEED architect and associated builder are formally on our team and 3 other architects are now looking to join our work group that we formed last week. The work group consists of architects in different markets to ensure we create solutions that will work in most markets. What makes our proposal attractive is that we let them offer their Zero Energy Home Design version for licensing and we will promote these during our road shows, where we will eventually meet 5,000 contractors over a ~ 3.5 year time frame on a worldwide basis. Our motto is: Green Technology Meets Architecture. And meanwhile we know: Green Technology Needs Architecture.
Q. How do you deal with heavy winds and storms?
A. Our first safety level is that we use electromagnetic breaking to keep the speed at the maximum level. As opposed to other solutions –such as dummy loads- this has the advantage that we maintain maximum output. The second level is to “short-cut” the wind to the other side of the roof where it leaves the building, thus protecting the rotor.
Q. From the photo and video it looks that the roof is open for the biggest part. Will consumers accept that odd look?
A. The color of the funnels and the horizontal fins is the same; if you look from a distance it looks a bit like a tiled roof. Our graphical designer, who made the animation, even had to create some contrast between the fins and funnel to demonstrate the concept. Looking from below on a shorter distance would also not reveal the openings. So we are confident that this approach will be accepted. It is definitely the most invisible and inaudible residential wind turbine.
Q. What is that structure on top of the roof with pipes?
A. That is a custom version of Dr. Shawn Buckley’s (a solar PV pioneer) solar PV concentrator. It delivers both electrical and thermal energy, which works well together in our total approach for Zero Energy Homes.
Q. Do you use a drag machine approach for the rotor?
A. No, we would not consider that as this has the lowest power coefficient (Cp = ratio of the aerodynamic power of the turbine to the power of the incident wind, as a function to the speed ratio) that is in the range of 0.05 and 0.07. The Cp value of a straight forward Savonius rotor is ~ 0.2 while there are improvements on Mr. Savonius’ design of around 1920. The patent claim of the Benesh Profile Savonius i.e. is a spectacular Cp = 0.37. When that is even partly true we will discuss licensing. But before that we will put all designs –including our own- on the fryer. Our approach is very simple and effective. We build a demo house in which we install 2 turbines, next to each other. Each turbine has another candidate rotor prototype. Data loggers will tell us the exact results under different wind conditions. The next step is that we remove the losing prototype and replace it by another candidate. This procedure allows us to select the best rotor based upon real world, well documented testing.
We welcome proposed rotor designs that should include a CP value calculation.
Q. Wind conditions in a residential environment are known to be unfavorable. You and others keep trying over and over again. Why not concentrate on proven concepts?
A. Proven concepts are either too expensive or esthetically unacceptable but usually both. In a residential area the average wind speed is about 30% less than in the close-by open field, while winds are also more turbulent, especially when the wind hits the roof. So a good design must perform well under low wind conditions and must be able to cope with turbulence. In case of the SmartWind RoofBlaster, a big part of the roof is aerodynamically open and acts as funnel input. Then the wind is channeled through the funnel and thus concentrated, leading to a higher performance. I am not at liberty to describe the details of our turbulence stabilization approach. Soon, this will be a proven, preferred concept.
Q. What is the price difference between a regular, tiled roof and your wind catching roof?
A. We believe that the fins should be less expensive than traditional roofing materials (we don’t have to waterproof) and that labor will be lower in case of prefabrication of the fins, which is certainly feasible in housing projects or standardized designs (that will become available as a result of our cooperation with architects).
Q. What if I want a hipped roof?
A. Our system would not work for you in that case. But if you could compromise and use a hip & gable roof (aka hip roof on a vertical plan) then it will work. as long as the gable is big enough (depending on the wind regime 40 ft = 12 m wide). There is even a chance that we can use the hip sides on the attic as funnels too, but at this time we did not perform aerodynamic nor cost evaluations on that.
Q. Do you use a grid-tied inverter?
A. Yes, we do have our proprietary design, which is not just suitable to connect to the grid, but also has the option to connect batteries, either for off-grid application or as a giant UPS (with an optional built-in transfer switch). In some markets, where there are no (favorable) feed-in tariffs, the house can run on the batteries and switch only to the grid when necessary. The inverter is shared by the wind turbine and the solar PV concentrator and is mounted on top of the attic with excellent wind cooling, which gave the designers the opportunity to save substantially on production cost. Another unique aspect of the inverter is that it has an interface for a anemometer that measures the wind speed just before it reaches the turbine, thus allowing to offer the optimal load at exactly the right moment (this improves the efficiency of the turbine). Furthermore, every inverter has a built in data logger; results can be viewed online.
Q. In the Ecomagination competition your profile shows that your team members are in many different countries, but where are your headquarters?
A. Our corporate approach is that we select the best of the best specialists in every discipline and ask them to work with us on an as needed basis. This approach touted as the “high tech startup of the future” not only takes away career and relocation hurdles but also works far more efficient. To answer a complex question on electronic design, firmware or aerodynamics, the very experienced engineers will answer the question sometimes off heart, while an average engineer may take weeks to figure it out. Where our headquarters will be is an open question which greatly depends on the position of investors we are now talking to. Meet our team: http://tinyurl.com/smartsolarteam
Q. How big is the market for these Zero Energy Homes with your wind turbine and solar air conditioning?
A. In our business plan we assumed a very gradual growth ending up after 3 years with 750 units in year 3; a very conservative approach. New construction is our (only) market, but a very big one especially when after the recession is over the building boom will start. Acceptance by architects and builders is a key issue and this is the reason why we will spend a lot of attention to getting them on our team. One thing is certain… it may take time but SGE is touted for explosive growth, being the first in the world to offer not only complete, but also affordable solutions for Zero Energy Homes.
Q. Is your wind turbine safe for birds and bats?
A. We have planned for a course grid that covers the full size of the wind entrance on the roof that will effectively prevent birds and bats to enter and as there are no moving parts on the roof there is no other danger.
Q. What is the lifetime of the wind turbine?
A. As common in the wind industry the active components are designed for 20 year lifetime at an average wind speed of 7 m/s (15.5 mph). Al lower wind speeds a longer lifetime can be expected, while at higher wind speeds bearings and/or blades may need replacement earlier, as with all rotating devices that are subject to high stress.
Q. How do you deal with snow?
A. Just like traditional designs, the roof of the Zero Energy Home needs to be designed to be able to carry enough weight. Clearly when the roof is fully covered you will not harvest wind energy. One of the issues on our list for the detailed roof design, for which we will consult architects, is a way to automatically melt the snow.
Q. Who can perform the installation?
A. The roof and funnel can be built by any licensed general contractor. The wind turbine needs to be placed by an installer certified by SGE, while the inverter needs to be installed by a licensed electrician. We expect that many of the contractors we will be dealing with have all disciplines available in-house. As our prices include installation of the turbine and placement of the inverter, the home owner only needs to pay for the connection from the inverter to the house installation.
Q. Does the system require any maintenance?
Although in most cases –like in traditional building- the Zero Energy Home roof will be usually self cleaning by rain washing away leaves etc., but again as with a regular roof it may be needed to manually clean. A further advantage of our approach is that outgoing wind blows leaves away -but only if the wind turns-. Other than that the system is 100% maintenance free.
Q. Will you have only one model?
A. The turbine design is modular and is built up in units of approx. 105 cm (3.5 ft) wide; thus already covering a broad range of applications. In cases of very low wind and or small roofs, smaller PMG’s (generators) can be used, while for application in high wind regimes larger PMG’s can be used. The design hardly changes in such case, but a larger inverter will be needed to handle the additional output. Our base model that has a maximum output of 3 kW (peak) covers a wide range of residences and is economical for wind speeds starting at 4 m/s (~9 mph).
Q. What is the price of the wind turbine and the solar PV concentrator?
A. At an output @ 10 m/s is approx. US$ 3,000 per kW including inverter. The solar PV concentrator is US$ 2,500 per kWp; both prices are INSTALLED (usually the bottleneck; in new construction only). These prices are extremely competitive and are comparable (on a per kW basis) with midsize wind parks.
Q. When will the Zero Energy Homes with the SmartWind RoofBlaster turbine be available?
A. During the rest of 2011 we plan to install prototypes with some design variations in order to allow us to determine the optimal performance. We do this by installing 2 units with differences in design next to each other in several iterations. As each system will have a built-in data logger we determine the winning design by comparison testing. We will then publish the results online.
Prior to that we compiled a list of 25 house owners (or builders) who are interested to purchase a Wind Turbine, Solar PV Concentrator and Solar A/C system (http://tinyurl.com/smartsolar) for homes that are ready to be installed during Spring 2012. Owners in this pilot run will have the benefit of being early, be exposed to a lot of positive PR (if they want), get free personal attention by our executives and dedicated –free of charge- discussions with their architect and builder who in turn get free training (and exposure they WILL want).
The home owner must allow us to use their performance data (automatically collected by the built in data loggers) and publish them on the Internet, including the climatologic area (i.e. South Coast California). Other than that they can remain publicly invisible –if they want-. If there are more than 25 interested parties we will make decisions based upon meeting our goal of having a diversified trial run from a climatologic point of view. Should we decide to make design changes after the trial run, these owners will get free upgrades including installation if applicable. In order to be considered for a trial installation home builders are requested to send an email with their location, size of the roof ridge and the type of roof as well as contact information of their architect and builder (if already known) and email this to jamesgrenada@gmail.com
Mass production is expected to be available by late fall 2012.
Q. Will you have standard Zero Home Designs available for those who cannot afford an architect?
A. Yes, we will! But you and your builder must be a bit flexible, especially with respect to roof angle, attic and cellar designs and a little bit on size. Floor planning however is more flexible. Please realize that the Zero Energy Home is designed to be exactly that. So the designs we will be publishing –in close cooperation with partner architects/builders and green building materials- will be based on “going green all the way” and the number of free designs is limited.
We will initially concentrate on Zero Energy Home designs with the best price/quality ratio as we believe that in the current economy this is a sensible approach. These will be based upon prefab building materials that are very well insulated, a requirement for a Zero Energy Home; these materials will be available worldwide. The designs in this category are free. In addition we expect to get proposals for higher end homes; we even invited one of the leading green architects to work with us. This category will carry a license fee for sure. SGE has no financial interest with architectural or building material suppliers. We go the extra mile to provide the builders and owners of Zero Energy Homes with a good infrastructure and support.
Jul 10 2011 by Smart Green Energy [SmartSolar]
Fellow innovators: We all agree that GE has been misleading in announcing a challenge that would give promising innovations a chance. I have been thinking about their motives.
First of all they wanted to surface great products to invest in and they succeeded in that objective. I evaluated their choices and must agree that they made smart choices. One of them is Elmer Inc., a company whose ZigBee wireless technology we intend to use in our Energy Conservation Controller (http://tinyurl.com/ecc2011). They have the best technology but with 10MM chips sold they don't really qualify as a startup.
The second objective was PR, in an effort to polish their bad image. To the outside world this may have worked, as they do not know what we know now: GE did not intend to support start-up innovation.
I proposed to GE that they should correct this by honoring the best innovations by start-ups with much needed seed capital, based upon the evaluations already done. In my opinion, this is the only way GE can save their face. The ECOmagination blog has shown a lot of anger and the power of the Internet cannot be denied.
Fellow innovators: send me your email address to jamesgrenada@gmail.com and mention "GE challenge" in the subject. I will compile that into a database with the following objectives:
1. In the event that GE leaves it with this, the very least we can do is to let the world know. Those who know me a little better know that PR is in my blood; I can do this very effectively and low cost, but I need you to openly and frankly confess in a common press release.
2. I am in contact with several investors -and so may you- It is valuable to exchange information on opportunities. Our goal is to get our products to market and the time it takes from this point is nothing compared to the hundreds of hours we spend for the Challenge.
2. Many of us have communicated via this medium about cooperation but once GE shuts down this blog we are incommunicado. I must mention that BrightIdeas and GE did create a valuable platform. But we must stay in touch. As you know SGE's formula is all about cooperation and this explains the growth of the team. Off line we are still expanding and this will make us stronger and ready for the big tasks ahead of us.
Do it fast and don't hesitate and inform your network.
James
First of all they wanted to surface great products to invest in and they succeeded in that objective. I evaluated their choices and must agree that they made smart choices. One of them is Elmer Inc., a company whose ZigBee wireless technology we intend to use in our Energy Conservation Controller (http://tinyurl.com/ecc2011). They have the best technology but with 10MM chips sold they don't really qualify as a startup.
The second objective was PR, in an effort to polish their bad image. To the outside world this may have worked, as they do not know what we know now: GE did not intend to support start-up innovation.
I proposed to GE that they should correct this by honoring the best innovations by start-ups with much needed seed capital, based upon the evaluations already done. In my opinion, this is the only way GE can save their face. The ECOmagination blog has shown a lot of anger and the power of the Internet cannot be denied.
Fellow innovators: send me your email address to jamesgrenada@gmail.com and mention "GE challenge" in the subject. I will compile that into a database with the following objectives:
1. In the event that GE leaves it with this, the very least we can do is to let the world know. Those who know me a little better know that PR is in my blood; I can do this very effectively and low cost, but I need you to openly and frankly confess in a common press release.
2. I am in contact with several investors -and so may you- It is valuable to exchange information on opportunities. Our goal is to get our products to market and the time it takes from this point is nothing compared to the hundreds of hours we spend for the Challenge.
2. Many of us have communicated via this medium about cooperation but once GE shuts down this blog we are incommunicado. I must mention that BrightIdeas and GE did create a valuable platform. But we must stay in touch. As you know SGE's formula is all about cooperation and this explains the growth of the team. Off line we are still expanding and this will make us stronger and ready for the big tasks ahead of us.
Do it fast and don't hesitate and inform your network.
James
Jun 28 2011 by Smart Green Energy [SmartSolar]
I was there, but my ISP had some problems. Anyway, please contact me at jamesgrenada@gmail.com to discuss our cooperation.
Jun 28 2011 by Smart Green Energy [SmartSolar]
James,
congratulations your work group is rapidly expanding!
this is really good news does that means you will cover equatorial sustainable design?
congratulations your work group is rapidly expanding!
this is really good news does that means you will cover equatorial sustainable design?
Jun 22 2011 by rjengsolutions
Hi Richard,
I find it would go too far to claim that we cover equatorial sustainable design, although some here in Grenada like to see it that way. While I am the team leader and work on concepts, the detailed design is primarily done in the Netherlands. What would be a correct statement is that we will do equatorial support. Here in Grenada the wish to be sustainable is stronger than anywhere in the Caribbean so we will get all the support we need to train marketing and technical support staff. The Caribbean has the image of being laid back but we have a university here (admitted, managed by Americans) that also has MBA programs and there are a few fine colleges here and many of the bright young people are really motivate to do a great job. So if our financiers don't stop me I would keep support here in Grenada. And since we are touted for high growth this can be a significant factor in better qualified jobs.
I checked back your profile and noticed that you asked last month whether we need any help in Europe. Let me explain our plan: We already have an arrangement for European Sales in Milan/Italy. From there we support distributors in each country. I believe we have another inquiry from the UK but no decisions are taken. Kindly send an email to jamesgrenada@gmail.com with your company profile.
Let me explain our marketing approach. The UrbanBlaster wind turbine is very suitable to install on flat roofs of higher buildings. But as you will know the certification period for wind turbines easily takes a year in the UK so that is optimistically speaking by the end of 2012. Well before that we should have SmartSolar and ECC in the air. Once we have prototypes and therewith proven performance (every system has a built in data logger) we will start a major road show in which we meet architects in small groups in the morning and contractors in the afternoon. As you have seen we have 4 associated architects. In addition to being part of the think tank they make a few designs that we show as examples to architects and as doable concepts to contractors. The designs for the social construction sector will be license free and the higher end are subject to a license fee. During the first year after prototyping we expect to see 1,400 architects and about the same amount -maybe a bit less- contractors. During that first year we will be doing primarily North America and Europe. For the UK that would mean somewhere between 10 and 15 (intensive)days. Our distributor is expected to give logistic support; we pay for venues, lunches, snacks, drinks and handouts.
While we are doing the roadshows we build a pilot series of 25 sets and install them in different markets with the purpose to collect performance data under a variety of circumstances. Shortly after we visited the first group of architects and contractors we will put the first results on our website and after a short while most of the 25 will be online. That is our strongest marketing tool because since we already have the target audience in our system, we just need to let them know. From that point, more and more will decide to work with us and sales will be more order processing than selling.
I look forward to hear from you.
Jun 23 2011 by Smart Green Energy [SmartSolar]
Luis is an architect based in Aruba and St. Croix, serving the Caribbean region specializing in all aspects of sustainable design. He envisions each project as the creation of an ecosystem that enhances and goes beyond simple project requirements. Their focus is on modern design without ties to any specific style or program type. Multi-function facilities always come closer to how nature works. Nature always informs design.
With Luis joining our work group we have now reached our goal to have a diversified team that will allow us to serve most markets.
With Luis joining our work group we have now reached our goal to have a diversified team that will allow us to serve most markets.
Jun 22 2011 by Smart Green Energy [SmartSolar]
Debesh is an architect from Nepal -also contender in the Challenge- and demonstrated a strong commitment to go green. Debesh agreed to be part of our architects work group and will likely come with low cost housing designs incorporating our green technology.
This proves once again that our approach to invite architects from different cultures works well. Where George looks how to integrate our green technology into higher end homes with more complicated structures, Debesh will concentrate on getting the cost as affordable as possible. Between these two extremes Ken will come with efficient prefab solutions very suitable for low (for US standards) to mid range homes. And maybe there will be some overlaps, that's fine.
With only 6 weeks after introducing the "Green Technology Meets Architecture" program this is a remarkable success!
This proves once again that our approach to invite architects from different cultures works well. Where George looks how to integrate our green technology into higher end homes with more complicated structures, Debesh will concentrate on getting the cost as affordable as possible. Between these two extremes Ken will come with efficient prefab solutions very suitable for low (for US standards) to mid range homes. And maybe there will be some overlaps, that's fine.
With only 6 weeks after introducing the "Green Technology Meets Architecture" program this is a remarkable success!
Jun 22 2011 by Smart Green Energy [SmartSolar]
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