wind energy without windmills
December 1st, 2016 at 4:35:46 PM permalink | |
reno Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 58 Posts: 1384 | Windmills are ancient technology: they've been used to produce electricity since 1887. In order to be cost-effective, modern wind turbines (particularly offshore) are huge: 250 feet high with blades 150 feet long. But their excessive size makes them difficult to transport, expensive to install, and they don't perform efficiently in light gentle breezes. A small Michigan start-up called Accio Energy is working on a way to harness electricity from wind without using a windmill. No blades, no turbine, no moving parts. Accio's idea is based upon the same physics principles that create thunder & lightning. The ingredients are wind and charged water mist. The wind separates positive and negative charges as it moves the water droplets through a permeable panel. Once the wind carries off the positively-charged droplets, the negative charges remain, producing high-voltage, direct current electricity. The wind-permeable flat panels are composed primarily of mass-produced tubes using common materials. Accio claims that a single wind panel with the height and length of a standard shipping container could produce 2.5-3 kW of rated power as part of a utility-scale array. The company says that the system could operate at peak efficiency at all wind speeds. The U.S. Department of Energy has taken notice. In late 2015, the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy awarded $4.5 million in funding to support Accio Energy's work in developing utility-scale EHD wind-power generation systems, specifically for the offshore market. The Accio team is currently partnering with the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center to design, build, and test prototypes at a demonstration site off the Atlantic Coast. |
December 1st, 2016 at 4:43:54 PM permalink | |
rxwine Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 189 Posts: 18762 | Pretty cool. Speaking of lightning, pretty much everyone has watched it for thousands of years and probably wondered about harnessing it. So in a real way, someone has I guess if this works well. You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really? |
December 1st, 2016 at 4:46:58 PM permalink | |
Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25011 |
This article hurts my head. Just give me the juice, don't tell me how you got it. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
December 1st, 2016 at 5:24:44 PM permalink | |
AZDuffman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 135 Posts: 18210 |
Kind of agree, interesting idea but a hard time grasping it since not just turning the turbine. Even then, I just know it turns and it works. I can rough wire out a house if I had to but I just cannot get my arms around watts and amps. The President is a fink. |
December 1st, 2016 at 5:30:26 PM permalink | |
TheCesspit Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 23 Posts: 1929 |
There are no turbines in this system. The moving parts are the water onto the vanes, and the wind blowing across the vanes to create a charge. Oh, and I presume a motor to turn the vanes so they lie perpendicular to the wind. It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die.... it's called Life |
December 1st, 2016 at 5:33:11 PM permalink | |
Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 |
It's probably a lot easier to think of it as 200,000V battery than a windmill. |
December 1st, 2016 at 5:36:03 PM permalink | |
AZDuffman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 135 Posts: 18210 |
That sorta helps me get it, but again, my mind does not completely grasp how electricity works, just that it works. I know it is about exciting electrons or something. The President is a fink. |
December 1st, 2016 at 5:48:21 PM permalink | |
Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 | Electric is the Greek word for amber. In greek it was more like "elector". If you rub amber with fur you get static electricity. |
December 1st, 2016 at 5:55:33 PM permalink | |
stinkingliberal Member since: Nov 9, 2016 Threads: 17 Posts: 731 | Why can't we just put a giant propeller in front of Trump? Hook it up to a generator and his wind power could light a small city. There are two questions I have about the ACCIO system. One is that the system produces DC current. How would this be efficiently transformed into AC so that it could be delivered onshore? Also, it's high-voltage, so I presume low amperage. Wouldn't you also need a fair number of step-down transformers to give you the current you need for domestic and industrial applications? |
December 1st, 2016 at 5:58:37 PM permalink | |
kenarman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 14 Posts: 4512 |
All solar power via solar cells is DC batteries and inverters are the key. If the voltage it produces is not at a consistent level and can range to 6 figures this probably creates a new problem that needs to be solved for them to become viable. "but if you make yourselves sheep, the wolves will eat you." Benjamin Franklin |