SolarMill is an interesting product that came to my notice recently - it is made up of a solar panel and... surprise: vertical-axis wind turbines! Both of them come in a single package!! The above video shows the product in action and how brakes are automatically applied by the turbines in extreme weather conditions (we may not have to worry about that here).
I like the concept of combining solar panels with micro-wind turbines. This is not new as hybrid solar-wind systems power many homes, street lights, etc. already. But all of them use horizontal axis wind turbines. What is new in this implementation is their usage of vertical axis wind turbines.
According to the website of Indogreenenviro (supplier of WindStream SolarMill product in India, I guess), the advantages of solar-wind hybrid SolarMill include -
- Both solar panels and wind turbines produce power during the day (when it is sunny and windy), but wind turbines continue to produce power during the night - a crucial advantage over solar power systems (only). In areas that receive a good amount of wind, power can be generated over all 24 hours.
- One WindMill containing three rotating turbines can potentially produce (a maximum of) 500 W of power at a windspeed of 17 m/s. O.K., 17 m/s wind speed is too high for us, you can reduce it according to the wind speed in your region. Add this capacity with what is generated by a 245 W solar panel on the top, and you get a considerable amount of electricity, at least for a small set-up.
- They say that their turbines operate at low wind speeds and has wide operating wind speeds.
- This system is small, quiet, easy to install and scalable - maybe even portable.
- When compared to normal wind turbines, this one seems to be safer for birds, etc.
- Other advantages of renewable energy systems like zero carbon emissions, no raw material costs, environmentally friendliness, etc. also apply to this system.
If such a system can be mass-produced, don't you think it will be a big hit in the residential and small business sectors that (at present) depend on Inverters and diesel generators? Much depends on the cost, I agree. I like the concept and the product.
Please note: I have not used this product myself and this article is not a recommendation. I just want to inform you about an interesting product that I came across. If you want to buy it, you do your research, contact existing customers and do whatever you do before buying a new technology.
