There’s a new kid on the block when it comes to green energy providers and it only uses what is known as wind fence. Designed by Airiva, the source of energy that can light up your home is an option for a solar panel. Let’s look at this alternative using wind power.
Do we still need a solar panel?
The introduction of a company named Airiva means the concept of provision of power using wind is a possibility. This product is a brainchild of Joe Ducent who came with this idea in 2021. Doucet unveiled a concept for a different wind turbine that looked nothing like the typical turbine dotting our landscapes.
Instead of a monumental dandelion, it was shaped like a sculptural wall that could harness wind power and it can provide power for your home or business.
Looking at the background of Airiva, the product is the result of two and half years of research, design iterating, engineering, and wind tunnel testing.
This turbine consists of eight vertical wind turbines set within a frame that is about twice the size of an average person. Each turbine is shaped like a helix, and together with the other turbines spinning in sync, the system looks a bit like a curtain rippling in the wind.
“The new version looks quite different from the original concept, which resembled a kinetic mosaic made up of small, spinning, square panes. While the old version was less obvious in its intent, the new version is unmistakably a wind turbine, which arguably loses some of the magic,” says the company in a statement.
With this product’s popularity gaining momentum, there is no doubt that there is no use for the traditional wind turbine.
Is this wind turbine a viable option?
In the words of Airiva’s co-founder and CEO, Jeff Stone this intriguing concept “can’t always be made into a viable solution”, but their goal is to offer a product that is viable, modular, and beautiful.
FastCompany says in a quest for a perfect balance between beauty and efficiency, the team experimented with 16 blade configurations before narrowing their selection to four and testing those in a facility outside of Seattle.
“Of those four, two designs prevailed, and were further tested in a wind tunnel at the University of Washington and a larger wind tunnel on the East Coast. Of those two, the helical version came out on top,” reports the portal.
“Helical wind turbines aren’t new to the market, but Airiva is more than the sum of its parts.”
As Doucet explains the team “spent a long time calculating the right distance between each helix to get a net benefit from all turbines operating contiguously.”
Once arranged in a precise configuration, one unit (one frame with eight helical turbines) of this wind turbine can produce about 2200 kilowatt hours per year.
For reference, the average onshore wind turbine can produce over 6 million kilowatt hours of electricity every year, but Airiva isn’t trying to compete with utility-scale wind power. They’re competing with distributed wind power, whereby electricity from wind turbines is generated close to where the energy is consumed, like residential, commercial, agricultural, or industrial sites.
What will you need as a homeowner?
According to the company, an average-sized home in the U.S and maybe one that needs 100% of energy to be powered by Airiva, “you’d need to install five of these units to cover your energy bills—not very realistic, considering one unit measures about 13.8 by 6.9 feet.”
The founder, Doucet says the residential sector wasn’t their focus when he first unveiled the concept.
“Buyers can opt for a single unit with eight helixes, or install several units to form an array of turbines and harness wind on the side of a highway or at the periphery of an airport,” he said.
While Airiva isn’t quite ready for market yet, it is announced that the team has yet to run three to four pilots in varying conditions, which will help them validate their calculations and further iterate on the design.