I'm saying this from a POV of curious ignorance, but for the furling/unfurling mechanism, have you considered a large centripetal governor such as the ones on very old tractors? In other words, as the wind picks up, the weights lift outwards, closing up the "scoops" until an equilibrium is reached between centripetal force and wind energy. I work for one of the largest wind companies in the US, so the personal home turbine is fascinating to me.
A mechanical governor has been considered. It would actually be much more complicated and problematic to control our furling with springs, weights and levers. Why? Because each of the segments is already at a different angle from the one before and after it, so you’d pretty much need an independent set of springs and weights for each segment, possibly even one for every scoop. Now that’s 4 or worse, 8 independent systems to do one synchronized thing. But wait, it gets better. Each one would have to be properly synchronized with the others or the whole system would become unbalanced and create some nasty issues. But what about ball-governors (like you have in steam engines)? Those require high RPMs to work and Harmony is a low RPM unit. In the end it would really be a living nightmare to try to get all of those independent little systems working properly together. We’ve looked at it thoroughly and in the end it’s just not worth the hassle. Additionally with our electronic system we will be able to play with finding more efficient furling states for various wind speeds. I have a theory that 100% open will NOT be the most efficient in all wind speeds below 25mph. I think being slightly closed in some cases will yield some surprising results. With an electronic system we can actually “dial in” the most efficient furling states at various wind speeds and RPM ranges. Try doing that with an analog system in an easy and straight-forward way.
Was wondering if you have preformed any strong wind testing with a generator hooked up? Interested in knowing how well this would preform when hooked up to a generator in a strong wind say 10-12 m/s. Have you measured Volts amps and wattage output yet?
Hi Jamie, We have not done any testing with a proper generator hooked up. The generators we have tried were all high RPM generators and Harmony is a low RPM turbine. We will be testing Harmony with our own generator when we complete development so that our data is the most accurate it can be.
So much potential. Could you flywheel it so the opening/closing mechanism is adjusted "simply" by centrifugal force? Further down the road - how about instead of stainless main blade sheets, curved bifacial PV? (if there is anything like that to be made in a bespoke manner for such application)
Interesting to see if a comparison could be run between solar and your wind turbine for my new home getting it to net zero (RI location). Also longevity of mechanical systems parts and operational efficiency in winter with ice.
Los componentes electrónicos de Harmony miden las RPM y, cuando alcanzan un nivel peligroso, Harmony activa su enrollador y cierra sus palas, protegiéndolo de daños catastróficos por el viento.
Hi Jamie, We have not done any testing with a proper generator hooked up. The generators we have tried were all high RPM generators and Harmony is a low RPM turbine. We will be testing Harmony with our own generator when we complete development so that our data is the most accurate it can be.
Still waiting for a loaded test. Haven't watched all your videos yet, but unless you have already tested it against a load/battery, you will probably not be very positive for long. Seen too many great designs go poof when it came to actually show tangible results.
Not a SINGLE video of this spinning thing generating some decent watts? Why? Hook it up to any old generator and show it can actually have enough spin/torque to generate something. If not, it is just a giant decoration piece donation money pit. I have seen plenty of "revolutionary" wind turbine projects from Europe and China in the past few decades. They came, scammed, and went away.
Rock it guys. Good job. We're glad we have invited with you. Thank you.
Olá meu amigo parabéns pelo seu trabalho sensacional 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 Brasil
The design IS a work of art!! I can't wait to have one!
I'm saying this from a POV of curious ignorance, but for the furling/unfurling mechanism, have you considered a large centripetal governor such as the ones on very old tractors? In other words, as the wind picks up, the weights lift outwards, closing up the "scoops" until an equilibrium is reached between centripetal force and wind energy.
I work for one of the largest wind companies in the US, so the personal home turbine is fascinating to me.
A mechanical governor has been considered. It would actually be much more complicated and problematic to control our furling with springs, weights and levers. Why? Because each of the segments is already at a different angle from the one before and after it, so you’d pretty much need an independent set of springs and weights for each segment, possibly even one for every scoop. Now that’s 4 or worse, 8 independent systems to do one synchronized thing. But wait, it gets better. Each one would have to be properly synchronized with the others or the whole system would become unbalanced and create some nasty issues. But what about ball-governors (like you have in steam engines)?
Those require high RPMs to work and Harmony is a low RPM unit. In the end it would really be a living nightmare to try to get all of those independent little systems working properly together. We’ve looked at it thoroughly and in the end it’s just not worth the hassle. Additionally with our electronic system we will be able to play with finding more efficient furling states
for various wind speeds. I have a theory that 100% open will NOT be the most efficient in all wind speeds below 25mph. I think being slightly closed in some cases will yield some surprising results. With an electronic system we can actually “dial in” the most efficient furling states at various wind speeds and RPM ranges. Try doing that with an analog system in an
easy and straight-forward way.
It would be interesting to see if AI could be useful to incorporate into the system to keep from overloading the drive load...
Was wondering if you have preformed any strong wind testing with a generator hooked up? Interested in knowing how well this would preform when hooked up to a generator in a strong wind say 10-12 m/s. Have you measured Volts amps and wattage output yet?
Hi Jamie, We have not done any testing with a proper generator hooked up. The generators we have tried were all high RPM generators and Harmony is a low RPM turbine. We will be testing Harmony with our own generator when we complete development so that our data is the most accurate it can be.
So much potential. Could you flywheel it so the opening/closing mechanism is adjusted "simply" by centrifugal force? Further down the road - how about instead of stainless main blade sheets, curved bifacial PV? (if there is anything like that to be made in a bespoke manner for such application)
Interesting to see if a comparison could be run between solar and your wind turbine for my new home getting it to net zero (RI location). Also longevity of mechanical systems parts and operational efficiency in winter with ice.
Como mides las revisiones para saber cuado y cuanto deben cerrar las aspas?
Los componentes electrónicos de Harmony miden las RPM y, cuando alcanzan un nivel peligroso, Harmony activa su enrollador y cierra sus palas, protegiéndolo de daños catastróficos por el viento.
What video do you show this turbine hooked to a generator?
Hi Jamie, We have not done any testing with a proper generator hooked up. The generators we have tried were all high RPM generators and Harmony is a low RPM turbine. We will be testing Harmony with our own generator when we complete development so that our data is the most accurate it can be.
Still waiting for a loaded test. Haven't watched all your videos yet, but unless you have already tested it against a load/battery, you will probably not be very positive for long. Seen too many great designs go poof when it came to actually show tangible results.
Not a SINGLE video of this spinning thing generating some decent watts? Why? Hook it up to any old generator and show it can actually have enough spin/torque to generate something. If not, it is just a giant decoration piece donation money pit. I have seen plenty of "revolutionary" wind turbine projects from Europe and China in the past few decades. They came, scammed, and went away.