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Science: Energy: Wind: Windmill
Ground Sail Electric Power   (+1, -1)  [vote for, against]
Sail on building roof, building side or mountain side produces energy

For some reason I feel senile: Didn't I post this idea already?

Ground based sail or parachute for electricity generation - along sides of tall buildings where it's always extremely windy, on roof tops, and instead of the giant wind turbines in Denmark and the Golan Heights.

Energy generation could either be from some type of pressure-to-electricity device (like a piezoelectric microphone...), or from a slow moving arm with transmission to a regular mechanical generator, (and returning to zero position only when wind recedes once in while) or, similar to a sail ship going against the wind, is turned this way and that (a bit like a flapping wing) now and then.

Prior art see links (Wingmill, wind sail)
-- pashute, Mar 12 2010

Wingmill [pashute, Mar 12 2010]

Windbelt - Wind flutter (oscilator) generator http://www.popularm...dustry/4224763.html
The wind turbine alterntive [pashute, Mar 12 2010]

Shade-roof wind electric generator https://picasaweb.g...5644149346997888770
Something like this... [pashute, Aug 23 2011]

Saphon read the halfbakery and made a product http://skeptoid.com...ficient-wind-power/
[pashute, Dec 05 2012]

simple sail generator Wind Sail Generator
[DarkEnergy]'s idea from 2003 [pashute, Dec 05 2012]

Wind sail-ship generator Wind Sail
[pashute, Dec 05 2012]

Maximum efficiency Sail_20Turbine
[FlyingToaster, Dec 05 2012]

Gyroscopic wind turbine https://www.youtube...watch?v=t2KJnT5jQng
similar but more complex to create [pashute, Jul 18 2015]

A microphone converts pressure ~change~ into signal, not pressure into electricity.

An aperture is a hole. How does this move slowly and connect to a "regular generator?

There seem to be a number of holes in the how-it-works area of this invention. One is left wondering how it improves upon a regular wind turbine in the same location, or indeed if it functions at all. Further explication is welcomed.
-- BunsenHoneydew, Mar 17 2010


changed to 'arm'. Don't know what word I originally had in mind. Is it clear now?

A second attempt at explaining. Instead of a wind turbine, just use a large shade roof. When it billows up and down, a rope or arm from the middle is pulled or pushed, turning an electric generator.

I made an image (posting it on links soon) see link.
-- pashute, Aug 23 2011


A company called Saphon seems to have read this idea and have applied for a patent on it. They call it Zero Blade Technology. [link]

Seems [DarkEnergy] preceded me here in HB by 7 years. Don't know how I missed that. [link]

Then [dameion] came up with a ship (and underwater turbine generator producing hydrogen) instead of land as the stabilizer and hydraulic power or a ratchet system for stabilizing and storing the power input. [link]
-- pashute, Dec 05 2012


//A microphone converts pressure ~change~ into signal, not pressure into electricity.//

That is true of condenser microphones, which barely move, and therefore accurately record pressure fluctuations.

There exist microphones that record absolute pressure. They have no low-frequency rolloff whatsoever, which is cool. But they do not generate power from static pressure; that is not possible.

There are also ribbon microphones, which (as closely as possible) measure air movement rather than pressure.

Naturally, the two extremes - pure pressure sensing without movement, and pure movement sensing without pressure - are not capable of generating power. But dynamic microphones do generate power, from a combination of pressure and movement. Of course, this results in the precise measurement of neither, imparting distortion which, in part, allows a sound technician to make even the best musician sound like crap.
-- spidermother, Dec 06 2012



random, halfbakery