Green Tech-er

Helix Wind announced Wednesday that it’s beginning a trial run in Southern California to see if its wind turbines might be useful for powering cell phone towers.

The manufacturer is becoming known for its small vertical-axis wind turbines that can generate electricity with winds as low as 10 mph, as well as its unique business model to finance them.

The pilot program, conducted in conjunction with cell phone tower operator Core Communications, will experiment with whether the turbines powering cell phone towers could also generate surplus energy to sell back to the energy grid.

If they generate enough surplus power, small wind turbines could provide a new source of income for cell phone tower operators as well as a new power source.

Helix Wind’s turbines, which will be installed in early 2010, will run for up to three months before being re-evaluated.

According to statistics provided by Helix Wind, there are approximately 3,500 cell phone towers in Southern California, and another 1,000 expected to be added in the next five years to cover consumer growth.

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Toyota announced yesterday that it will be contributing ten plug-in Priuses to the SmartGridCity project, the world’s first comprehensive smart grid demonstration.

The project is being coordinated by Xcel Energy and the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI) at the University of Colorado at Boulder, a new research venture by NREL and the university.  The project aims to demonstrate how a smart grid can bring enhanced reliability and visibility to grid energy use.  Participants will be able to monitor and remotely-control their homes’ energy use with smart meters.

Toyota’s participation in the project will allow researchers to test how plug-in EVs can fit into a smart grid.  RASEI will analyze customer charging patterns and monitor the interaction between customers and the utilities.  As a bonus, Toyota will be able to test the cars’ lithium-ion battery performance in cold weather and high altitudes.

Other projects have been launched to study the impact of plug-ins on a grid or to test smart meters with utilities, but this is the first to bring all the components together and study how a fully functioning smart grid can work.  The Priuses will be delivered to the project in March 2010.  We’re anxious to hear the results of their research.

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The Dyson Air Multiplier fan is the latest invention to come from Sir James Dyson, father of the Dyson vacuum cleaner series and the Dyson Airblade hand dryer. Air Multiplier is a ‘bladeless’ fan that provides a smooth airflow and that induces air circulation in the surrounding air, getting a greater effect of air movement.

It’s not necessarily a more efficient fan than other fans (Dyson doesn’t have any information about the relative efficiency of their fan on their website yet), but it’s certainly an innovative design, and that could make it more acceptable to have a fan in a space, where a conventional bladed fan might be objectionable. The noise level from this fan is also not indicated yet. The sleek appearance of the Air Multiplier also makes it easier to clean than bladed fans. However, the Air Multiplier is not truly ‘bladeless.’ The blades are just concealed in the base of the unit.

Fans can be a far more efficient method of cooling than air conditioning. Moving air can provide a cooling effect with much less energy use. The Air Multiplier offers a stylish way to do this. While it has just been released, and availability is limited, it will be interesting to see if the performance of this fan makes it a real winner, rather than an expensive curiosity.

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