SBIR-STTR Award

The contribution of wind energy to the nation's energy portfolio is limited despite an increased interest in renewable energy by both individual consumers and governments. At the same time, the prices for fossil fuel energy sources used in heating are rising at an increasing rate. This research supports the development of a system that uses energy from wind to supply heat to individual buildings. It incorporates a combination of features that make it usable by a larger number of consumers than traditional wind systems. This project will determine whether the proposed system can achieve the energy conversion required in a package that is economically and aesthetically acceptable to the target consumer. OBJECTIVES: This research supports the development of a system that uses energy from wind to supply heat to individual buildings. The principal goal of this project is to determine whether the proposed system can achieve the energy conversion required in a package that is economically and aesthetically acceptable to the target consumer. APPROACH: We will construct full-scale system prototypes and test them under field conditions. We will use test information to optimize the rotor and generator design and to confirm that the system can meet the designed energy conversion objectives. We will also perform a market feasibility study to confirm that the concept will be accepted in the marketplace and to predict the impact the product will have in the target communities