On the subject of weaning from using oil as fuel ...
Worth taking a look for the pictures alone.
Barbara
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http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991292
Buildings with integrated wind turbines could generate at least 20 percent
of their own energy needs, and perhaps all. They would be more power
efficient than ordinary wind farms or solar powered constructions, say UK
researchers.
A team of aerodynamics engineers at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory's
Energy Research Unit, Oxfordshire, UK, has come up with a design for a
multi-tower office building or block of flats with wind turbines fitted in
between.
Curved towers would funnel wind towards the turbines and improve efficiency,
they say. Preliminary testing on an seven-metre prototype indicates that the
design could be twice as efficient as a stand-alone wind power generator,
despite the fact that it does not move to face the wind. Wind speeds in
urban areas are typically about two thirds of those in rural areas, so the
extra efficiency is vital, says the team.
etc.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:40:53 MDT