WindRotors from Llumarlite – naturally!
April 1st 2007

Llumarlite has been involved for over 14 years in the design, manufacturer and installation of energy efficient lighting solutions. Building on this experience and with the desire to offer a total energy saving solution Llumarlite have entered into the renewables market. After assessing potential technologies, suppliers and products Llumarlite are focusing on the supply and installation of vertical axis wind turbines,WindRotors

The market for wind power has traditionally been dominated by systems with horizontal shafts. From famous windmills with horizontal shafts dating back to antiquity to the modern large-scale installations, the concept has always remained the same. Several blades,usually two or three, are attached to a hub in which the generator for power production is located.

Today, the best-known rotors with vertical shafts are those named after its Finnish inventor, Sigurd Savonius, and the vertical concept patented in the USA by the Frenchman,George Darrieus.

The Darrieus Rotor has three curved rotor blades that are attached to the central shaft. By profiling the blades similarly to an airplane wing, the rotating motion is generated according to the principle of aerodynamic lift. The Savonius Rotor has two curved vanes that overlap in the center, each vane guiding the wind into the other one.

Both concepts specifically have the advantage that they are independent of the wind direction and do not react negatively to gusty winds.There are,however, some disadvantages, such as the poorer starting properties compared with horizontal systems.

Added to this is the difficulty of regulating the rotational velocity in strong winds.

The advantage of the independence of the wind direction does not outweigh these disadvantages that are inherent in the design, and this has led to the fact that these systems cannot gain acceptance in the market.

The WindRotor is a combination and a further development of the Darrieus & Savnoius concepts. The two outer vanes of the WindRotor are shaped like the wings of an airplane and produce the rotating motion according to the aerodynamic principle of lift.The central part diverts the air.Through this special construction the use of any form of mechanical or electronic control (pitch control) is superfluous.

In this way, with respect to vertical rotors that have existed up to this point, the disadvantages that are inherent in their design are avoided and their advantages are not only taken over but improved in decisive points.

Compared to horizontal systems of the same output class, the WindRotor has the decisive advantage of being suitable for storms.At lower wind velocities, it supplies comparable output values to a traditional horizontal system,but in contrast to horizontal installations, it does not need to be taken out of the wind or braked at high wind velocities.This therefore results in a higher energy yield as a yearly average.

Traditional horizontal installations require regular maintenance, since they contain moving parts such as gears,brakes, or mechanical devices to turn the vanes away from the wind (pitch control). The WindRotor, on the other hand, consists of the static turbine, which in turn consists of the vanes that are fixed and connected with each other, the consoles, and the core assembly within the internal shaft.

The completely sealed generator is located in the internal shaft. It is an external rotor type equipped with permanent magnets.Contrary to most of the generators in use, with this principle of construction the rotor (of the generator) is statically located in the interior. Therefore, the generator contains no carbon brushes that would need maintenance.

A further advantage of this generator is the extremely low extension of the electromagnetic field. Electrical installations, radio devices, telephones, and so on that are located in the vicinity are therefore not affected.

The WindRotors are designed for battery charging and network power supply. Depending on the application purpose, the customer can determine whether he or she wants to make use of the constant direct current of the batteries or to obtain the energy through an integrated inverter which will convert the direct current to alternating current For network power supply, a specially designed on-grid inverter is connected to the public electrical network and the electricity produced is fed into the network.

Alternatively if there is a need to have a combination of battery charging and grid connection, an innovative MultiSourcePower-Controller charge regulator will control the energy transformation and the usage, charges batteries, and at the same time feeds the energy not required by the user into the public electricity network. The software of the MSPController is programmed to charge first the batteries and fed the grid only when the batteries are charged.

The MultiSourcePower-Controller electronic control also makes it possible to combine a WindRotor installation with other energy sources to create a hybrid energy solution.

This would typically be, for example, a photovoltaic system and/or a backup system (diesel generator).The entire combined system is controlled without any problems by the MultiSourcePower-Controller.

Through this, a high degree of operation security and reliable availability of electrical energy is achieved.

The WindRotor is suitable and adaptable to all environments. In particular, it excels in exposed areas as the turbines can withstand the highest loads without having to be taken out of operation. In urban areas the roughness of the built environment and the variability of wind direction suit a vertical axis wind turbines which operates independent of wind direction. Also due to its extremely low operating noise level, the wind is always louder than the turbine, the WindRotor can be situated in the heart of an urban environment.

Innovative as a result of the following properties: Independent of the wind direction Low maintenance High longevity Start up at wind velocities of 2- 3m/s.

Nominal output at wind velocities of 14m/s and higher Nearly silent, even at high wind velocities Does not require any mechanical/electronic adjustment (pitch regulation) Does not require any cut-out mechanism Does not create an electromagnetic field outside of the turbine Problem-free operation as a hybrid system Unique and eye catching product.

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