Noise, bulk and inconsistent winds have hampered the adoption of wind turbines by homeowners, but a new design could change that. Imad Mahawili, a chemical engineer and long-time wind-energy consultant, has reimagined the technology to take advantage of even light breezes. In a typical wind turbine, air moves the blades, which turn gears to spin a generator and produce a current. Those mechanical linkages siphon off a good deal of wind energy before it can be converted to electricity. Mahawili's system, the Honeywell Wind Turbine, eliminates the separate generator, and therefore the gearing. The blades are tipped with magnets and enclosed in a wheel that contains coiled copper--in other words, the turbine itself is the electrical generator. With conventional designs, "It takes 7 to 8 mph to overcome the resistance of gears," Mahawili says. The new system, which weighs 165 pounds and costs about $5500, works in 2-mph winds.
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