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An assessment of the potential of a novel ducted turbine for harvesting wind

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DOI: 10.1177/1045389X14533438

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Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and
Structures
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An assessment of the potential of a novel ducted turbine for harvesting wind power
N Goudarzi, WD Zhu and H Bahari
Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures published online 19 May 2014
DOI: 10.1177/1045389X14533438

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Special Issue Article

Journal of Intelligent Material Systems

and Structures
1–12
An assessment of the potential of a Ó The Author(s) 2014
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novel ducted turbine for harvesting [Link]/[Link]
DOI: 10.1177/1045389X14533438

wind power [Link]

N Goudarzi1, WD Zhu1 and H Bahari2

Abstract
A novel ducted turbine, referred to as a Wind Tower, as a smart architectural integrated design for capturing wind
power in residential or commercial applications is theoretically and experimentally studied. A mathematical model is
developed to predict the flow behavior inside the tower, and a velocity coefficient is defined to correct the results at dif-
ferent test conditions. A 1/8-scale wind tower prototype, including a four-quadrant-peak windcatcher rooftop, a tower, a
nozzle, and a turbine, is designed and fabricated. The results from the mathematical model provide a good estimation of
the output power obtained from experimental tests. Significant changes in the output wind speed due to pressure differ-
ences created by the surrounding environment and the Wind Tower components configuration are observed. The
advantages of requiring low maintenance, and being reliable and sustainable, together with its special design that elimi-
nates bird/bat mortality, make the Wind Tower a promising solution for residential, commercial, and off-grid
applications.

Keywords
Energy harvesting, ducted turbine, windcatcher, modeling, experimental test, architectural integrated design

Introduction CO2 emission (g/kWh), power production (base-load,

peak-load, or intermittent), environmental impact, and
While the majority of energy being used in urban areas geographical constraint, which is the dependency of a
is provided by conventional sources, including coal, power source on a specific geographic area
petroleum, and natural gas with high percentages of (Kaltschmitt et al., 2007; Moomaw et al., 2012). While
carbon, their environmental, political, and sustainabil- there is an infinite amount of renewable energy sources,
ity issues have been drawing more concerns in recent their power production in most cases is either intermit-
years. Power sources with desirable properties, such as tent or geographically constrained. Nuclear power has
sustainability, very low carbon emission and environ- safety, health, and security issues. Ocean power is
mental impact, stable (non-intermittent) power produc- strictly limited to coastal areas, and biomass, hydro-
tion, and being economic, safe, and independent of electric, and geothermal powers are directly dependent
geography, are of interest for current and future power on the geography. Similarly, different types of solar
production. Renewable energy technologies, such as power are geographically constrained and will not gen-
wind power, solar power, hydropower, and geothermal erate enough power due to the amount of sun expo-
power, can be used to significantly reduce the emission sure. Most of the time, wind is available in urban areas;
of greenhouse gases and at the same time reduce the for example, the annual average wind speed in US cities
dependency on the oil industry. Figure 1 shows the
average levelized cost of energy (LCOE) by technology
for energy sources entering service in 2016 in the United
States (Yates and Hibberd, 2012). 1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland,
Some types of renewable energies, such as wind Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA
2
power, hydropower, and geothermal power, have either Bahari Energy, LLC, Rockville, MD, USA
very close or even better LCOE values compared with
Corresponding author:
the conventional energy sources. However, there are N Goudarzi, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of
some challenges in using these renewable energies. Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore MD 21250, USA.
Table 1 compares different power sources in terms of Email: navid2@[Link]

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2 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures

Figure 1. The average LCOE by technology in 2016 in the United States.

PV: photo voltaic; NG: natural gas; CC: combined cycle; CCS: carbon capture and sequestration.

Table 1. Comparison of different power sources.

Energy CO2 emission (g/kWh) Power Environment Geographic constraint

Coal 1001 Base-load Poor None

Natural gas 469 Base- and peak-load OKa None
Nuclear 16 Base-load Minimal None
Photovoltaic solar power 46 Intermittent OK Yes
Concentrated solar power 22 Intermittent OK Yes
Wind 12 Intermittent Minimal Yes
Biomass 18 Intermittent OKb Some
Geothermal 45 Base-load Minimal Yes
Hydroelectric 4 Base- and peak-load Minimal Yes
Ocean 8 Base-load Minimalc Coastal
a
Fracking.
b
Some CO2 emission.
c
Marine life impact that should be studied.

has a wide range from 2 m/s to higher values (US extracted by the rotor, and hmech is the mechanical effi-
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013). ciency of the rotor and the structure.
Different kinds of wind turbines are employed to The urban wind comes with undesirable characteris-
convert the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical tics in form of turbulence, which is very hard for open
power, and then convert the mechanical power into turbines to efficiently harvest wind power (Lubitz,
electricity by generators. The captured wind power at 2014). Also, open wind turbines in urban areas have
the rotor is determined by (Dwinnell, 1949; Goudarzi, environmental issues such as bird/bat mortality and
2011; Goudarzi and Zhu, 2012; Manwell et al., 2009) noise emission, interface with radar, radio, and TV
transmissions, and visual impact. In addition, there are
1 a lack of architectural integration with building design
Pr = rAU 3 Cp hmech ð1Þ and added weights to rooftops. In this work, a smart
2
Wind Tower design as an independent or integrated
where Pr is the output rotor power, r is the air density, unit in a building is proposed to address all the above
A is the rotor swept area, U is the horizontal wind issues with open wind turbines and to bring alternative
speed, Cp is the non-dimensional power coefficient that power to urban areas with more power and a flexible
represents the fraction of the wind power that is output. A Wind Tower turbine is housed inside a tower,

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Goudarzi et al. 3

which reduces some of the turbine blade noise, and the Figure 3 shows the top and front views of a four-
inlet and outlet air flow can be covered with a wire quadrant windcatcher with 45° rooftop edges project-
mesh to prevent birds and bats from getting inside the ing out; the optimum angle of the windcatcher depends
tower and being injured by the turbine blades. The on the structure at the site. A windcatcher assembly
tower acts as a regular building structure; hence, it does directs the flow into the tower; it comes in various
not have any interference with radar, radio, and TV designs such as unidirectional, by-directional, and
transmissions. There is less visual impact of a Wind multi-directional, and the optimum design can be
Tower compared with current roof-mounted wind tur- obtained by using theoretical and numerical techniques
bines. The results show the effectiveness of using the together with a meteorological assessment at the site
Wind Tower technology in residential and commercial (El-shorbagy, 2010; Maneshi et al., 2012; Tavakolinia,
applications. 2011). The tower structure together with the embedded
nozzles inside it will accelerate the flow. Different num-
bers of nozzles together with various inlet and outlet
A Wind Tower geometries can be studied to obtain an arrangement
with an optimum performance at a site. The wind
A Wind Tower, in the form of an independent or power will be converted to mechanical power by using
building-integrated unit, is proposed as an alternative conventional blade or drum-shaped turbines at the out-
to conventional roof-mounted wind turbines in residen- let of nozzles (Foote and Agarwal, 2011; Mashud and
tial or commercial applications. The original concept of Ali, 2011; Wang et al., 2012). For urban areas with a
this patented Wind Tower technology (Bahari and low mean wind speed, drum turbines and shrouded
Tadayon, 2011) comes from a traditional Persian archi- wind turbines have better efficiency (Ohya and
tectural device (called baadgir in Farsi) used for many Karasudani, 2010). Figure 4 shows the front and cross-
centuries to create natural ventilation in buildings section views of a Wind Tower with drum turbines.
(Alanna, 2012; A’zami, 2005). The nozzles’ outlet design will maximize the captured
A Wind Tower uses pressure differentials produced wind power at turbines by concentrating the flow on
by wind flow around a building to generate electricity. the working vanes of the turbines. Finally, rotational
Figure 2 shows the schematic of a Wind Tower with its mechanical power is converted to electrical power using
major components, including a windcatcher rooftop, a generators (Goudarzi and Zhu 2013a, 2013b ; Zhu et
tower structure, two nuzzles, and two drum turbines. al., 2012).
The captured wind power is a function of the wind
speed and direction around the building, the tower
height, the distance between the nozzle and the rooftop,
and the distance between the nozzle and the outlet of
the tower. A basic mathematical model of the Wind
Tower can be developed, and then modified for differ-
ent sites by using simulation techniques and experimen-
tal tests. To measure pressure coefficients and
velocities, wind tunnel tests on straight ducts (without
turbines) in a rectangular building model have been
performed by a number of researchers (Dannecker and
Grant, 2002).
A Wind Tower installation at different locations of
a building depends on different parameters such as the
visual impact and the surrounding terrain specifica-
tions. Figure 5 shows several possible options for a
Wind Tower installation in a building. In this work,
the potential of a Wind Tower for power generation in
buildings is studied.
In recent years, ducted turbines have been proposed
as an alternative to conventional approaches such as
small wind turbines and photovoltaic panels, for resi-
dential electricity generation. While all of them work
based on pressure differentials created by the wind flow
around the buildings, each design has advantages and
disadvantages compared with the proposed Wind
Figure 2. Schematic of a Wind Tower with a windcatcher Tower technology. The Windation Energy system is
rooftop, a tower structure, two nozzles, and drum turbines. one of the successful technologies that has the main

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4 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures

Figure 3. Quadrant windcatcher with 45° rooftop edges projecting out: (a) top view and (b) front view.

Figure 4. Arrangements of diffusers and drum turbines in the Wind Tower: (a) front view and (b) cross-section view.

components (windcatcher, tower, and turbine) of the residential properties and commercial entities. The omni-
Wind Tower (Windation Energy Systems, Inc., 2010). directional INVELOX system is a scalable ducted turbine
While it has a compact design with a maximum of 5 whose fundamental innovation is in eliminating the need
kW energy production, it cannot be mounted on any for tower-mounted turbines (Allaei, 2012). While simula-
rooftop building; it will also lead to extra weight added tion results show a minimum speed ratio of two that can
to the rooftop. The optimum performance of a ducted be achieved by the INVELOX, its large structure does
turbine in a building is achieved when it links a high not integrate with the architectural building design and
pressure zone to a low pressure one. The Webster does not minimize aesthetic issues in urban areas.
ducted turbine is designed to achieve this goal through Beside the visual impact and safety issues of ducted
a channel on a side of the rooftop of a building that turbines, elimination of bird/bat mortality by using inlet
connects the high and low pressure zones (Grant et al., screens is another environmental advantage of a Wind
2008); however, it is limited to buildings with open Tower compared with the similar designs. Simple design,
sides. Scalable ducted turbines can be used in both together with very low installation, operation, and

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Goudarzi et al. 5

Figure 5. Possible Wind Tower locations: (a) at building sides, (b) on a sloped roof, (c) on a flat roof, and (d) inside a building.

maintenance costs, makes the Wind Tower a great choice

for off-grid properties and commercial ships as well.

Methodology
Mathematical model
The efficiency of a Wind Tower is a function of mass
flow rate through the tower and the pressure differen-
tial across its ends. In order to determine a design with
an optimum performance, and to predict the output
power at an operating condition, a mathematical model
is developed here. Figure 6 shows a vertical tower, with
inflow speeds and cross-section areas of V1 and A1 at
the duct inlet, V2 and A2 at the nozzle inlet, V3 and A3
at the nozzle outlet before a turbine, and V4 and A4 at
the nozzle outlet after the turbine, respectively.
The general motion of fluid flow is described by the
Navier–Stokes equation (Munson et al., 2009)
 
∂V Figure 6. (a) An unobstructed vertical duct with a nozzle and
r + V (r  V ) = rp + r  T + B ð2Þ
∂t (b) a vertical duct with a turbine to capture the wind power.

where r is the air density; V = u^i + v^j + w^k is the flow

velocity vector with its components u, v, and w in the x, irrotational for a short tower. Hence, the Navier-
y, and z directions, respectively; p is the pressure; T is Stokes equation of flow motion is simplified to the
the total stress tensor; B represents body forces acting Bernoulli equation, not just along the streamlines but
on the fluid; and r is the del operator. It can be
also at any point in the flow direction in the tower
assumed that the flow density remains constant, and
the flow is incompressible at low speeds; viscosity V2 p
effects are assumed to be negligible. The flow is + gz + = constant ð3Þ
2 r
assumed to be steady, and it can be assumed

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6 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures

where g is the gravitational acceleration and z is the Equation (8) shows that the maximum induced flow
height. From the Bernoulli equation and conservation velocity in a tower with a turbine
pffiffiffi at a specific area ratio
of mass, the induced air velocity at the nozzle outlet is is reduced by a factor of 3=3 compared with that in
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi an unobstructed tower. Hence, the pressure drop and
2ðp01  p4 Þ the maximum captured power are
V4 = Cv, A + 2gðZ1  Z4 Þ ð4Þ
r   2 
r 2 kV1 1
DpT = kV1  = rkV12 ð9Þ
where p01 and p4 are the stagnation and static pressures 2 3 3
at the tower inlet and nozzle outlet, respectively; Z1 and rffiffiffi
Z4 are the tower inlet and nozzle outlet heights, respec- 1   k rA3 Cv, A 3=2 3
P = r kV12 A3 Cv, A V1 = pffiffiffi k V1 ð10Þ
tively; and Cv:A is the velocity coefficient of the tower at 3 3 3 3
operating conditions, which includes the effect of area
respectively. The power coefficient is obtained from
changes between the nozzle inlet and outlet. The coeffi-
equation (10)
cient Cv,A would be determined by experiments. The
velocity change due to height differences between the 2
tower and nozzle inlet is negligible compared with that Cp = pffiffiffi Cv, A k 3=2 ð11Þ
due to the pressure difference. If one defines a differen- 3 3
tial pressure coefficient by k = 2(p01  p4 )=(rV12 ), the The relation among Cp, Cv,A, and k is shown in
flow velocity at the nozzle outlet is Figure 8. This shows that power coefficients of 1 or
pffiffiffi higher may be achieved in some cases. While very high
V4 = V3 = Cv, A k V1 ð5Þ power coefficients are predicted theoretically, they are
gross ones; precise wind tunnel tests and simulation
The values of the velocity ratio V4 =V1 for a range of
techniques are required to study the effects of the tower,
differential pressure coefficients and velocity coeffi-
nozzles, and turbines on the power coefficient. It should
cients, at two area ratios of 1.0 and 2.0, are shown in
be noted that turbine and generator efficiencies should
Figure 7(a) and (b), respectively. For a constant velo-
be considered in obtaining a maximum Cp (Grant et
city coefficient, higher pressure ratios and higher area
ratios result in higher velocity ratios. Also, for a con- al., 2008). Also, the flow behavior and Cp values are
stant pressure ratio at a fixed velocity coefficient, higher strongly affected by the size of the Wind Tower; tests
area ratios result in higher velocity ratios. on models in wind tunnels and scaled prototypes do not
If a turbine is placed at the end of a nozzle in the tower give an accurate representation of Cp values at a full
(see Figure 6(b)), a pressure drop of DpT takes place. scale, especially in regions with flow separation (Hoxey
Under the same assumptions made for fluid flow going et al., 1997; Larose and D’Auteuil, 2006; Munson et al.,
through an unobstructed tower to simplify the Navier– 2009). Hence, theoretical and experimental models,
Stokes equation to the Bernoulli equation, the change in together with simulation techniques, are required to
the flow velocity after a fan inside the tower due to the make more accurate predictions of the flow behavior
pressure drop can be obtained by modifying equation (4) and wind power inside a Wind Tower at a site.
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi In the case of a tower with more than one set of noz-
2DpT zles and turbines, induced flow velocities at nozzle inlets
V4 = Cv, A kV12  ð6Þ and outlets can be obtained by using similar deriva-
r
tions. However, the velocity and pressure coefficients
By equation (6), the captured power by the turbine is will be affected by the number and shapes of the noz-
(Grant et al., 2008) zles, the wakes after the turbines, and the Wind Tower
" !# operating conditions.
 
DpT rA4 V4 V42
rA4 V4 = kV12  ð7Þ
r 2 Cv,2 A
Test procedure and results
To find the maximum captured wind power at the tur- Figure 9 shows a 1/8-scale Wind Tower prototype,
bine, equation (7) is differentiated with respect to V4 including a windcatcher rooftop, a tower structure, and
two nozzles. Experimental tests were conducted on this
rA3 dV12 3rA3 V42 prototype at a height of approximately 5 m above the
 =0
2 2Cv,2 A sea level on the roof of a building with open sides and
a temperature of 258C at the atmospheric pressure. The
The maximum flow velocity at the nozzle outlet is induced air velocity at the top of the tower and nozzle
rffiffiffi heights was measured by a Kestrel 4000 velocity sensor
k that provides instant and average wind speeds (Kestrel
V4 max = Cv, A V1 ð8Þ
3 4000 Weather Meter, 2013).

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Goudarzi et al. 7

(a)
1.6
Cv=0.6
Cv=0.7
1.4 Cv=0.8
Cv=0.9
Tower Velocity Ratio Cv=1.0
1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Differential Pressure Coefficient, k
(b)
3.2
Cv=0.6
3 Cv=0.7
2.8 Cv=0.8
Cv=0.9
2.6
Cv=1.0
Tower Velocity Ratio

2.4

2.2

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

1
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Differential Pressure Coefficient, k

Figure 7. Values of the velocity ratio V4 =V1 in an unobstructed tower with a nozzle area ratio A2 =A3 of (a) one and (b) two.

Different windcatcher rooftop designs, such as flat- simple design, but its efficiency is low in low
roof quadrants with 45° rooftop edges projecting out, wind speed regions due to its windcatcher
peak-roof four-quadrant rooftops, and flat-roof 45° configuration.
rooftop edges projecting out, were tested. The follow- (b) Rotating flat-roof windcatcher rooftop config-
ing windcatcher and nozzle configurations were tested: uration. The same single nozzle used for the
flat-roof four-quadrant windcatcher rooftop
(a) Flat-roof four-quadrant windcatcher rooftop configuration is employed here (Figure 10).
configuration. A single nozzle with square and Wind goes into the tower through only one
circular cross-section areas at the nozzle inlet inlet, and the flat-roof windcatcher needs to
and outlet, respectively, is used to accelerate have a yaw motion based on the input wind
the flow (Figure 10). This configuration has a speed direction. A drawback of this

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8 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures

1.5
Cv=0.6
Cv=0.7
1.25 Cv=0.8
Cv=0.9
Cv=1.0
1
Power Coefficient

0.75

0.5

0.25

0
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Differential Pressure Coefficient, k

Figure 8. Predicted turbine power coefficients in a tower with a nozzle area ratio A2 =A3 of one.

Figure 9. A 1/8-scale Wind Tower prototype: (a) the complete assembly, (b) the windcatcher rooftop, and (c) the tower structure
without the windcatcher assembly.

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Goudarzi et al. 9

Table 2. Comparison of different windcatcher designs with an increased wind power ratio.

Configuration Flow velocity at location 1, (m/s) Flow velocity at location 2, (m/s) Wind power ratio

a 3.51 4.28 1.82

b 3.46 4.68 2.47
c-1 2.11 2.87 2.51
c-2 2.20 3.25 3.23
c-3 1.94 2.36 1.80
c-4 1.94 2.60 2.39

nozzle and a square cross-section at the inlet that

gradually changes to a circular cross-section at
the outlet at the lower one. This configuration is
expected to have a better performance compared
with the previous ones. A peak-roof four-quad-
rant windcatcher makes it possible to capture
most of the wind flow in different directions
around a building, and the peak-roof shape of
the windcatcher provides a smoother and less
turbulent inflow into the tower.

Table 2 provides average wind speeds and induced

air velocities of six separate tests at the rooftop (loca-
tion 1) and nozzle outlet (location 2) of the Wind
Tower prototype. Also, increased wind power ratios in
the tower are obtained from equation (1), with the
assumptions of a 100% mechanical efficiency, the max-
imum ideal power coefficient of 0.6, which is the Betz
limit, and an air density at the sea level of 1:204 kg=m3 .
Figure 10. Rotating/flat-roof four-quadrant windcatcher The test results show that a single-nozzle configuration
rooftop configuration. with a square to a circular cross-section from the inlet
to the outlet of the nozzle has the highest increase in
configuration is the necessity of designing a the wind power ratio. While the rotating flat-roof
control algorithm for the yaw motion of the windcatcher rooftop configuration shows a significant
windcatcher. However, higher power ratio wind power ratio increase compared with the flat-roof
compared with the flat-roof four-quadrant windcatcher rooftop, the costs of installation and main-
windcatcher rooftop configuration is expected tenance of the electromechanical parts for controlling
to be achieved. the yaw motion of the windcatcher are a drawback of
(c) Peak-roof four-quadrant windcatcher rooftop this configuration. Employing multiple nozzles is
configuration (Figure 9). The following nozzle expected to provide a better performance of a Wind
arrangements were used to compare the Wind Tower compared with using a single nozzle; the trends
Tower performance: of the results show that with more accurate wind speed
1. A single nozzle with a square cross-section measurements and optimal nozzle placements and noz-
at the inlet that gradually changes to a cir- zle cross-section area ratios at the test conditions,
cular cross-section at the outlet; multiple-nozzle configurations have more advantages
2. A single nozzle with a square cross-section over single-nozzle ones.
at the inlet that gradually changes to a cir- The results from the mathematical model for the
cular cross-section at the outlet and two single-nozzle configurations are compared with the
closed quadrants; experimental results. The average wind speed ratio
3. Multiple nozzles with a square cross- between locations 1 and 2 from one set of experimental
section at the inlet that gradually changes tests was calculated to be 1.36 m/s. Using equations (8)
to a circular cross-section at the outlet at and (11), under the assumption of the pressure coeffi-
the upper nozzle and circular cross-sections cient of one at the tower inlet, which is the stagnation
at the inlet and outlet at the lower one; pressure coefficient, and with the velocities of V1 and
4. Multiple nozzles with circular cross- V4 shown in Table 2, the velocity coefficient Cv,A and
sections at the inlet and outlet at the upper the differential pressure coefficient k were calculated to

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10 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures

be 1.90 and 1.53, respectively. The wind speed at the The Wind Tower lifetime, its annual maintenance fee,
nozzle outlet in another set of experimental tests, with the government incentives (US Department of Energy,
known velocity and differential pressure coefficients 2012), and the discount rate are among parameters that
obtained from the previous tests, and known inflow determine the final electricity rate using this technol-
wind speeds with an average value of 2.15–2.3 m/s, was ogy. Also, the mass production of Wind Towers, fur-
calculated to have an average value between 2.96 and ther improvements in the manufacturing of the Wind
3.16 m/s. Hence, the mathematical model gives an accu- Towers and more accurate wind modeling of studied
rate result for the single-nozzle configurations. Due to sites are other factors that can improve the effectiveness
turbulence and wakes behind the turbines, there are of the Wind Tower technology.
some uncertainties in some cases. A theoretical model
alone may not give an accurate description of a full- Conclusion
scale model. Hence, more accurate models need to be
developed by doing more experimental tests, conduct- A mathematical model is developed to estimate the
ing wind tunnel tests, and knowing the Wind Tower power production of a Wind Tower. A 1/8-scale Wind
properties at a site. Tower prototype, including a four-quadrant peak-roof-
top windcatcher and a tower structure with different
nozzle and turbine configurations, is designed and fab-
Economics of the Wind Tower technology ricated. While the experimental results show higher
power ratios of the prototype with single-nozzle config-
The size of the potential market in the United States urations, higher efficiency and better performance of
for commercial wind turbines in 2013 is over US$60 bil- designs with multiple-nozzle configurations would be
lion and that for small wind turbines is over US$400 achieved at different sites. There is a good agreement
million (Spitz, 2008). In 2020, there will be over 15.1 between the results from the mathematical model and
million homes in the United States with the potential of the experimental tests for the peak-roof four-quadrant
installing a small wind turbine. It is estimated that a rooftop configuration with a single nozzle. However,
total power of approximately 113,000 MW would be simulation techniques at different operating conditions
generated with installation of small wind turbines in and wind tunnel tests are needed for a better estimation
these homes (Bergey, 2002). The average annual growth of power production of a full-scale model.
in the total installed wind power capacity in the last The economic evaluation gives a range of costs for
five years has been 26.3% per year, and it is expected designing and manufacturing a Wind Tower with a sin-
that the total installed wind power capacity would gle- or double-turbine configuration. Obtaining a tech-
exceed 400 GW by 2015 (Goudarzi and Zhu, 2013a and nology with lower cost per kilowatt hour electricity
2013b; Global Wind Energy Council, 2012). It is also generation and low return on investment values by
anticipated that 12% of the world’s electricity consump- using the Wind Tower technology in residential or com-
tion will be provided by wind power by 2020 (Goudarzi mercial applications depends on the operating and envi-
and Zhu, 2013a and 2013b; US Energy Information ronmental conditions, material selection, and the Wind
Administration, 2011). Hence, wind power is now one Tower configuration. Further economic studies for
of the world’s fastest growing sources of energy. obtaining accurate values for the final cost and the
The Wind Tower technology is expected to provide a return on investment at a particular site are required.
competitive advantage over the existing products on the The results show that the Wind Tower technology is
market due to its higher reliability, lower cost of energy, a feasible alternative to the practice of using conven-
lower maintenance, higher output power, easier trans- tional machines in power generation for residential or
portation and installation, and higher safety factors for commercial applications. Among its numerous advan-
either workers or customers. The cost of designing and tages, the ability to be installed in buildings with differ-
manufacturing a Wind Tower, including a rooftop ent sizes and rooftops, high power production,
windcatcher, turbines with alternators, an inverter, a integrability with architectural building design, and
base tower structure, and installation shows a price elimination of bird/bat mortality makes it a competitive
range between US$38,000 and US$49,000. This cost solution among existing designs for urban power pro-
depends on the location, operating conditions, numbers duction. The advantages of requiring low maintenance,
of nozzles and turbines, and building materials of the and being reliable and sustainable make it a great
Wind Tower. option for off-grid properties and remote areas for
The return on investment of the Wind Tower tech- power production.
nology would change significantly for different cities
with different electricity costs per kilowatt hour and Declaration of conflicting interests
annual mean wind speeds. Employing a Wind Tower is The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with
expected to have a greater impact on the cost of energy respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
in cities with a higher electricity rate per kilowatt hour. article.

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Goudarzi et al. 11

Funding Goudarzi N and Zhu WD (2013b) Offshore and onshore

This research received no specific grant from any funding wind energy conversion: the potential of a novel multiple-
agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. generator drivetrain. Key Engineering Materials (Damage
Assessment of Materials): 644–651. Available at: http://
[Link]/[Link] (accessed 30 October
2013).
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