Energy Ball generates power for homes

Eggbeater-like design spins quieter than traditional turbines

From Holland, the country famous for its windmills, comes a new design for home wind power. Looking like an eggbeater, it spins quieter and at lower wind speeds than a lot of traditional propeller-type turbines.

It’s now standard for big wind turbines to have propeller blades. Much of the turning force is generated at the tips, which slice perpendicularly through the air, causing a swooshing noise that some residents nearby have said they find unnerving.

By contrast, the so-called Energy Ball, sold by Dutch-based Home Energy International, has rotors bent around in a ball shape so that they primarily move parallel to the wind. This generates less noise.

“A small wind turbine has to be silent, otherwise it will be annoying to the community,” said Erik Aurik, Home Energy’s marketing manager.

The noise from an Energy Ball is always less than the sound of the wind, Aurik told LiveScience. And what’s more, the device continues to work even when the wind speed dips down to as slow as 4.5 mph, whereas the average turbine needs roughly twice that wind speed to turn.

MSNBC