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Skyscraper Windmills

 Windmills on top of skyscrapers.
  (+27, -7)(+27, -7)
(+27, -7) 		  [vote for,
against]

We've been dicking about with wind-powered energy capture for millennia.
Recently we have been building very tall buildings in cities worldwide.
If you've ever been up on top of any of them you would know that the large sail area of skyscrapers forces even slow-moving air masses around and over the building at increased velocity. This results in very fierce winds on the tops of tall buildings.
Put windmills on top of them and the energy harnessed would be considerably greater than the moderate output to be had from windmills at ground level.
—UnaBubba, May 26 2001

(?) Windmill City http://www.sfbayrev...rd/messages/4.shtml
This site mentions the same idea, but for aesthetic purposes, not the increased wind velocity reason I have proposed, [UnaBubba, May 26 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

(?) Some factsnfigures http://www.nysaec.com/morewindmills.htm
Note the size of the illustrated blade ! [UnaBubba, May 26 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

American Wind Energy Association http://www.awea.org/
Maybe they can help! [dgeiser13, May 26 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

AWEA Discussion List http://groups.yahoo...up/renewable-energy
an informal forum for news and information about renewable energy technology (wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, hydro) [dgeiser13, May 26 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

more wind --> energy conversion articles http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/
this month's canadian geographic mag has a good story about wind power and other alternatives [mihali, May 26 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Skyscraper Windmills http://www.newscien...s.jsp?id=ns99991292
As above idea with pictures and links to experimental data [darndog, May 26 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

skyscraper etymology http://www.britanni...uery=skyscraper&ct=
is there something missing here ? [sweet, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Try this etymological reference, [sweet] http://www.etymonline.com/s7etym.htm
[UnaBubba, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

My take on windmills attached to buildings http://www.artformf...projects/ingenious/
Among other inventions on this page is my version of a savonious based windmill for attachment to buildings. [macrumpton, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

You might get competition from these people http://www.aisslinger.de/
They are colonizing all skyscraper roofs in Europe. (Click on "loftcube") [django, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Wind-powered building http://www.newscien...rticle.ns?id=dn1292
not yet built, but on the drawing board. [Freefall, Feb 15 2005]

Micro Turbines in the City http://www.tangarie...roductsturbines.htm
Windside Production Ltd. [sime0n, Jan 18 2007]

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       I have seen designs for very tall buildings (a mile high) which include "holes" designed to reduce some of the wind strain. Some of these designs put wind turbines in the holes to generate electricity.
—egnor, May 26 2001
   

       I'd be interested to see sketches, designs. This idea has been percolating in my head for years.   

       There was a show on SBS TV here recently which showed the problems experienced with tall buildings before the installation of revolving doors and sealing buildings and airconditioning. The venturi effect up opem lift shafts on some tall buildings was so powerful it could suck people rapidly thru ground floor doorways. Revolving doors allowed gradual pressure equalisation.
—UnaBubba, May 26 2001
   

       "There are splinters in the windmills of your mind"-My favo(u)rite Carol Burnett line ever.
—thumbwax, May 27 2001
   

       A good-sized wind turbine can generate sufficient power to run 600 households.
—UnaBubba, May 28 2001
   

       In the desert areas outside Los Angeles there are majestic windmills in what I would hope to be countless numbers someday. Los Angeles, large as it may be - has been impervious to rolling blackouts as it generates its own power by this and other means. There are numerous cities within Los Angeles County which - because they are Incorporated Communities - have suffered rolling blackouts as a consequence of 'buying power' in this age.
—thumbwax, May 28 2001
   

       I vote against all wind-power projects on general principles; do you think wind is an infinite resource? We used to think there was plenty of oil, too, and fresh water. When your precious windmills have 'eaten' up all the wind we'll be left with nothing but hot, dead air everywhere. If you doubt me, just look how many people use electricity to *make* wind -- there are fans everywhere!
—jurgen, May 29 2001
   

       Somebody hand me a gun, please.
—thumbwax, May 29 2001
   

       The wildlife thing is an urban legend perpetrated by the other members of the energy-producing fraternity. Do a Google search for ( windmills +skyscrapers ) and the first two hits you get are a serious look at the myth. Everything you can hear is a noise pollutant.
—UnaBubba, May 29 2001
   

       //Everything you can hear is a noise pollutant//   

       Not so. The sweet song of the sparrow or the pleasant lull of crickets are no more noise pollution than the scent of flowers is air pollution. If it is an unpleasant "thing you can hear", it is noise pollution.   

       [off-topic] I love the word "skyscraper." It's one of my favorite words. It is charmingly poetic. English should have more words like it.
—globaltourniquet, May 29 2001
   

       // are no more noise pollution than the scent of flowers is air pollution //   

       Harrumph! You obviously don't suffer from hay fever and sinusitus and asthma every Spring.   

       Crickets are just cockroaches too stupid to keep quiet, and sparrows are lice-infested pests, small pigeons with fewer manners. Bah humbug.   

       I also like the imagery of the word skyscraper. Interesting that the word was first used in 1794 as a nautical term to describe a triangular sail of a ship. By 1826, a high-standing horse was called a skyscraper and by 1880 it referred to tall buildings in New York.
—UnaBubba, May 30 2001
   

       [PeterSealy]: There are three wind farms that I know of in West Cornwall (which I recently visited); from all distances, I heard no more than a faint whooshing sound. (See link.) As to the visual aspect, a matter of taste, surely. I find them strangely elegant.
—angel, May 30 2001
   

       We have them out in the nearby desert. Elegant, yes, but also they seem to speak, and rather quietly, I must agree, of a minor human triumph. And, they are certainly no more of an eyesore than Los Angeles itself is.
—globaltourniquet, May 30 2001
   

       There is one problem I can think of: Resonance. You really don't want a sounding box the size of the empire state building to start making a loud 400 hertz hum every time the wind gets above 20 miles an hour. Presumably this wouldn't be a problem if you mount the windmill base in gel or custard.
—tenhand, May 30 2001
   

       custard skyscraper has a nice ring to it
—edski, May 30 2001
   

       Mephista: I agree, in my town we have 48 Wind Turbines on the hills, with plans to build another 54. They look great, a major landmark. Actually its the biggest windfarm in the southern hemisphere (kinda sad actually).   

       The only problem is they have stupid steel lattice supports instead of the nice white towers which would have looked much better, and kept out of the way of the blades better. It's so windy up there, sometimes the blades bend and hit the towers.   

       I think they should be lit at night to make them even cooler, only that would be slightly silly as it would use about as much electricity as they generate!
—zero5, Aug 28 2001
   

       By grabbing some of the wind power... converting the wind to electrical energy... we should also then benefit from reduced wind drag (slight but adds up) upon the planet. This should help prolong our 24 hour rotation period.
—jim_brain, Aug 28 2001
   

       Only if the wind is blowing in a direction which does not already affect the Earth's rotation. How much effect? The answer, my friend...
—UnaBubba, Aug 28 2001
   

       Damn, someone baked my idea, 5 months after I posted it here.
—UnaBubba, Sep 25 2001
   

       Totally baked. Wind farms at high alts are a staple of the U.S. diet.
—blainez, Mar 04 2002
   

       They just put a windmill on an office building in Toronto yesterday. Baked.
—ImBack, Dec 19 2002
   

       no they didn't. it was installed on the c.n.e. grounds, near lakeshore blvd.
—mihali, Dec 20 2002
   

       Congratulations UnaBubba in having an idea of yours baked.   

       May I propose the term 'Skygrinder'?
—Loris, Dec 15 2003
   

       Skyswiper.   

       Makes Don Quixote's job a lot harder. Have you ever tried to get a horse on an elevator?
—oxen crossing, Feb 15 2004
   

       Not if it is balanced gyroscopically. The power generation aspect should be attractive enough to some businesses to warrant the running costs, too. Wind generated power is the cheapest form of power generation.
—UnaBubba, Feb 23 2004
   

       [off-topic] I was excited to hear about the skyscraper etymology from ub //the word was first used in 1794 as a nautical term to describe a triangular sail of a ship. By 1826, a high-standing horse was called a skyscraper and by 1880 it referred to tall buildings in New York.//, and I thought I should check it out into a dictionary, in order to find out more. [link] but, as you can see, I didn't. ub, could you give me a proper link, or smth ?
—sweet, Feb 23 2004
   

       [oxen crossing] Well, Arnie did it in "True Lies" - so maybe we will be seeing Skyscraper Windmills in Californ I A.   

       [UnaBubba] This is an idea that should be baked immediately! Excellent!
—timbeau, Feb 23 2004
   

       [sweet], linky.   

       //1 turbine usually pays itself around 8 years//   

       Nuclear power generation has long touted itself as the cheapest. There is a little problem with that... Well, a few problems. They relate to waste disposal and storage, maintenance and initial setup costs.   

       Wind eventully comes out cheaper than all other forms, so far. Geothermal heat capture may soon overtake it, I believe.
—UnaBubba, Feb 23 2004
   

       The phrase "bring the house down" comes to mind with existing skyscrapers. If it were integrated into building design then you might be onto something. Even then I can only imagine the stresses this would put on a structure
—dameion, Feb 29 2004
   

       Does anyone know if anyone has ever combined big Kinetic Flywheels to Windfarms to store excess energy during the down time. I suspect it is difficult to hold the energy for more than a few minutes but I would be interested in any real world examples being constructed.
—PainOCommonSense, Apr 20 2004
   

       It's partly baked--Buckminster Fuller thought of it a long time ago--but it's still a good idea.
—5th Earth, Apr 20 2004
   

       I like the "california impervious to rolling blackouts" comment, from before the enron scandal
—maxwellian, Jun 27 2004
   

       Very dumb idea. Winds around tall building are very turbulent, so very little of it can be converted to useful energy. The rest just makes noise and vibration.
—willard_b_trophy, Feb 15 2005
   

       willard, you must understand the concept of wind gradient? Winds at the top of a skyscraper have more energy due to the lack of interaction between the air mass and the ground. Plus, accelerating the fluid (air here, but it works with water as well) by forcing it round an obstacle is a good way to get more energy from a turbine of given size. Most effective with a round obstacle. If the turbulence did prove a problem, you could mound the turbine on a standard height mast to put it in clean air.   

       I realise that you work with wind farms, but "your idea is stupid" doesn't go down well.
—david_scothern, Feb 15 2005
   

       Yes, this idea is so stupid that a German company incorporated a wind turbine into one of their buildings, in 2003.   

       I love being wrong, and stupid, and dumb. It validates my sense of self and allows me to relate to the common folk.
—UnaBubba, Feb 15 2005
   

       With regard to the 'turbulent wind is bad for energy' idea, why not just have a bunch of tiny fans in different directions?
—daseva, Jan 18 2007
   

       Bun for saying "dicking about" and a bun for anything using wind power.
—MoreCowbell, Jan 18 2007
   


 

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