Osprey GR-1 1.5 KW Vertical Wind Turbine
(Patent Pending)
The Osprey GR-1 is the first VAWT turbine designed by ATR (Alternate Technology Resource) for specific urban, residential and small business application. The lack of impact, both from an aesthetic (passive) and noise and safety (active) point of view are crucial.
Our VAWT Turbine solves many of the issues associated with traditional HAWT or ‘propeller’ type designs, most notably of which is the absence of sound. The unique design of the GR-1 lends itself to being almost completely silent, which we see as being a major element in the successful introduction of wind turbines into the urban and small business environment. By incorporating a single axis of rotation in line with wind direction and hence wind power, we are able to eliminate high-speed air turbulence associated with noise. The design also eliminates vibration, a contributing factor to noise, particularly when the turbines are building mounted.
The other advantage of the GR-1 design is that the Generator has only one moving part, which represents high reliability. The GR-1 uses the latest technology of a permanent magnet generator (PMG), that replaces conventional brush and wound coil generators, which are high maintenance. The PMG uses rare earth magnet generated electro-magnetic fields to produce electricity with lower revolutions and far higher output. The GR-1 turbine is far more efficient, as the structure is linked directly to the generator to harvest optimum Power from low wind conditions. Unlike traditional turbines, which require complex clutch and cut-out/braking systems to prevent them from over-speeding in very high winds, the GR-1’s design permits full power and simply won’t turn any faster. The excess wind power simply diverts around the design while it rotates at a maximum speed and outputting maximum power.
The omni-directional rotation and specific design of the turbine means that virtually no efficiency or power is lost in the presence of wind sheer turbulence and no time and effort is spent ‘hunting’ for the wind, as is the case with most conventional HAWT designs. Regardless of wind direction the GR-1 is always in optimum position to generate power.
From an ecological perspective the GR-1 appears as a solid object to birds so they simply fly around it.
The robust but lightweight construction of the GR-1 VAWT has been designed for maximum strength and virtually eliminates the significant risk of high-speed blade sheer and subsequent balance destruction associated with traditional HAWT turbine designs, an occurrence mostly associated with rare wind carried debris or bird strikes.
The Osprey GR-1 is a high output wind turbine designed to revolutionise they way we harness the wind for small-scale urban application. We see it as a viable, environmentally responsible and cost effective solution to not only the short term but also the long-term challenges faced in our developing nation and others around the world.
