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Is it a chimney…or a turbine?

By Paul Dvorak | March 22, 2010

The SET is the work of U.K. inventor Rupert Sweet-Escott, whose would like to put “a SET on every house.” The turbines range in power from 50 to 250 watts and start around $1,132.00.

Wind turbines on houses are not always practical because some home owner associations would object to the noise it might make, or neighborhoods that restrict changes in aesthetics. A U.K. inventor may have solved the problem with a design called the Secret Energy Turbine (SET) because it disguises the turbine as part of a chimney. The small vertical axis turbine, painted the same color as the bricks in a chimney, make it appear to be a ordinary chimney stack. The unit is said to work in near silence because of its unusual design, which features vertically mounted blades fixed under the influence of two opposing magnets. The result is said to be an efficient turbine with only one moving part that tolerates winds over 90 mph.


Filed Under: Uncategorized
Tagged With: secret energy turbine, SET, small wind
 

About The Author

Paul Dvorak

Comments

  1. Judy French says

    August 11, 2022 at 10:58 am

    I note this dialogue dated 2010.
    Now 2022, I am looking for a chimney turbine, or possibly 2, and installer, to provide power for the average, well insulated house please. An alternative t solar panels.
    Please direct me to an engineer who can answer my queries.
    Thanks.

  2. Jon says

    April 28, 2021 at 7:10 am

    I believe it may be possible to use the actual flu as the drive shaft using a traditional method of drawing air in from the base. As an old fireplace has done for centuries.

  3. Autographs says

    January 21, 2016 at 6:07 am

    Would be great to have so everyone can produce electricity and lower their fuel prices. Just a bit too much money to purchase. 250w isn’t a lot of electricity to generate would pay for a tv and a couple of appliances probably.

  4. Ma says

    March 4, 2011 at 9:39 am

    still too expensive for most people to consider…. needs to be cheaper. However, the concept of camouflage should make it very attractive to most people and help with planning permission too. Well done but bring the price down.

  5. Dharmarajan says

    March 26, 2010 at 4:30 pm

    Paul – are these vertical axis (blender designs)commercially available,installed and operated? If so what are the size and ratings successfully operating?

    I was at the NREL facility near Boulder, CO last fall and had an engaging discussion with the reseaarchers there on the feasibility of a vertical unit. I noted that from an end users perspective such a design would provide a lot of O&M benefits, while reducing capital and installation costs by allowing for the heavy geenrators to be at ground level. The lead research engineer at the NREL indicated that such designs were tested and abandoned a long time back because of engineering reasons. His explanations made sense. What is unique about this roof top design to overcome some of the practical limitations espoused by the NREl researchers?? I personaly like the vertical axis design for all the reasons enunciated above. Every time I see my house roof top ventilation turbine spin, i tell myself that these could be used to (using frictionless drives) to generate and store those electrons using batteries for uninterrupted power supply at the residential/commercial level Any thoughts??Thanks.

    Dharmarajan

    Dharmarajan

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