Wind Power & Automobiles

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A reader asks:

Do you feel it would be possible to devise a wind turbine that would be mounted on top of vehicles to fill an battery stored energy system? The real issue, I think, might be that most wind turbines shutoff at wind speeds of 25meter/sec(55mph). Most highway driving speeds are probably above that limit. However, I'm not sure that driving mph convert to the same wind speeds. I would persume that the turbine would be verticle type mounted on top of a trailer. Thank you for any input you can give me.

-- chris schaffner (chris@greenegineer.com), September 27, 2003

Answers

You have an interesting idea, but I'm afraid what you've described is a perpetual motion machine. The electricity generated would be less than the extra fuel you would expend to overcome the wind resistance (unless you were going down a very steep hill). Beyond that I can only imagine what the turbine would do to the handling of the car. So I don't think it will work.

-- chris schaffner (chris@greenegineer.com), September 27, 2003.

How about harnessing the wind through the Air Dam below the radiator and in the bumpers and having some sort of device[ modified form of windmill/turbine]in the boot.

-- Raj (raj_chandigarh@yahoo.com), July 26, 2004.

that idea is being put to use,, at least in the air dam part,, small wind generators are mounted in places of negative air pressure and such just to add live to the battery charge,, same idea as a brake system generator,,, would still need a "Home Base" to fully recharge the batteries

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), August 01, 2004.

well as for the case of india what i know is that the battery voltage for a bike is 12v and a small wind turbine being placed below the petrol tank with a small electric generator(a dynamo ) which could fulfill the requirements to some extent is possible because the power is less and as well the concept of a turbo charger in cars could be used for this purpose .\

-- azeez ahmed (azeez_ahmed_aa@yahoo.com), November 26, 2004.

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