26408 Vertical Wind Mill

Project Overview: Driven by the growing demand for energy and the deteriorating condition of the nation’s electrical infrastructure, both commercial and residential property owners are increasingly turning to solar panels as a viable solution. For many—particularly residential users—solar panels offer a means to not only meet personal energy needs but also contribute excess energy back to the grid through a process known as net metering, ultimately reducing overall consumption. Vertical wind mills, more commonly known as vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs), are a type of wind turbine where the main rotor shaft is set vertically. Unlike the more common horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs), VAWTs can capture wind from any direction and are increasingly considered for urban, residential, and challenging environments. Scope: Our scope for our Multidisciplinary Senior Design (MSD) project, is to design a low-maintenance, low-cost, easily accessible Straight Savonius Vertical Windmill that will be able to generate at least 77 watts per square meter with wind speeds of 3.6 meters per second. This Vertical Wind Mill structure will be for residential use as compared to the windmills that we have on campus. We have received this project through our client, Oliver Miller, as a way to incorporate renewable energy into his property, to ultimately be able to generate enough power that it will be able to be fed back into the grid through a process called Net metering.