Small Horizontal-axis Turbine Research Articles

Harvesting air energy from extractors with a small horizontal axis turbine

In greenhouses and other agricultural facilities, air extractors are used for air renewal and control of environmental conditions. The electrical energy delivered to the extractor is converted into the energy of the exhaust air and is lost in the atmosphere. The objective of this work was to test a small horizontal axis wind turbine (SHWT) installed in front of an axial extractor and to present the energy balance of the extractor-wind turbine assembly. This was done for four different treatments: extractor alone, extractor with cone, extractor with a wind turbine, and extractor with cone and a wind turbine. A statistical analysis was performed, obtaining means and standard deviations. The energy balance analysis showed that with the designed device, built including a cone and a SHWT and installed at the outlet of the extractor, it is possible to harvest up to 50% of the wind energy that leaves the extractor and is lost in the atmosphere.