Powerhouse Wind Ltd
In the future, domestic wind turbines will be a logical choice for suitable sites. As energy producing appliances they will quietly, reliably and economically power all or most of their owners houses while adding a style statement to the property.Our advanced technology single blade products will be leading in this change.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Wind Energy
- Market Focus:
- Internationally (various countries)
- Year Founded:
- 2007
- Employees:
- 1-10
- Turnover:
- less than $1,000,000 US
About us
The name does say it all. Powerhouse Wind is about using the wind to power your home (or marae/bach/crib/woolshed…). Our elegant and robust Thinair turbine takes an utterly new approach to wind power, providing quiet, affordable, highly efficient electricity generation from New Zealand’s often gusty winds.
Engineers experienced in innovation
Our turbine’s elegance and innovation are no surprise to those who know anything about engineering in New Zealand. Powerhouse Wind’s original trio of Bill Currie, Wayne O’Hara and Richard Butler all worked together for Fisher & Paykel Appliances in Dunedin, designing world-leading domestic appliances.
Until recently, household wind power generation has largely been limited to wind turbines built by enthusiasts. With a shared passion for developing sustainable energy, our engineers began to discuss the idea of a wind turbine that could be as user-friendly as the best domestic appliances.
They then used their experience in designing high-volume, mass-market consumer products to design and manufacture a wind turbine purpose-built for use in a domestic environment. The result? The Thinair 102 turbine: reliable, simple and elegant.
The unique benefits of the Thinair 102
The first thing people ask when they see a Thinair turbine is ‘Why does it have only one blade?’ The answer to that question is the key to understanding the unique benefits that Thinair's innovative and patented single blade, teetering hub, design offers.
Traditionally, wind turbines are constructed with multiple blades, attached to a fixed hub. The Thinair turbine, by contrast, has a freely teetering hub design that allows the blade's angle to change in response to variations in wind speed. As a result the Thinair makes efficient use of strong and gusty wind; it harnesses gusty wind to generate extra energy. The teetering hub also protects the turbine from damaging stress, allowing the blade to swing into a safe horizontal park position in extreme wind conditions. This approach is also less noisy than the traditional angling of the rotor to the wind method used by most upwind machines.
The addition of two equispaced counterweights balances the rotor and allows the machine to operate dynamically like a three bladed wind turbine while maintaining the advantages of a single blade. View a short video clip of the Thinair 102 operating.
Development of the Thinair 102 to commercial viability will be completed by mid 2013. Please watch this site for news and progress, or contact us for more information and direct email updates.