A Novel Design of a Savonius Wind Turbine Water Heating in Residential Settings

This paper presents a novel wind turbine design to provide heating for hot water storage systems in residential houses. Resulting from market demand, a vertical axis wind rotor (Savonius type wind turbine) was developed. Although this wind turbine´s power coefficient (Pc) peaked at 12%, as this design´s output is applied to a resistive load, a smart optimising scheme is discussed to hold the Pc at its maximum regardless of wind velocity. Wind tunnel tests confirmed that Pc varies with tip speed ratio (TSR) and that the Pc can be optimised for various wind conditions by switching between differing loads resistances.