Under controlled laboratory conditions, the wind harvester reliably powered around 40 LEDs while the wind was blowing at a rate of 4 meters per second.

A Nanyang Technological UniversityOn Singapore, played a role in the development of an affordable device that can capture energy from small wind vibrations, such as a simple one, and store it as electricity.

As a "wind catcher," the lightweight, durable gadget also redirects any energy not being used immediately to a battery, where it's stored to power equipment when no wind is present.

In tests carried out by university scientists, a small-scale prototype measuring 15 by 20 centimeters produces a voltage of three volts and generates up to 290 microwatts when subjected to wind speeds as low as two meters per second (2 m/s). That amount of energy would be enough to power sensors, light small LEDs or send data to a cell phone or computer.

Being lightweight, the device is easily mountable on the sides of buildings and would be best suited for use in urban situations where the average wind speed is less than 2,5 meters per second.

The group of scientists believes that their creation could one day replace batteries in applications such as supplying electricity to LED lamps and sensors that monitor the structural soundness of buildings and bridges, among other applications that require little energy but continuously.

How the Wind Harvester works

The wind catcher is a vibrating device that takes advantage of the so-called galloping effect, which is an aerodynamic instability produced in an air current by a physical structure. This effect can be easily observed in electrical cables. In traditional wind turbines, what captures the wind and turns it into motion is a weathervane. However, this new wind collector is a vibrating device that takes advantage of the “air gallop” effect, a kind of instability that happens when the air current passes through a structure.

When the wind catcher is subjected to the flow of moving air, the dynamic design of its construction causes it to begin to vibrate, which causes its plate to move closer and further away from a lock, which acts as a movement limiter. . This happens because the plate has a variable distance between it and the latch.

Because of the triboelectric effect, the movement results in the accumulation of electrical charges on the vibrating rod. A flow of electricity that can be used immediately or sent to a battery for later use can be generated by electrodes that are coupled to a management system and allow this flow to be generated.

Energy generating device is made with low cost materials

The device's main accessory, which interacts with the wind, is constructed from low-cost materials such as copper, aluminum foil and polytetrafluoroethylene, which is a durable polymer better known by its brand name, Teflon.

The group plans to continue development, with the aim of improving the energy storage resources, and also plans to experiment with a variety of materials in an effort to increase their energy output.