A wind turbine fence designed by New York designer Joe Doucet integrates clean energy production with urban environments.
The Wind Fence consists of aesthetically pleasing modular vertical wind turbines, making it suitable for hotels, buildings, and residential areas, as reported by Interesting Engineering on June 3rd.
Wind Fence design by Joe Doucet and the Airiva team. (Photo: Airiva).
Wind energy plays a crucial role in the renewable energy solutions that countries are aiming to implement to reduce fossil fuel dependency in the future. To achieve maximum energy output and efficiency, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are constructing larger wind turbines each year. This trend hinders the distribution of wind energy in urban areas, unlike photovoltaic panels that can be installed on rooftops, in gardens, or even on balconies.
In 2021, Doucet sought a product for distributing wind energy and found very few suitable options. As a result, he decided to create a new product that was both efficient and aesthetically pleasing. Doucet’s original design was called the Wind Turbine Wall. Over the past two years, he has developed and tested the idea several times, with most changes affecting the shape and size of the blades.
Along with his team at Airiva, a company co-founded by Doucet and energy industry expert Jeff Stone, he evaluated the performance of 16 designs of vertical turbine blades and selected three final versions for testing in a wind tunnel. After rigorous testing at two facilities in the United States, the research team found that the twisted blade structure was the most efficient. This is not the first time twisted blades have been incorporated into vertical turbine designs; however, Airiva has gone further by arranging multiple blades to operate simultaneously.
In a standard configuration, where eight twisted blades are precisely arranged, the Wind Fence produces about 2,200 kW of energy annually. Based on the output of each unit, an average household in the U.S. would need five Wind Fence units to completely eliminate reliance on the power grid. Each Wind Fence unit measures 4.2 m x 2.1 m.
Since the initial introduction of the design in 2021, many corporations, public institutes, and real estate companies have expressed interest in installing turbines. The silent operation of the wind turbines ensures that clean energy production does not disrupt the surrounding environment. Airiva plans to use 80% recycled materials in its production.
Users can install multiple wind turbine fences simultaneously to increase energy production. While the Wind Fence cannot match the output of giant wind turbines, that is not the goal of Airiva. The advantage of this energy system lies in reducing power loss during transmission because the energy is produced close to where it is used. The company plans to install a pilot Wind Fence at the end of this year and expects to receive its first orders in 2025.
