Sustainable Design Update

I was told to watch for the inventions of Shawn Frayne just a few weeks ago and right away his name popped up as a winner of the Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award for 2007. His invention is simple, elegant and potentially world changing - just a strap of mylar film stretched in a frame such that it vibrates in the wind. Even in low winds the strap vibrates and moves a magnet past coils of wire. This low-tech generator can charge batteries for LED lights, cell phones and more. The technology seems scalable so high power applications such as solar powered cooling may be achievable using this simple idea.

From Popular Mechanics:

    Working in Haiti, Shawn Frayne, a 28-year-old inventor based in Mountain View, Calif., saw the need for small-scale wind power to juice LED lamps and radios in the homes of the poor. Conventional wind turbines don’t scale down well—there’s too much friction in the gearbox and other components. “With rotary power, there’s nothing out there that generates under 50 watts,” Frayne says. So he took a new tack, studying the way vibrations caused by the wind led to the collapse in 1940 of Washington’s Tacoma Narrows Bridge (aka Galloping Gertie).

    Frayne’s device, which he calls a Windbelt, is a taut membrane fitted with a pair of magnets that oscillate between metal coils. Prototypes have generated 40 milliwatts in 10-mph slivers of wind, making his device 10 to 30 times as efficient as the best microturbines. Frayne envisions the Windbelt costing a few dollars and replacing kerosene lamps in Haitian homes. “Kerosene is smoky and it’s a fire hazard,” says Peter Haas, founder of the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, which helps people in developing countries to get environmentally sound access to clean water, sanitation and energy. “If Shawn’s innovation breaks, locals can fix it. If a solar panel breaks, the family is out a panel.”

    Frayne hopes to help fund third-world distribution of his Windbelt with revenue from first-world applications—such as replacing the batteries used to power temperature and humidity sensors in buildings. “There’s not a huge amount of innovation being done for people making $2 to $4 per day,” Haas says. “Shawn’s work is definitely needed.”

Check out the Popular Mechanics website for a great video of Shawn’s invention.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 13th, 2007 at 11:22 am and is filed under Appropriate Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.