Turbine generates wind of change
THE lack of actual wind wasn't going to stop the Sheffield Engineers Without Borders group showing off their home-made wind turbine as part of the HeArt of Sheffield event.
"We all cheered when we got a gust of wind and it started spinning," said Robin Lovelace.
"It charged up some of our batteries a tiny amount."
The wooden turbine has been built by students at Sheffield University (with a lot of help from the university technicians, Robin gratefully added).
The team of five renewable engineers followed a turbine 'recipe' provided by V3 Power of Nottingham, who also came up to Sheffield to help build the turbine.
"It cost about 500 and it took us about six months, working every Thursday," said Robin.
The turbine was a focal point to the HeArt of SheffieLd event and aimed to "show people that it's not that hard to make something like this," said Phil Turner.
Engineers Without Borders are a national organisation linkING charities with a need for engineering projects in the developing world to universities who can provide them.
The Sheffield turbine can provide about 500 watts of power, said Robin, which is enough to power a sound system for a Sheffield park, or in the developing world, the turbine could provide the electricity for a small workshop, or to power the computers for a school.
The project aims to provide the means of renewable energy to people who don't have the money or tools to install their own high tech wind power machines.
The wooden turbine will be trialled at other (hopefully windier) locations in Sheffield over the summer and in August members of the EWB Sheffield team will go to Guatemala to help people in a rural village.
"It will be used by farmers for things like lighting and charging batteries," said Phil.
"We'll help them design and build a wind turbine and leave the plans with them so other local people can then build their own, too."
"It's about power to the people," said Robin.
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Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Heavy snow
Temperature: -2 C to -0 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: West
