The American company Aeromine Technologies has developed small wind turbines that can be placed on a roof.
The turbines are approximately three meters high and, according to the manufacturer, they should be able to produce up to 50 percent more electricity than solar panels at the same cost.
The turbines do not have moving blades, instead the wind causes a propeller inside the turbine to rotate, which then generates energy.
"The wind is drawn in between two airfoils that have the same shape as an airplane wing. When the wind hits these airfoils, a negative pressure is created that sucks the wind, which hits the building, through an internal propeller at the base of the turbine. That in turn produces the electricity that is plugged directly into the building," said David Asarnow, CEO of Aeromine Technologies, in a comment to Fast Company.
Because the turbines are so small, they can be supplemented with solar panels on the same roof, which gives the opportunity to have two sources of electricity on the same building.
So far, the company is only testing the turbines under real-world conditions, but the hope is to launch them as a commercial product by the end of next year.
