Small Wind Meet Smart Grid

ViewUGE: $995 for hardware and 1-year subscription, $99/year after

When you picture wind energy solutions, you probably envision sprawling fields of tall white poles topped with three-blade propellers. Urban Green Energy wants to change that. They offer three sizes of vertical, asymmetrical wind turbines that you can not only install at your home (or business), but monitor...from anywhere. Their models are rated for 600 W, 1 kW and 4 kW and range in price from $4,000 to $19,000 just for the turbines (although they offer complete solutions with mounting, electronics, etc.).

PHOTOS: Wind Power Without the Blades

UGE's David Droz explained the funny-looking design to Discovery News, "The angle of attack's always changing. What it allows us to do is better capture wind that's coming from all directions. So there's always a lift component to the port, which is what's driving the generator." A big benefit to this design is that these vertical turbines can operate at much lower speeds (180 RPM at full power) than their traditional fan-type counterparts. That in turn (so to speak) allows for much lower noise, fewer structural vibrations and less of a hazard to feathered flyers by.

At CES, Urban Green Energy -- which was the only wind company we saw at the show -- launched their ViewUGE monitoring application. UGE gave Discovery News the first outsider look at the app in action. It's a great way for their customers to better visualize and share how much power they're producing and how many trees they're saving. But more than just that sense of accomplishment, UGE cites studies that have found that energy consumption sharply decreases when users are more conscious and continually aware of their energy consumption habits. Translation: Whatever information turbine customers catch wind of...is a good thing.

Credit: Urban Green Energy

This article is part of our ongoing coverage of this year's Consumer Electronics Show. Find more CES articles here.

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