A professor from Potsdam, N.Y.-based Clarkson University has created a mobile app to get more people to learn about wind energy and how it can best work for them.
Ken Visser – an associate professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering and director of Clarkson’s Center for Sustainable Energy Systems – wrote the app with the help of a student. Dubbed WindApp, it determines the user’s location, the local wind speed and how much energy could be generated when a particular turbine is selected.
WindApp then computes how long it will take to take to pay back the turbine choice, based on the buyer’s local electric rates.
“Most people don’t have enough of a background about what’s involved in choosing a wind turbine, how much energy is generated or what the power rating means,” explained Visser. “Today, if you wanted a wind turbine, most folks would probably just look on the Internet and hope to find the information they need and can use. WindApp offers an easy, practical way for the public to determine which wind option is best for them.”
WindApp, which runs on both iOS and Android phones and tablets, also includes a content management system so that as new turbines and wind turbine installers come on board, the app will automatically update the data on the user’s device.
