Want to turn your backyard into a wind farm? The
QR5, from U.K.-based Quietrevolution, is a residential-scale wind turbine that generates enough electricity to power a standard U.S. home or a small office. It also looks like a piece of wind-powered sculpture, which may prove to be one of its most important selling points. Quietrevolution's Richard Cochrane designed the QR5 to masquerade as an objet d'art to mollify critics who might grumble about ugly, noisy propellers.
Beneath the skin is what Quietrevolution calls the world's most efficient turbine for capturing air currents near buildings and other structures, with carbon-fiber blades shaped to grab gusty city winds without making much noise. But make sure your checkbook is fully charged: At $48,000, the QR5 costs twice as much as a traditional propeller-style unit that generates the same output.
Product QR5
MANUFACTURER Quietrevolution
DESIGNER Richard Cochrane
Bottom Line Two units have been installed in commercial development projects around London, with 70 to 80 planned for the coming year.
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