Waterlily turbine: using wind and water to power your tech
Wow! Here’s a new interesting product to keep you charged during your adventures.
Waterlily turbine has the capability to charge your USB powered device using the motion of water or air.
You can submerge it in the current in the water and secure it while it charges, or set it up at your favorite kite spot for a remote charging station.
It charges best in a water current that is running at 7mph, and a wind speed of 36 mph, but only requires as little as 0.7mph and 6.7mph respectively. That is a pretty impressive range on the low end for sure! I think I could manage to find that much wind pretty much every day on the coast here in North Carolina.
But honestly,….. I’m failing to see its practical use on most outings. Don’t get me wrong it IS an awesome idea, and it does have the advantage of charging after sundown, as most portable camping chargers usually are solar powered. I suppose if you did a lot of riverside camping, or camped in a lot of remote areas where it was windy then it would be useful.
All in all, I cannot see spending $200 on a product that I would have to design my adventure around in order to feel satisfied with my purchase. “oh, i just spent all this money, so now I better do a lot of river side camping”. But the good news is that it is currently on sale for $160 USD. meh. still not enticing enough for me.
I’m sure we can all agree that in the modern day it is quite useful to bring your smartphone along with all sorts of different references that are in downloadable form. For example, species identifications guides, maps, camera, books, music, note taking apps, and more. While the pure experience of leaving the technology behind is attractive to many, I think most people would agree that it is just practical to bring a smart phone along.
The problem of keeping it charged is pretty well solved by portable solar panels and battery banks, but hey, there could be a 10% of the time that you would be better off using the waterlily turbine. And no one can argue that it’s just SUPER COOL.
Final answer, I won’t be buying one.
Hi @ourdailyboard, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads and I included it in my Paddling Nature Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
Thank you!
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I agree, the idea is great! But I also feel that it might not be too practical. As part of my research, I often measure coastal current speeds, tides and wave forcings. At times I do think about ways to harness these energies in useful ways. Truth is, it's very difficult. Big waves may be able to supply energy to an oceanic wave buoy...but that's about it. Tidal currents may provide energy if they're strong enough, but not really for individual users that are on-the-go. So...yes...a cool idea, but really it's probably not much more than an expensive gadget...
That's good! I like it!!!!
this is such an amazing and innovative idea. i really liked the idea. this is just amazing. using a turbine to power tools
your idea is interesting
I liked the post.thumbs up