Whoever said wind power had to be dull and colorless?
In this summer of energy conservation, the venture business Sakuraenergy Co. has produced small wind power generators that add a dash of color and fun to any home.
The designs on the blades of the wind turbines include a sakura motif, the fictional Kamen Rider motorcycle hero and the Maisy Mouse character from the popular children's picture book series.
The 10 wind turbines are on display in Spiral Garden hall, an art space in Tokyo's fashionable Aoyama district.
The "Mirai no Tsubasa" (The Wing of Future) exhibition is being held to help people become familiar with natural energy that can be produced at home.
Each of the 10 vertical axis wind turbines has a maximum output of 150 watts. In addition, the turbines produce little noise and can start generating power from a breeze with a speed of about 2 meters per second.
If a wind turbine with a blade length of 2.6 meters and an output of three kilowatts is installed in a location where the wind is blowing at a speed of four to six meters per second on average, it can generate 4,818 kilowatts hour of electricity, which can meet the annual power needs of an average household of four people living in a detached house.
The basic 150-watt wind turbine system is priced at 560,000 yen (about $7,000) while a 3-kilowatt model is 1.85 million yen. (The prices exclude installation costs.)
The exhibition is scheduled to run through July 1.
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