GE’s first time appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas centers on smart grid technologies that will anchor the “connected homes” of the future – from efficiently using power to making it.
And on that power generation side is Southwest Windpower’s Skystream 600, which is making its own CES debut. The company, which is the world’s largest supplier of small wind systems, has residential-scale turbines already spinning everywhere from rural Kenya to the small island of Baththalangunduwa off of Sri Lanka to a Flagstaff, Arizona Chevron gas station that uses two.
The new model at CES is the latest from their lab, and is the most efficient power grid-connected small wind turbine in its class – generating 74 percent more energy than its predecessor. Depending on the amount of wind, turbine location and the energy efficiency of the home, a Skystream 600 could provide up to 80 percent of an average home’s energy requirements.
It simply hooks up to your circuit box (with your utility’s permission) and provides electricity for your home, school, ranch or office. In times when there is little or no wind, you receive your energy from the utility. If the Skystream 600 produces more energy than you need, your meter spins backwards – all of it done seamlessly. When available to the public in March, it will be the first fully smart grid-enabled wind turbine.
While GE is the country’s leading supplier of large wind turbines, Southwest Windpower is the world’s largest supplier of small wind systems. In 2009, GE invested in Southwest via its energy-investing arm, GE Energy Financial Services.
Go for a spin: According to Southwest, the minimum average wind speed for Skystream 600 is 10 mph – with ideal sites having 12 mph average wind speed or greater. The top of the tower should be at least 20 feet above any surrounding object.
Meanwhile, in addition to the other technologies on display – such as GE’s new solar technologies, the latest in LED lights, and home health innovations from the new company formed by GE and Intel — is an even newer look for the recently unveiled WattStation electric vehicle charger.
Sporting a special color combination and signed by WattStation designer Yves Behar, 250 will be offered for sale to CES attendees
By design: Behar recently said that “the residential GE WattStation design is friendly and so simple to adopt that it will literally change one’s life overnight:.”
* Read today’s announcement about GE at CES
* Read “Ben Fry’s ‘Powering the Kitchen’ Data Viz Debuts at CES 2011″ on GE Reports
