SheerWind INVELOX Building-Augmented Wind Funnel System

Design Solution · HVAC & Energy

Design Solution · Dream about it

Ground-mounted wind funnel system designed to compress low-speed winds onto a small turbine for urban distributed generation.

INVELOX uses a converging funnel inlet and duct to accelerate and compress ambient wind onto a compact turbine mounted at ground level. It addresses the AEC challenge of on-site renewable energy in dense urban and suburban settings where conventional tall wind towers are infeasible due to zoning, aesthetics, or structural constraints. The funnel geometry aims to increase effective wind speed to the rotor regardless of low ambient wind conditions.

INVELOX has been in the market conversation since approximately 2013, promising urban wind generation without tall towers by using a large converging funnel to accelerate ambient wind onto a compact ground-level turbine — a direct answer to the zoning, aesthetic, and structural constraints that rule out conventional wind in dense settings. The funnel compression principle is real physics, and the form factor addresses a genuine urban energy gap. The problem is thirteen years of heavy marketing and crowdfunding visibility paired with no documented large-scale deployment, no independent long-term performance verification, and one refuted claim on record — an unusual outcome that warrants extra scepticism. The physics that motivates the concept also constrains it: duct friction and turbulence reduce net efficiency, ground-level placement captures the most turbulent part of the boundary layer, and the funnel inlet competes for roof area with better-characterised technologies like PV. The wind resource assessment for an urban site is complex under any circumstances; the funnel performance is additionally sensitive to local flow distortion from adjacent buildings in ways that are not documented. With solar PV costs falling and actual evidence of INVELOX generation yield essentially absent, the risk of specification on a project is high: regulatory and insurance pathways are undefined, and the competitive economics are moving in the wrong direction.

Strengths

• Enables wind generation on buildings in low-wind urban and suburban zones without tall towers
• Ground or roof-mounted form factor reduces visual and zoning friction vs. tower turbines
• Funnel compression principle theoretically increases effective wind speed to rotor
• Modular, distributed approach suits retrofit and new construction in dense areas

Considerations

• Funnel inlet creates large footprint and obstruction on roof or courtyard; competes with other building functions (moderate)
• Pressure-loss and turbulence in duct reduce net efficiency gains; real-world Cp often lower than conventional turbines (moderate)
• Ground-mounted or low-height rotor placement captures lower-quality, more turbulent wind; loses laminar boundary-layer advantage of height (high)
• Maintenance access and cleaning of inlet funnel and duct interior required in urban/dusty environments (moderate)

Risks

• No documented large-scale or utility-scale deployment; heavy marketing and crowdfunding visibility since ~2013 but minimal independent performance verification or long-term operational data (critical)
• Acoustic and vibration transmission through building structure if roof-mounted; may violate comfort or noise limits (moderate)
• Wind resource assessment complex; funnel performance highly sensitive to local flow distortion from adjacent buildings, terrain, and microclimatic effects (high)
• Regulatory and insurance pathways unclear; no industry standard design or certification framework established (high)
• Competitive pressure and falling costs of rooftop solar PV may reduce addressable market before real-world wind validation occurs (moderate)

Performance

• Claimed wind speed amplification: 4–6x (manufacturer)
• Independent measured gain: Negligible (Anyi & Kirke 2015)
• Claimed power improvement: 600% over conventional (manufacturer)

Reality check

Peer-reviewed independent test (Anyi & Kirke, Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 2015, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167610514002670) directly contradicts manufacturer claims of 4–6x amplification and 600% power gain. Controlled testing found negligible actual performance benefit over baseline. No peer-reviewed validation of claimed amplification ratios or 1 mph operation capability found. Company marketing has emphasized theoretical CFD models and crowd-sourced testimonials rather than third-party test data. No evidence of commercial deployment at meaningful scale; product remains largely vaporware despite 10+ years in market.

#distributed_wind #urban_renewables #building_integration #onsite_generation

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