The Ubiquitous Personal Turbine—A Power Vision for the 21st Century

Abstract

Having a personal computer (PC) and related electronic equipment in the majority of U.S. homes today is accepted without question. In the same vein, having a personal turbine (PT) in the home could also be taken for granted in coming decades to assure a constant and reliable source of electrical power, which is paramount in the e-business era. As addressed in this paper, gas turbine technology has advanced to the point where a natural gas-fired PT, rated at about 5 kW could reliably provide the total energy needs of an average home. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, in which a centralized factory replaced cottage industries, was made possible by introduction of the steam engine. In the 21st century IT Revolution, the situation will have essentially gone the full circle, with a high percentage of service industry work being done in the home. For individuals using the internet for conducting business a reliable source of electrical power is mandatory. Alas, this can no longer be assured by the U.S. power grid which is quickly reaching its capacity, and increasing outages will become more commonplace. One solution to this could be the use of PTs in homes in both cities and remote areas. Also it would be ideally suited to applications in the developing countries, where it could provide the total energy needs of villages and small communities. In this introductory paper it is projected that when mass produced in very large quantities like automobile turbochargers, the PT unit cost would be competitive.