News and media                               ► Latest news     ► Media room

News archive - 2006 and earlier 

News bulletin: Destruction testing commences – December 2006

Two turbines were installed at an exposed location so that they could be tested for wear and tear over the windy winter months. The intention is to have the turbines in place for six months and then inspect them for damage, wear and tear.

Media coverage: “Inventing success”, Kingston University London – 27 November 2006

British Invention Show - Kingston also made a strong showing in the industrial category, with Matthias Luethi claiming golds for innovation and design after creating a prototype for an environmentally-sensitive wind turbine.

http://www.kingston.ac.uk/news/latestnews/2006/november/27-inventing-success/

News bulletin: Kingston University London commences wind tunnel testing – October 2006

The silent wind turbine by Luethi Enterprises begins a series of wind tunnel tests at Kingston University London. This is completed in April 2007, and the findings can be read here.

News bulletin: POCKET loan approved for R&D – August 2006

Luethi Enterprises was approved for a POCKET loan to finance wind tunnel testing at Kingston University London. These loans are issued by SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) and funded by the UK Government and the EU. Stringent application criteria apply to these loans, and they can only be obtained when working in partnership with a university.

Media coverage: “On the green horizon”, designbuild-network.com – 4 July 2006

Designbuild-network.com

http://www.designbuild-network.com/features/feature299/

Media coverage: “Unique vertical axis wind turbine in need of support”, Eureka Magazine  (Volume 26, Number 4) – 13 April 2006

http://www.eurekamagazine.co.uk/article/4367/Unique-vertical-axis-wind-turbine-in-need-of-support.aspx

Unique vertical axis wind turbine in need of support

Tom Shelley reports on a novel low cost turbine looking for technical assistance and support to further its development

Matthias Luethi, who lives in Rochester has developed and prototyped a novel vertical axis wind turbine with six blades instead of the more usual two associated with this class of devices.

As wind speed increases, centrifugal forces act on a weighted pulley at the axis of the turbine, driving it down and rotating the inner edges of the blades outwards until they almost form a continuous cylinder. In this position, they present little or no effective catchment area to the wind. The device is thus self-regulating and protects itself against damage. Tests with prototypes show that it runs completely silent, and also offers no gaps between blades that might be hazardous to bird life. Because the blades are supported at both ends, the design is inherently robust. It has been tested on a local hill side and on a roof top and was shown at the 2005 Betfair British Invention Show at Alexandra Palace. As well as roof top mounting, it might be attached to the tops of street lights or used for powering outdoor advertising signs.

The device works well whether made large or small, but has now reached the point where it needs to be wind tunnel tested in order that the exact shapes of the blades and the design generally can be fully evaluated and optimised. A local university has offered assistance, but lacks the necessary facilities.

© Findlay Publications Ltd

Media coverage: Television report on BBC News, South East Today – 27 February 2006

Featured an interview with Matthew Luethi, inventor of the silent wind turbine and director of Luethi Enterprises Limited.

Click here to see the interview. (12.9MB; 2mins 40secs; WMV format.)

Many thanks to reporter, Ian Palmer, and the BBC News South East Today team, who kindly provided a copy of the interview and permission to use it.

Media coverage: “Matthew harnesses power of the wind”, The Medway News – February 17th 2006

(Reproduced courtesy of Kent Regional Newspapers)

Matthew harnesses power of the wind - report by Mark Dearn

The light bulb, the jet engine, the microchip – they have changed the world we live in and the way we live our lives.

Although often taken for granted, each required one thing: the creative spark of invention, a spark that burns bright in Medway.

Meeting once a month at the University of Greenwich at Medway, The Kent Inventors Club plays host to some of the area’s, and the country’s, most original minds. One member, Matthew Luethi from Frindsbury, has tasted success at the British Invention Show at London’s Alexandra Palace, where he was awarded a Bronze Award for his Silent Regulated Wind Turbine.

Originally from Switzerland, Matthew, 60, has lived in Medway for 10 years after moving for work and to be with his partner Anna.

Matthew is no stranger to new ideas. He was the first person in the country to commercially grow rocket salad leaves, now seen everywhere from sandwiches to cooking sauces.

A friend of TV chef Gordon Ramsay, Matthew used to run Mr Topes restaurant in Rochester High Street for eight years before being forced to leave with a back injury. He was a private supplier of rocket, driving a van to drop off goods to a range of clients, including the Houses of Parliament. And it was on one of these trips that he had the idea for a wind turbine.

“It first came to me 20 years ago, but I didn’t have the time to work on it,” he explained.

“When I’d park in garage forecourts I noticed those signs that hang down would blow back and forth in the wind, and I thought ‘there’s power to be harnessed’.”

But Matthew was too busy to follow up his ideas. After leaving the restaurant he has been able to concentrate on his plans for the turbine. One year after starting work in his garage workshop he has been recognised for his achievement.

But what is so special about this wind turbine?

“For me the important thing is absolute silence and no danger to animals and birds,” he said.

“It’s not unsightly, it can be built as an architectural feature, and if something goes wrong, it’s very easy to fix, you just need a screwdriver or a spanner.

“It can generate enough energy to power a house, except for a dishwasher and a washing machine – they take a lot of energy.

“Normal wind turbines aren’t very efficient, they run with three gear boxes and require a cooling system.” Before going to Alexandra Palace, Matthew had been up and down the country showing his invention to potential customers.

He has a UK patent to protect the turbine, and is waiting to hear if international protection will be granted.

He has also been drafted in to talk to pupils at Trinity School in Rochester.

But for Matthew the project is about energy – the limitless supply available in the natural world and the need for it to be harnessed. And he already has another project – tidal power.

He said: “We have so much free energy, it has to be harvested. Denmark is 100 per cent self-sufficient on wind power, and exports electricity to Germany.

“If you go on the shoreline in Rochester, how many tons of water go back and forth every day? Imagine how much energy that could create.”

News bulletin: Bronze award won at South East Business Awards – February 2006

Kent inventors won top prizes during a show at Alexandra Palace, London.

The winners are members of the Kent Inventors Club.  Matthew Luethi of Luethi Enterprises

in Frindsbury, Strood, won a bronze.

News bulletin: UK patent is granted – November 2006

Luethi Enterprises celebrates receiving patent protection for the unique silent vertical axis wind turbine and its regulating mechanism. The patent was applied for two years earlier.

News bulletin: Luethi Enterprises exhibits the silent wind turbine at the 2006 and 2005 Betfair British Invention Show at Alexandra Palace

A bronze medal was awarded to Luethi Enterprises in 2005.

News bulletin: first prototype built in Matthew Luethi’s garage – May 2005

News bulletin: UK patent is applied for – November 2004

Luethi Enterprises Limited applies for the UK patent to protect the unique silent vertical axis wind turbine.

A brief timeline and history of the silent wind turbine can be read here.

Luethi Enterprises Limited       Email: info@silentwindturbine.com       Phone: +44 (0) 1634 711 179           

Website by FX Marketing www.fxmarketing.co.nz