New App for iPhone Which Calculates Wind Speeds

Apple’s iPhone continues to make ground breaking moves for energy efficiency with its various applications including home energy management, Car 2.0, and fuel efficiency indicators. Announced today, however, is one such energy efficiency app which is slightly less expected.

Modest sized wind turbine manufacturer, Mariah Power, has launched an iPhone app which indicates and tests wind speeds. The application was announced today in the New York Times’ Greene Inc. blog and, Todd Woody, the pro lifer for the application said that it utilizes the phone’s small microphone to calculate wind speed based on the noise it makes in the background.

The application uses the wind speed analysis taken from recordings on the microphone to then indicate whether or not the present area would make a good environment for a small turbine. Mariah is a relatively new company, having only launched their small turbine, Windspire, last June. Although new to the wind industry, the company says they have already received over 4,000 orders since last November, after launching the Windspire.

The American Wind Energy Association has defined small wind turbines as 100 kilowatts or less, and since then the trend of installing small turbines for personal use has grown immensely creating a niche market for companies like Mariah.

The iPhone, similarly, has emerged as the new cutting edge technology for mobiles and its extensive and easy-to-use applications have begun a must-have for avid mobile phone users. Mariah has taken two growing markets and combined them to gather commercial interest in their small turbines, Windspire.