About TFCEnergy
Our Journey — Where We Have BeenStarting in 2006, TFC Energy began work on the development of a new wind turbine technology in close collaboration with the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI). We began by conducting a comprehensive literature search on wind technology to determine the feasibility of a new vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) concept. UDRI conducted the original aerodynamic analysis of the rotor design of a Savonius style VAWT using their computational fluid dynamic (CFD) testing methodology. TFC Energy started scale model testing in our own wind tunnel installed at our facility where we made the models on our rapid prototype machines. After successive design iterations and modifications to the wind turbine design, we acquired our own CFD software to accelerate testing of design elements. In September 2008, Senator Sherrod Brown announced funding for Ohio through the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act. In partnership with UDRI, TFC Energy was awarded a portion of those funds to help develop portable, low-cost wind turbine technology for the U.S. military. Throughout 2009, TFC Energy worked originally on a drag-based Savonius design and after several months of testing, switched our attention to a modified lift-based Darrieus VAWT, commonly known as an H-bar design. By early 2010, we installed a working VAWT prototype, but due to the engineering challenges of scaling this system to a larger size that would be economically viable, we made the decision to focus on a new innovative design of a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) that is uniquely value-optimized to be economically efficient in harnessing energy from a broader spectrum of wind speeds and employs advanced control features only found in larger utility-scale wind turbines. By mid-2011, TFC Energy will have completed the design of their HAWT prototype and assembled and installed a testbed to monitor system performance and validate laboratory testing. |
 Original Savonius Design H-bar Darrieus Prototype Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) Design |
