Mariah Power Taps into iPhone App Cachet to Promote Wind Energy

(MoneyWatch)  Small wind turbine maker Mariah Power has plans to tap into the promotional prowess of the iPhone app with its anticipated release of Windspire Me, a software application that allows users to measure wind speeds by simply holding up their phones.

The free app was developed as a two-pronged effort to get people excited about wind energy and to market Mariah Power's product, 30-foot turbines built to offset electricity costs in homes and businesses.

Wind turbines sales are not going to spike as a result of the Windspire Me app. [In fact, two other wind measurement applications are already available in Apple's iTunes store, the NYT noted.] And the wind speed readings are meant only as a starting point for folks thinking about installing a wind turbine in their backyard.

But the Windspire Me app's design makes it the perfect "viral" marketing tool to start spreading the word about clean energy.

Bill Westerman, principal of Create with Context, the Silicon Valley-based firm that designed the app, hates to use the word viral when he describes the Windspire Me app. "It's an overused term," he said in an interview with BNET Energy last week.

But many of its features are exactly that, he added.

The app essentially turns the iPhone microphone into an anemometer, Westerman explained. The microphone captures wind noise and an algorithm converts it into a decibel rating, which corresponds to the wind speed of where ever you are at the time.

The app has an accuracy rating of plus or minus three miles per hour, Westerman said.

"It gives you a sense of, 'there is no wind here', or 'Hey, this is a pretty windy spot," Westerman said.

Create with Context added some "viral stuff" into the app, Westerman said, such as mapping out the location of the wind speed reading and the ability to share results with friends.

The app also gives users a sense of what certain wind speeds can power in their home and how much money they will ultimately save. Twenty different appliances, including a hot tub, microwave and margarita maker are included in the app.

And that feature may very well be the most important feature in the Windspire app. It actually gives users some context, hence the design firm's name.

It's one thing to offer a wind speed app in hopes of marketing your product, which in this case is a 1.2 kilowatt turbine. But it's an entirely different deed -- and a much more usable one -- to give potential customers a clue about how a turbine sitting in their backyard would impact their life and wallet.

As Westerman puts it: "It's all about answering the question, 'What's that mean for me?"



Images of Windspire Me app from Create with Context