The Sloan SOLIS EAF-275 is a good looking faucet, all by itself. Then add an automatic sensor for hands free operation and a solar panel to keep the batteries charged. Genius. The solar panel works with natural or artificial light. The small lever on the right hand side lets you set the water temperature. I had the pleasure of using one of the Sloan SOLIS solar faucets the other day and it works and looks great.
For only $139 you can have a 5-star rated yard umbrella that not only looks and works great… but also has 40 LED lights and runs off of batteries that are charged from a tiny solar panel. The LED lights will run for 9-12 hours.
The Solar LED Umbrella comes in a bunch of colors, has a 9-foot diameter, aluminum pole, and a hand crank system for opening and closing the umbrella.
When reading about Denmark’s ambitious plans to get 50 percent of their energy from wind turbines in the next eight years, I wonder why other countries aren’t doing the same thing. Tapping sustainable energy sources like wind and solar pay for themselves in time, improve air quality, reduce health issues associated with pollution, and make each country less dependent on others for their energy needs.
Denmark is doing the smart thing here. Scratching my head as to why most first world countries aren’t following their lead. Denmark plans to be fully powered by renewable energy by 2050.
As you may have noticed, we like the idea of using old shipping containers for new purposes, mainly building homes. Makes sense considering they show up on our shores full of Chinese trinkets and tend to be shipped back empty. May as well keep some here and repurpose them.
The WFH House is a modular prefabricated system designed by Arcgency. One of the coolest parts of designing the WFH House is the fact that clients get the chance to pick layouts, facades, and interiors via an online configurator. More details and pictures after the break.
Plenty of world trade happens over the seas via large container ships. One thing is for certain, large ships burn a bunch of fuel. Things have remained pretty much unchanged for many years with regards to large ships. They burn fuel to turn propellers.
A Japanese company, Eco Marine Power, is working on sails that also harness the power of the sun. This technology, dubbed EnergySails, isn’t your typical cloth based sail… it is instead a rigid sail/solar panel. The wind power helps propel the boat, and the solar panel helps reduce the amount of fuel used for auxiliary generators.
The EnergySail technology really shines when the boats are sitting at port, typically burning fuel. Instead of using costly fuel to keep the boat operational they can use solar and batteries instead.
EMP estimates that, depending on the number, size, shape and configuration of the EnergySails, a fossil fuel-powered ship’s annual fuel consumption could be cut by up to 20 percent, while vessels powered by an electrical propulsion system could cut fuel consumption by around 40 percent. In addition to the fuel consumption and noxious gas emission benefits, EMP says EnergySails could also allow ships to operate more quietly at lower speeds in bays and harbors in comparison to conventional ships.
[Via]
If solar was cheap it would be on every roof top providing clean energy. However solar is still quite expensive, largely because of the cost of the rare materials. This may be changing. Researchers from Stanford University are working on making solar cells out of carbon which is quite abundant and cheap.
The experimental solar cell consists of a photoactive layer, which absorbs sunlight, sandwiched between two electrodes. In a typical thin film solar cell, the electrodes are made of conductive metals and indium tin oxide (ITO).
“Materials like indium are scarce and becoming more expensive as the demand for solar cells, touchscreen panels, and other electronic devices grows,” Bao says. “Carbon, on the other hand, is low cost and Earth-abundant.”
[Via]
The typical flat solar panels that are in use today have a few major problems. For example; flat solar panels are less effective when heated by the sun, they don’t release electrons efficiently, and unless they are on sun trackers they tend to waste much of the suns time in the sky. The folks at V3 Solar have come out with a new solar panel that can make up to 20 times more power by spinning the panels and using solar
Typically solar panels are mounted in a fixed orientation which works pretty good. However, when you want to ring every bit of energy out of the sun it is best to use sun trackers. Solar trackers tend to be 40 percent more energy efficient than fixed mount systems. A solar/sun tracker follows the sun through the sky adjusting the panels angle and direction. Usually this means a bank of panels, or a single panel, have a tracker assigned to them… this works well… but requires multiple motors and trackers for each array of panels.
The QBotix Tracking System (QTS) pictured above (and in video after the break) uses a robot (Solbot) on a rail to visit each panel on 40-minute intervals. The robot goes to each panel adjusting its angle and direction. If the robot isn’t feeling well or breaks down… there is another robot on standby ready to help out.
Kinesis Industries has released the next version of their wind and solar charger the K3 (like the K2). The core of the unit is a large 4,000 mAh battery for storing power. You can fill up that massive battery via AC wall power (or USB), a solar panel, or wind power. That power can then be pushed out to your other gadgets through the USB port.
On the side of the K3 Wind and Solar Power Charger is an LED array to show you the power status of your battery. There is also a storage pod on the bottom of the K3 for storing your extra cables or tips. Yours for $93 here.
Designer Gabriele Diamanti has created a solar oven called the Eliodomestico that can make salt water drinkable. Furthermore, the invention can be made out of cheap and readily available materials enabling local craftsmen in the developing world to build the oven for themselves.
The system works by using a black boiler on top which heats up from the sun and forces steam downward through a pipe. The steam/water is then collected in a lower chamber as clean drinking water. Essentially it is an open-source solar powered desalination oven.
“This project is intended to bring good drinking water to the families in the developing countries at no operating cost, starting from sea water,” Diamanti says. “It works like an upside down coffee maker: during the day, the heat of the sun raises up the steam pressure into the black watertight boiler. The steam is forced down through the expansion nozzle, thus condensing against the lid.”
[Via]
