Environmental News, Eco-Friendly Gadgets - FreshAirTimes.eu

Eco Factor: Outdoor umbrella generates power for recharging portable devices.

Konarka Technologies, an innovator in development and commercialization of Power Plastic (a material that converts light to energy), is working to make sure that power for your portable devices is available anywhere. The firm entered into a technology partnership with SKYShades one year ago and lately, SKYShades received its first shipment of Konarka Power Plastic thin film. SKYShades is one of the global leaders in supplying shade and tension membrane structures. This lightweight thin film, which converts light to energy, will be used by SKYShades to create the Powerbrella, an innovative way to charge your laptop, cellphone or other portable devices outdoors.

Designed for use at outdoor venues such as cafés and restaurants, hotel and resort swimming pools and outdoor lounges, the Powerbrella incorporates the Power Plastic on the surface of SKYShades’ retractable and fixed architectural SKYbrella. Testing for the Powerbrella has been done in 2008 at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando. Physics students at Lake Highland checked the effectiveness of the Powerbrella to withstand the elements, its ability to generate clean green energy and the amount of resulting power that could be stored in batteries for reuse.

Other than generating energy from the solar panels, the Powerbrella will also offer people coverage from the sun. The Powerbrella is expected to go on sale by Q3 of 2009.

Via: Talk2MyShirt

Eco Factor: Cold storage facility powered by solar energy.

Perpetual Power has announced the completion of a 416KW DC solar installation on a Budweiser cold beer storage facility in Contra Costa County, California. The 2,240 panels, which cover about 60% of the 110K-aquare-foot building’s energy needs generate about 600,000KWh of energy which would result in an annual savings of approximately $100,000.

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Eco Factor: Unmanned aircraft powered by solar energy.

Aurora Flight Sciences has announced that the company successfully flew their latest solar powered UAV, the SunLight Eagle. The flights took place at the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Test Center operated by the Physical Science Laboratory of New Mexico State University. The news came just days after the company announced the successful completion of a solar aircraft from DARPA’s Vulture Program.

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Eco Factor: World’s largest solar energy plant planned for Australia.

Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd has said in a statement that the government is ready to invest $1.05 million (USD) to build the world’s largest solar power plant with an output of 1000MW. The plant will have three times the generating capacity of the current biggest solar energy plant which is in California.

The project is intended to exploit Australia’s biggest natural resources, the Sun. The plant will help Australia become a leader in the renewable energy sector. The project should eventually lead to a network of solar-powered stations across the country. The government stated that the country doesn’t want to be a renewable energy follower but a renewable energy but a clean energy leader in the world. Tender details will be announced later this year and successful bidders will be named in the first half of 2010.

Image Credit: Flickr [Under a Creative Commons License]

Via: Reuters

Eco Factor: Solar-powered air conditioning systems.

The best way to get rid of blackouts during heat waves is to use the energy from the sun to cool your home. Researchers at the Australian National University have done just that by developing solar air-conditioning systems. The systems, which are currently in the testing phase, will be able to reduce energy load, especially during the peak hours of the day.

Apart from the use in air conditioning during summers, the same solar modules can also be used to heat your home in winter and provide you with solar-heated water as well. The reduction of load on the grid during peak hours will enable the grids to perform better and provide uninterrupted power for more important processes that require less but a consistent supply of electricity.

The Dark Side:

The use of solar air conditioning will definitely be a boon for the masses and the grid as well. However, depending on just solar energy, which is highly inconsistent, won’t have that much of an impact. If solar energy is coupled with some other forms of renewable energy like the wind, it can cater to a broader market.

Via: ABC  

Solar energy is one of the most impressive and easily available sources of green energy that has the potential to power everything from the PMPs we carry to the cars we drive. Toyota has already started exploring the potential of solar energy by announcing that it will use solar panels in its next-generation Prius hybrid car. While this car would just use the energy to run the car’s AC, some designers have shown the way cars could completely be powered by the energy falling from the sun. Check out ten such concepts one of which might just be your ride into the future.

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Japanese homes are already familiar with solar panels and technology thanks to the warm spring, summer and autumn seasons in the country. Still with so many solar panels installed in the country, it still contributes 12% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. But now a new innovation by Sharp will drastically change these statistics. The company has partnered with Eliiy Power to create the world’s first storage battery for household electricity systems.

These cells will store the electricity that is generated by normal roof top solar panels and will be so efficient that they will be able to run the house for a day and a half. With this system Sharp has addressed the main problem with solar panels that they themselves cannot store any electricity and hence provide power just for half of the day. Sharp’s new lithium-ion cell based system, which costs about ¥500,000 (£2,350) will surely refine solar technology. This system is expected to debut next year.

Via: Tech.co.uk

It may be just a concept as yet, but the solar-powered notebook promises to revolutionize the way we utilize energy resources. The concept is developed around attaching a wide solar-panel to the laptop making it totally independent. The detachable panel is to be put away in the sun for recharging while the notebook functions on a smaller battery that charges itself when DC power is plugged into the system. The laptop is also equipped with satellite link GPS, internet access, and satellite telephone services making it the world’s first fully independent and universal communication tool that can be operated from literally any spot on the planet making it an ideal research and travel companion for scientists and explorer who often have to live in places that have no access to electricity.

Source: Tuvie

In the quest for developing alternate recyclable energy sources, perhaps the greatest potential lies in the development of commercially viable energy from the abundant sunshine our planet receives each day. The popular method of harvesting solar power lies with direct collection of the sun’s energy on huge solar-energy collectors. More than a hundred years ago, a French physicist Jacques Arsene d’Arsonoval proposed generating electricity from the ocean. The Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology is the method of running heat generators by using the temperature difference between the upper and lower levels of the sea to produce electricity
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For starters, I do not sell real estate and I have absolutely no personal motives involved in this. But when a green home needs a taker, then I’m more than willing to give it a little rub. That is exactly why we are discussing this wonderful home just a drive away from Ontario. It is a home of 24 X 28 with loft - cathedral ceiling which has been professionally built by Post & Beam Construction. The home looks beautiful and is obviously placed in a location that is game for photography of wildlife. (I do not like to promote ‘hunting’ as a sport or a pass time) (more…)