Environmental News, Eco-Friendly Gadgets - FreshAirTimes.eu

Eco Factor: Sustainable residential development designed to reduce energy consumption.

Broadway Malyan Architects have come up with a sustainable proposal for a residential development in Dubai. Christened “The Diamond”, the 17-story tall structure takes full advantage of the spectacular views and proximity to the beachfront and adjacent neighborhood center.

 Every apartment in the building enjoys unobstructed views, without sacrificing on good levels of privacy. Designed to provide high levels of sustainability, the architecture responds directly to the movement of the sun to reduce solar heat gain and improve energy efficiency.

Designed to create a dramatic sea front pair of residential towers, the twin-tower architecture is set on top of a mixed use podium overlooking the surroundings. The terraced sun deck helps in enhancing the eco-credentials of the building while reducing solar heat gain.

Via: Broadway Malyan Architects 

The rise in the demand for energy and the ways it is produced has altered the natural mix of air we breathe. While the conditions on the open streets are miserable, the conditions indoors aren’t great either. Addressing the issue, designers all over the world are creating futuristic air purification systems that can help make air quality better. Have a look at some of the most innovative air purifiers after the jump.

• Aura Organic Air FilterDesigned by Ben McGinley, the Aura Organic Air Filtration system keeps indoor air quality healthy and doesn’t consume any electricity for the same. The conceptual device uses sunlight and plants to remove harmful chemicals and toxins from the air. Plants are naturally equipped to filter chemicals like volatile organic compounds, formaldehydes, benzene and carbon monoxide from the air. The device uses this property to clean indoor air and make it free from any toxins.• FLO2The FLO2 by industrial designer Olivia Bradateanu uses the natural processes of photosynthesis to purify indoor air. The product lets users know the quality of air they are breathing and purifies it by simply trapping the harmful particles. The portable device can be carried along or placed at a favorable place inside a house.• O2 Air PurifierDesigned by Tian Lingrui the O2 Air Purifier requires the user to place a normal plant pot on the system’s tray, where it accelerates the process of photosynthesis and hence increases the amount of sequestered CO2 for more oxygen. In addition to cleaning up the air around, the system also keeps tabs on our green friends and lets the user know when they need water.• Symbiosis City Air PurifierThe Symbiosis City Air Purifier by industrial designer Ken Jasinski is to be mounted on streetlight poles where it harvests solar energy to power its ultraviolet air purification system. During overcast days the system utilizes grid connectivity for power. The system captures carbon dioxide from the air and releases oxygen back into the atmosphere, hence purifying the air without making use of much energy.• Oxygen of GreenThe Oxygen of Green indoor furniture concept is designed by combining air plants with a living room table. Conceptualized by industrial designer Mingling Wang, the system produces a decent amount of oxygen, especially after dark and does that at the place where it’s most needed – the center section of the house.• The DaanThe Daan is a small disk-sized unit powerful enough to purify a small room. You stack more units together to clean a bigger area. You can even detach one unit and take it for travel. Designed by Joseph Kim, this wonderfully crafted new air purifier will hopefully alter the view of traditional water purifiers and will encourage more makers to go for the more stylish designs which will go great with interiors of your space.• Green RingThe Green Ring is the brainchild of designers Park Jun Seok and Kwon Hye Rim and has been designed to keep tabs on the air you breathe and help purify it as well. Shaped like a tree trunk, the device can easily be mounted on the wall and comes with a variety of LED lights and filters. The device features a set of lights that glow from green to red according to the air quality inside your house.• ExtendThe Extend air purifier by industrial designer Sander Brouwer is a sleek and stylish air purifier that offers a simple solution that leads us from polluted city life to pure and fresh air to enable a healthy lifestyle. It helps improves air circulation and purification to keep you always in fine spirits.• W/Air Breathing NecklaceThe W/Air Breathing Necklace by designers Martina Pagura and Pedro Nakazato Andrade is a wearable accessory that filters the air and stores CO2 to produce energy, which can be reused in everyday life. The W/Air can be worn like a necklace as it filters ambient air and removes CO2 from it. The purified air is then made available for the wearer, while the CO2 is converted into electricity for use.• GreenAir PlanterDrawing inspiration from the metamorphosis of a butterfly, designer Sherly Gunawan, a graduate in Product Design from LASALLE College of the Arts Singapore, has designed an innovative air purifier that freshens up the environment through natural vegetation. Considering the fact that that indoor air can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air, the GreenAir is an indoor air purifier that grows living plants for fresh air.

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