Environmental News, Eco-Friendly Gadgets - FreshAirTimes.eu

Eco Factor: Hi-tech bus stop powered by solar energy.

A simple way to reduce your personal carbon footprint is making use of services such as buses and trains to go to your office and back home. However, tempting car owners to leave their luxuries at home and wait for a bus to their destination to arrive seems a tough ask. MIT architects are envisioning a future where people won’t only be encouraged to travel by a bus, but will also ensure that their relationship with the most modern of technologies is not disturbed in any way.

Passengers waiting for a bus at the “EyeStop” would be able to check their mailboxes, get the latest updates on weather, watch news and even get in touch with their Facebook friends. Other than this, riders can also plan a bus trip on an interactive map and monitor their real-time exposure to pollutants.

The EyeStop also keeps the riders aware of the current status of the bus they’re waiting for and glows at different levels of intensity to signal the distance of an approaching bus. The best feature of the EyeStop is that all those hi-tech features don’t consume a single watt of electricity from the grid as it is powered by electricity generated from the rooftop solar panels.

Via: Treehugger

Eco Factor: Energy-efficient Air Conditioning system from Ice Energy.

Ice Energy has developed an energy-efficient way to reduce the energy required by air conditioners installed in small to mid-sized commercial buildings. Ice Bear, as the system has been named, stores off-peak power in the form of ice to reduce daytime energy consumption, which isn’t green and is obviously expensive.

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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: Energy-neutral greenhouses produce 20 times more fruit per acre than conventional farms.

With the land available for farming being used to develop modern residential and commercial complexes, environmentalists around the world are worried about the future, where the lack of land might leave millions hungry. Like always, scientists have tried to find an answer to this growing threat in the latest in technology.Houweling Nurseries, a Canadian farming company, has developed hi-tech greenhouse facilities which generate renewable electricity, harvest rain and runoff water and above all produce 20 times more fruit than conventional farms. The $50 million complex is a completely self-dependent ecosystem in which nothing is wasted. The facility has five acres of photovoltaic solar cells to supply it with 2.1MW of electricity, which is used to run water pumps and climate control systems. Thermal systems collect solar heat and warehouse refrigeration exhaust to warm the greenhouse on cold evenings. Workers of the facility have dug a four-acre pond that collects rainwater which is then filtered and re-circulated back to the facility for irrigation. Plants in this greenhouse are fed through tubing and crops are grown without the use of any herbicides and almost no pesticides. Since there is no dust or germs inside the facility, fertilizer use is also limited. The 20-acre facility has 450 workers who are constantly keeping an eye on all the critical systems and ensure that the production is the best.

  Eco Factor: Harnessing the movement of the sea for uninterrupted green power.

Australian energy company Atlantis Resources Corporation has planned to harness the movement of the sea with a new underwater generator, which they claim is the world’s most efficient turbine. The turbine, known as the Solon Turbine, was designed by 28-year-old Dr John Keir. Atlantis believes that 500 Solon turbines can harness the sea movement to provide uninterrupted green power to a million homes.

Atlantis is currently testing the technology in San Remo in Victoria. The company also stated that the Solon turbine works best when submerged more than 40 meters and could generate two megawatts of power. Since water covers about two-thirds of the surface area of our planet, the turbine could do wonders for the modern world.

The Dark Side:

Skeptics such as Scottish Engineer Tony Trapp believe that tidal power is not at all reliable and the numbers quoted by Atlantis could never be achieved.

Via: SydneyMorningHerald

Eco Factor: Aircraft with an electric engine aims to set world record.

The SkySpark project was officially underway at a press conference in Turin. The attempt is to develop a 100% electric aircraft that could reach speeds in excess of 300km/h, thereby setting a new record. The project is supported by several private sponsors and by the local government as well.

The aircraft is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell capable of providing 65Kw of green electric power. The aircraft will be piloted by Italian astronaut Maurizio Cheli. Navigation technology for the green flier will be provided by NavSAS, which will provide accurate positioning of the plane during the record-setting attempt.

The Dark Side:

A speed of 300km/h might look like too much if you are a car owner, but it’s too little if the aircraft is ever commercialized. Moreover, the range of such an aircraft, owing to its electric engine, could be an issue that needs some technical intervention.

Via: GalileoSystem