Eco Factor: Mountain-like business district incorporates wastewater treatment and renewable energy generation system.
Those deprived of the pleasure of living in the serene and beautiful hills could get the same feeling in the “Magic Mountains.” This sustainable urban development proposed for Chongqing, China is one crazy plan by the CEBO/Chongqing University team. Resembling prismatic mountain peaks, the new green business district creates an exciting new skyline with inhabited peaks.
Magic Mountains are made from glass and steel. It is loaded with sustainable feature such as passive cooling and heating, wastewater treatment and renewable energy generation system. These water and energy efficient systems will rest on the open green valleys. In order to cut down carbon emissions substantially, bicycles and pedestrian paths could be used to get around the city.
Efficient public transportation system will lead to reduction in car usage. All these green features will bring down the overall consumption of resources and energy by 22%. The renewable energy produced in the Magic Mountains will replace 11% of conventional power.
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.
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.
Something that truly lends you an eye and lights your path as you go are these solar wall lights, as philosophical as the introduction may sound, the utility is as practical as it can get. Stuck on the wall along the staircase or on the fence, these not only add a touch of aesthetics they also prevent you from tripping over in the dark. Operating on solar power, once fully charged, the white energy-saving LEDs come on automatically at dusk to provide up to six hours of light. The quality integral solar panel and replaceable rechargeable Ni-MH batteries ensure years of service and are very easy to install. So light up the darkness with the power of sun, intended literally.
We all know that the world is slowly but steadily moving towards the day when the oil reserves will be over and our civilization will be in need of energy sources that can sustain the human kind. Talking about renewable energy sources the first thing that strikes our mind is the Sun. According to a research the sun showers enough energy on our planet in an hour that if harnessed can provide power to the entire human race for more than a year. Still we cannot simply put solar panels on every square inch of the surface of Earth, so the best option is to develop highly efficient solar cells that can make the most out of the sun.
Cool Earth Solar is one such company that knows the value of solar energy and is continuously working to develop cells that can yield the most out of the sun. The California-based company has now raised at least $21 million to further develop a solar generator which will make use of a technique called concentrated solar photovoltaics. The idea is to magnify the light onto solar cells in an effort to increase the electricity output.
In the 21st century humanity will have to evolve through a more efficient way of life as our resources are beginning to be insufficient for our needs. This Human Electric Hybrid Vehicle uses the power of your muscles as well electricity stored in the batteries. It allows smooth and constant velocity both uphill (with the help of the electric motor), as well as downhill (when the wheel acts as a generator and charges the batteries). The vehicle can turn 360 degrees maintaining stability all the time. Additional power is acquired from photovoltaic placed on top of the vehicle as well as during de-acceleration from regenerative braking. Elderly and handicapped people that are unable to provide enough kinetic energy can also charge the batteries directly from the grid. A vehicle such as this makes extensive use of renewable energy possible and lead to a more sustainable fossil fuel future. Video after the jump.
The catamaran “sun21″ successfully made the first motorized crossing of the Atlantic with solar power. This definitely goes to prove the great potential of solar power for ocean navigation.
Sun21 arrived in New York City on 8 May 2007, after having traversed about 7000 sea miles. Sun21’s historic journey was made possible because of the sponsorship of the Swiss transatlantic21 Association.
The association has now donated the solar boat to the WWF Adena/Madrid, so that it can be used as a scientific research vessel.
I am sure with this amazing journey of Sun21, which not only successfully harnessed renewable energy but was also able to defy wind, waves and storms to reach its destination safely, more and more people will be motivated to use solar power. (more…)
The Devonshire building in the heart of the campus of University of New Castle has all the ingredients for it to be called the greenest building around. Going by the university’s commitment to the environment, the construction has everything in it from recycled materials to renewable energy.
The six storey building has solar panels on the glazed southern elevation, in order to allow as much natural light inside the building as possible. The blinds help manage the heat. An intelligent system allows these shades to be opened and closed automatically to allow the right amount of sunlight entering the windows. The system not only adjusts according to the time of the day but also according to the season.
A floating wind turbine that its makers claim could significantly boost the renewable energy sector was officially launched at a trade show in the German capital. Wind turbines at sea are nothing new, but until now they have had to be sited in shallow waters so the bases could be fixed to the seabed. This not only means complicated and costly construction but also visual pollution, as the rotating blades can be seen from the shore. Unlike normal offshore wind turbines it does not need to be anchored to the seabed and can be used in waters deeper than 50 meters (164 feet), depths at which installation costs for fixed turbines become exorbitant. It will soon go into operation off the coast of Puglia in southern Italy.
