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New Zealand peeps imitate plants to do solar on the cheap
Obviously, scientists didn't exactly originate the idea of harvesting energy from the sun when they started slapping together solar cells -- plants have been up on this whole photosynthesis mojo for a good long while. Now some researchers at Massey University in New Zealand have developed a range of synthetic dyes from organic compounds that closely mimic the light harvesting that goes on in nature. Other scientists have been pursuing similar solar techniques, but there's a major difficulty in getting the dyes to pass the energy on for actual use. After 10 years of research, the Massey scientists claim to have "the most efficient porphyrin dye in the world." Benefits of the dyes over traditional silicon-based solar panels include the ability to operate in low light, 10x cheaper production, and flexible application -- starting with canvassing roofs, walls and windows, but eventually moving on to wearable items that can charge your electronics stash. A working prototype for "real applications" should be ready in a couple years.[Via The Raw Feed]
Solar powered Wii station a steal at $1,431!
The sun drives climates on our little blue planet, feeds plants with its warm light, and makes our pale gamers' skin dark and crispy with its evil death rays. And thanks to Tom's Hardware, it also powers a mobile Wii kiosk. Costing a mere $1,431 to build (the HD TV and Wii were the largest expenses), the solar panel feeds a battery that provides 6-8 hours of play time. The panel only provides 1/10 of the power needed to run the set-up, but keeping it charged is as easy as staying out of the shade.Want to really impress us? Build a wind-powered Wii kiosk.[Via TwitchGuru]
SolCool showcases new solar-powered air conditioners
Not exactly fitting the "startup" criteria any longer, SolCool is apparently freshening up its product lines by offering a snazzy new solar-powered air conditioner. Aimed at cooling smaller areas than its two-ton hybrid chiller, the 24- x 24- x 48-inch V4 actually touts cooling and heating abilities, runs on a 24-volt system, and can supposedly kick out comfortable air for "up to 24 hours" once fully charged by the sun. Additionally, the device will be equipped with two DC compressors capable of producing up to 18,000 BTUs, a ducted ventilation blower, lightweight / rugged skin, condensate management tank, remote control thermostat, and it can even be configured for use in the US or UK. Unfortunately, details specifications and pricing information hasn't been divulged to the general public just yet, but considering that Spring has now sprung, you should probably expect a bit more promotional information to surface relatively soon.[Via Gadgets-Weblog]
Hands-on with Hi-Tech Wealth's solar powered S116
We had the opportunity to check out HTW Electronics' S116 at CeBIT, and good golly, it's real! For an estimated 400 to 500 dollars, this solar powered device can be yours as early as next month -- that is, if you live in China -- and potentially late fall in Europe. Sadly, we were told that this self-charging flip is currently only available in dual band GSM 900 / 1800 flavor, so eco-friendly users on this side of the world will have to wait. The 1.3 megapixel shooter doesn't do much for us, but hey, the standby time of... uh, forever is pretty dang nifty. A small LCD panel on the phone's face gives you info like time, battery charge status and handset volume. Leaving it out in daylight for one hour is enough for the large solar panel to juice up 30 minutes of talk time, and letting it bake for 12 hours will get you a full charge. This is the only the first solar effort by HTW, and we seriously hope to see more -- maybe with an emergency hand crank built in for those not so sunny days. Solar powered S116
Solar powered Wii lets you take fun out in the sun
All things considered, the Wii doesn't cause that much of a drain on your local power grid. But we know there's got to be some overly environmentally conscious gamer out there that simply can't enjoy his or her new system without a twinge of guilt. Enter the solar-powered Wii, constructed by the folks at TwitchGuru complete with mobile wheelbarrow enclosure and flat screen HD monitor for only $1,400.While the solar panel only supplies 20 of the 170 or so watts needed to power the entire setup, an rechargeable battery means charge accumulated during the day can be used to play into the night. Tom's Hardware has a video showing the rig cruising Venice Beach and getting quite a bit of attention, to boot. Apparently, gamers are the new weight lifters.[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]Watch - Video of the solar Wii in actionRead - Details of the construction
A solar-powered Wii? Yes, a solar-powered Wii! [update 1]
var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/mods/A_solar_powered_Wii_Yes_a_solar_powered_Wii'; Seriously, we want you to let go of your mouse, take your other hand out of the box of Cheez-Its (we assume you browse the net like we do) and give these fine gentlemen responsible for the above technological marvel a round of applause. These fine folk from Tom's Hardware Guide have managed to harness the power of the Sun (the bane of any good gamer's existence) and use it to power the Wii, a television and set of speakers. With the TV and speakers requiring around 130 watts to operate and the Wii needing a smaller 40-45 watts, in direct sunlight, during a normal sunny day, they can get from 6 to 8 hours of game time out of this bad boy. That's more than enough time to throw down in some Wii Sports: Bowling or maybe get some people together in the parking lot outside of the Wendy's for some multiplayer WarioWare: Smooth Moves. So where do they take their new toy? Down to Venice Beach, of course!Update: Comments are pointing out that the solar panel only contributed some of the juice needed to power the setup, but if you think about it, the thing actually is solar powered. Semantics aside, we apologize if we mislead you.
Homeowner of solar-hydrogen house has $0.00 utility bill
Mike Strizki, a civil engineer living in New Jersey has converted his home into a completely energy self-sufficient abode that runs exclusively on a combination of solar and hydrogen power. Using solar panels, a hydrogen fuel cell, storage tanks, an electrolyzer to split water into Hydrogen and Oxygen, plus a custom made fuel-cell car, Mike benefits from a utility bill of zero dollars, and the comforting feeling that his activities don't produce any pollution. Currently the solution isn't in any way practical for mass adoption -- the initial cost was $500,000, with half paid by New Jersey state grants -- but Mike thinks that he could reduce this cost tenfold with more research and mass market production lines. There is also some concern amongst experts like Joseph Romm, a former Department of Energy official who thinks that the current relatively inefficient technology and the high cost means that this isn't a viable system for mass adoption just yet. Despite this criticism, Mike says "we have to start somewhere," even if early adopters (in this case rich Hollywood types with a conscience) are required to pay out up to $250,000 dollars to get in on the clean energy action. [Via digg]
Solar Technology's Freeloader saps power from USB, the Sun
While it won't do your laptop any good, this new Freeloader gig from Solar Technology should be able to provide juice to just about every other gadget in your repertoire. The device contains its own li-ion rechargeable battery, which it can fill up from your laptop or desktop's power via USB, or using its 120mA crystalline solar cells. From there you've got a master cable and eleven adaptors to get the electricity into your phone, camera, PDA, GPS, gaming handheld or DAP. Solar Technology seems to have most of the big brands covered, and claims it can fuel an iPod for 18 hours, a mobile phone for 44 hours, PSP for 2.5 hours and a PDA for 22 hours -- not too shabby for the 6.5 ounce unit. Sure, we've seen plenty of similar chargers before, but the combination of device compatibility and relatively low price (£30, about $59 US) makes this a decent option for those sun-drenched road warriors out there.
Maria Hamprecht's SW solar lamp can take it in, dish it out
The concept isn't difficult, the design ain't nothing fancy, and we're sure the "I totally had that idea first" bystanders are numerous, but all the same we've gotta give Maria Hamprecht props for her simplistic SW° Solar Lamp. The cute little bit of furniture sits in a window and soaks up sunlight all day with its solar panels, to be dispersed as electric light at night. No plugs or clunky attachments needed. Unfortunately, there's no indication this lamp is much more than a working prototype at the moment, but hopefully Maria will sell out to The Man before too terribly long and get these things produced, with a $20 Wal-Mart version soon to follow.[Via Inhabitat]
US Tesco building to sport "world's largest" solar roof
Unbeknownst to most, we are lovers of our planet Earth and depend so much on solar power that we're often compared to the mighty Birdman. We cheered during Sanyo's CES keynote when it announced "Think GAIA," and now we come again to applaud Tesco. Joining forces with Solar Integrated Technologies, the British supermarket giant is set to build what it claims to be the "world's largest" solar roof on its new distribution center in California. By the end of the $13 million project, the roof will provide 1/5 of the facilities power and save "1,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year." With all that said, now we have to go and ponder whether or not this is enough for us to leave our beloved Trader Joe's.
NEC develops solar-powering system for LCD monitors
Apparently being green is the "in" thing this year (no complaints here), as no sooner than a group of Swedish researchers concoct a green-routing navigation system, NEC has teamed up with Carmanah Technologies to kick out an energy saver of its own. While other companies are just throwing down new displays, NEC is offering up a new way to power them, as its solar-powered battery package gives its LCDs a renewable source of power to rely on when the sun's shining in. The system is designed to produce "approximately 293 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, or 800 watts per day," and can store up solar energy to continue powering the monitor after the sun checks out. Notably, NEC claims that "saved solar energy can last for days of normal usage when running a typical LCD monitor," and the package can even be used to juice up multiple monitors simultaneously. Although we're not sure how NEC plans on fetching for each electricity-saving kit, they're being primarily marketed at large corporations who churn through kilowatts like it's going out of style, so you can probably expect a fairly large markup when pricing these out.[Via TGDaily]
NTT DoCoMo becoming more eco-friendly
There certainly have been times when our cell phone has died and there isn't a charger in sight so we can make that important phone call. Soon, there will be (somewhat) of a solution for NTT DoCoMo (at it again) customers as the carrier might bring a cellphone that features solar panels for convenient charging. Now it's not the sleekest looking thing out there, as it reminds us of the old school Gameboy SP, but cutting down on the need to charge devices the old fashioned way is OK by us. Check out an additional picture after the break.[Via T3]
Dubai's Time Residences tower: world's largest gadget?
We've seen lots of ridiculous claims in our day, but this time we're not sure which is more absurd, that someone thinks that Dubai needs another ridiculous high-rise building, or that the Time Residences tower is going to be a solar-powered 360-degree rotating version. Yes, all that solar power (the UAE gets a lot of sun over there on the Tropic of Cancer) could be used to power individual units instead -- but instead, all that energy will be used to power the ginormous motors needed to turn this building a full rotation over the course of a week. Tav Singh, the director of Dubai Property Ring, the local branch of UK Property Group which is funding the project, said that the company plans on building similar structures in every time zone around the world. Regardless of which room in the Time Residences you decide to set up shop in, it's bound to be significantly more overpriced than your Manhattan studio.[Via Gear Factor]
Venturi readies the launch of its solar / wind-powered Eclectic vehicle
Leave it to the makers of the first "solar shuttle" to actually hit its production schedule, as Venturi Automobiles is officially readying its Eclectic vehicle for a June 2007 launch. The "world's first" commercially available autonomous vehicle sports a "stylish, urban design," room for three, and never needs to get friendly with an AC outlet (although it can, if necessary) or fuel pump. This puppy is powered and recharged completely by renewable energy, be it sunlight or wind, as it houses a bevy of NiMH (NIV-7) liquid-cooled batteries that can be juiced up from the 2.5 square meters of photovoltaic cells atop its roof or a set of wind turbines that can be fixed to the vehicle while parked. Right on target, the company plans to launch a "limited run" of 200 in June, which will be white in color and demand around €24,000 ($31,421). As the learning curve kicks in and production costs sink, the vehicle price should ring up closer to €15,000 ($19,638) when it goes full scale in 2009, while a "single-seat utilitarian version" will compliment the flagship unit sometime in the future. So if you're thinking about ditching the whole "fill your car up" thing, you may still have time to get in on the pre-orders now being accepted for the first 20, but if history proves anything, it's doubtful. [Warning: PDF link][Via AutoblogGreen]
NTT DoCoMo shows off solar charger
No, this isn't the next Mars lander, nor is it some sort of biology experiment. This impossibly unruly contraption is a concept for how NTT DoCoMo would like y'all to juice up your phones in the future. The system apparently involves a solar array employing spherical silicon cells, yielding efficiency far beyond that old-skool array your granpappy used to use. No word on production plans for this thing, but given everything we know of DoCoMo, it will hit the streets eventually -- and when it does, we can only hope it gets a little smaller.[Via Slashphone]
Honda creates a solar cell subsidiary and factory, to be ready by late 2007
Honda announced late last week that it would establish a new subsidiary, Honda Soltec Co., Ltd., to make some swanky solar cells. This new variety, known in the biz as CIGS (copper, indium, gallium and selenium -- no, not those other environmentally-unfriendly kind), apparently require half of the energy needed to produce traditional solar cells. The Japanese plant, which is already under construction, is expected to be fully operational by fall 2007 with an annual capacity of 27.5 megawatts. Maybe if other automakers can lease some of this tech from Honda, those solar-powered rides will get a bit more budget-friendly -- or at least they might be able to use some of those savings on better industrial design.
KYE Systems' SlimStar 820 Solargizer Unique keyboard
When your keyboard is called the KYE Systems SlimStar 820 Solargizer Unique you probably have no freaking clue what you're in for. And frankly, we don't. So far as we can tell, this is a wireless Vista keyboard with solar cells to recharge without the need for constant plugging back in. But we could be completely wrong, this thing hasn't even been announced yet.
Two-way OLED displays to provide solar power
We've already got plenty of love for OLED. The technology provides cheap, flexible, and even transparent displays to our devices -- what more could we ask for? Well, some research types at Cornell University have developed a new version of Organic LED that not only emits light, but can take in solar energy to produce electricity. We're not so hot on all the science speak they're tossing around to make this possible, but it seems like the technology could be quite an exciting development for all sorts of products, from solar windows to self-charging screens. No word on how long it'll take this tech to go commercial, but they're already talking ways to make mass production a breeze, so that's at least a good sign.[Via Gadgetbox]
Russian scientists create the stellar battery?
There aren't a lot of details on this one, but according to the AFP news agency, Russian scientists have developed a sort of super battery that can not only harness solar power, but star power as well. Yeah, you heard us. Valentin Samoilov of the Dubna Nuclear Institute is quoted as saying that they "have successfully created a new substance... thanks to which this battery can work on earth, independently of meteorological conditions, using solar and stellar energy." Samoilov also added that the new battery would be cheaper than a traditional solar panel, which kinda started to spike our fantastical-meters. Another report from ITAR-TASS describes this new substance as a "heteroelectric" but doesn't elaborate any further; we'll need a few more deets before we place our pre-pre-orders, but anything that supposes to save us both power and money by harnessing the power of distant stellar bodies has definitely got our immediate attention.[Via Futurismic]
