If the electric cars being produced today by the likes of Nissan and Chevrolet are too far flung to suit your exceptional taste, here’s a perfect way to sculpt out an EV that suits you best. A built-it-yourself electric car kit by Japanese manufacturer Modi-Corp, this one enables you to build a one-seat vehicle, street-registered in Japan as a “motorized bicycle”. Capable of a 15 mile (25 km) range and a 22 mph (35 kph) top speed, this electric car called the Pius uses a 1 HP motor (0.6 KW) and a 36 V battery pack. A great way to get around the neighborhood or introduce your child to the world of electric cars, this one’s available in six colors and sports a vintage-race-car design.
The world has on previous account depended solely on gas or propane-powered power generators for emergency backup supplies. Well, with the solar power industry quickly sprouting up, these noisy and particularly smelly and polluting generators could soon turn obsolete! Recently, we spotted this fantastic solar powered emergency power generator that provides energy with zero-emissions. Silent and green as a leaf, this solar powered power generator uses two 30-watt monocrystalline solar panels that require just 20 hours of direct sunlight to power up a 1250-watt battery, capable of lighting up your home for a good few hours! Also, the generator unit can be used indoors and hook up directly to the solar panels placed outside with 8-feet long cords, making this generator a perfect answer to energy woes.
New York City can add a big green feather to its cap as it can soon boast of a self-powered residential building. On 18th, Voltaic Solaire will unveil the first private building in New York City which will be powered by solar and wind energy only. Dubbed Delta, it is inspired by Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC goal of reducing New York’s carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030. With such green steps, we can certainly hope for a clean NYC in the future. Constructed using eco-friendly and recycled materials, the Delta also houses one grand triplex apartment, a studio residence, as well as a retail or restaurant storefront.
Formula 1 is known as one of the most expensive sports known to mankind and has never turned
to a more eco-efficient way of running the show before. British sports car manufacturer Lotus,
also a known name in the F1 circuit, is now looking towards energy-efficient possibilities for the
sport and has unveiled its new facility near the Enstone base, powered by solar energy. Using
128 solar panels arranged on its roof, the simulator building generates about 33,000kWh of solar
energy on a yearly basis, enough o meet 75% of the facility’s energy requirement. Also, Lotus
has on previous account been acknowledged as one of the first F1 teams to introduce solar panels
on its team trucks and the motor-homes used at race paddocks.
Italian supercar manufacturer Lamborghini, known for chiseling out cars that simply take your
breath away, has now unveiled its latest facility built primarily for the development of prototype
and pre-series vehicles. The first multi-storey industrial building in Italy to grab a Class A energy
rating, this facility uses a façade made of triple-layer polycarbonate and of ventilated walls
covered with ultrathin ceramic cladding painted in Lamborghini’s favorite black to provide
insulation. Using a photovoltaic system to generate electricity, Lamborghini plans to have its
building go carbon neutral!
Driving around a tiny electric car around town has its benefits and proves beneficial to your
pocket in the long run as well as the environment. Keeping that in mind, the Toyota Auto Body
Co Ltd has unveiled its newest brainchild, christened the Coms. A microcar with just a single
seat, this one powers up with electricity and sports a total wheelbase of just 1,530mm! weighing
in at 400-420kg, this rear-wheel-drive microcar is available in two versions, the P·Com meant
for private use and the B·Com for commercial use, which in turn is available in three types,
Delivery, Deck and Basic, each with different luggage space. With a maximum speed of about
60kmph, the Coms will be available for a price tag between $8,372 and $10,001.
A simple modification of an everyday contraption could indeed result in a lot more and Korean
innovator Ryan Jongwoo Choi’s ES Pipe Waterwheel proves just that. In essence, this concept
uses the flow of water through pipes do generate hydroelectricity on a small scale and turns the
conventional water faucet into an energy generator of sorts! The concept can be attached to just
about any standard water piping apparatus and uses miniature turbines to generate the electricity.
The energy generated is then stored in removable light bulbs fitted onto the ES Pipe Waterwheel
which in turn can be removed and used as portable light sources!
Solar energy is quickly catching on and city planners around the globe have been looking for
more eco-friendly infrastructure developments for their respective areas. Now, the Blackfriars
Station, being developed in London and crowned as the world’s largest solar bridge, is halfway
through construction. Being developed by Solarcentury, this bridge packs a solar array capable
of generating nearly 900,000kWh of green electricity annually and is expected to reduce carbon
emissions by nearly 511 tonnes! The bridge sports 4,400 solar panels propped up on the roof
of the Blackfriars Tube Station located on the bridge itself. With 24 trains passing through this
station every hour, this development could ease the load on the grid and pave the way for other
green infrastructural developments in the near future.
Abu Dhabi, the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates, could pretty much turn into one of the world’s greenest cities with its continuous overhaul of green. Just recently, the city accepted designer Suhail Mohammed Suleiman’s proposal for a one-of-a-kind contemporary mosque. Sustainable and eco-efficient, this mosque uses solar power generated from on-site solar panels and uses a system that captures and recycles water used for ritual washing which in turn is used to irrigate the greenery around. Sporting a green roof, this mosque design has been awarded a Five Pearl Rating from the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council and also sports two crescent-topped spires that point towards the holy city of Mecca.
As per what we’ve noticed in recent days, designers seem to think personal transportation to pick up pace in future and have been tumbling out designs for electric single-user vehicles more than ever. Here’s yet another way to get around alone in the future caked the Eggasus. A tiny egg-shaped electric vehicle with three wheels, the Eggasus works as a great way to travel alone instead of pulling out your hefty gas-gulping SUV to do the same. With speeds of up to 25 mph (40.23 km/h) and a 50 mile (80.4 kilometers) range, the Eggasus is built to make urban travel more clutter-free and energy efficient. Priced at $5,000 a piece, the developers of this little travelling egg have begun taking orders lately.
