Category Archives: Alternative Energy
Plants have always been a source of inspiration for modern day designers, given the fact that these complex organisms crafted by nature sport more latent technology than we usually understand. Design house OneArtistStudio’s Blum lamp draws heavily from potted plants and is more than just a table-lamp shaped like one. This lamp requires solar energy to power up and all you need to do is set it on your window sill during the day where it sucks in solar juice to power up by night. Using bright LED lights good enough to illuminate your desktop with a pleasant glow, the Blum lamp is an eco-friendly way to lighten up the darker hours.
Continue reading 
Remember how flexible lithium-batteries grabbed our fancy before? Well, we’ve now stumbled across something more to dream about. Developed by the students of the Rice University, this spray-on lithium-ion battery can be applied just about anywhere and could very well be used to power small devices. All you need to do is spray the different layers of the battery one on top of the other on a flat surface and hook on an energy source to the same and voila! You’ve got yourself a tiny battery with enough juice to power up smaller devices!
Continue reading
We’ve always wished for a desk that powers itself and designer Eddi Tornberg seems to have read our thoughts aloud with this concept workstation called the Unplugged. In essence a mild-looking desk that in reality generates energy using a piezoelectric carpet, a microbial fuel cell (in this case a flowering plant) and a chair that uses the principals of the Seebeck effect, the Unplugged table is self-sustainable and a model that could pave the way for similarly green furniture. For now, don’t expect the Unplugged table to power your laptop. It does however generate enough juice to power on a small light and with the development of technology; a concept like this could very well do a lot more!
Continue reading
Electricity isn’t always at hand. Usually while out in the outdoors, out electrical needs are left unaddressed due to lack of trust-worthy portable electricity backup systems. Well, the next time you plan to hit the world outside away from the comfort of your home and grid connections, here’s an addition to your luggage that could prove fruitful. Called the SOS in a Box, this simple yet practical system developed by Sun Flare Systems is in essence a portable solar power generator capable of generating a good 800-2,500 Watts of household electricity. This one works particularly well during times of disaster, outdoors and at home too and is indeed a long-awaited answer to our electricity woes!
Continue reading
Outdoor gyms are known to promote better lifestyles of those living in the area, encouraging adults and children alike to workout, play and exercise. The TGO Green Energy Gym Technology we came across recently integrates an outdoor gym and an electricity generator into a fabulous way to generate electricity while exercising! The energy generated is in turn used to light up this fabulous gym, a great addition to just about any neighborhood. Sporting a Energy Cross Trainer, Energy Hand Bikes, Energy Fitness Bikes, Energy Recumbent Bikes and a People Power Display Wall that measures the energy generated by the exercising folk, the TGO Green Energy Gym Technology is indeed a great way to socialize, exercise and generate green juice!
[tgogc]
Continue reading
We’ve seen solar powered lighting fixtures that soak up the sun in the day and light up at night. None of those however have had us this fascinated before. Called the First Light, this beautifully innovative lamp uses its own energy to power up! Here’s how. Using a bunch of gears, cogs and weights, this lamp uses the principal of continuously moving parts to generate energy which in turn is used to power up what we expect to be an LED bulb. The lamp does need winding from time to time, just like those good old key-powered grandfather clocks. It does make for a sufficiently marvellous addition to just about any home however!
Continue reading
There was a time when a playground was a simple iron and plastic affair. Kids would spend countless hours here, away from modern day gadgetry and the like. Now, giving playgrounds a touch of technology, Octavia has come up with a solar-powered swing accessory that turns the simple yet enjoyable swing into a competitive affair. With three different sound games aboard that coax kids to swing higher for rewards, the Son-X is designed to run indefinitely on solar power and can hold up against the elements too! Priced at a steep $625, the accessory seems like an over-priced though energy-efficient addition to the customary playground.
Continue reading
America’s first offshore wind energy turbine will show up at Chesapeake Bay off the Eastern Shore town of Cape Charles. Approved by the Virginia Marine Resources Corporation, the 479-foot-tall turbine generator will soon begin pouring in renewable juice in the grid. To be completed by the end of next year, the turbine is expected to serve for a good 20 years or more. Also, the submarine cable system that will hook this turbine to the grid is expected to sport a lifetime of 100 years. The 5MW turbine will use 15,219 feet of submerged power cables to hook up to the electricity grid.
Continue reading
German alternative energy firm Fraunhofer ISE has launched a swank new hydrogen fueling station that could very well set a benchmark in facility designs of its type. Using energy from the sun with the help of solar panels to power up the hydrogen fuel cell system, this station was built to demonstrate the use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel to petroleum. Germany is quickly turning into a substantial user of alternative fuels and this unveiling by Fraunhofer ISE further lends a hand to the country’s green endeavors. Now open to public, this station could very well be the first of many that we hope will soon be dotted around Germany.
[hydrogenfuelnews]
Continue reading
