Electric Vehicles (EVs) are soon going to be flooding our streets and alleyways. London’s on-demand valet parking service, Vallie, has acknowledged this fact and is set to enhance the experience for EV owners. On invoking the app, a pre-checked driver will show up on a kick scooter to take your car to one of the company’s parking facilities. Nothing new there. However, from now on, you can also leverage additional services which includes MOT check, electric charging for your EV, petrol refills for gas-powered cars and car washes as well. That’s a lot of things to look forward to from a valet service. It’s like getting everything done for your car when you have no need for it.
Electric bikes with range and speed are cannot be accommodated by everyone’s buying budget. This just why the Propella Electric Bike manages to position itself as not only a capable but also affordable option. The lightweight bike is seeking funding on Indiegogo but once it rolls onto the supply chain and ultimately on the streets it will impress with a modest top speed of 20 mph and a range of 28 miles. It will weigh a mere 36 pounds. The bike will be powered by a Samsung Lithium-ion battery that pumps enough power to go uphill.
Indulging in sports and fitness activities in cold climates pose a unique challenge. Athletes and participants are generally compelled to put on layers of clothing that weigh them down, thus hampering performance. That’s where something as innovative as the ThermalTech line of jackets could come in handy. This light-weighted heating solution will ensure that layers of jackets, pullover and covers aren’t needed to keep the active warm and well protected from the cold. The jackets harness UV rays from the sun and the energy from artificial light sources to create heat. They are so effective that in just a couple of a minutes, the wearer will experience a temperature increase of about 18 degrees Fahrenheit. The websites states that “The stainless steel mesh fabric threads are strong yet lightweight, lending to extended lifetime use while reducing the weight that additional heat-storing materials bring to most outerwear.”
What happens when you do not have enough land to lay out solar panels? You construct them on water. That’s the idea for places that are always short of open land for panels. The project by Kyocera will see about 5,000 homes being powered up by solar panels. The idea was expressed a year ago, however, construction of the floating solar farm commenced only recently. The farm will be situated on a reservoir at Japan’s Chiba prefecture which is at the Southeast of Tokyo. Kyocera plans to construct 50,000 solar panels that will dish out 13.7 MW power making this the biggest floating solar farm in the country. There is a chance that the farm will also be the world’s biggest floating power generator.
Who would’ve thought that tea light candles would go on to power LED bulbs. Well, in the light of this epic discovery we marvel at the existence of an LED lamp that doesn’t have a cord or battery pack to illuminate. A single candle can set the lamp aglow for four hours. It leverages the thermoelectric Seebeck effect that generates electricity from the heat generated by the candle. The miracle is the fact that a 1 lumen candle can put out light of 15 lumens via the LED, which means it is brighter, greener and in some cases even cost effective. It’s called the Lumir C lamp seems to be the future of green lighting. It offers amplified lighting for a regular candle, something that could be considered to be very eco-friendly given that beeswax candles are eco-friendly to start with.
The BMW i3 has been an EV heartthrob for a while now. However, with the 2017 BMW i3 we can expect it to be the next benchmark in EV technology. The car is expected to boost the current 81-mile range to go up to an incredible 120 miles. Thanks to the upgraded lithium-ion battery, this improvement is now possible. This can be considered to be confirmation to rumors from last year that hinted that there will be a range increase on account of a better battery and new software. There’s word that the company will also offer improvements on the i3 REx range-extended model. Owners will not be able to upgrade their vehicles for better range and usability.
The future of smartphone charging ought to be more conducive to be more than dependence on an electrical outlet. The idea that there could well be a scenario where we do not have people at a house party crowding around the nearest electrical outlet is exciting. Swedish startup MyFC has come up with JAQ that was shown off at the CES. Basically a fuel cell charger, the contraption uses saltwater and oxygen to convert chemical energy into electricity. This power is then used to charge your phone’s battery. A card-like container holds the saltwater while the port is present on the hollowed outer shell. The JAQ presently manages to conjure power as high as 118 mAh worth of electricity. This can completely charge an iPhone 6S. These are great for a single use, post which, the stop producing chemical energy.
Posted in
Recycle on January 12, 2016
They may be the overlords of junk food but when it comes to saving the environment from unnecessary pollutants, McDonald’s seems to fit snuggly in with the good guys. The brand will be rolling out eco-friendly carry-out bags, fountain drink cups and sandwich boxes in over 36,000 worldwide outlets, this year. The campaign will begin with the US outlets of the brand and will gradually branch out. The company has already committed to sourcing all its fiber-based packaging from recycled sources by 2020. This is the company’s first redesign since 2013 and clearly indicates that McDonald’s isn’t giving fashion and style a blind eye. Matt Biespiel, Senior Director, Global Marketing, said, “We’re proud of the progress we’ve made and initiatives like this are important to our customers who care about the planet.” As if the packaging wasn’t enough, the brand has also partnered with The Cabrera/Bentancourt organization to create fashion accessories that are themed around the packaging.
It doesn’t get more beautiful than this. The Volkswagen BUDD-e has just given the Microbus and its fans a whole new perspective. With a driving range of 373 miles on a single charge, the van manages to charge its battery up to 80 percent in just 15 minutes! It may still be a concept but the practicality of the solutions it offers are phenomenal. The company has based the car on the Modular Electric Platform that accommodates larger batteries and electric drive components. The interiors of the BUDD-e will be studded with digital screens in place of mirrors, buttons and switches. Entertainment and navigation will operate with gesture controls.
The Netherlands are leading by example when it comes to eco-friendly transport. However, the idea of abominable motorists sliding right into your cycling path is annoying and then again, there are times when it pours, making everything difficult. This is when you can resort to the magic of theses specially programmed traffic lights. The city council of Rotterdam has installed sensors that sync with the traffic lights and detect when it is raining. As soon as this is detected, all cycling lanes are released in 40 seconds while the motorists on the road have to wait longer. This facilitates the cyclists, letting them reach their destinations sooner, safer and with much calmer minds.
