Rechargeable batteries are great, but you still have to use mains power to refill them. Well, not now – this solar-powered charger make rechargeables really eco-friendly by using sunlight instead. It works with both Ni-MH and Ni-Cd batteries.
The charger costs $31.99 from SmartHome.
Light and compact enough to fit in a pocket, this solar charger can connect to mobile devices and charge them in 2-3 hours. It comes with the necessary adapters and is available in black or white.
The charger costs $89.99 from GreenGadgets.
The smallest, lightest and most portable charger ever made. It generates power by hand-cranking – wind it up for a couple of minutes and it’ll charge your phone for 5-6 minutes of talk time or 30 minutes on standby. It even has a built-in emergency LED light for use in the dark.
The SideWinder costs $29.00 from Amazon
At the recent CES 2009 conference, Energizer promoted its soon to be released Solar Battery Recharger. This won’t be the most earth changing green gadget to hit the market, It’s still cool that you can power all your pocket electronics completely off-grid. You can charge both AA and AAA batteries with renewable solar power.
This Solar Charger holds several batteries at once and also contains a USB port that can charge some cell phones, GPS units, cameras, and iPods. If the sun isn’t handy you can also connect to the electrical outlet for charging.
The solar charger is expected to go on sale this summer for $49.99 and comes with two rechargable batteries.
via goodcleantech and inhabitat
With the ever increasing prices of heating oil and natural gas some people are starting to look into the feasibility of geothermal heating to heat their homes. In the US this technology isn’t as advanced and popular as in Iceland or parts of Europe but as energy prices go through the roof maybe its time we start thinking about what’s under the basement.
Once you start to get below 6 feet in the ground the temperature —stays between 50˚F and 60˚F year round so it is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter in most areas. The basics of Geothermal heating and cooling is very simple; just circulate fluids through the ground to cool the fluids and then that cool fluid will then cool the air that circulates through your house via some type of ducts. The same principal is used for heating in the winter, the fluids and then the air is warmed in a similar manner. However, the heat generated is often not as warm as what most people prefer so a compressor is used that increases the temperature somewhat. Here is an excellent link, The Case for Geothermal, that goes into this explanation in far greater detail.
Here is a European based site, Geothermie.net which has some good information on how you might or might not be able to use it for your home.
However, in many parts of the US, like New England, the cost is steep upfront, like up to 15-30 Grand. However, overtime it may be cost effective and certainly will add to your home value.
Here is a link to the Geocomfort site that can get you hooked up with even more info as well as a local dealer.
Venture Vehicles has in development what appears to be a fantastically green and cool new mode of transport. You can now pre-register for the VentureOne’s e50 and Q100 hybrids or the Venture EV (all electric)
The hybrids have a 300+ mile range and can get up to 100 miles per gallon with a top speed of over 100mph. It is a 3 wheeled vehicle that is fully enclosed with state of the art steel safety features and includes airbags and side impact beams, making it much safer than a motorcycle.
This mini-cooper sized vehicle seats two with sleek wrap around windows. The videos on their flytheroad.com website make this trike looks a blast to drive, the front “cab” driving area is able to lean up to 45 degrees on turns while leaving the engine area horizontal. The videos on the VentureOne website shows this very well.
The planned price tag of $23,000 for the EV model and 18K for the hybrid might be a bit steep for such a small “car” but your savings on gas and the good karma you’ll have by not adding to greenhouse gas pollution makes it a serious temptation. They plan to release this in late 2008.
Forever Flashlights $24.99 at ThinkGeek.com
If you can handle shaking this flashlight for about 30 seconds then you can get up to 5 minutes of light. As you shake the flashlight, a magnet runs over a metal coil which then generates electricity. If you need to use it for longer it can be shaken for 10-15 seconds every 2 or 3 minutes. For optimal usage, try persuading someone else to do the shaking for you!
This waterproof flashlight uses no batteries or bulbs. It does use a bright LED visible up to a mile and lasts for thousands of hours. In fact, their website states it doesn’t burn-out like a typical light bulb – it should never need replacement.
Solar Two, an “older’ concentrated solar power plant in the Mohave Desert – (replaced by newer technology)
In yesterday’s post I revealed how little I knew about concentrated solar power. In fact I had never heard of it before saw the video clip posted yesterday. Presumably there are more people out there who are like me and are curious about this technology. This wiki link is a comprehensive look at solar thermal energy.
What baffles me is why hasn’t there been more attention to this proven source of renewable, clean energy? Why when we think of solar power don’t we think of solar power plants just as much as we think of panels of photovoltaic cells on rooftops? Concentrated solar power can involve a huge array of hundreds or thousands of mirrors that concentrate the solar rays reflected by mirrors to heat molten salt to 565°C (1050°F). The salt then boils water which drives a steam turbine to generate electricity. There are other ways to do this as well.
Wired has a good article about the huge Solar Plants in the desert. Currrently, there are at least nine solar power plants in the Mojave Desert known as the Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS). It uses parabolic trough solar thermal technology along with natural gas to generate electricity. The facility has a total of 400,000 mirrors and covers 1,000 acres. These plants produce 354 MegaWatts, making the system the largest solar plant of any kind in the world.
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Solar thermal power generator tower in Seville, Spain
Europe is leading the way by putting online the first commercial solar power station which generates 11 Megawatts of electricity free of any greenhouse gas emission. It currently can power up to 6,000 homes. The video states that plans are being discussed to make an gigantic array of millions of these special mirrors in the Sahara, possibly enough to provide a significant source of power for all of Europe. More info in this BBC article.
I hope someone in the United States is paying attention! Imagine a similar arrangement in the Southwest desert.
BoGo Solar Flashlight $25.00 – (gets you one for yourself and one for donation) bogolight.com
The New York Times this morning has a good article about a company, bogolight.com that makes a solar flashlight. That isn’t very newsworthy in itself, but the interesting thing is that the acronym for their name “Bogo” means “Buy one, Give one”. What they are doing is for each solar powered flashlight you buy at $25.00 they give another one to various charities working in developing countries. This is very helpful in remote areas, refugee camps and similar place where there tends to be little light available after the sun sets. These flashlights can help children to study and read, help make women a little safer, and reduce the need for using kerosene or other fires for lighting. Regular flashlights in the developing world often tend to be crappier, don’t last long and require expensive batteries which also don’t last long.
Their website states the solar panel on the BoGo lasts up to 20 years, charges in 8 hours, and provides 4-5 hours of illumination. The solar panel provides power to 3 standard NiCad or NiMH AA rechargeable batteries. It also uses the super bright Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) – 6 super bright LEDs provide enough light to read at night. (from the bogo website)
