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Filed under: Transportation

It may not attract the same sort of glances as a Tesla, or a Volt, for that matter, but this solar-powered car built by China’s Zhejiang 001 Group is pretty impressive in its own right, both for its price (just $5,560), and it’s efficiency. That latter bit is a result of some rather un-integrated solar panels, which absorb 95% of the solar energy they take in and convert it to electricity at between 14 and 17% efficiency, which is actually pretty impressive as far as solar panels go. According to the company, that should let you travel about 150 kilometers on a 30-hour charge, though you’ll only be able to go five kilometers on a one-hour charge. No word on a release outside of China, as you might have guessed, but the company has apparently already produced ten of ‘em for sale inside the country, with more presumably on the way.

[Via The Oil Drum]

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Source: Donald Melanson

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We all know the internet is not a big truck, and the rolling blackouts in California not that long ago showed our power grid isn’t either. Part of the solution could be a series of tubes, a new type of solar generator from a company called Solyndra that replaces the usual square solar roof panels with something that would make Senator Stevens proud. The company’s photovoltaic rods are able to catch rays from any direction, meaning they don’t need to be tilted to point at the sun. Also, since they’re not shaped like a silicon kite, they don’t need the same big, beefy installation brackets. This cuts installation costs in half and has helped to drive $1.2 billion in orders from eager would-be customers of this three-year-old startup. Want to see ‘em for yourself? Head on down to the Solar Power International Expo next week in sunny San Diego.

[Via Make]

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Source: Tim Stevens

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Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables

There’s certainly no shortage of folks working to incorporate solar cells into clothing and accessories, but a team of researchers from Iowa State University now look to have devised a way to make the wearable technology slightly more discreet, with them using digital textile printing to print fabric that matches the pattern of the solar cells. The solar cells themselves are then attached using a “liquid stitch” method, although that apparently presented its own set of problems, as the application of the cells made it difficult to tie a knot. As the researchers helpfully point out in thier paper, however, a clip-on tie would solve that problem. Combine that with the special pouch for carrying your cellphone, and you’ve got a combo that can’t be beat.

[Via textually.org]

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Source: Donald Melanson

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Filed under: Household

Think your house is green? Think again. Japan’s own Nihon Telecommunication System has just revealed a line of windowpanes that actually include integrated photovoltaic cells. The windows are aimed at the (ritzy) residential housing market, and folks that snag a few will reportedly be able to power a PC and recharge their cellphones simply by tapping into the energy generated by these units. Additionally, the glass is designed to shun most of the sunlight from coming into your abode, thereby lowering air conditioning costs and satisfying your needs as an introvert. So, what’s the pain for helping out Mother Earth? Around $1,900 per square meter of windowpane — ouch.

[Via CrunchGear]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Transportation

Although Brent Hatch’s homegrown solar-electric whip looks eerily similar (read: just as ugly) to the SUNN solar car kit, this one was actually created without the help of any pre-packaged parts or sophisticated schematics. After his gas bill rose well over $700 a month (he and his wife have seven kids, after all), he decided to purchase a rather unsightly eight-seater bicycle and figure out a way to enable roof-mounted solar panels to power an electric motor. Nah, the top speed isn’t very impressive, and you certainly wouldn’t want to head out on I-5 with it, but it sure makes picking up the offspring from their nearby school a whole lot less painful on the wallet. Check out the video in the read link for more.

[Thanks, Dave]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Laptops

[Via Inhabitat]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We’ve seen some pretty out there solar installations, but JAXA, the Japanese space agency, is about to get really far out with its latest project: a space-based solar array that beams power back to Earth. The agency is set to begin testing on the microwave power transmission system on February 20th, with an attempt to beam enough power over the 2.4GHz band to power a household heater at 50 meters (164 feet). That’s certainly not the sort of large-scale sci-fi power system we were hoping for, but fret not — if the tests are successful, JAXA’s plan is to eventually launch a constellation of solar satellites, each beaming power to a 1.8-mile wide receiving station that’ll produce 1 gigawatt of electricity and power 500,000 homes.

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Source: Nilay Patel

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Yeah, we’ve seen solar chargers crammed into some fairly interesting places, and the latest questionable call comes from who else but Chinavasion. The CVEAB-S828-2 handheld features 2GB of internal memory, a media player, 3.5-inch display, integrated LED flashlight (saywha?) and of course, pre-installed emulators for NES and Game Boy titles. Beyond all that, users can crack this bad boy open, lay it out to bake, and watch it magically recharge its own batteries courtesy of the internal solar panels. And if for whatever reason that’s still not enough to draw you in, it can also recharge other gizmos attached via USB when parked under the sunlight. Still, we wouldn’t believe for a minute that this thing will actually work precisely as advertised, but those with oodles of faith can take the plunge for $123.32.

[Via Tech Digest]

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Source: Darren Murph

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