Author: gavril

Ever thought of windows that can actually power up your home? Well, Kyosemi Corporation came up with an innovation that will help push the solar window technology further. The company developed solar cells, tiny and spherical that can be embedded in windows. On doing so, these cells will harvest solar energy. The cells are basically solidified drops of silicon measuring 1.8mm in diameter that are highly transparent and help soak in the sun.

With a green mindset just like the RSi PV-Glass Window, windows embedded with these solar cells will help harvest solar energy that can be stored and used. Considering the fact that most skyscrapers and office buildings use a whole lot of glass on the exterior, these solar windows will act as huge solar panels.

[Ubergizmo]

Ohio will now have two more rest stops. And unlike the ones seen, these two new locations to rest your backs will be green! Planned by the Ohio Turnpike Commission, these rest areas will be powered by renewable energy sources. Using wind and solar energy, they will also have an E85. These two service plazas will be built on both the sides of the turnpike with E85 facilities that will enable electric cars to juice up. Besides this, parked trucks in these areas will also enjoy cable and Internet hookups. These facilities with gas pumps, restaurants, and restrooms will open their doors next year.

The Ohio Department of Development will also offer grants for additional E85 facilities, though these details haven’t been released. Ohio has 64 E85 retail outlets and powering them up with green energy will sure help save a load of energy.

[Domesticfuel]

Here’s a smart phone people with a green mindset would die for. Sprint recently unveiled the LG Remarq, an environment friendly green phone that keeps social networking in the spotlight. The phone’s plastic body is made out of 19% recycled plastic. With low levels of PVC and BFR, the phone’s charger makes sure it meets Energy Star requirements too. That’s not all. The phone’s packing is green too and is made out of 87% recycled cardboard. The company shunned the use of a paper manual, opting for a online one instead.

The phone boasts a slide-out QWERTY keypad with a 1.3 megapixel camera. With a microSD memory card slot in its belly, the phone also packs a stereo Bluetooth. Besides this, a preloaded application will inform you on the improvement on your carbon footprint by walking instead of driving. With pre-installed Facebook and Twitter apps, it’s free with a two-year plan and $70 in rebates.

[Nexus404]

With all the developments of power backups, it seems unlike that your iPhone or iPod will ever run out of juice again! The newest one on the block is the solar powered ‘LIL’ Piggy Power Bank’. Now don’t imagine a pink piggy bank with solar panels. This device was a brainwave by Neon Green and is designed and developed by them. Using a 550mha lithium battery, the ‘LIL Piggy Power Bank’ uses the energy from the sun and hooks up to your iPhone and iPod charging it up.

Using a built in solar panel, this device when exposed to sunlight soaks up the energy for use. The device was showcased at the CTIA Wireless 2010 at Las Vegas from the 23rd to the 25th of March. A great LIL’ way to keep your iPod and iPhone powered up!

[Aving]

We’ve seen robots that help around the kitchen and clean up your home too. Here’s a bunch of them that build solar cells. In just around 30 minutes, the squat multitasking robot can build semiconductors for solar cells on six-inch-square plates of glass, plastic or flexible metals. Six of these robots, straight out of a Tim Burton film, work diligently at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado.

These robots act as a central hub or master chef, pivoting around and dishing out plates. These plates are dished out to different chambers in which semiconductors are built layer by layer. These layers are micro-thin. Crystals that help make solar cells are also grown and tested. Each robot specializes in building semiconductors out of different materials with the silicon cell building robot holding a 35 minute record.

This system of robots with an interlinked transportation facility to move around stuff to their separate bays will help revolutionize the manufacture of solar cells.

[Popsci]

Do not be fooled by size. These little energy suckers may seem small, but they can harvest energy from the smallest arbitrary, non-periodic vibrations in bridges and on the human body too. Designed and currently being developed by a group of researchers from the University of Michigan, these little energy generators may probably not have your electric car juiced up, but they sure can power up your wrist watch and a pacemaker using the wearers body motions.

The device is yet in its infant stages and will not power up anything outside the confines of the laboratory soon. Researchers are working on prototypes and are hoping to patent this awesome little power-up device.

[Engadget]

The granddaddy of ships, the MV Doulos is destined to be a hotel. A Singaporean businessman, Eric Saw, the director of BizNaz Resources International plans to invest 7.5 million Singapore dollars (5.33 million US dollars) on turning the oldest ship in the world into a luxury hotel with restaurants and a book store. The hotel-ship will boast luxury rooms, banquet rooms and also a maritime museum and offices. That’s not all; the ship will also be rechristened as the Doulos Phos, which literally means “servant” and “light” in Greek.

Eric Saw brought this ship from the German Christian charity GBA Ships, the guys who used it as a floating bookstore since 1977 till its decommissioning last year. The ship was built in 1914 (that’s two years before the Titanic) and was doomed to a scrap yard had it not been for Saw. This 130-metre-long ship was used to haul sweet onions in its early life from Texas to New York. It was also used as a supply vessel US military in World War I, lent a hand of support to the US navy and coast guard vessels in World War II, and was a cruise vessel. A great way to recycle an old ship with a long history!

Via – [Luxurylaunches]

We’ve seen universal USB chargers before. Just like the ZERO by AT&T, here’s another one that’s smart and eco-friendly. The EcoCHARGE is sleek and designed well enough to fit on your power-brick without pushing aside your other adapters and plugs. It is equipped with a mini or micro USB plug. The charger also boasts a hatch on its back that swings open allowing you to plug in a full size USB cable.

So what makes the EcoCHARGE eco-friendly? This universal USB charger sucks in a lower power as compared to AT&T’s ZERO. Once the device drinks up enough juice, the charger simply switches off preventing wastage of energy. The only thing confusing about this simple and easy to use charger is its LED light. This confused little light glows when the device has finished charging. Both, the micro and the mini USB versions of the EcoCHARGE costs $30. April will see the release of an iPod and iPhone version too.

[Wired]

We all use some kind of hair product to keep our mane in shape and presentable. What you probably don’t know is that product of yours contains ingredients that can absorb carbon dioxide. Aminosilicones are products used in hair conditioners, fabric softeners, and flexible high-temperature plastics that can also be used to capture CO2. Scientists at GE Global Research recently had an “Aha!” moment with this discovery.

Unlike other materials that snatch runaway CO2 gasses from the air, aminosilicones can get rid of an awesome 90% CO2. This is a cheaper way to getting rid of CO2 as compared to the methods used today to capture CO2 from the flues of coal-powered plants. This new technique to kidnap CO2 gasses will take a while before it can actually be applicable though. Let’s just wait and leave the researchers to brainstorm us to a greener future.

[FastCompany]

Ever had problems figuring out bus schedules while waiting at your old run-down local bus stop? Well have your city authorities set up these futuristic bus waiting booths instead! This Red Dot design winner not only keeps u shaded from the elements, it also uses solar energy to power up and display bus schedules. Designed by a Shanghai-based company Yang-Design, this waiting booth displays schedules on an electric screen powered by solar panels fitted on top of it. Two benches provide comfort to your tired legs. Between these, a city information center, a bus schedule screen and a billboard for advertisements are attached.

The booth’s silver and black color with smooth curves will fit in well at corporate and business districts. Hopefully, bus waiting booths like these come up in our areas that will help make bus travel a piece of cake.

[Igreenspot]

Urban mobility will change if vehicles like these hit the road. These three electric concept vehicles (they use two wheels which aren’t inline, so we prefer calling them just “vehicles) by General Motors performs the same trick like the two wheeler Segway’s balancing act. Christened as the Jiao (Pride), Miao (Magic) and Xiao (Laugh), these EN-Vs (Electric Networked-Vehicle) will clear up congested grid locked city streets in future. The vehicles use an all electric two wheeled drivetrain with zero emissions. They also boast GPS, a set of cameras and sensors for autonomous driving and also vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity.

These vehicles are powered by lithium-ion batteries and have a range of 40 miles on a single charge. They weigh just around 1,100 pounds; these bug-like little futuristic vehicles are bound to grab the attention of people stuck in gridlocked streets soon. GM’s marvelous trio will go on display at the SAIC-GM Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai beginning in May.

[Autoblog]

Solar power will soon be used to juice up oil-fields. Now powering an oil-field with solar panels is indeed a difficult task, much unlike simply powering up your home with a few solar panels. Global oil big-shot, Chevron are planning to install solar panels that will power up its oil fields in Kern River, California. This is the fifth largest oil field in the US. To power it up, Chevron will need around 7,700 solar panels. The system will generate around 740 kilowatts that will juice up oil-pumps and pipelines.

This project is a part of Chevron’s $2 billion investment for alternative energy use. These efforts by Chevron to go green and use cleaner renewable and eco-friendly means to power up will change the way oil is pumped out of fields, and hopefully other oil-companies will follow suit too!

[Cleantechnica]

Ford has considered blacking out their computer screens when not in use. Shutting down computers will help Ford save up on $1.2 million reducing its carbon footprint by around 16,000 to 25,000 metric tons every year. Using a program called PC Power Management laptops and desktops can be shut off centrally during the night. It also enables computers connected to the Ford Intranet receive software deliveries during power downs.

Ford isn’t the first company to take steps like these. AT&T and Verizon have done this before and have saved up on bucks and energy too. Hopefully companies all around the globe look up to Ford’s power management effort and follow suit. A whole load of energy and billions of dollars will be saved if steps like these are taken.

[FastCompany]

Charging your electrical gadgets out in the open and away from civilization is now a piece of cake, thanks to all those solar powered universal chargers around. Here’s another one, the MOSeco ES905. Besides the built in solar panels, this universal charger also includes normal AA or AAA batteries included with every unit. An onboard mini-USB port can be used to charge up the universal charger from your PC. That’s not all. This device makes sure your gadgets stay juiced with yet another alternative, just incase your stuck in a dull weather without a PC nearby and drained out batteries. The MOSeco ES905 also packs a hand-operated dynamo charger that will let you crank it up to charge.

The MOSeco ES905 also boasts a flashlight with three LEDs. These features sure come cheap, for just $83 USD. Incase you plan to go on a camping trip or into the wild, here’s a must have.

[Unwiredview]

Here’s a mean machine that you can ride up a hill with, using electric energy. This electric dirt bike by KTM may seem all beefed up with the plastics on its side, but it uses a tubular steel frame instead, weighing in at just around 90kgs (198.4lbs). The bike uses a 2.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack in its belly that powers it up. Roaring out 30bhp and 33lb/ft of torque, the bike christened as the Freeride is sure to grab a lot of attention in the extreme biking world.

The bike will be a bit heavy on your pocket though. For its clean environment friendly, powerful and i-can-climb-up-steep-slopes features, this bike will cost you around €10,000 or $13,500. The bike will be officially released on Friday, the 26th March.

[Autobloggreen]

This prediction didn’t need crystal balls or figuring out tea leaves to come through. We’ve had loads of plug-in hybrid cars sprouting up in the market time and again. One million plug-in hybrids on roads, mostly in the North-East US and West Coast by the year 2020 shouldn’t come as a surprise after all! This prediction was the result of a study by a group of power grid operators from the US and Canada called ‘Assessment of Plug-in Electric Vehicle Integration with ISO/RTO Systems’. According to this study, 684,000 of these one million vehicles will be in the US alone adding an additional electric load of 3,785 megawatts if charged at the same time.

The study also states that sales will be concentrated heavily in urban areas in the initial stages. Los Angeles will play host to the largest number of plug-in hybrids, anywhere around 119,069 by the year 2019. New York will have the second largest number of these environment and eco-friendly vehicles, around 54,000 in all by the year 2019. These might not be the exact figures, but this growth in cleaner vehicles will sure help conserve our environment.

[TheGreenCarWebsite]

Carbon Motors has shaken hands with BMW announcing that the German automobile biggy will soon supply its acclaimed 3.0-liter inline-six cylinder diesel for purpose design police vehicles. These police vehicles to be built by Carbon Motors will use the same diesel engine found in the belly of the BMW X5 35d and 335d. The company has ordered for 240,000 engine units like these. The Carbon E7 vehicle cradling the BMW diesel will achieve a 40% CO2 reduction and fuel consumption. This police cruiser will cost more than the usual one’s we see around us today. The car can reach the 60mph mark in around 6 seconds. The BMW 335d gives a combined mileage above 20-mpg and a highway mileage around 30mpg. The E7 is expected to do the same.

This is one cop car you wouldn’t like to see in your rearview mirrow tailing behind!

[Autoblog]

A $3 billion dollar green investment bank will soon help Britain transform into a clean and lower carbon emitting economy. This bank funded by government funds will also be having a half of private sector funds. This bank will finance green and environment friendly projects like offshore wind power generation and eco-friendly waste management. Modernizing UK’s energy sector will cost around $150 billion. Carbon reduction is a factor the government is making serious efforts towards and is keen to meet its pledges of reducing CO2 emissions by 30%. A 15% renewable energy standard needs to be achieved by 2020 for this.

This is indeed an awesome brainwave by the government that will turn Britain a shade greener in future.

[Treehugger]

TVs are gaining more attention than before, for qualities good and bad. Top retailers like Best Buy UK, Comet, Co-operative Electrical, DSGi, John Lewis Partnership, Home Retail Group, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s however have decided to do the environment a favor and promote eco-friendliness by stopping the sale of energy-sucking monster TVs. These retailers will promote energy efficient models instead which have received a nod of approval from the EST (Energy Saving Trust). The worst performing 42-inch currently available costs you £75. However, those that meet with EST recommendations cost just £33 a year to run. This not only saves up a load of hard earned cash, but also energy. It also reduces carbon emissions by tons.

The government will soon ask more retailers to join this effort before the launch of new EU electrical appliance energy efficiency rules set to pop up by July 2012.

[BusinessGreen]

A plasma T.V. uses more juice to power itself up than a refrigerator. Using a 48-inch screen is bound to shoot up your electricity bill. LCD and LED screens are preferred over plasma screens. Maybe plasmas burn a hole in your pocket every time you find a power bill in your letter box, but the technology they use can produce clean fuels too! Don’t try punching a hole in your plasma screen for this. Albin Czernichowski, a professor at the University of Orleans in France came up with this sweet device called the GlidArc reactor which uses an electrically-charged cloud of gas that generates clean fuels from waste.

This reactor is as big as a refrigerator using gasification to turn waste into CO2 and hydrogen gas used to make biofuel. Making this reactor takes just a few days and costs around $10,000 with the materials found in your local hardware store.

[Inhabitat]