Tag Archive for 'sustainable energy'

Power Shoes and Plantbot – A Match Made in Slow-Moving Heaven!

jackson published on October 20, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Okay, we’re being semi-clever with words, but in the news this week are two very cool inventions.


The first is the news that NTT Docomo, a Japanese tech company, has unveiled plans for a wearable shoe generator, cleverly using human motive power to make energy.

The concept is pretty simple: Strap on the shoes and as you walk, the water-filled soles push liquid past a mini-turbine, producing sweet, sweet robot-sugar. (Has electricity ever been referred to as “robot sugar” before? Can we call dibs on that?)

The current (ha!) Power Shoe produces 1.2 watts of power, or enough to juice up an mp3 player. Docomo wants the commercial version to produce 3 watts, which will be enough to power a cell phone. They hope to have these bad boys on shelves by 2010.


Next is the Play Coalition’s Plant Bot.

This sweet little bot marries a light sensor, a battery, and some motors and makes a robot that walks around your living room, keeping your houseplants in the sunlight, whilst you’re out generating power with your shoes.

It would be really funny to run the Power Shoes into the Plantbot! Then you could spend your days slowly following your plants around the room. Serene!

Actually, yeah. It does sound pretty zen to slowly follow a houseplant-carrying robot around your house while powering it with your footwear.

Ain’t tech grand?!

Such fun.

(saw the Power Shoes on dvice, and the Plantbot on notcot.)

Solar Awnings = Smart!

jackson published on September 15, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

An idea so simple and effective it boggles the mind that it’s not in wide-spread use.

Ready?

Solar panel + window = solar awning.

Like all good ideas, the solar awning works on multiple levels.

Say you have a window that faces South. Throughout the day, the sunlight will come through that window, heating the interior of your home. That’s fine and good for Winter months, but hot Summer sun can lead to overuse of AC and many kilowatts down the drain.

Enter the solar awning.
Positioned above your window, the solar awning not only collects sunlight and turns it into usable power, it also reduces the amount of direct light entering your living space.

Translation: You stay cooler and use less power while still getting nice light.

Blinds, curtains and shades all share one big drawback: they are inside the window. Meaning that they get hit by the sun and get hot, radiating that heat into your situation. The idea is to stop the direct light before it enters your room. Which is why you always see shutters on old houses.

Passive cooling y’all!

Shade makes such a difference.

Smart!

Smart!

Smart!

Use your noggin, put up some solar awnings this very day.

Love,

Team SuperForest

The DOE’s New Solar Array!

jackson published on September 15, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .




Here are the pictures of the solar array the DOE put on roof of their DC headquarters.

“SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency, solar cells, solar panels, and solar systems, today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has installed a 205-kilowatt SunPower solar-electric system atop the roof of the Forrestal Building in Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman dedicated the system at a ceremony being held at the facility today.

“The significance of this solar array is both practical and symbolic — it improves the way the Department consumes energy and it is a symbol of America’s commitment to using the best available new technologies to confront the energy challenges we face today and will face tomorrow,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman.”

“We are proud that the Department of Energy, which is investing research and development funding into a wide spectrum of solar technologies, chose SunPower’s high-efficiency solar panels to help power its headquarters,” said Tom Werner, chief executive officer of SunPower. “This installation is a testament to the growing adoption of solar energy on commercial and public buildings. Solar power systems help to minimize a customer’s exposure to electric rate volatility for decades into the future.”

SunPower PowerGuard(R) was chosen for the DOE’s rooftop because it integrated well into the existing roofline. PowerGuard is a patented, non-penetrating lightweight photovoltaic roofing system that delivers clean solar electricity to the building while protecting the roof from damaging effects of weather and UV radiation, as well as insulating the building to reduce heating and cooling costs. SunPower’s high-efficiency 230 solar panels were used in the DOE’s solar system and will generate approximately 222,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually”

Nicely done SunPower Systems!