Archive for Solar Powered

Veil Solar Shade provides power King Cobra style

Posted in Solar Powered by Conner Flynn on May 12th, 2008

Veil Solar Shade provides power King Cobra style
The Veil Shade might one day sit in the schoolyards of some Australian elementary schools, waiting for the right moment to strike little children. Or perhaps waiting for Indiana Jones who hates snakes.

Then again, it might be a completely innocent and unique way of collecting sunlight. It’s a concept from design firm Büro North, and it’s pretty well thought out. It automatically rotates during the day hours, to ensure the “hood” is always pointed at the sun. It also provides a shady spot on the underside of the hood. Also, the kids can actually learn something since markings and LEDs on the base show how much solar power the Veil is collecting.

Lumeta’s “peel & stick” solar panels

Posted in Solar Powered by Conner Flynn on May 12th, 2008

Lumeta’s “peel & stick” solar panels
You want some of that sweet solar juice, but you don’t want to tear up your roof just to get solar panels installed. Lumeta’s PowerPly could be the answer. The panels use traditional roofing adhesives, that most roofers will be familiar with, and the process means that there is no need to drill holes and bolts as with most other systems required to mount solar panels. It’s also faster. They can do an entire roof in 35 minutes!

It’s targeted at commercial projects for the moment, but hopefully residential houses will soon be getting the opportunity. Video below.

Ravi solar charger looks like an alien flower

Posted in Solar Powered by Conner Flynn on February 22nd, 2008

Ravi solar charger
The Ravi solar charger hopes to steer you toward greener living with it’s attractive flower-like design. The Ravi solar has photovoltaic arrays attached to petal extensions. The flower aspect is not just symbolic, it actually absorbs energy from the sun during the day, storing it in an internal battery. It gets some points for coolness due to the fact that the petals glow once the battery is charged. At night, you would have a kick-ass glowing garden. You would then remove the battery packs to power all of your home appliances.

The idea is that with gardens of Ravi portable solar generators in a neighborhood, enough power could be generated to supply the community, and if that can not be managed, it would at least lessen energy needs. It’s a pretty cool idea, but it has a kind of War Of The World quality that scares me.

CES 2008

Solio’s new charger offers double the power fun

Posted in CES 2008, Chargers, Solar Powered by Nino Marchetti on January 9th, 2008

Solio MagnesiumBetter Energy Systems, the company behind the eco-friendly Solio Classic hybrid (solar/wall socket) handheld electronics charger, is at CES with a new charger it says packs almost double the power of the original. It’s called the Solio Magnesium and it is being priced at around $200.

The Solio Magnesium is capable of fully charging a cell phone approximately three times. It “combines efficient solar cells, a powerful internal battery, and a rugged, environmentally friendly magnesium alloy shell.” Compatibility exists with the iGo tip system for supporting the charging of multiple types of devices and includes a female USB for an iPod.

Solar powered Bible speaks

Posted in Solar Powered by Conner Flynn on December 6th, 2007

Solar powered Bible speaks

No, you won’t hear the biblical voice of NRA spokesman Chuck Heston or Ned Flanders for that matter, but this solar powered Bible will read the entire bible to you. In a human voice no less. If God had waited a few centuries to give Moses the 10 commandments, instead of stone tablets, they would have looked like this device. But I digress.

You can jump from book to book, or chapter to chapter just by pressing a button. You will never be without the good book again. It gives you 10 hours of preachiness when fully charged and recharges via the sun, a lamp, or a 9 volt DC adapter. It’s only 4 1/2″ x 2″ x 1″ thick. I don’t know if it will get you into heaven, but let’s face it, it can’t hurt. We all have to score points with the big guy.

Solar-powered Aleutia E1 computer

Posted in Computer Components, Solar Powered by Conner Flynn on November 29th, 2007

Solar-powered Aleutia E1 computer

The Aleutia E1 is a sturdy environmentally friendly computer built for anyone who wants or needs to live off the grid. Perfect for aid workers in third world countries, or just some guy living in a remote shack. Even with a 10″ display, it only uses 18 watts power. That’s about a quarter of the power used by a typical laptop. It’s not just an energy saver. It’s also built to be tough, with no moving parts and an aluminum case, so it can survive being dropped.

Looking a bit like an old stereo, the Aleutia uses a built-in solar panel to get the juice it needs. Off the grid means no plugging anything in anywhere. It runs Puppy Linux as an OS, and can handle office, web, and multimedia applications. Of course you can do things like listen to mp3’s and make pdf documents, but you can also play Tetris and Risk, which will help kill the boredom of being off the grid.

Solar-powered toothbrush eliminates toothpaste

Posted in Solar Powered by Chetz on November 28th, 2007

Solar powered toothbrushThis next evolution in the toothbrush will undoubtedly cause much hatred within the Crest and Colgate companies. A Japanese company called Shiken has made a prototype solar-powered toothbrush that would eliminate the need to squeeze out a bit of toothpaste every time you brush your teeth. The Soladey-J3X is a toothbrush that holds a titanium dioxide rod in the brush tip underneath the bristles. When you put the brush into your mouth you get the bristles wet, which also wets the rod which then releases electrons. The electrons then react to the mouth’s natural acid which breaks down the plaque that accumulates from the natural bacteria found inside that hole at the front of your face.

Boating in the future

Posted in Concepts, Solar Powered by Chetz on November 17th, 2007

volitan.jpgJust as the automobile manufacturers are thinking about the next generation of cleaner, more efficient automobiles so too are the boat makers. This concept design for a future boat is called the Volitan and it comes from a Turkish architectural design company called Designnobis Studio. Made with lightweight materials the Volitan does away with traditional billowy sails in favor of two solar collector columns that gather light from the sun and also utilize wind power. It kind of looks like an X-Wing floating on the water and just like Luke Skywalker’s spaceship from “Star Wars” the Volitan’s solar wings can raise up and down but also go one step better and turn around to better collect the energy and/or wind power. Two small stabilizer wings are affixed to the lower side of the Volitan’s body which help it stay afloat even in storms that blow up to 60 knots. Small rudders in the stabilizers can allow the captain to turn the craft on a dime.

Don’t go green, go Orange instead

Posted in Headsets, Solar Powered by Chetz on November 12th, 2007

iqua 603 Sun solar powered headsetEveryone is thinking of new ways to reduce our energy consumption needs with renewable sources of power. Solar technology is one of the cleanest of these new forms of energy since all of the power comes from sunlight and there are zero emissions. Who complains about the sun being too noisy or creating smog? There has been solar powered cars, homes, ships and even flashlights but until now there has never been a solar powered mobile phone headset.

British-based phone retailer Orange has unveiled the world’s first ever solar powered Bluetooth headset called the Iqua 603 Sun. If you’re exposed to the sun the cells on the top of the headset will keep it fully charged for all your talking needs. If you work indoors or in the dark a fully charged battery will give you nine hours of talk time or 200 hours in standby mode. The solar cells are sensitive enough to pick up indirect sunlight as well which will boost your talk time to 12 hours. The volume control is on the side and just one button will let you answer or end a call or redial a number.

Solar powered capsule

Posted in Concepts, Solar Powered by Chetz on October 4th, 2007

Capsuli solar powered capsuleHere’s something that every emergency kit shouldn’t be without. The Capsuli is a concept design for a tiny rechargeable solar powered LED light that produces a great amount of light. Eight Capsulis are housed on a package that has a solar cell strip so they are powered up when needed. When you pop out a Capsuli you give the LED a slight twist and it turns on, immediately providing a burst of white light bright enough to see your surroundings. How many hours of light long would each Capsuli give off? A good question to be certain and one that isn’t answered on the original site along with an estimate of the price a Capsuli pack would be in the real world. We think it would be great fun to take 30 or 50 Capsulis, twist them on and then scatter them across a beach at night. Of course we care about the environment and we wouldn’t just leave them there…

Summertime jellyfish

Posted in Concepts, Lamps, Solar Powered by Chetz on September 30th, 2007

Medusa pool light is a solar lamp that floats in swimming poolsOf course it’s the fall and the days of summer are fast falling behind us but before you pack up the pool equipment there is one final thingy we want to show you. This is the Medusa pool light, a solar autonomous floating lamp for swimming pools. Toss one of these organic looking devices into your backyard pool and it will light up the water for your nighttime swims. The tentacles look to be made from fiber optics and gently twist and turn around in the current. The great thing about it is that since it gets all of its energy from the sun you never need to charge it up.

Boblbee Waterproof, Shockproof, Solar iPod Dock

Posted in Chargers, Solar Powered, Waterproof, iPod Accessories by Darrin Olson on August 18th, 2007

Boblbee solar powered, waterproof ipod dock and chargerIt’s always refreshing to see an iPod accessory that actually looks useful; case in point: the Boblbee solar-powered iPod case. The Boblbee case completely encloses your iPod protecting it in a waterproof, shockproof cocoon of safeness. The case also acts as a charger drawing its electricity from the sun for you outdoor enthusiasts, miles away from any power outlets.

It’s not the most streamlined looking case and will definitely add some bulk to your MP3 player, but it will also potentially give you continuous, uninterrupted listening time outdoors, sun permitting. According …

Solor Powered Electric Razor

Posted in Home, Solar Powered by Quagmire on July 25th, 2007

Solar powered electric razorThe electric razor from Sabeco uses non other than rays from the sun to charge up its batteries, saving on the environment and making things more convenient for you. An electric razor in your glove box works great for anyone that grows facial hair fast enough to need a touch up after 5 o’clock, or for those days that you go to work wearing the same clothes you had on the day before.

The only problem is you have to remember to charge it once in a while and of course it will run out …

Portable Universal Solar Charger from Brando

Posted in Chargers, Solar Powered by Darrin Olson on June 24th, 2007

Universal Solar Charger from BrandoBrando has a new portable solar powered charger in their catalog that appears to be a fairly handy device. It measures only 137mm long and weighs a mere 240 grams which makes for a nice and compact fold-out package.

The charger uses solar power to charge up an internal battery that then can be used to power or charge your gadgets. It has a number of adapters from the standard USB output port to fit different types of gadgets, but what’s probably most notable is the fact that you can vary the …

Solar Powered Surfing

Posted in Outdoors, Solar Powered, Wi-Fi by Chetz on June 5th, 2007

Meraki Outdoor Wifi Repeater with solar powerFor those of us looking to provide a low cost solution for wireless internet access, either for our own personal usage or for your family and friends, Meraki’s new Outdoor Repeater and Solar Accessory Kit is probably what you are looking for.

For $99 you get the Repeater which will transmit the signal up to 700 feet, perfect for downloading files while you’re at the park across the road or on the other side of the neighborhood. The Solar Accessory Kit lets the Repeater broadcast its signal without any electrical connection …


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