Solar Powered

If the US$6,000 price tag of the BugE trike is still beyond your price range, then you may be interested in the sub-US$600 Solaron three-wheeler designed by Pakistan's Farrukh Khan. The DIY project is not (yet) available commercially, but the young inventor has posted detailed build instructions online for those who want to knock up their own variants.  Read More

This ambitious zero-energy housing proposal is the achievement of Scandinavian architectural firm, C. F. Møller in collaboration with energy consultants, Cenergia. Proposed for the Aalborg Waterfront in Denmark, the development features 60 apartments, from 4 to 12 storeys high, all supplied with a 100 percent renewable energy source.  Read More

While solar panels are very useful at converting the sun’s rays into electricity for immediate use, the storage of that energy for later use is ... well, it’s still being figured out. The energy can be used to charge batteries, for instance, but that charge will wear off over time. Instead, scientists have been looking at thermo-chemical storage of solar energy. Last year, researchers from MIT discovered that the chemical fulvalene diruthenium was quite an effective storage medium. Unfortunately, the ruthenium element that it contains is rare and expensive. Now, however, one of those same scientists has created a new storage material that is cheaper, and is able to store much more energy.  Read More

This March, we reported on the Kinetic Photovoltaic Vehicle (KPV), a one-of-a-kind solar-electric scooter that fits inside a suitcase. Well, it seems that Terry Hope, the Canadian inventor who created the KPV, wasn't content to stop there. He recently contacted us about his latest creation, the Solar Cross ebike. As its name suggests, it's a pedal-electric bicycle that receives its power from the Sun ... and the rider, of course.  Read More

We’ve seen a growing number 3D printers that use additive manufacturing technology to form objects one layer at a time, usually from resin or ABS plastic. But Markus Kayser, an MA student at the Royal College of Art in London, has created a 3D printer that creates 3D objects using two things found in abundance in the desert – sun and sand. As well as being powered by the sun via two photovoltaic panels, the Solar-Sinter also focuses the sun’s rays to heat sand to its melting point so it then solidifies as glass when it cools, allowing the computer controlled device to produce glass objects from 3D computer designs.  Read More

The roof of a two mile stretch of tunnel over Belgium's high speed rail line has been fitted out with 16,000 solar panels to provide power for trains running through Antwerp Central Station and the surrounding railway infrastructure. Solar solution provider Enfinity says that about 4,000 trains per year - or the equivalent of a full day's worth of Belgian rail traffic - will be able to run entirely on solar power generated by the installation.  Read More

With a mobile phone now an essential item in any ladies' handbag, it's surprising that most of the solar powered bags we've seen up until now have been either backpacks or messenger bags. That's fine for men who generally see bags as a purely functional piece of equipment designed to make it easier to carry things like beer, guns and pornography around. But from what I understand, it's much different for women, for whom the handbag is an extension of their personality and needs to be fashionable as well as practical - and the practicality is probably optional. Danish design studio DIFFUS has done its best to combine the two with its Solar Handbag.  Read More

Connecting blocks are one of the all-time greatest types of toys. Unfortunately, when we grow up, many of us seem to think that it’s silly to make stuff just for the sake of making it – we still enjoy putting things together, but they have to be functional. That’s where B-Squares come in. The flat electronic modules serve a variety of functions, and can form a variety of devices when connected in different combinations.  Read More

Researchers at Wake Forest University have developed a new type of polymer solar-thermal device that combines photovoltaics with a system that captures the Sun's infrared radiation to generate heating. By taking advantage of both heat and light, researchers say the device could deliver up to 40 percent savings on the cost of heating, as well as helping reduce power bills by producing electricity.  Read More