Hydrogen produced by earth friendly WINDHUNTER Maritime Hydrogen Generation System - Alternative Energy That Works 1ℓimit – Faucet Design by Yonggu Do, Dohyung Kim & Sewon Oh One Liter Limited 1ℓimit faucet looks more like an elegant test tube inverted on top of a tap. The glass tube holds exactly one liter of water, sufficient for a quick handwash. The theory being that we waste almost six liters of water and use only one, while washing hands. Once the stored one-liter is used up, you have to turn-off the tap till the next one liter fills up the tube. Solar Panels Compared What is the best solar cell you can buy? It all depends on what is important to you. Two things that can be important are cost and size. For applications where space doesn't matter (like putting panels in your back yard or on your roof), you want to make the most power for the least cost. Solar Panels ranked by least cost per unit of power (best first) Clearly, large panels bought in bulk are more economical. For mobile applications (solar powered cell phone or lawn mower), you want the most power per unit of area. Solar Panels ranked by minimum size per unit of power (best first) Interestingly, some efficient panels are also economical. Please note that I am basing these lists on the data supplied by the referenced web pages. Q: Why didn't you include X? A: If you know about an interesting panel that is commercially available and not included here, send me a link where I can see its specs and actually buy it and I will add it to the list. A: I agree. Q: Why didn't you make a nice graph?
MIT researchers create super efficient 'origami' solar panels MIT researchers have created an origami-like solar structure that is much more efficient than current flat panels. The three-dimensional solar structure could, at least in principle, absorb a lot more light and generate more power than a flat panel containing the same area footprint. The hope is that all unused light which has been reflected off one panel would be captured by other panels. Panels of this type would be most ideal in circumstances with limited space. "This was a fully 'bio-inspired' idea," said researcher Jeffrey Grossman, a theoretical physicist at MIT. "I was hiking up at Lake Tahoe in California and noticing the shapes of trees, and wondering, 'Why do they have a given shape over another?'" Research into photovoltaic panels has largely kept them flat to prevent any sort of shadow effect. Scientists used a "genetic algorithm" to evolve solar panels in a computer simulation thus determining the optimal 3-D shape for harvesting the largest amount of light.
Turn Steel Into Solar Panels With Photovoltaic Spray Paint No, it's not a joke or a crazy awesome futuristic concept . It's real. Tata Steel Europe (formerly Corus) and Swansea University in Wales, UK are collaborating to develop a spray-on technology that would transform steel sheets into solar panels. Earth and Industry says , The technology has significant applications since it is highly efficient even in diffused sunlight. Therefore, countries at higher latitudes or those with limited solar energy resource can generate significant amounts of solar-powered electricity with going for large-scale power plants. If extended, the technology can find its way to the automobile industry where photo-sensitive dyes can be applied to cars to generate electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen for fuel cells. Imagine the applications of such a product. The power options could be limitless. And if you think the spray-on solar technology is years away from reality, think again. [Photo: Jaredmoo /Flickr]
Hugh Piggott's home page Super Cheap Solar Cells Just Got Cheaper, Switch Gold For Nickel One of the major drawbacks of most renewable energy sources is high cost. In order to see a huge rise in the use of renewable energy sources, prices must come down. In the world of solar there have recently been some major breakthroughs in cost advantages and efficiency increases. Scientists at the University of Toronto in Canada have come up with a way to reduce colloidal quantum dot solar cell prices by up to 80%, by swapping out costly conductive gold for cheap nickel. Quantum dot solar cells consist of a silicon substrate that has a thin film coating of nanocrystals — or quantum dots. The team at University of Toronto published their findings in a paper in the July 12, 2010 issue of Applied Physics Letters and noted that with further research they believe that they will be able to increase the efficiency of their extremely inexpensive quantum dot solar panels and make them look attractive to consumers when they eventually hit the market. Via Science Daily
Scientists Develop Affordable Solar Panels That Work In The Dark It's about damn time, don't you think? Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory announced Wednesday that they have been able to confirm a new high-efficiency solar cell design that utilizes nearly the entire solar spectrum. Translation: They figured out a way to make solar panels generate electricity in the dark. CleanTechnica says , In earlier trials, the researchers used different alloys that achieved full spectrum responses but involved very high production costs. The Lawrence Berkeley breakthrough represents just one path to increasing the efficiency and lowering the cost of solar cells. In the meantime, you could just turn any metal surface into solar panels with photovoltaic spray paint . [Photo: Norby /Flickr]
Plans for solar thermal, PV, Wind, Heating, Cooling, Cooking, and energy saving projects for Do It Yourselfers Search The Renewable Energy site for Do-It-Yourselfers More than 500 renewable energy and conservation projects you can build. Free plans and information on: Conservation, water, solar homes, solar space heating, solar water heating, passive cooling techniques, solar sunspaces and greenhouses, solar pool heating, solar electricity (PV), wind generated electricity, micro hydro, biofuels, methane generators, solar cooking, solar food drying, solar and efficient vehicles, solar water pumping, solar engines, and solar wood drying. So, what were you looking for that you did not find? Questions?
Magenn Power Inc. anthropomorphic-futuristic-fantastic-floating-homes/ Futuristic, yet, but not the far-fetched science-fiction fantasy industrial design you might think – the Oculus by Schoepfer Yachts may not be for sale yet but it is already in pre-production mode with naval architects on board, so to speak. Hardly your typical houseboat, it is a virtual cruise ship for the rich and famous who can afford to buy it when it is fully planned and built. The anthropomorphism of this luxury floating home is of course intentional – the front deck like the gaping mouth of a gigantic sea creature and the sleek curves mimicking streamlined oceanic animals. Complete with a swimming pool on top and a futuristic interior design this is far more like a permanent mobile home than a cruising yacht. The smaller and simpler (both adjectives applied relative to its bigger brother of course) version of this spectacular design is the Infinitas, with a more sleek and streamlined profile and a semi-enclosed on-board swimming pool in the center but underneath the shell.
How I built an electricity producing Solar Panel Several years ago I bought some remote property in Arizona. I am an astronomer and wanted a place to practice my hobby far away from the sky-wrecking light pollution found near cities of any real size. In my attempt to escape city light pollution, I found a great piece of remote property. The problem is, it's so remote that there is no electric service available. I built a wind turbine to provide some power on the remote property. Here is a video of the solar panel set up and in use on my remote, off-grid property. Let me state up front that I probably won't be able to help you out much if you decide to build your own solar panel(s). So what is a solar panel anyway? I started out the way I start every project, by Googling for information on home-built solar panels. After a while, I came to some conclusions: Once I came to the realization that I could use blemished and factory-second solar cells to build my panels, I finally got to work. seller. Oops! Next time I will do it differently.