New Urban Mini Turbine for lantern poles introduced - The Archimedes 27 May 2014 | On the market launch of its ‘big brother’ – the Liam f1 – R&D company the Archimedes introduced a smaller version as well: the Liam Pole Mini Urban Wind Turbine. With half its size (ø 0.75cm) it will be mounted on a Cradle-2-Cradle lantern Pole manufactured by Sapa Pole Products. This new Product Market Combination (PMC) has the potential to save a lot of money on electrical infrastructure. When combining the Liam Pole urban mini wind turbine with a set of solar panels (PV), a LED lantern pole becomes totally self-sufficient. During daylight the solar panels and the turbine will charge a battery which will supply the light emitting diodes (LEDs) during night time, supported by the Liam turbine when enough wind is at hand. Because of its coned shape, the Liam Pole urban wind turbine will yaw itself in any wind direction starting from a windspeed of 2 m/s, even when it changes a lot. More information: sapagroup.com/nl/
New Material Converts Sunlight to Steam Researchers from MIT have developed a new material that converts sunlight into steam much more efficiently than currently available alternatives. This material acts sort of like a two-way sponge: it can attract and hold sunlight for heat and can also continually draw up water in order to create a constant supply of steam. The research was led by Hadi Ghasemi and the results were published in Nature Communications. “Steam is important for desalination, hygiene systems, and sterilization,” Ghasemi said in a press release. “Especially in remote areas where the sun is the only source of energy, if you can generate steam with solar energy, it would be very useful.” The system works in layers. “On the left, a representative structure for localization of heat; the cross section of structure and temperature distribution. When it is exposed to sunlight, the graphite flakes heat up. Solar-powered steam generation isn’t anything new, but this material is markedly more efficient.
Wind systems | YourHome The amount of renewable electricity harnessed from the wind is growing rapidly. Australia has an abundant wind resource, which, if used to generate electricity, could save significant greenhouse gas emissions. To take advantage of this resource, turbines must be installed in open sites on sufficiently tall towers. Appropriate wind system locations Begin investigating wind technology by ‘reality checking’ your general location. Coastal locations, and flat rural areas without significant vegetation or buildings, offer the most laminar wind flow. Urban areas have a poor wind resource that is usually extremely turbulent. Urban areas have a poor wind resource that is usually extremely turbulent. Wind systems installed on roofs typically do not produce much electricity, have short life spans and are thus never economically sound. Connecting wind systems Small wind turbines can be connected as: Photo: AUSWEA and University of Newcastle A domestic wind turbine. Source: endurance windpower Maintenance
Spray-On Solar Power Will Likely Soon Change The World New Energy Technologies is developing the first-of-its kind SolarWindow™ technology, which enables see-through windows to generate electricity by ‘spraying’ their glass surfaces with New Energy’s electricity-generating coatings – the subject of forty two (42) patent filings. SolarWindow™ generates clean electricity on see-through glass windows, by making use of the energy of natural sunlight and artificial sources such as fluorescent and LED lighting typically installed in offices, schools, and commercial buildings. How do we generate electricity on see-through glass for commercial application in homes, offices, and commercial buildings? There's Lots of information on their home page - feel free to check it out :) Other Great Stories From Offgridquest.com:
Could This Glass Orb Be The Future Of Solar Energy? By Emily Atkin "Could This Glass Orb Be The Future Of Solar Energy?" CREDIT: Rawlemon André Broessel’s latest invention looks like something out of a superhero movie. In reality, though, it’s a stand-alone solar energy generator. But Broessel’s invention may be more than just aesthetically pleasing. “For the last 40 years we have tried to capture this energy with PV panels,” Broessel says in the promotional video on his Indiegogo campaign for his company, Rawlemon. The rotating glass orb, he says, brings in energy from the sun and concentrates it onto a small surface of tiny solar panels. “We can squeeze more juice out of the sun,” Broessel says. In terms of whether the device will actually bring meaningful improvements to the renewable energy sector to reduce the effects of man-made climate change, the outlook seems promising on its face. Broessel’s device is not yet available in the market. Rawlemon Spherical Solar Energy Generator from Rawlemon on Vimeo.
Solar-Powered LED Clothespins Light Up Urban Nights - WebEcoist While we can’t exactly call this a ‘sustainable’ version of a clothespin, since it’s made of plastic and far more complicated than the simple ones made of renewable wood, it does have an interesting spin. Designers Idan Noyberg and Gal Bulka have created the ‘Lightly,’ a clothespin with built-in solar panels and LED lights that emit decorative ambient illumination once the sun goes down. The panels collect sunlight by day while a sensor automatically cues the lights to turn on at dusk. Of course, the design is waterproof, so leaving them out in the weather is no problem. Sure, clothespins don’t need to have lights built in, but imagine how much cooler lines of laundry would look hanging in backyards or billowing in the wind on city streets if they were covered in tiny multicolored lights.
List of Top 5 Micro Wind Turbines Needs a Second Look Clean Power Published on April 30th, 2013 | by Tina Casey One of the most popular micro wind turbine companies around, Southwest Windpower, began to scale back operations last year and has apparently closed its doors, which means that our list of Top 5 Micro Wind Turbines is overdue for a re-do. As a preliminary step, let’s take a look at JLM Energy, Inc., an all-around renewable energy company that has figured out a way to piggyback its Zefr micro wind turbine arrays onto Southwest’s poles, resulting in a clever way to squeeze some extra juice out of existing wind turbine infrastructure. Zefr micro wind turbine courtesy of JLM Energy No More Southwest Wind Power Before we get into one of those OMG another Obama-supported green company goes belly up kind of “scandals,” let’s note for the record that Southwest Windpower was established in 1987. The company refused an offer of $700,000 from President Obama’s Recovery Act grant in 2011. Also for the record, in 2007 former president George H.W.
The Power Cube: It generates, it Internets, and it's back Seven years ago we first covered the Magic Box That Does Everything, the Ecos LifeLink. I titled the post It Generates. It Internets. This innovative patented solar technology has the potential to be one of the most important solar patented innovations of our generation. Patent Drawing/Public Domain Did I mention it is patented? None of the aforementioned prior art disclose the space saving arrangement of solar panels in the stowed position on top of the container of the inventive station. OK, so it's all about the drawer system and I guess that's patentable because they got it. The Professor of Sustainable Design in me would question whether this is the best approach; solar panels are not as effective horizontal as they are angled toward the sun, and in dusty areas where the military goes a lot, they would have to be cleaned regularly. Ecos Powercube/Screen capture More at Ecosphere techologies
World's smallest windmills to power cell phones While commercial wind turbines have been trending toward larger sizes, from 300 kW capacity in 1990 to 7.5 MW in 2011, sometimes it is worth bucking the trend. Professor J.C. Chiao and his postdoc Dr. Smitha Rao of the University of Texas at Arlington have taken this contrarian philosophy to the extreme. They have developed a MEMS-based nickel alloy windmill so small that 10 could be mounted on a single grain of rice. The micro-windmills (technically called horizontal axis wind turbines) have a three-bladed rotor 1.8 mm in diameter mounted on a tower about 2 mm tall. Despite their size, the micro-windmills can endure strong winds, owing to being constructed of a tough nickel alloy (rather than the silicon and silicon oxide layers typical of MEMS designs) and smart aerodynamic design. Let's get to the meat. The first question is how much mechanical power can a micro-windmill generate from a moving flow of air. There is a potential problem that a suspicious observer would spot.
Hybrid Material May Help Crush Solar Cell Efficiency Record During photosynthesis, plants only convert about 10% of the light they receive from the sun into usable hydrogen to fuel the reaction. Last summer, a group of researchers were able to break the world record for laboratory efficiency by reaching 44.7% with a new cell, with 50% as the ultimate goal. This record could by smashed by a new hybrid material using both organic and inorganic materials that could propel solar cells to an efficiency exceeding 95%. The research was led by Maxim Tabachnyk of the University of Cambridge and the paper was published in Nature Materials. When photons are absorbed by solar cells, they generate particles known as excitons, which facilitate interaction between light and matter. Silicon, an inorganic material, is what is most commonly used within solar cells. Pentacene, an organic molecule composed of five fused benzene rings that is found in leaves, is readily able to absorb photons that lead to efficient spin-triplet excitons.
Building tops to house urban windpower The southern hemisphere's largest ever Windpod system has been installed on the City of Cockburn's administration building in Spearwood, as part of a joint research trial with Windpods International. Twenty Windpod turbines have been installed on the building – facing south-west to harvest the most wind – and are expected to generate 4.5 megawatt hours of power each year. It follows their first commercial installation on the roof of the City of Fremantle's council chambers in 2009, after early development was conducted in and around Fremantle and the University of WA's wind tunnel. Originally invented by Fremantle resident Graeme Attey, Windpods are small-scale, drum-style wind turbines designed to suit urban environments. "Wind turbines work by converting the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power and Windpods use this power to drive a generator situated at the end of each turbine," City of Cockburn climate change officer Jennifer Harrison says. Cockburn Mayor Logan K.
This solar panel printer can make 33 feet of solar cells per minute Whatever oil and gas true believers want to think, the world is doing this solar power thing. It’s getting cheaper and cheaper to make solar panels, and the panels are getting more and more effective. For example: A team in Australia just built a gigantic printer that spits out solar cells at a rate, Gizmodo reports, of about 33 feet every minute. It’s not even particularly complicated technology, according to the researchers. [The printer system] utilizes only existing printer technology to embed polymer solar cells (also known as organic or plastic solar cells) in thin sheets of plastic or steel at a rate of ten meters per minute. This particular type of cell isn’t the most efficient, but it’s the type that lends itself to uses where you need a little flexibility — solar windows, bags, or tents, for instances.
Bicycle Speedometer Anemometer | Otherpower Built using a digital bicycle speedometer The completed anemometer cup and sensor assembly. Sigma Sport Targa digital bicycle speedometer -- about US$25 at any bike shop. UPDATE 3-29-2006 ---- We are OUT OF STOCK on the surplus brushless DC motor we used to build this project, and since it's surplus we cannot get any more. You can use a different motor (for example, something salvaged from a dead hard disk drive) because this design depends on the motor only for its bearing -- the internal coils don't factor into the output frequency. You could also use a standard small bearing, available at most good hardware stores. DanF's Easter Egg Anemometer has been up and flying beautifully for 2 years now. Parts List Digital Bicycle Speedometer -- We used a Sigma Sport Targa because of the peak speed, average, and odometer features. Assembly Cut the PVC pipe reducer off with a hacksaw right at the flange, on the big 2 inch side. Optionally, you can skip that entire step. Disassembled Motor