This glass sphere might revolutionize solar power on Earth. German architect André Broessel, of Rawlemon, has looked into his crystal ball and seen the future of renewable energy.
In this case it’s a spherical sun-tracking solar energy-generating globe — essentially a giant glass marble on a robotic steel frame. But this marble is no toy. It concentrates both sunlight and moonlight up to 10,000 times — making its solar harvesting capabilities 35 percent more efficient than conventional dual-axis photovoltaic designs. André Broessel was a finalist in the World Technology Network Award 2013 with the globe’s design and afterward produced this latest version, called Betaray, which can concentrate diffuse light such as that from a cloudy day. Bicycle Speedometer Anemometer. 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. 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. The bifrost device depicted in Thor, perhaps, or Eric Selvig’s wormhole machine in The Avengers. 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. DIY Residential Solar Power. Wind turbine, Rooftops and Plugs on Pinterest. Build this open source DIY wind turbine for $30. Getting started with home wind energy projects can set you back a pretty penny if you buy a finished product, but if you're a little bit handy and don't mind scrounging for materials and getting creative in the garage or backyard, you can try your hand at building one of these DIY wind turbines for about $30 in materials.
After all, it is #iheartrenewables week! We've previously covered Daniel Connell's open source concentrated solar collector plans, but now he's back with another great DIY renewable energy project, a vertical axis wind turbine based on the Lenz2 lift+drag design. Connell's design calls for using aluminum lithographic offset printing plates to catch the wind, which he says can be obtained cheaply (or possibly even free) from an offset printing company, and a variety of hardware and a bicycle wheel. "The turbine uses the ~40% mechanically efficient Lenz2 lift+drag design. Home - The Archimedes. 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. Home - The Archimedes. 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. 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. Small-wind-turbines. Small Wind Guidebook. Wind systems. 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. Wind generators need ‘clean’ and sufficiently fast wind to produce electricity. Coastal locations, and flat rural areas without significant vegetation or buildings, offer the most laminar wind flow.
List of Top 5 Micro Wind Turbines Needs a Second Look. Clean Power Published on April 30th, 2013 | by Tina Casey.
Superwind,small wind turbines,iSustain Australia.