Tag: solar power

Power and Insect Repellent in a Tablet Sized Device

As many outdoor activities, such as camping and hiking, involve time in the sun a solar charger is a good device to bring along. Singapore based Third Wave Power unveiled its new take on solar charges as last week’s Clean Energy Expo Asia (CEEA), introducing the mPowerpad, which captures and stores solar power to charge mobile phones, tablets, cameras and other devices via multiple USB ports. No real news there, but as anyone who has had a solar charger with a battery knows that left over juice typically just slowly drains way.

Unlike other solar charges this one, which is the size of a tablet PC, can also use the power it stores with built-in functionality including a built-in reading light, flashlight, radio and even a built-in ultrasonic insect repellent! mPowerpad features a unique gesture-based user interface that requires no button, knob or dial to operate the device. With no moving mechanical parts that could break down from manual wear and tear, and being water, dust- and drop-resistant, mPowerpad is built to withstand harsh weather and terrain conditions. Video after the jump

Sun Powered Golf Carts

Golf courses are designed to actually offer little in the way of shade, which is what you’d expect with the fairway and the green. But it is also means that solar power should be a no brainer.

Apparently Coconut Creek-based SolarCarts has seen that solar power is a bright idea for the transportation used on the golf courses. The company is the designer and manufacturer of solar energy retrofits for golf cars, and this week announced the launch of The Sun Eagle, a solar roof that transforms electric golf carts into solar-powered hybrid carts. Continue reading Sun Powered Golf Carts

Surfboard That Catches Waves and Rays

Surfers like to catch waves, and typically do so where there tends to be a bit of sun. There are times that people surf in less than sunny locations, but not a new innovation will want them to catch waves, and catch some rays of the sun as well.

Tony Jones of Coral Reef Wetsuits essentially added a solar panel to his custom board, and it adds power to the deck, enough to just up cameras, flashlights, mobile phones and portable radios. So while he’s out riding the waves, the solar power charges a 2200 mA lithium battery. The solar panel doesn’t even need direct sunlight to charge efficiently, but with the board on the roof it could even trickle charge the car’s battery.

This is certainly an interesting twist on getting positive energy!

[Via Earth Techling: Solar Surfboard Lets You Catch Waves, Power]

SolaRoad Uses Cycling Trails at Test Bed

Dutch company TNO recently presented its idea for the SolaRoad. While the application will likely be used for roads eventually, TNO has its eye on Holland’s 15,000 km of bike paths to start installation of its solar panel-infused road.

The current conceptual design for the SolaRoad consists of modules. For the cycling application, the path will consist of prefab elements made up in layers: a concrete housing, solar cells, and optical layer and a transparent top layer. The concrete element will measure 1.5 by 2.5 meters and each layer will be placed on top. The glass will be a 1 cm thick hardened glass layer of crystal silicon solar cells. The road surface will then collect roughly 50 kWh per square meter annually. An average household consumes about 3,500 kWh of electricity per year.

Solar roadways have a few criteria in the design and implementation such as stiffness and maintenance. Benefits the SolaRoad can provide include the ability to display messages electronically on the road. If it’s a cycling path, the road can display a message that the upcoming light is turning red in cases where the path crosses a road. It also eliminates what TNO calls “landscape pollution”.

New applications to collect solar energy are interesting to watch. It will be great to see the roadways become potential solar farms rather than taking up vast open spaces to install solar panel farms. However with a top layer of glass, we are interested to see what the actual surface will be like. Roads especially, but even bike paths, can get slick with even the slightest amount of rain. How will the glass and other layers of SolaRoad stand up to cold and extreme weather conditions? We know this isn’t your average glass, but it sure can get cold and snowy  in those winter months in the Netherlands.

For more information visit TNO and locate the English option.

via [Cyclecious]