14Feb

Voltaic Introduces Solar Backpacks Charger for Laptops

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by Andrew Michler

The dream of going wireless with a laptop or iPad becomes pretty meaningless when reality hits and you’re left with a battery drained to nothing. But Voltaic‘s new solar backpack brings things back into balance, giving you the option to recharge your laptop and other gadgets even if the sun isn’t shining! Incorporating a battery with a sewn in 10 watt monocrystal solar module, the setup has two power ports and four voltage settings connected to the 60 watt battery. The new backpack gives you the ability to recharge just about any portable device whenever you need to.

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10Feb

London Designer Creates a Super Futuristic Solar-Powered Concept Car

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London Designer Creates a Super Futuristic Solar-Powered Concept Car

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by Marc Carter

London designer Omer Sagiv created this solar-powered concept car that looks like it’s straight out of the latest sci-fi movie. The concept car is referred to as the SPV (Solar Power Vehicle) and Sagiv states that it’s made of aluminum with flexible thin modules fixed to it and that the shaft in the center of the SPV functions as an in-built cooling system. The aerodynamic shape of the concept allows it to collect energy in any sunny environment. Even better, the concept can also use the extra energy that it collects from its solar panels to power its owner’s house!

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9Feb

Singlet Exciton Fission Solar Cells from Cambridge 44 Percent Efficient

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Singlet Exciton Fission Solar Cells from Cambridge 44 Percent Efficient

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by Ovidiu Sandru

A team of scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a new kind of solar cell which uses a phenomenon called “singlet exciton fission” to extract two electrons with the energy of a single photon hitting the semiconductor. Currently available silicon solar cells can only extract one electron, so this would give solar cells a 25 percent boost in efficiency.

Cambridge’s new solar cell has been named “hybrid,” and its creators say it’s able to achieve a 44 percent efficiency, 10 percent higher than what the most cutting edge technology can, 34 percent.

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8Feb

Concentrated Solar Startup Sets a New Efficiency Record

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By Kevin Bullis

Semprius, a startup that makes miniscule solar cells capable of capturing concentrated sunlight without costly cooling systems, announced this week that it had made the world’s most efficient solar panel.

The company’s solar panels use tiny solar cells made of gallium arsenide—the record-breaking solar module contains hundreds of such solar cells, each about the width of a line drawn by a ball-point pen, arranged under lenses that concentrate sunlight 1,100 times.

Gallium arsenide is far better at absorbing sunlight than silicon, the material used in most solar cells, but it’s also more expensive. Furthermore, although concentrated solar modules use less semiconducting material, they usually require expensive optics, cooling systems, and tracking systems to keep them aimed at the sun. Semprius’s microscaled solar cells are inherently much better at dissipating heat, making them cheaper.

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7Feb

Solar powered battery chargers to help reduce grid energy consumption

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Solar powered battery chargers to help reduce grid energy consumption

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Over the last decade, the number of electronic gadgets in use across the globe has risen dramatically. With the growth of the personal electronics segment, the demand for electricity is growing at an unprecedented rate. However, since the infrastructure that produces and distributes electricity, called the grid, cannot be upgraded at the same rate at which the demand for the electricity is increasing, alternative methods of electricity generation are being investigated. Since around a third of the electricity produced is lost in transmission. This additional dependence on fossil fuels too can be lessened if more sustainable methods of electricity production like solar power are made more accessible to the public.

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7Feb

Best solar powered watches for greener times

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Best solar powered watches for greener times

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Green is the way to go and now you can look for ‘greener times ahead’ by sporting an eco friendly and green watch. You no longer need to worry about your battery weakening, as you can power them with solar energy. Batteries keep getting disposed in the most inappropriate manner and eventually end up overspilling landfills. You can show your responsibility toward the environment by buying yourself a battery free watch. Not only are these solar powered watches eco friendly, they are visually cool too. (more…)

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6Feb

MIT Researchers Find a Way To Make Solar Panels from Grass Clippings

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MIT Researchers Find a Way To Make Solar Panels from Grass Clippings

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What if generating solar energy at home required little more than mixing some grass clippings with inexpensive chemicals? That’s exactly what MIT researcher Andreas Mershinhas found to be the case. The scientist says creating a solar cell could be as easy as mixing any green organic material (grass clippings, agricultural waste) with a bag of custom chemicals and painting the mixture on a roof. Once the efficiency of Mershin’s system is improved, this type of solar technology could make cheap energy available in rural places and developing countries where people don’t have access to affordable energy. Read on to see a video of Mershin’s findings

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6Feb

Urban Landscape: A solar powered info station

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Urban Landscape A solar powered info station

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Solar power is one of the greenest sources of energy. We have seen solar powered gadgets, cars, houses etc. but this concept by Matteo Straforini is a solar powered info point where you can get information about a city. It is an urban design to make easy and ergonomic consulting. The solar panels are installed on the sail of the structure and it can rotate, following the sun’s inclination completing a rotation of 180°, just like a sunflower. A touch screen on the dashboard allows the user to access the menu, which contains different categories for browsing.

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6Feb

São Paulo’s Ecovila Residence Receives Brazil’s First Solar Track

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São Paulo’s Ecovila Residence Receives Brazil’s First Solar Track

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The Ecovila, located on the coast of São Paulo, is the first residential structure in Brazil to install solar panels that follow the motion of the sun. The solar system, along with two wind turbines, will provide enough energy for lighting and water pumping to support the entire village consisting of 58 houses. The system installed has the capacity to capture 350,000 liters of rainwater, and the design of the village boasts cross ventilation, 15 square meters of green area per resident, and an organic garden.

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4Feb

Solar Powered Vehicle for a green ride in deserts

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Solar Powered Vehicle for a green ride in deserts

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Designer Omer Sagiv’s futuristic Solar Powered Vehicle (SPV) is an ideal vehicle for long rides in deserts or other open lands. The SPV is a typical solar vehicle design. The aluminum structure mounts plenty of flexible thin film modules, which can generate much energy for long rides. In form, the SPV almost resembles Nuon solar car, developed by Delft University.

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