Tag: SOLAR POWER

Kudos to LG Electronics for creating the Most Obvious Product That No One's Ever Made. With all these new-fangled concepts coming out for solar-powered cellphone chargers and drink coasters and what-have-you, it makes the most sense to craft an eco-friendly device that performs the best in high-sun seasons and whose traditional counterparts are electrical siphons of the worst sort. We present to ...

A new line of 'green' windows could change the way architects design buildings and houses. According to Engadget, Hua Qin recently unveiled its Chin Hua solar glass window at Taipei's International Optoelectronics Week. The slightly opaque window shown in the picture above can generate about 2 watts of clean energy, which is apparently enough to power a mini-fan. But depending on how opaque you ...

Plenty of people talk about 'green' technology these days, but we rarely consider where it all started. No, it wasn't with Al Gore. According to the Daily Mail, the world's first solar panel was recently discovered and put on display last week at a British antiques show. Most surprising of all, the device still works almost 60 years after it was created. A British science teacher built the ...

We've seen everything from solar-powered speedboats to passenger ferries cruising the waters, but never have we seen a solar-fueled vessel in the same ballpark of the mass of the PlanetSolar. The Huffington Post reports that the world's largest solar-powered yacht, measuring 102 feet long and 50 feet wide, was unveiled yesterday in Kiel, Germany. Covered with 5,382 square feet of solar panels, ...

Up to this point, the design of solar panels has been primarily a 2-D affair. But now, some scientists say that "folding" these flat panels into a 3-D design, like origami, could provide more efficient solar power. According to LiveScience, 3-D panels could absorb more light and create more energy because the light that's usually reflected off a flat panel would be caught and absorbed by ...

CES is all about the hottest and latest tech, from 3-D TVs (yawn) to every single kind of e-reader imaginable (double yawn). And while the circuitry of these devices typically blows minds, their exteriors are often an afterthought. It's like having Einstein's brain in the body of Brian Peppers [note to eds.: or replace Peppers with Sam the Chinese Crested Dog] -- genius, but a little tough on the ...

Want greener energy without having to install large, gaudy solar panels on your house? Join the club. But what was once wishful thinking might soon be reality. According to ABC Science, scientists have created a way to harness sunlight and convert it into electricity by connecting a photovoltaic cell to fiber-optic wiring that's barely wider than a human hair. (Note that it doesn't actually use ...

Many people would love to build an entirely "green" house. But "going green" isn't always cheap or practical. That's why we're so excited about Dow Chemical's new solar-powered shingles, which are meant to be used on asphalt-tiled roofs. According to The New York Times, the Powerhouse thin-film shingle can be installed by most roofers, and they're durable, too. You can even drop one from a roof, ...

In 2007, Google announced that it was delving into scientific research, specifically the investigation and development of viable green energy sources. According to Reuters, the world's biggest brand is particularly interested in solar power and the development of cheaper and more efficient panel mirrors, which harvest heat and energy from the sun. Google is looking to cut current mirror ...

Milan Karki, an 18-year-old Nepalese student who idolizes inventor Thomas Edison, has been experimenting with electricity since he was a child. His goal is to create low-cost, low-maintenance providers of energy in order to cheaply and efficiently bring power to remote, impoverished villages. Karki and four of his classmates now believe they have successfully accomplished that task and are ...

Adventure runs through Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard's veins. He was born that way, thanks to a father who dove deeper in the ocean than any other man, and a grandfather who was the first man to fly a hot-air balloon into the stratosphere. To paraphrase a certain country singer, daring feats are just 'a family tradition' for the Piccards. After floating around the world in a balloon called ...

Christians tend to gaze skyward for guidance, so it's no surprise that their leaders have chosen the sun as their power source of the future. According to Fox News, the Vatican is planning to spend $660 million on a new 740-acre solar plant near the village of Santa Maria de Galeria. The plant, which would be largest of its kind in all of Europe, is expected to be ready by 2014. The Guardian ...

After JAXA's announcement of space-based solar power for Japan, we've been keeping our eyes peeled for some news of similar projects Stateside. Lo and behold, California's largest energy utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, has agreed to do just that, inking a deal with solar power startup Solaren Corp. The agreement calls for the utility to purchase 200 megawatts of electricity once the ...

A group of engineers, scientists and sailors have banded together to form a team they call Solar Planet. The group is now building a 98-foot-long solar-powered boat for the express purpose of sailing all the way around the world using nothing but the delicious power of the sun. The $13 million dollar vessel -- which is currently in construction in Kiel, Germany -- will have 5,059 square feet of ...

We've heard the excuse a gazillion times: "Yo, I want to go solar, but like, where do you even buy this stuff? Oh snap, 0 percent financing on a Hummer H2!" Finally, you can have a solid answer to that very quip (the first part, at least), as household megastore IKEA has begun stocking (in store; online is coming soon) a new series of solar-powered lighting supplies. The SOLIG series contains a ...