Solar power in unusual places

Harnessing solar energy requires creativity and ingenuity. Sometimes that ingenuity pops up in unusual and unexpected places.

Unusual places like on backpacks.

UniqueSolarProducts.com sells solar backpacks, among many other unusual items that make use of solar power. Wearing this bag around can capture enough energy to keep your phone, GPS, or camera charged and at the ready. Green bonus – the shell is made from recycled pop cans.

Unusual places like on pool covers.

Most solar power is used to heat water, true, but not a lot of pools actually make use of their own covers in order to heat them. Covering you pool prevents evaporation, which is where some of the heat, along with the water, is lost.

Solar pool covers not only maintain heat, but generate it. Water that passes through the pool’s filter is also passed through solar collectors, which heat the water.

And unusual places like the Yukon.

Not only was it believed to be impossibly cold for this to work, but the Yukon spends half of its year in total darkness. But bless them; Yukon Energy is making a go of it.  They see solar power as ideal for use in remote locations.

To prove it, they’ve made a functional model to tour around and demonstrate to Yukoners the potential of solar energy. Called the Solar-Hybrid Unit, It has made appearances at the Dawson Gold Show, the Commissioner’s Potlatch and the Yukon Agricultural Fair.

Designed for residential use, it can capture enough energy to run small household appliances and power tools, but does need to be recharged in the winter.

Solar Toys

Solar power: it’s not just for energy. It has countless practical – and impractical – uses.

Consider the Solar Light Cap. Better than a flashlight because you wear it on your head, the Solar Light Cap charges during the day, and can be turned on at night for as many as five hours. See six feet in front of you, and stop fumbling around in the dark.

Next time you go  camping, wouldn’t it be nice to use your tent to charge your GPS system? Solar powered tents come with LED lights installed inside, with solar panels that can be attached to the roof.

The Glastonbury Solar Tent, made by Orange, features coated solar threads woven right into the fabric. It’s able to charge batteries, there’s a floor heater, wireless Internet access, and “Glo-cation” technology – if you get lost, just text your tent, and it will light up for you.

Or, let’s say you’re the type that would rather camp in your backyard.  How about a solar-powered spinning sunflower to enhance your garden? It moves much like the wind-catching variety, only this one spins when the sunlight warms its solar panel.

Let’s not forget the kids.  Animal Planet offers three solar-powered animal toys. When fully charged the zebra, elephant and giraffe delight kids with realistic movements.  They raise their feet, turn their heads and twitch their tails.

You can even use solar gadgets to charge your other gadgets.  PowerGorilla makes a portable charger that can be plugged in and carried with you and your laptop wherever you go.  It’s also good for iPods, portable DVD players, cameras, you name it.

If you think about it, it’s kind of poetic – using solar to charge your battery-devouring toys.

Nothing says tree hugger like owning a cell phone

Helping to save the environment may be just a phone call away. 

In December 2008, mobile phone subscribers passed the 4 billion mark which, in case you were keeping track is 60% of the entire global population. This connectivity represents revolutionary changes in economic, social and political fortune. 

It also represents a lot of environmental trash.

Cell phones contain toxic chemicals which are hazardous when left in landfills. Cell phone companies which have typically been slow to tap into more eco-friendly options are now beginning to answer the call of social responsibility. With a wider range of eco-friendly options, a new niche for environmental technology and marketing is emerging. 

Take the Motorola Renew, for example. It’s made from recycled water bottles. If that conjures up images of an old-school Science Fair project, make no mistake: this technology is cutting-edge. It is the first carbon-neutral cell phone on the market. 

Sony Ericsson recently launched an environmental warranty, and a phone which is built from biodegradable parts. The GreenHeart™ has bio-plastic cases, recycled plastic keypads, zero chargers with efficient stand-by power, paper-saving online manuals and environmentally conscious packaging. 

Nokia has an energy-saving phone with a natural-light detecting sensor. Digicel is developing the first solar-powered low-cost mobile phone—ideal for parts of the world where there is limited or no access to electricity. 

With all of this new environmental technology, dialling into the environment has never been easier.

PC Solar Study: Working While Sleeping

Scientists at Harvard University and IBM are waking up to a new idea from dormant computers.  By putting a million idle computers to work, they are looking to develop a new and cheaper form of solar power.

PC users who have volunteered to participate are connected to a World Community Grid. Participants then download software which will run calculations as a screensaver program fed back to a database when the machine is in Sleep Mode. 

It is hoping that the data collected will help to gather research for humanitarian projects such as fighting cancer, AIDS and dengue fever.

Scientists also hope to discover of a new type of organic material that can be used to manufacture plastic solar cells. This technology could be used to coat windows, make backpacks or line blankets to produce electricity from the sun.

The technology to make plastic cells has already been invented but right now it is expensive and difficult to mass-produce. The plastic is cheaper and more flexible than the silicon-based cells which are currently used to turn sunlight into electricity.

So far, more than a million people have signed up for the massive network, creating one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. 

With that many volunteers, scientists are generating considerably faster results. Rather than collecting data for a laborious 22 years, the same amount of data can be gathered in just under 2 years.

Send a memo to your teenage kids: laziness has never been so useful.

Bright Calgary teen has a world to save and (solar) energy to burn

While the world groans from the weight of pressing environmental and social issues, Eden Full takes matters into her own hands. These are the hands of a Calgary teen whose energy and passion for the environment and humanity means more than learning and reading about it. It means more than talking about solutions or attending symposiums, and more than being just a small part of the solution, as so many of us do by recycling, donating to charities, eco-shopping and learning about energy conservation.

For 17-year-old Eden, it’s all about action; her passion is channeled into a full-time hobby and promising career as a solar power inventor and conductor of solutions for developing countries. “I’ve been interested in solar power since I was really young,” says the John G.Diefenbaker High student. Eden says she was attracted to solar energy particularly because of its low impact on the environment and wildlife. “Plus, solar panels look kind of cool on buildings and they have lots of applications,” she adds.

So what exactly has Eden been doing to harness the power of the sun? Try inventing a solar powered tracking system that harnesses energy from the wind to power the movement of solar panels. The goal? To bring this bountiful energy source to developing countries like Tanzania where the soil is surprisingly fertile but the farmers do not possess the refrigerating systems needed to store their crops before distribution to surrounding communities.

“What we can do is develop solar power systems that are cost effective enough to power, say, ten refrigerating systems, which would buy the farmers some time so they can distribute the food and store it for their own families before it spoils,” says Eden. So much for watching American Idol tonight then, right?

Eden has more pressing matters to attend to, like how to improve the ability of the panels to align with the shifting sun rays at different times of the day, and, of course, without using as much energy. Traditionally, solar powered devices require electricity for the motors that power the panels’ movements. “This is about creating the opportunity to use minimal energy while addressing basic needs,” Eden says.

Not surprisingly, the aspiring Princeton student believes the future for solar power is bright. But it also has its challenges. When it comes to materials engineering, there is a lot of work to do around improving the overall efficiency of solar panels, Eden adds, but we also have to come up with ways to effectively use the mechanics of the technology, to move the solar panels and to optimize their output at all times of day.

So how does a person Eden’s age acquire the finances and resources to accomplish such feats? “I get a lot of support from my parents and awards from other solar projects,” she explains, adding the biggest challenge is building a functional prototype that proves the system’s viability. Oh, and not to mention the $95,000 in scholarships including the $70,000 TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Community Leadership which also means guaranteed employment with the Canadian banking giant. Although these scholarships are not monetary awards, meaning, they can’t be used to fund her research projects, any money Eden doesn’t have to spend on schooling is money she can put towards her research. Also, in May, she participated in the National Science Fair Competition in Winnipeg where she placed silver in the Environmental Innovation Senior category and bronze in the Engineering Senior category. And this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill, baking soda volcano competition either.

“For me, the most rewarding aspect of my work, at the end of the day, is being able to tell myself that I’m having fun with what I’m doing, but that I’m also helping a lot of people,” says Eden, who believes passion is a key ingredient to success. On her own time Eden’s passions include music, as she plays violin, bass guitar, acoustic guitar and piano, and caring for her love bird. Eden has also co-founded an environmental club at her school and works with other students to acquire research grants with the goal of developing solar panels for the school.

Finally, what advice does Eden have for others, especially those her age, who are concerned about environmental issues and want to make a real difference? “I think be innovative and persevering,” says Eden. “Do what you are passionate about, even if you don’t find a solution at first. You will encounter all sorts of bumps in the road, but keep going. You will find a solution.”

Quantum of Solar?

There are few quantum leaps in technologies. The few that do occur are especially noteworthy but, for the most part, developments are the result of years, sometimes decades, of research — which is the case with modern solar power.

So-called “passive” solar heating has been around for millennia; the ancient Greeks liked to orient their homes to capture natural heat. Modern glazing and other construction developments simply enhance that use of the sun’s rays. Much the same can be said for systems which use sunlight to heat water-cycling systems.

However, despite the high-tech fascination with photovoltaics, there is still considerable interest in the hot-water technology. Hence a new Solar Water Heating Program partly funded with $1.4 million from the federal ecoENERGY for Renewable Heat initiative. Led by Bullfrog Power, which bills itself as “Canada’s leading 100 per cent green electricity provider”, the program also involves Enbridge Gas Distribution and EnerWorks.

While Bullfrog is active in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, the latest funding will cover incentives and rebates for Ontario homeowners in Enbridge markets who want to install solar water heating. These systems can supply up to 60 per cent of an average home’s hot-water needs while cutting energy costs and reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions by one tonne. The systems also are eligible for the ecoENERGY Retrofit Homes Grant and the Home Renovation Tax Credit.

Places where the sun does indeed shine

Quick! Where is the weirdest place you’d expect to find a solar panel? If you said cemetery, give yourself five points. Outhouse garners ten points. If you said an Amish outhouse, ding! You’ve won the bonus prize.

A suburb of Barcelona has placed 462 solar panels over its multi-storey mausoleums. The solar panels cover less than 5% of the total surface area of the cemetery, but will create enough energy each year to supply the needs of 60 homes.

There are plans to install more, meaning the cemetery has the potential to triple the amount of electricity generated. One of only a few open, sunny places in the crowded city of 124,000, the cemetery but will keep about 62 tonnes of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere every year.

The West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island has a solar powered outhouse. Of course it does (and it’s lovely – sporting the best view from a loo in all of Canada). More surprisingly, the Amish are also the leading per-capita adopters of solar in Pennsylvania. Solar panels align with Amish values of self-sufficiency and moderation.

In Rizhao City, which means City of Sunshine in Chinese, 99 per cent of households in the central districts use solar water heaters, and most traffic signals, street and park lights are powered by photovoltaic (PV) solar cells.

It is encouraging that solar is becoming more and more accessible. Though initial reaction to solar cemeteries and outhouses was disdain, the public are generally embracing sunlight as the fuel of the future.

And if the Amish are doing it…

Fly me to the sun

Solar-powered calculators and emergency mobile phones may be nothing new, but these days solar panels are popping up in the quirkiest of places. Solar-powered backpacks, radios, flashlights, lighters and solar fans are no longer the fodder of Star Trek episodes.

 
The Solar fan, for example, can reduce the temperature by up to 40 degrees and save hundreds of dollars in energy bills. And the backpack will keep your cell phone, laptop and mp3 player charged all day long.

And who can live without a solar-powered mole and rodent repellent?

The Solar Moler uses harmless sonic sound waves to “fool” the rodent into believing that there is danger, causing it to flee the area of vibrations. Like most solar devices, it stores energy to a rechargeable battery which operates the unit at night for a full 48 hours. At $5.00 each, why would you go anywhere else for your rodent repelling needs?

What about the new solar-powered concept aircraft with its funky Z-wing configuration?

The shape of the aircraft has been designed to maximize exposure to the sun during the day and then be adjusted at night-time, when it can be spread flat for aerodynamic efficiency. Energy stored in onboard batteries is used to drive the aircraft’s electric motors. The plane has been engineered so that continuous flight can be maintained even if something goes awry. Primarily for gathering environmental data, the prototype is slated to be unveiled in 2013.

Really, Isaac Asimov would be impressed.

Nunavut Arctic College photovoltaics

A key challenge for solar power is that power production grinds to a halt when the sun isn’t shining – say, for example, at night. An obvious problem, one that seemingly can’t be avoided.

But what about moving solar power generation to where there is no night? It makes sense. Photovoltaic systems that convert solar energy into electricity work better in sunnier locations. Cloudy condition or shortened days diminish solar power generation capacity. Where better to take advantage of solar energy than the land of the midnight sun?

Iqaluit is the capital of Canada’s newest territory, Nunavut. Near the Arctic Circle (63° 45′ North latitude), it receives about 20 hours of sunlight per day in midsummer, and about five at winter solstice.

In July 1995, an advanced photovoltaic system was installed on the campus of Nunavut Arctic College. The project had two principal objectives. First, to publicize photovoltaic as a viable power source, especially in the Arctic.

Second, to document the long-term performance of a photovoltaic system in Canada’s northern territories. There had been fears the harsh (namely, very very cold) climate would be too hard on solar panels.

To that end, the University of Waterloo has closely monitored every facet of its operation. System output and efficiency can be measured down to the hour. The results are in. Not only has the system earned a pass, but flying colours – appropriate in the land of the northern lights.

During its first nine years of operation, the system has worked consistently and reliably. It has generated approximately 2,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year. That’s not a lot; the average American uses 600 – 800 kilowatt hours every month.

But the system has served its purpose – solar energy is irrefutably viable up north.

The brightest ideas of 2008

From ideas that are bright because of their simplicity to ideas that are simply bright. Check out the best and the brightest from 2008.

The expression “reliable as the tides” is an expression for a reason. The tides are as reliable as sunrise and sunset.  Finding ways to harness this cheap, renewable, and predictable energy source definitely counts as a bright idea.

If the downside to biofuels is diverting crops from food production…well, then what about using crops that have no food value?  Research into cellulosic biofuels such as switch grass aims to give us the best of both worlds.

Of course, a review of the year’s brightest posts should include the one titled “A Bright Idea.”  MIT’s announcement of new storage capabilities for solar power definitely qualifies.

Hydrogen fuel cells are the bogeyman of renewable energy sources – often threatened, seldom seen.  It’s never been cost-effective or efficient enough to be practical, but researchers at Penn State have discovered it might just be possible – even if just eventually.

« Previous Page — Next Page »