Solar power projects go truly off-the-grid in mobile
applications that range from practical if goofy solar panel-equipped Ray Bans to
donkeys that stroll around with photovoltaics mounted to their backs.
While some are just for fun, others have the (solar) power to bring electricity to remote places, or get around restrictions that hold back renewable energy progress.
It looks like an ordinary shrub. Then it starts
inexplicably rolling along the ground as if it has gained sentience a la the
plot of a particularly terrible horror movie from the 1950s. The Terrestrial
Shrub Rover by Justin Shull is a solar-powered, foliage-covered vehicle that
lets drivers explore new territories in disguise (as long as you wait to
actually drive it until after dark.) Cameras on the outside display the car’s
surroundings on screens within so you can see where you’re going.
Solar installations can be costly and time-consuming to
install, but load them into a shipping container so that they can pop right out
when it’s opened and you’ve got a convenient mobile solar power station. The
Ecos PowerCube is available in 10-foot, 20-foot and 40-foot ISO shipping
container footprints with solar panels hidden within protective drawers.
Batteries inside the container store power. Once unrolled, the panels increase the
size of the array to three times the footprint of the shipping containers.
The winning entry in a competition for inventions that can
make a significant difference to people with disabilities, this solar-powered
wheelchair can run continuously on the power of the sun. Designed by students
at the University of Virginia, the wheelchair features a custom-built
11-square-foot solar panel that doubles as a sun shade and enables the
wheelchair to travel indefinitely at 1mph without drawing power from the
battery.
The equivalent of a Roomba for your lawn, this open-source
robotic lawn mower runs entirely on solar power so you don’t have to sweat it
out on a hot summer day. No need to even control it via remote, since it’s
totally autonomous. If you’re handy with electronics, you can try making one
yourself – instructions are available at Open Electronics.
Even the most remote locations where vehicles are rarely
seen can have access to solar power when people get really creative – as they
have in this totally unexpected project utilizing donkeys in Turkey. As the
donkeys wander around during the day, solar panels mounted on their backs soak
up energy, enabling local nomads to charge cell phones, laptops and lights.
Resembling a roly-poly bug when the panels are all closed
up, the SunRed conceptual scooter is an ‘armored’ moped with a retractible
shell. The panels gather energy when the scooter is parked, offering enough
juice to give it a top speed of 30 miles per hour and 12 miles per charge.
Not all solar-powered transportation projects have to be
high-tech and high-concept. This one, by Nigerian student Segun Oyeyiola
retrofits a classic Volkswagen Beetle to run on solar and wind power for a
total cost of just $6,000. Relying mostly on donated and salvaged materials,
the solar-powered car has a reinforced suspension to support the weight of the
massive solar panel mounted to its roof. It takes about five hours in the sun
to charge the car’s battery.
If you’re going to be in the sun all day, without access to
power outlets, you might as well gather enough energy to keep your cell phone
charged. And while you could do that with any number of portable solar panels,
none of them are quite as quirky as this pair of sunglasses. Panels are built
right into the arms of the Ray Ban-inspired design. When the sun goes down,
just take the side off the glasses and plug it right into your iPhone 5.
Barely larger than a lunch box, this little device is a
solar-charging hub that can provide up to 40 cell phone charges per day in
areas where electricity is hard to come by. BuffaloGrid’s charger, which costs
about $425 to manufacture, is provided for free to entrepreneurs in the
community, who travel around offering it up to locals. Customers pay for the
service via a text to the company, and the operators receive a portion of that
revenue.
Sand and the sun may not seem like adequate materials to
produce much of anything, but industrial designer Markus Kayser puts them both
to work with a genius 3D printer. Powered by the sun, the printer turns the
sand into glass, producing all sorts of objects. And since it’s using plentiful
and natural sand rather than plastic, the possibilities are literally endless.
A second project, the Sun Cutter, uses concentrated sunlight to make precision
laser cuts.
Developed in just three days at India’s Nirma University,
this project simply mounts some solar panels onto a bike helmet to harness
enough energy while riding around to power up a phone. It takes just 40 minutes
of riding to gather up enough power, and the design could be replicated for as
little as $22.
It may just be a toy, but the solar-powered cockroach is an
interesting example of solar energy being integrated into toys or taken on the
go in totally unexpected ways. Sized to fit in the palm of your hand, it could
definitely catch people off-guard when placed in the sun near an unsuspecting
crowd.
While some are just for fun, others have the (solar) power to bring electricity to remote places, or get around restrictions that hold back renewable energy progress.
Shrub Rover Solar-Powered Camouflaged Car
Pop-Up Solar Power Station
Solar-Powered Wheelchair
Autonomous Solar-Powered Lawnmower
Freshwater Floating Solar Power Plant
The world’s largest freshwater solar power
plant will be installed over reservoirs and lakes in India’s southern state of
Kerala in a $72 million, 50 megawatt project. Using freshwater gets around the
problem of landowners overcharging for solar developments, with projects paying
rent to the owners of the bodies of water. The total cost will end up being
around 15 percent lower than equivalent land-based projects.
Solar Panels Carried by Donkeys in Turkey
Scooterdillo Solar-Powered Electric Scooter
DIY Solar Powered Car
iPhone-Charging Solar Ray Bans
Solar-Powered Tent for Aid Workers
The V Plus disaster relief tent features
built-in solar cells, a battery and LED lights to shelter aid workers
responding to natural disasters. It’s also a cool idea for camping in general.
Multiple units can be connected to accommodate larger groups.
Phone Charger for Developing Nations
SunCutter Off-Grid Laser Cutter & 3D Printer
Solar Bike Helmet Charges Phones
Solar-Powered Cockroach
Solar Bikini
While it’s not exactly suitable for
swimming, the solar-powered bikini by Andrew Schneider can definitely make a
day of sunbathing a little more productive by keeping your phone or mp3 player
juiced up. It’s made up of thin, flexible photovoltaic film strips for comfort
and costs about $200.
0 comments:
Post a Comment