Solar Tree Sculpture Charges Your Gadgets

I think this solar gadget is aesthetically pleasing and very cool, almost as cools as it iYo. Using 54 solar panels, this metal solar tree sculpture will charge your iPod, cell phone, and digital camera. Furthermore, the branches are movable, so you can create your own unique shape for the solar tree whenever you feel the whim.

Via: Reevoo

H2GO Hydrogen-Powered Remote Control Cars: Be One of the First to Own One!

If you have ever had a remote control car, you know that you go through batteries like crazy. Master Replicas is featuring a hydrogen-powered remote control car called the H2GO. If you are one of the first 100 people to purchase this toy, Master Replica will donate two additional H2GO models to the school of your choice! Here's how the hydrogen-powered toy works:

The compact kit comprises a refueling station, a solar panel, a hydrogen-powered RC car and a remote control. The refueling station splits water by electrolysis into its elements, oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen is released and the hydrogen is pumped into the car, contained in a balloon in the car unit.

When the car is turned on, the hydrogen flows through another catalyst in the car causing a series of reactions that power the car. The reactions cause a flow of electrons that produce an electric current, which in turn powers the motors and back wheels.

The H2GO delivers the same performance as other R/C cars, according to their website. I have not tested this toy out, and I have not had much luck with hydrogen-powered toys. My family tried a hydrogen-powered rocket that broke after two days; however, the H2GO appears to be better constructed.

Toyota Adding Solar Panels to Prius to Power Air Conditioning

The Toyota Prius has long been the golden child of the environmental movement for its fuel economy. When the EPA changed the standards for reporting fuel economy on new car stickers to include the use of air conditioning, the hybrid Prius lost a few miles per gallon. That may all change, now that Toyota plans to install solar panels on the roof of high end models to power the AC. The Kyocera solar panels will produce between two to five kilowatts. Hopefully this power can be stored while the car is idle to power the electric motor too.  People just may have to think twice about parking in covered garages if solar panels become a regular feature on car roofs. 
Via: BBC and Treehugger

Learning from Plants: Major MIT Solar Discovery to Turn Every Home into a Power Plant

Click To Play

Using the process of photosynthesis as a model, MIT scientists have discovered a way to store solar energy when the sun is not shining. Current off-the-grid solar systems rely on expensive batteries to store excess power produced during the day for nighttime and cloudy day use, and these batteries need to be replaced every eight to ten years. MIT's Daniel Nocera has discovered a new process that uses a catalyst to split oxygen from hydrogen in water, in order that later it can be recombined as a fuel cell.

The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity -- whether from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source -- runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced.

Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis.

James Barber, the Ernst Chain Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College London, explained the implications of this discovery:

This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind. The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem.

Nocera thinks within 10 years, this new solar technology will be available to home owners. Via: MIT

Solar Charging Beach Chairs

It's time we start to integrate our power needs with our lounging life, and you can now safely do this with a solar charging beach chair. That's right - this chaise lounge has a panel over the head made of solar panel fabric that acts as a sunshade and moves to protect you from the sun, while at the same time it collects solar energy. It even has a built in charger, slide-out laptop table, and other nifty gizmos like a gaming holster device.

Via TreeHugger

Xantrex Xpower Powerpack Solar - Charge Your iPhone with the Sun's Help

What is this crazy looking gadget? The XPower Powerpack Solar is the first portable power pack that incorporates solar power in a compact, portable power source. It s completely self-renewing, which means the detachable 5-watt solar panel has the ability to recharge the power pack s 10 amp-hour battery.

The 5-watt solar panel captures, stores and converts the sun s renewable energy, replenishes the XPower Powerpack Solar s battery, and extends the runtime of many devices by up to 25 percent. Runs 120-volt AC or 12-volt DC products anywhere. Built-in 400-watt inverter. Two 120-volt AC outlets, one 12-volt DC socket and one USB port. Three-digit display for easy battery status monitoring. AC charger included so you can charge from a standard wall outlet.

At Xantrex Xpower Powerpack Solar

Solar and Wind Charging Power Tent for Music Festivals

Glastonbury Festival will have plenty of electricity thanks to U.K. mobile company Orange's green cellphone charging stations. The Gotwind REchargepod is the first mobile phone charging station powered solely by Wind and Solar Renewable Energy. The self sufficient pod provides a quick and secure place to charge multiple mobile phones whilst outdoors and away from traditional power sources. With a peak power of 1Kw, the pod can recharge 100 mobile phones per hour, and stores any unused energy in its battery bank.

And if that's not enough - a fully functional weather station and power generated and consumed readout is also viewable for all to see on an information panel within the pod.

Via Gizmodo at GotWind.org

Transparent Transistor Makes Solar Energy Twice as Efficient at Half the Cost

When we first purchased our solar panels 15 years ago, the standard rule of thumb was it would take 10 years before your solar investment would pay off in saved utility bills. Now, new technologies are changing all of that. HP and Xtreme Energetics, are teaming up to develop a solar energy system that works on transparent transistor technology. Made from zinc and tin, the transistors provide a transparent electronic mechanism that maximizes the concentration of light. Other new solar technologies, such as Nanosolar, may make solar energy cheaper than coal to produce.

Solar Thermal Power Could Supply 90 Percent of US Electrical Needs

Ausra Inc., a developer of utility-scale solar thermal power technology, has published a peer-reviewed study stating that over 90 percent of the U.S. electric grid energy needs, including the auto fleet, could be met by solar thermal power. David Mills, chief scientific officer and founder at Ausra, stated:

The U.S. could nearly eliminate our dependence on coal, oil and gas for electricity and transportation, drastically slashing global warming pollution without increasing costs for energy," . "This new study shows that our daily and annual energy needs closely match the energy production potential from solar thermal power plants with heat energy storage, and our models show solar thermal power will cost less than continuing to import oil.

Solar thermal power stations use mirrors to capture the sun's energy to boil water and drive steam turbines.

Solar Clock and Smoke Alarm All-in-One!

 
The less appliances and gadgets I have the better, so combining a wall clock with a smoke alarm sounds like a great idea to me. The Quantys Solar Clock requires solar charging once a year and doubles as a smoke alarm. This atomic clock is silent and perhaps the modern equivalent of a sundial using the sun to power its batteries.