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Our 12 Favorite Green Technologies
With all the excitement surrounding the worldwide push to “go green”, there have been some fascinating innovations that make it easy and even fun to save energy. Thanks to their creativity, we are entering an age where saving energy is almost as convenient as wasting it. Here are 12 green inventions that are helping us make this a cleaner planet.
Solar Powered Cell Phones
German researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute have created a prototype for the world’s first-ever solar powered cell phone. While full-fledged solar panels are still quite large and expensive, the researchers have integrated smaller, high-efficiency cells into the phones which, they claim, offers a module efficiency rate of 20%. In other words, the phone will stay steadily charged as long as it gets roughly 2 hours of sunlight per day. Failing that, the phone can still be charged via conventional methods.
Power Generating Revolving Doors
Ever feel like a farm animal when you’re passing through those huge glass revolving doors, bunched up next to other people who are probably feeling the same way? Well now, everyone can take heart in the fact that they are helping the environment each time they pass through these doors. The New York design firm Fluxxlab has created a revolving door that harnesses the kinetic energy of the door’s revolution and converts it to usable electricity. In a busy New York City or L.A. office building, this could add up to some serious, carbon-free power!
Ice Energy
With summer right around the corner, homeowners nationwide are dreading the huge spike in electricity bills that air conditioning season will cause. It is a pain virtually all homeowners know. Fortunately, one innovative company has stepped forward with a solution: Ice Energy, with their “Ice Bear” installation. The Ice Bear integrates with your air conditioner, freezing water overnight when the temperatures are lower and the electricity is (in most places) cheaper. During the day, the ice cools the air conditioner’s refrigerant instead of using fresh electricity to do it. The end result: roughly 30% energy savings when the AC is in use.
Bamboo Clothing
Clothing made out of bamboo, you ask? No, it’s not a joke, and it’s actually quite comfortable! Shirts Of Bamboo has found a way to turn this Panda snack into wearable items of clothing, ranging from shoes to bathroom attire to shirts and slacks. The secret to the eco-friendly use of bamboo lies in how fast it grows; a bamboo plant grows several feet per day and matures to full growth in only four years, compared to 25 years or more for average species of trees. Bamboo is also completely biodegradable, which translates to virtually no perceptible impact on the environment. Combine these great benefits with the fact the bamboo clothing is thermo-regulating, anti-microbial and requires no chemicals, and it’s a wonder more people aren’t wearing bamboo already!
Balloons That Harvest Solar Power
Cool Earth Solar has taken a radical approach to building a solar-power plant using a technique called concentrated solar photovoltaics, in which light is magnified onto solar cells to maximize electricity output. It plans to manufacture plastic balloons, which will be suspended on metal and wire structures. These round balloons reflect light onto a solar cell to generate electricity.
Because its design uses relatively cheap and readily available components, these solar concentrators can generate electricity at a cost comparable to that of natural-gas plants. The inflated solar collectors can withstand 100 mile-per-hour wind.
Wind-powered bicycle light
Everyone agrees that it’s far safer to ride a bike at night with a safety light that identifies you to motorists. The only problem is the dozens and potentially hundreds of batteries those lights will consume over a lifetime of riding. Luckily, a company called Duck has created a bicycle light that draws its power from the wind resistance you generate! As you pedal furiously into the sunset, the wind spins tiny blades that deliver electricity to a bright LED light via a hidden copper coil. A small, rechargeable lithium ion battery kicks in if and when you aren’t actively pedaling anywhere.
Solar Powered Aircraft
Don’t let the picture fool you: we can’t (yet) harness enough of the sun’s energy to get this plane off the ground. What these solar panels can do, however, is provide enough juice for the pilot to conduct his pre-takeoff diagnostics and checks. The panels also send a continuous flow of power to the plane during the flight, which translates to less fuel being consumed per flight. The savings will be huge when major carriers start incorporating solar technology into their commercial flights!
The Eco-Kettle
Most of us look forward to that fresh morning brew when we wake up and stretch out in the morning. Unfortunately, we also boil twice the volume of water that we actually need to boil our tea or coffee water. Think it’s a trivial amount? Think again: experts estimate that we’re wasting almost 50 light bulbs worth of energy each time we do this. So what’s a green coffee lover to do? Enter the Eco-Kettle, which you fill and regulate the amount of water you use with a measuring button that knows how much water you want. Just specify how much you need – a single cup up to a full jug. By the time you rush out the door with your coffee or tea in hand, you’ll have racked up a water savings of 30%!
Solar Powered Dehumidifiers
This device makes damp, uncomfortable indoor humidity a thing of the past! Using solar energy, musty, choke-inducing air inside your home or office is neutralized with fresh, dry, sun-warmed air from the great outdoors. Best of all, there are absolutely no running costs incurred by using the device, and your carbon footprint will be markedly reduced. Visit the link below to inquire about having a SolarVenti dehumidifier fitted for the outside of your home or office.
Green Roofs
While many cities are engaged in a death match with developers who want to encroach upon their green spaces, some municipalities are thinking outside the box and taking the fight to the rooftops. That’s right, the rooftops! In many cities, the roofs of buildings and office blocks now house gardens, flowers, and even fully-soiled and grown lawns of green grass. While this may sound silly at first blush, green roofs are far more than just an environmental affectation. This, experts say, may solve all of the world's problems. One financial benefit is lower air conditioning costs, as the green roofs cut down on the heat that gets trapped in the building. Many speculate that over time, green roofs will even improve the air quality in busy cities. It’s a win-win!
ISPs and Web Hosts
Can the Internet “go green?” Not only can it -- many portions of it already have.Most people don’t think much about the environmental impact of their web surfing, but consider this: The energy used for single users to log on is a fraction of the energy needed to keep sites up and running – sites that are on 24/7 using system servers.Virtualization software allows a web server to partition and run many different “virtual” servers on a single piece of hardware. This reduces the number of servers needed and translates into reduced energy use, less maintenance, and cost savings because there are fewer machines to purchase.In addition to finding technological solutions to “greening” the Internet, there is a growing list of ISPs and Web hosting companies that are committed to lowering the carbon footprints we all leave behind. Search for companies that use renewable energy resources, like wind-powered e-mail servers and solar-powered web servers. Or, sign up with services dedicated to developing programs for carbon neutral operations, working out of solar-powered offices, and donating a portion of company profits to support green organizations.
With all the excitement surrounding the worldwide push to “go green”, there have been some fascinating innovations that make it easy and even fun to save energy. Thanks to their creativity, we are entering an age where saving energy is almost as convenient as wasting it. Here are 12 green inventions that are helping us make this a cleaner planet.
Solar Powered Cell Phones
German researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute have created a prototype for the world’s first-ever solar powered cell phone. While full-fledged solar panels are still quite large and expensive, the researchers have integrated smaller, high-efficiency cells into the phones which, they claim, offers a module efficiency rate of 20%. In other words, the phone will stay steadily charged as long as it gets roughly 2 hours of sunlight per day. Failing that, the phone can still be charged via conventional methods.
Power Generating Revolving Doors
Ever feel like a farm animal when you’re passing through those huge glass revolving doors, bunched up next to other people who are probably feeling the same way? Well now, everyone can take heart in the fact that they are helping the environment each time they pass through these doors. The New York design firm Fluxxlab has created a revolving door that harnesses the kinetic energy of the door’s revolution and converts it to usable electricity. In a busy New York City or L.A. office building, this could add up to some serious, carbon-free power!
Ice Energy
With summer right around the corner, homeowners nationwide are dreading the huge spike in electricity bills that air conditioning season will cause. It is a pain virtually all homeowners know. Fortunately, one innovative company has stepped forward with a solution: Ice Energy, with their “Ice Bear” installation. The Ice Bear integrates with your air conditioner, freezing water overnight when the temperatures are lower and the electricity is (in most places) cheaper. During the day, the ice cools the air conditioner’s refrigerant instead of using fresh electricity to do it. The end result: roughly 30% energy savings when the AC is in use.
Bamboo Clothing
Clothing made out of bamboo, you ask? No, it’s not a joke, and it’s actually quite comfortable! Shirts Of Bamboo has found a way to turn this Panda snack into wearable items of clothing, ranging from shoes to bathroom attire to shirts and slacks. The secret to the eco-friendly use of bamboo lies in how fast it grows; a bamboo plant grows several feet per day and matures to full growth in only four years, compared to 25 years or more for average species of trees. Bamboo is also completely biodegradable, which translates to virtually no perceptible impact on the environment. Combine these great benefits with the fact the bamboo clothing is thermo-regulating, anti-microbial and requires no chemicals, and it’s a wonder more people aren’t wearing bamboo already!
Balloons That Harvest Solar Power
Cool Earth Solar has taken a radical approach to building a solar-power plant using a technique called concentrated solar photovoltaics, in which light is magnified onto solar cells to maximize electricity output. It plans to manufacture plastic balloons, which will be suspended on metal and wire structures. These round balloons reflect light onto a solar cell to generate electricity.
Because its design uses relatively cheap and readily available components, these solar concentrators can generate electricity at a cost comparable to that of natural-gas plants. The inflated solar collectors can withstand 100 mile-per-hour wind.
Wind-powered bicycle light
Everyone agrees that it’s far safer to ride a bike at night with a safety light that identifies you to motorists. The only problem is the dozens and potentially hundreds of batteries those lights will consume over a lifetime of riding. Luckily, a company called Duck has created a bicycle light that draws its power from the wind resistance you generate! As you pedal furiously into the sunset, the wind spins tiny blades that deliver electricity to a bright LED light via a hidden copper coil. A small, rechargeable lithium ion battery kicks in if and when you aren’t actively pedaling anywhere.
Solar Powered Aircraft
Don’t let the picture fool you: we can’t (yet) harness enough of the sun’s energy to get this plane off the ground. What these solar panels can do, however, is provide enough juice for the pilot to conduct his pre-takeoff diagnostics and checks. The panels also send a continuous flow of power to the plane during the flight, which translates to less fuel being consumed per flight. The savings will be huge when major carriers start incorporating solar technology into their commercial flights!
The Eco-Kettle
Most of us look forward to that fresh morning brew when we wake up and stretch out in the morning. Unfortunately, we also boil twice the volume of water that we actually need to boil our tea or coffee water. Think it’s a trivial amount? Think again: experts estimate that we’re wasting almost 50 light bulbs worth of energy each time we do this. So what’s a green coffee lover to do? Enter the Eco-Kettle, which you fill and regulate the amount of water you use with a measuring button that knows how much water you want. Just specify how much you need – a single cup up to a full jug. By the time you rush out the door with your coffee or tea in hand, you’ll have racked up a water savings of 30%!
Solar Powered Dehumidifiers
This device makes damp, uncomfortable indoor humidity a thing of the past! Using solar energy, musty, choke-inducing air inside your home or office is neutralized with fresh, dry, sun-warmed air from the great outdoors. Best of all, there are absolutely no running costs incurred by using the device, and your carbon footprint will be markedly reduced. Visit the link below to inquire about having a SolarVenti dehumidifier fitted for the outside of your home or office.
Green Roofs
While many cities are engaged in a death match with developers who want to encroach upon their green spaces, some municipalities are thinking outside the box and taking the fight to the rooftops. That’s right, the rooftops! In many cities, the roofs of buildings and office blocks now house gardens, flowers, and even fully-soiled and grown lawns of green grass. While this may sound silly at first blush, green roofs are far more than just an environmental affectation. This, experts say, may solve all of the world's problems. One financial benefit is lower air conditioning costs, as the green roofs cut down on the heat that gets trapped in the building. Many speculate that over time, green roofs will even improve the air quality in busy cities. It’s a win-win!
ISPs and Web Hosts
Can the Internet “go green?” Not only can it -- many portions of it already have.Most people don’t think much about the environmental impact of their web surfing, but consider this: The energy used for single users to log on is a fraction of the energy needed to keep sites up and running – sites that are on 24/7 using system servers.Virtualization software allows a web server to partition and run many different “virtual” servers on a single piece of hardware. This reduces the number of servers needed and translates into reduced energy use, less maintenance, and cost savings because there are fewer machines to purchase.In addition to finding technological solutions to “greening” the Internet, there is a growing list of ISPs and Web hosting companies that are committed to lowering the carbon footprints we all leave behind. Search for companies that use renewable energy resources, like wind-powered e-mail servers and solar-powered web servers. Or, sign up with services dedicated to developing programs for carbon neutral operations, working out of solar-powered offices, and donating a portion of company profits to support green organizations.
