Ideas for the world, FREE!
Posts tagged electricity
It’s not just finding renewable energy sources, it’s actually using them
Sep 25th
Ecotricity is a British electric company dedicated to changing the way electricity is produced. They take the money customers spend on electricity and invest it in clean forms of power like wind energy. Ecotricity is the only green electricity company actually building these new renewable energy sources. In 2007 alone they invested £25 million in wind energy. For every pound a customer spends on electricity, Ecotricity spends another pound on renewable energy.
The company has 33 wind parks either in operation (15), in construction (6), or in the planning process (12). This amounts to 108 wind turbines and 276,000 tonnes of CO2 saved every year. Over 40,000 homes and businesses are powered through Ecotricity, serving folks all over the United Kingdom.
The company has 33 wind parks either in operation (15), in construction (6), or in the planning process (12). This amounts to 108 wind turbines and 276,000 tonnes of CO2 saved every year. Over 40,000 homes and businesses are powered through Ecotricity, serving folks all over the United Kingdom.
Though Ecotricity specializes in wind energy, the company is also moving toward investing in green gas (biofuels essentially) and solar energy. They also have a program called Microtricity, where homes will get paid, you heard correctly, to create electricity out of their own homes. One kilowatt of solar panels for one home creates 850kWh of electricity, paying you £364/$571 a year tax-free. This saves about £64/$100 per year on the electric bill, combining to an annual benefit of £428/$671. With results like that, who wouldn’t want Ecotricity?
It’s nice to know poop’s good for something
Sep 24th
In one dog park in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dog owners can recycle the poop to light up the park at night.
The “Park Spark” poop converter is actually two steel, 500-gallon oil tanks painted a golden yellow, connected by diagonal black piping and attached to an old gaslight-style street lantern at the Pacific Street Park. Boston artist Matthew Mazzotta, who is not a dog owner, got the idea after he visited the park with a friend in 2009. Mazzotta had recently traveled to India and saw people there using poop in so-called “methane digesters” to cook food. As he watched the park’s trash can fill with bags of poop, he remarked to his friend, “In other countries, they use that.”
The “Park Spark” poop converter is actually two steel, 500-gallon oil tanks painted a golden yellow, connected by diagonal black piping and attached to an old gaslight-style street lantern at the Pacific Street Park. Boston artist Matthew Mazzotta, who is not a dog owner, got the idea after he visited the park with a friend in 2009. Mazzotta had recently traveled to India and saw people there using poop in so-called “methane digesters” to cook food. As he watched the park’s trash can fill with bags of poop, he remarked to his friend, “In other countries, they use that.”
Instead of putting bags of poop in the trash bin, signs on the tanks instruct owners to use biodegradable bags supplied on site to pick up the poop and deposit it into the left tank. People then turn a wheel to stir its insides, which contain waste and water. Microbes in the waste give off methane, an odorless gas that is fed through the tanks to the lamp and burned off. The park is small but has proven busy enough to ensure a steady supply of fuel.
Burning the methane, which is 30 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, helps the environment. With dogs dropping tons of poop in cities everywhere, Mazzotta thinks the idea of using its untapped power has broad appeal.The project was funded by a $4,000 grant from Council of the Arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Mazzotta earned a master’s degree in visual studies last year.
It’s Flying, with Style
Sep 15th
Efforts are underway to harness the wind in the upper layers of the atmosphere, which could contain as much as 870 terawatts of power — that’s 870 trillion watts! Being able to harness this energy has one significant advantage: it would take less raw material per watt of power, translating to a lower cost per watt.
One design, from Joby Energy, hopes to launch a 500-kilowatt winged turbine next year,. The company claims to be able to use just 20 tons of material per megawatt, compared to the conventional wind power industry average of 96 tons. In order to keep such a turbine from floating off into space, Joby plans to attach tether propellers with a cord. Makani Power’s idea is an airborne wind turbine, which launches when wind speeds reach 3.5 m/s. The turbine does not have any fuel or batteries and fliest crosswind in a circular pattern in order to generate power.
One design, from Joby Energy, hopes to launch a 500-kilowatt winged turbine next year,. The company claims to be able to use just 20 tons of material per megawatt, compared to the conventional wind power industry average of 96 tons. In order to keep such a turbine from floating off into space, Joby plans to attach tether propellers with a cord. Makani Power’s idea is an airborne wind turbine, which launches when wind speeds reach 3.5 m/s. The turbine does not have any fuel or batteries and fliest crosswind in a circular pattern in order to generate power.
Simple Design That Saves Lives
Sep 7th
This design would win any safety design contest hands down. The “safety plug”rides on the success of “simplicity”. Yes – the same factor the iPhone succeeded on. The design simply covers up the naked power points on a plug to make something safe even more safer. Designed keeping child safety in mind i think this is one of the best designs I have come across. Images after the break.
Save Electricity, and the Birds
Aug 26th
The Empire State Building will be turning off its lights in order to aid migratory birds. Over 90,000 birds die every year by crashing into skyscrapers because their lights attract birds right into the window.
Use what you have. Rwanda has an exploding lake
Aug 21st
Rwanda’s Lake Kivu is on the doorstep of Nyurangongo volcano, making the lake’s waters the secret hiding place for thousands of years worth of volcanic gases. The Rwandan government recently built a power plant on the lake’s shore, producing 3.6 megawatts of electricity. This is enough to power more than 4 percent of the country. Doesn’t seem like much, but plans are to utilize more of the Lake Kivu’s dynamite power to provide one-third of the country’s energy needs. There are worries that as global warming increases, the warmer surface temperatures of the water could release the toxic gases. But if the plant keeps using and providing an outlet for the toxic gases, this will prevent a dangerous build up of the gases underneath the lake’s surface.
Design: Making Pylons Look Beautiful
Aug 16th
An eye sore can be taken care of by making small changes to any design. Choi+Shine Architects did that with Pylons. Choi+Shine designed pylons that look like giants holding up power lines. The design was called “Land of the giants” and consisted of 7 different postures in which men and women held the high tension cables. The design utilizes a library of pre-built joints to attain postures with the same components – a head, torso, hands and legs. The design is unbuilt but inspiring. Pictures after the break.
Hey, Now We Have Wireless EV Chargers
Jul 30th
TThink only the iPhone can be charged wirelessly? Evatran has released the first wireless “Car Charger” for your plugin EV. This tech works thanks to magnetic induction via a wireless charging tower and an adapter on the car’s charging port. 2 drawbacks – 1- its wireless, so expect some energy loss while charging. 2- it will take out about $4300 of green from your pocket before a $2000 tax refund. But come on, do you want to bend you back and plug that wire into the car everyday? Guess the loss of green is worth it. So much for wired power! Wireless power is the way of the future and I think technologies like these will keep the world on track for wireless power. Remember the wireless induction charging article we had posted some time back? Link to the trial program and images after the break.
Make Your Walking Useful, Make Some Electricity.
Jul 28th
We talked about the vibration powered battery but this one takes the cake. How about generating electricity out of your daily walk? Designer Stephen Chan Wing Tak wants to make this happen through his peizoelectric sidewalk slabs. A 6 layer sidewalk slab consists of a material that can harness the energy stores in vibrations generated by your walking. The energy is used to light up an OLED display on the sidewalk that tells you where you are headed. A completely energy self sufficient system that could change the way people walk. Pictures after the break
DIY: More Nuclear Fusion Reactors
Jun 30th
More DIY Nuclear fusion reactors coming to the fore, this time built by a high school student. Thiago Olson built the nuclear fusion reactor out of parts purchased from a hardware store and ebay in 2006. Olson achieved nuclear fusion in his DIY reactor which fused atoms at some 200 mil degrees. No, the reactor does not power his house yet. Image of the reactor after the break.
