pv panels as architectural surfaces. big box buildings will be able to collect energy.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Self Healing Skin
An article in Technology Review tells of a new plastic surface that can heal itself multiple times with out external intervention. The potential of this creates an efficiency of materials and energy use, thus creatting a smarter more efficient ecology of energy.
"Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have made a polymer material that can heal itself repeatedly when it cracks. It's a significant advance toward self-healing medical implants and self-repairing materials for use in airplanes and spacecraft. It could also be used for cooling microprocessors and electronic circuits, and it could pave the way toward plastic coatings that regenerate themselves. "
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By Prachi Patel
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Inkjet Printer Churns Out Cheap Plastic Solar Ribbons
We've already discussed Nanosolar's reel-to-reel solar press in some detail, but they're not the only ones working on solar printing. Indeed, Konarka has taken the process to a whole new level of simplicity by actually using an inkjet printer.
Using the existing technology like this allows for a significant reduction in costs, because the company doesn't have to invest in developing a whole new system. Of course, it's also bound to be slightly less perfect than if a printer were designed specifically for the cells. Nonetheless, these sheets of plastic film are flexible and inexpensive to produce.
Konarka expects to see uses for them in the same arena where they've already been successful -- mostly powering indoor sensors. But they also hope to use the new low-cost process to broaden their applications. They're already in talks with the people who run the LEED efficiency rating system about full panels for using in buildings.
Because the film is cheap, can convert non-direct light, and is flexible, applications are varied. Konarka's CEO told Popular Mechanics that they "constantly receive calls from innovators who have read about the cells and propose unique—sometimes wild and crazy—concepts for the technology."
We should see these printed plastic panels showing up in panels on rooftops in 2009, and by 2010, they may be available for purchase off the shelf at Home Depot.
Using the existing technology like this allows for a significant reduction in costs, because the company doesn't have to invest in developing a whole new system. Of course, it's also bound to be slightly less perfect than if a printer were designed specifically for the cells. Nonetheless, these sheets of plastic film are flexible and inexpensive to produce.
Konarka expects to see uses for them in the same arena where they've already been successful -- mostly powering indoor sensors. But they also hope to use the new low-cost process to broaden their applications. They're already in talks with the people who run the LEED efficiency rating system about full panels for using in buildings.
Because the film is cheap, can convert non-direct light, and is flexible, applications are varied. Konarka's CEO told Popular Mechanics that they "constantly receive calls from innovators who have read about the cells and propose unique—sometimes wild and crazy—concepts for the technology."
We should see these printed plastic panels showing up in panels on rooftops in 2009, and by 2010, they may be available for purchase off the shelf at Home Depot.
Provided by ecogeek.org 
Solar-Collecting Roads Heat Buildings in The Netherlands
Solar is a highly efficient way to heat water. Combine it with underground storage, and a year-round system can be created where the system can cover heating requirements in the winter and cooling in the summer. The Dutch company Ooms Avenhorn Holding BV has taken this concept and moved it a step forward with the Road Energy System® (RES).
Rather than putting tubes on a rooftop, RES lays the collection system within concrete -- think the black asphalt of a road or runway. The piping connects to undeground storage areas. Remember the last time you walked on black asphalt on a sunny August day and you understand the heat being transferred into the water in the pipes. This water is then transferred into the storage area. On demand, in cold weather, the hot water is used to heat buildings and to keep the road above freezing. After cooling, the water is moved into cold storage to provide air conditioning for summer months. A year round solar/geothermal heating/cooling system for both the road and buildings. The renewable combo greatly reduces electricity requirements (and thus pollution) and the cooling/heating of the road reduces maintenance requirements (and lowers/eliminates deicing and plowing requirements in winter).
And it is deployed. "Solar Energy collected from a 200-yard stretch of road and a small parking lot helps heat a 70-unit four-story apartment building in the northern village of Avenhorn. An industrial park of some 160,000 square feet in the nearby city of Hoorn is kept warm in winter with the help of heat stored during the summer from 36,000 square feet of pavement. The runways of a Dutch air force base in the south supply heat for its hangar."
Provided by ecogeek.org
Rather than putting tubes on a rooftop, RES lays the collection system within concrete -- think the black asphalt of a road or runway. The piping connects to undeground storage areas. Remember the last time you walked on black asphalt on a sunny August day and you understand the heat being transferred into the water in the pipes. This water is then transferred into the storage area. On demand, in cold weather, the hot water is used to heat buildings and to keep the road above freezing. After cooling, the water is moved into cold storage to provide air conditioning for summer months. A year round solar/geothermal heating/cooling system for both the road and buildings. The renewable combo greatly reduces electricity requirements (and thus pollution) and the cooling/heating of the road reduces maintenance requirements (and lowers/eliminates deicing and plowing requirements in winter).
And it is deployed. "Solar Energy collected from a 200-yard stretch of road and a small parking lot helps heat a 70-unit four-story apartment building in the northern village of Avenhorn. An industrial park of some 160,000 square feet in the nearby city of Hoorn is kept warm in winter with the help of heat stored during the summer from 36,000 square feet of pavement. The runways of a Dutch air force base in the south supply heat for its hangar."
Provided by ecogeek.org
Flying "SuperTurbines" Could Capture Far More Wind Power
Two technologies that we are unabashedly in love with here at EcoGeek are wind power and lighter-than-air craft. So a system that combines blimps and wind turbines is certain to draw our attention.
{digg}http://digg.com/environment/Flying_SuperTurbines_To_Capture_More_Wind_Power_PICS{/digg}With wind turbines, most schemes to increase power have focused on increasing the swept area of the blades and improving their aerodynamic performance. But that's not the only way to do it. The Selsam SuperTurbine is a concept for a multiblade wind turbine for either land-based or off-shore installations. With the smaller swept area of each individual rotor, this turbine promises to be less visually obtrusive than other types of off-shore turbines. A design featuring a simple stalk with multiple sets of rotors all turning a shared axle allows this turbine design to produce more power despite the smaller swept area.
In off-shore installations, the Selsam turbine can also be lowered, or even submerged, in violent storm conditions in order to protect the turbine from damage. This ability also makes maintenance and repair work easier, rather than needing to have workers scaling multiple-hundreds of feet to access them. For larger scale generation (over 1 megawatt), the blimp-lofted design would have dozens of rotor sets along the axle in order to turn the generator, and the weight of the axle would be supported by a blimp to lift the far end.
Obviously, a lot of work will have to be done to determine whether this system truly could increase the financial viability of wind power. But for pure inspiration and beauty we have to give Selsam our most enthusiastic thumbs up.
Provided by ecogeek.org.jpg)
{digg}http://digg.com/environment/Flying_SuperTurbines_To_Capture_More_Wind_Power_PICS{/digg}With wind turbines, most schemes to increase power have focused on increasing the swept area of the blades and improving their aerodynamic performance. But that's not the only way to do it. The Selsam SuperTurbine is a concept for a multiblade wind turbine for either land-based or off-shore installations. With the smaller swept area of each individual rotor, this turbine promises to be less visually obtrusive than other types of off-shore turbines. A design featuring a simple stalk with multiple sets of rotors all turning a shared axle allows this turbine design to produce more power despite the smaller swept area.
In off-shore installations, the Selsam turbine can also be lowered, or even submerged, in violent storm conditions in order to protect the turbine from damage. This ability also makes maintenance and repair work easier, rather than needing to have workers scaling multiple-hundreds of feet to access them. For larger scale generation (over 1 megawatt), the blimp-lofted design would have dozens of rotor sets along the axle in order to turn the generator, and the weight of the axle would be supported by a blimp to lift the far end.
Obviously, a lot of work will have to be done to determine whether this system truly could increase the financial viability of wind power. But for pure inspiration and beauty we have to give Selsam our most enthusiastic thumbs up.
Provided by ecogeek.org
.jpg)
Spinning Blimp Wind Turbines Take Test Flight!
Magenn Power Inc. has moved forward and begun testing a prototype of their MARS (Magenn Air Rotor System) inside an old US Navy airship hangar before beginning outdoor trials at a customer's site in a few weeks. The MARS is a lighter-than-air turbine which is tethered to the ground between 300 and 1000 feet (roughly 90 to 300 meters) with conducting cables that transmit electricity to the ground. It is basically a blimp with its body configured with blades to catch the wind in order to generate power.
The MARS can be quickly deployed without extensive site-preparation or construction, and can reach higher into the atmosphere than traditional turbines, making it better suited for use on sites where the land is not flat. It is also better suited for providing power to remote, off-grid locations. Because the equipment is lightweight and readily transportable, it could make access to power for remote villages easier to supply. And, with its much higher reach, it provides an opportunity to use wind power in locations where a tower mounted turbine would not get enough wind to be useful.
Magenn plans to begin installing their turbines starting next year. According to the company, four units are expected to be installed next year. The first MARS turbines are going to be roughly 25 x 65 feet (7.6 x 19.8 meters) and will produce up to 10 kW. Apparently plans for a smaller-sized MARS turbine have been put aside for now. However, future versions of the MARS could reach much larger sizes and be capable of generating up to 2000 kW. The company says the price for a 10-25 kW MARS unit is yet to be determined, but is expected to be in the range of $3 to $5 per watt. Comparabl with current wind technology.
The MARS can be quickly deployed without extensive site-preparation or construction, and can reach higher into the atmosphere than traditional turbines, making it better suited for use on sites where the land is not flat. It is also better suited for providing power to remote, off-grid locations. Because the equipment is lightweight and readily transportable, it could make access to power for remote villages easier to supply. And, with its much higher reach, it provides an opportunity to use wind power in locations where a tower mounted turbine would not get enough wind to be useful.
Magenn plans to begin installing their turbines starting next year. According to the company, four units are expected to be installed next year. The first MARS turbines are going to be roughly 25 x 65 feet (7.6 x 19.8 meters) and will produce up to 10 kW. Apparently plans for a smaller-sized MARS turbine have been put aside for now. However, future versions of the MARS could reach much larger sizes and be capable of generating up to 2000 kW. The company says the price for a 10-25 kW MARS unit is yet to be determined, but is expected to be in the range of $3 to $5 per watt. Comparabl with current wind technology.
Provided by ecogeek.org
Hairy" Solar Could Radically Boost Solar Cell Efficiency
Two research teams have independently developed methods to produce nanowires that could lead to a dramatic improvement in solar photovoltaic cell efficiency. In both cases, the basic concept is the same, to use nanowires for more efficient conduction of electrons from the collection surface of a solar cell to an electrode.
The first technique, developed by researchers at UC San Diego, creates ‘hairy’ solar cells, only visible at a microscopic level. In fact, the hairs are nanowires, tiny metallic or silicon structures used to complete very small circuits. Researchers were able to grow nanowires directly onto a cheap conductive surface made of indium tin oxide. Nanowires were then coated with an organic polymer.
The second team, a consortium between three German universities (Jena, Gottingen and Bremen) and Harvard, has developed a technique to bond nanowires with spun glass. The approach is based on a kind of high-tech ‘sandwich,’ whereby nanowires are placed between a highly conductive bottom layer and a metallic top one, with spun-on glass forming a ‘spacer layer’ to prevent the circuit from shorting. This means that current can run smoothly along the nanowires and could lead to a completely new class of efficient integrated circuits.
There are still a few teething problems with the San Diego approach, the chief one being that the polymer layer currently degrades when exposed to air. However, if either approach can be made to work on a commercial scale, it could lead to smaller, cheaper and easier to install panels. Perhaps we’ve just moved one small step closer to a solar future.
Provided by ecogeek.org
The first technique, developed by researchers at UC San Diego, creates ‘hairy’ solar cells, only visible at a microscopic level. In fact, the hairs are nanowires, tiny metallic or silicon structures used to complete very small circuits. Researchers were able to grow nanowires directly onto a cheap conductive surface made of indium tin oxide. Nanowires were then coated with an organic polymer.
The second team, a consortium between three German universities (Jena, Gottingen and Bremen) and Harvard, has developed a technique to bond nanowires with spun glass. The approach is based on a kind of high-tech ‘sandwich,’ whereby nanowires are placed between a highly conductive bottom layer and a metallic top one, with spun-on glass forming a ‘spacer layer’ to prevent the circuit from shorting. This means that current can run smoothly along the nanowires and could lead to a completely new class of efficient integrated circuits.
There are still a few teething problems with the San Diego approach, the chief one being that the polymer layer currently degrades when exposed to air. However, if either approach can be made to work on a commercial scale, it could lead to smaller, cheaper and easier to install panels. Perhaps we’ve just moved one small step closer to a solar future.
Provided by ecogeek.org
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