Clean & Green Technology

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1. Hotel offers free meal to guests who are willing to generate electricity

The Crown Plaza Hotel in Copenhagen , Denmark , is offering a free meal to any guest who is able to produce electricity for the hotel on an exercise bike attached to a generator. Guests will have to produce at least 10 watt hours of electricity - roughly 15 minutes of cycling for someone of average fitness. They will then be given meal vouchers worth $36 (26 euros).

2. Disco pub gets electricity produced by people dancing at specially modified dance floor

All the flashing strobes and pounding speakers at the dance club are massive consumers of electrical power. So Bar Surya, in London, re-outfitted its floor with springs that, when compressed by dancers, could produce electrical current that would be stored in batteries and used to offset some of the club's electrical burden. The club's owner, Andrew Charalambous, said the dance floor can now power 60 percent of the club's energy needs.

3. Company creates a desktop printer that doesn't use ink nor paper

Who says printers only use paper to print documents? It's time for you to meet the PrePeat Printer then. Different from conventional printers, PrePeat adopts a thermal head to print on specially-made plastic sheets. These plastic sheets are not merely water-proof, but could be easily erased, just feed the sheets through the printer again, and a different temperature will erase everything or just write over it. Also claimed by the manufacturer, such one sheet could be used up to 1,000 times so that you'll reduce your expenses on paper for sure.

4. University constructs a green roof as a gathering place

Green design is an enormously popular trend in modern architecture, just take a look at this amazing green roof at the School of Art , Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore . This 5-story facility sweeps a wooded corner of the campus with an organic, vegetated form that blends landscape and structure, nature and high-tech and symbolizes the creativity it houses. The roofs serve as informal gathering spaces challenging linear ideas and stirring perception. The roofs create open space, insulate the building, cool the surrounding air and harvest rainwater for landscaping irrigation. Planted grasses mix with native greenery to colonize the building and bond it to the setting.

5. Designer creates a sink that uses wasted water to grow a plant

Made of polished stained concrete, the Zen Garden Sink has a channel that allows the water used while washing your hands to water a plant. Created by young Montreal designer Jean-Michel Gauvreau the sink comes in single or double basin model. The sink is designed in a way you won't get your plants all soapy. There is a main drain at the bottom of the basin for soapy grime. Your little plant friend just gets whatever you choose to dole out.

6. Designer creates a shower that forces you to leave when you've wasted too much water

20% of our total domestic energy usage is from hot water for showering and bathing. That's over 6 times the energy usage of domestic lighting. So designer Tommaso Colia came up with his eco-friendly shower design that will force you to get out when you take too long and waste much water. The eco_drop shower features beautiful concentric circles that will rise to force you to stop showering when you take too long, and accordingly save water.

7. Designer creates light-switch that changes colors to teach children how to save energy

Teaching the importance of energy conservation is the goal of this design from Tim Holley. He calls it Tio, and it's a ghost-shaped light switch that gives kids a visual reminder of how much energy they've used by leaving lights on. Tio starts out green and smiling. If the light is left on for more than four hours, he turns yellow and looks shocked. And if you dare to leave that light on for more than eight hours, sweet little Tio turns into a raging red hulk, complete with frowny mouth and angry eyes. But he won't just visually remind your kids about their energy habits; information from the light switch is sent to Tio's computer program so the entire family can see how they're doing. In a brilliant piece of visual positive reinforcement, Holley's program lets kids grow a “virtual tree†which gets bigger and healthier the more energy they save.

8. Environmental company creates a staple-free stapler to avoid staple pollution

Staples are supposed to be so bad to the environment that a company decided to create a staple-free stapler. This product promises to make collation eco-friendly. Instead of using those thin metal planet-killers, the staple-free stapler "cuts out tiny strips of paper and uses the strips to stitch up to five pieces of paper together." You can even order them customized with your corporate logo so you can, you know, brag about what your company is doing to stop the staple epidemic.

9. Designer creates an iPhone charger powered by a hand grip

A green idea that gives you a great hand workout as well. Charge your iPhone by a hand grip! This concept is called You can work it out, designed by Mac Funamizu.

 

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Plug and Play​

The fast, clean, green automobile is no longer a dream. It's right around the corner and coming soon to your driveway.

Tesla Roadster: The fashion statement of the moment, this enviable ride costs $120,000, goes from 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds, and can travel as much as 250 miles on a single charge. The first offering from Tesla, a Silicon-Valley start-up run by PayPal founder Elon Musk, the Roadster has been showered with unmatched love in the form of U.S. federal dollars ($249 million and counting) and celebrity customers (Matt Damon, George Clooney, Dustin Hoffman). But production delays have been a concern, and the competition is nipping at its heels.

Jaguar C-X75: This sleek supercar will have four electric motors plus two micro gas turbines, which collectively should be able to take the vehicle from 0 to 60 miles per hour (mph) in 3.4 seconds, with a top speed of 205 mph. But the cutting-edge technology isn't quite showroom-ready yet -- Jaguar says it will take more time to perfect the gas turbines. When it does, estimates are that the model will cost about $300,000.

Audi e-tron: This luxury sports car is still in the concept stage, but its four electric motors, with an advertised range of 154 miles on a single charge, and ability to jump from 0 to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds will land it firmly at the high end of the electric-car market, between Jaguar's and Tesla's entries. Like virtually all the new electric models, it relies on lithium-ion technology. When the E-tron finally hits showrooms -- in 2012 or so -- look for the price to be north of $200,000.

 

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BYD e6: China's most buzzed-about car company -- it counts Warren Buffett among is investors -- has been pummeled by sluggish electric-vehicle sales at home. But founder Wang Chuanfu insists that BYD's e6 electric crossover will be a winner abroad, where it's supposedly to launch imminently with planned marketing campaigns in Europe and the United States. The price hasn't been announced, but Wang says the car will go 186 miles on a single charge.

Chevrolet Volt: Much attention is focused on the launch of the Volt, the first major U.S. entry to the hybrid-electric market. It is priced at a steep-for-its-size $41,000 ($33,000 with rebate), raising the question of who exactly will buy it. One selling point of the plug-in hybrid over its pure electric rivals: The Volt will travel 40 miles on its battery alone, at which point its internal combustion engine kicks in to provide supplemental power, thus averting "range anxiety" -- a malady suffered by would-be electric-car buyers.

Nissan Leaf: Next to the Chevy Volt, the mid-market electric Leaf has the most buzz on the street. It is Japan's hottest electric car offering at the moment, an all-electric high-tech hatchback with the bells and whistles necessary to impress the gadget crowd (Bluetooth, fueling-station finder). Another advantage over many of its competitors: It actually exists. In fact, Lance Armstrong already has one. For the rest of us, the Leaf will be appearing in showrooms later this year, for about $25,000 after the U.S. government's rebate.

 

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Fisker Karma Sunset convertible: Another prestige entry. With breathtaking confidence, the new U.S. carmaker Fisker will charge north of $120,000 for this Finland-manufactured plug-in hybrid competitor for the Tesla Roadster. The lithium-ion battery will take it 50 miles before the gasoline-powered engine gives it an ultimate range of 250 miles.

Ford Focus EV: This pure electric vehicle will be a competitor to the much-promoted Nissan Leaf, but Ford has taken a different tack: Rather than design an entirely new vehicle, the company is using a body from the gasoline-driven Focus, and outfitting it with an electric drive. It is expected to be launched at the end of 2011.

Mitsubishi i MiEV: This pint-size hatchback is getting a lot of traction -- not only is Mitsubishi trotting out its model, but it has sold the technology to European carmakers that will roll out rebranded offerings, such as Peugeot's iOn and Citroën's C-ZERO. The Mitsubishi might be a hit in Japan and Europe, which appreciate Thumbelina-size vehicles, but what about the United States, where small city cars have yet to take off?

 

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Renault Fluence Z.E. and Kangoo Z.E.: These cars, due to be released at first only in Europe, come with an interesting twist: The batteries are removable, not built into the vehicle like standard advanced batteries, and leased by the mile. The system is tailor-made for Better Place, the company run by Shai Agassi, who will use them to road-test his big idea of creating one-size-fits-all car batteries (think Edison and light bulbs) that motorists can rent in a few moments at a fueling station instead of waiting hours for a recharge.

Toyota Prius: The original modern hybrid is still the car to beat. Toyota has not yet pushed the Prius into the lithium-ion age, choosing to continue relying on nickel-metal-hydride batteries, but the get-out-the-bugs experience of 13 prior model years is a significant advantage.

Volkswagen Touareg: One of the only diesel hybrids on the market, the Touareg SUV can go 30 miles on a charge, complemented by all the longevity and fuel efficiency for which diesel-powered motors are known. It's priced in the mid-range at an estimated $42,000.

 

[anoop_mig25]

i think first idea of renting a batter is good one or rather why can both in a car i mean if one is using car daily then charing bateery of car is better option but suppose car is used during vacation purpose then replacing the discharged battery with charged one is better

 

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Solar Hybrid UPS​

This type of UPS is both cost-effective and easy to install. It is also one of the ways in which a company can go about adopting green technologies. By Manjari Juneja

In view of the huge demand supply gap in the Indian power sector, large scale use of solar energy is imperative, especially given the abundant sunshine available all over the country throughout the year. There is an opportunity, which is being created due to the gross failure of the Indian power generation system. That opportunity is what a lot of power equipment manufacturers are banking on.

After the National Solar mission was launched last year under the National Action Plan on Climate change, wherein the target is to achieve about 20 gigawatts of solar power by 2022, the concept of a solar hybrid UPS has taken off. A solar hybrid system is basically a battery-based UPS, which apart from taking in AC power, can also take power from solar panels, DC power, and finally output AC.

Solar hybrid technology is a green technology that enterprises can employ. Most IT companies have a green mandate from their corporate body to source at least some percentage of their energy through green means.

Ganesh Ramamoorthy, Principal Research Analyst, Gartner, said, "Solar hybrid technology involves the supplementary combination of AC as well as DC. It has a direct implication for UPS applications. The power output from any solar system is DC, so it makes sense to have a supplementary solar module which gives you DC and then that DC can be converted into AC using the same equipment. The idea is to bring in solar technology with the current UPS that you have and then providing the supplementary/ auxiliary power unit that you want."

In the context of solar hybrid UPS, the government is offering Rs. 19 per watt in the form of subsidy. It is also giving soft loans for the balance amount. A person who goes for a 1,000 watt (1KW) solar hybrid UPS along with a battery will get Rs. 19 per watt as subsidy. Also, on the remaining amount, he will get a soft loan with a reduced interest rate, which is around 4-5%. It is making customers look at it as a superior alternative.

How it works

Solar UPS have chargers that make appropriate use of solar panels. These can be used for all types of loads and can be availed at nominal prices.

A Solar UPS is designed keeping in view the specific requirements of generating AC mains power from the solar photovoltaic panels arranged in series and parallel combinations to get the desired output at the desired current capacity. The UPS is not directly connected to the panels. The panel modules, so arranged, charge the batteries during the daytime and the UPS will derive the power for inversion from batteries charged in this manner. The unit is designed to operate as a standalone source of power and in no way does the mains utility from the electric company come into the picture. The UPS has no changeover scheme as it is on whenever needed, irrespective of the time of the day.

The unit basically consists of two parts—a charge controller and inverter. The charge controller is required primarily to prevent overcharging of batteries. An additional LVD circuit is incorporated when a moderate DC load is to be controlled. In a Solar UPS, it is used to prevent overcharging of batteries, reverse connection of battery and reverse flow of current during the night. LVD action is carried out in the inverter circuitry. Batteries are always operated in their safe window of permissible high and low limits of terminal voltage.

An inverter is required to convert the DC voltage of a battery to the required AC power. The net power output of these solar hybrid systems is 5-10 KV.

Solar power products
These can be categorized into three varieties:
Solar charger It is used to charge the battery and give the power to 24V or 48V telecom equipment. The output is DC
Hybrid system Where the input power is either solar or normal AC, which feeds the battery as well as the load. When the AC input power is unavailable and the battery starts discharging, solar input power comes to the rescue
Grid connected inverter The government is subsidizing solar power-based products and it is offering approximately Rs. 19 per unit of solar power generated through this technology

Global demand for solar energy is expected to grow over 80% in 2010 and, in India, it is likely to grow fivefold to 150 MW. In the longer term, the Indian market is poised to become a world-scale market by 2022, stimulated by the supportive policies announced by the Government of India.

The solar power market is growing at a healthy trend of about 20% in India. The overall power industry is pegged at $500 million of which 10 MW is the capacity expected to be generated by solar hybrid systems.

Venkat Rao, Country Manager, Medium and Large UPS, Emerson Network Power, said, "After the central government came out with a policy and introduced incentives, the solar hybrid UPS market has picked up. Earlier, it was dormant and only a few organizations or the government used to go for it, owing to the cost. However, now, the government has subsidized this product and it is also giving lots of incentives, which is why people are looking at it quite seriously."

According to Gartner, the market for Solar Hybrid UPS is in bits and pockets. It is in demand in areas where load shedding is frequent and power outages are common. For SMBs or very small industrial units, power supply is a huge concern and the usage of UPS is high. Solar hybrid UPS is relevant for these markets in India.

Region-specific growth would vary in India. On an average, across India, the growth would be between 30-35% depending on the state.

Where the power problem is acute, the growth rate in those regions could be higher than this average.

Benefits of this technology

As the source of energy is light and the panel life is approximately 20 years, it is a win-win situation to go in for solar hybrid UPS. The OPEX is literally zero when it comes to these devices although the initial investment is high. Nevertheless, you can reap the benefits for the next 20 years.

Conventional systems are dependent on AC input power and the cost amounts to the total electricity consumed from the pole for which you have to pay. In hybrid systems, during the day, the system relies on solar energy and it does not consume AC power, which makes it a zero cost system except for the initial investment, which is why people are going in for this technology.

Applications such as rural electrification, rural banking, rural industries, offload platform requirement, domestic requirements etc. are driving the growth of this category.

Challenges

Challenges for this market include a high cost of generation. CAPEX is usually two to three times that of conventional methods.

The other major cost is with regard to the acquisition of photovoltaic panels. Reduction in the cost of these panels will be key to the overall adoption of solar power-based products.

Efficiency of the panels is another issue. Till now the efficiency of the panel ranges from 12-18%. This must go up and it may take time as this technology is still evolving.

"Also, the area required for these panels is too huge. You can't keep solar panels just anywhere. It should be south facing and a number of other considerations need to be kept in mind. To generate one MW of solar energy, the power panels require five acres of land," added Rao.

For manufacturers, the biggest challenge would be to see how much energy is going to be generated from a unit and how to push these units in the consumer segment. They will also have to figure out how to enhance battery capacity.

Future of coexistence

Solar UPS technology will not replace existing UPS. Rather, it will coexist with conventional systems as the total need for these cannot be fulfilled by solar hybrid systems. The key to mass adoption is going to be cost reduction, which will not happen without achieving large-scale supply.

Recently, the nuclear liability bill was also passed. This means that, after some years, we will see nuclear power coming into the picture. With nuclear power stations installed in India, it will fill in the power demand and supply gap. As and when the power generation system in India gets better, the market for UPS will diminish.

[email protected]

 

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India Plugs into Low-Cost Solar Technology​

ndia seems to excel at making things smaller and cheaper. The $2,500 car and the $35 computer are just two of the country's latest innovations. Now, India increasingly is focused on low-cost solar technology. The front lines of that effort are seen in a tiny village in the Indian state of Rajasthan called Tiloniya.

In this sunlit workshop, Tenzing Chonzom solders parts onto a device that regulates electrical currents. It will eventually be connected to a solar panel, allowing it to power everything from lamps to laptops.

Make low-cost solar panels

Chonzom says she was chosen by her community to come here to learn about solar technology. She says she will take the knowledge back to the villages where she lives. She says many people in her region, in the Himalayan foothills, still do not have access to electricity.

Chonzom is 50 years old, and one of two dozen people being trained here as solar engineers. Most have had no formal education. It is all part of a program to help India's rural poor by teaching them to make and install low-cost solar panels. Then they teach others to do the same. It is called Barefoot College, and so far it has trained thousands. Sanjit Bunker Roy started the program 25 years ago.

"You have to see how you can demystify the technology and bring it down to the community level so that they can manage, control and own the technology," said Roy.

Roy is among Time Magazine's Top 100 most influential people for 2010. He says grassroots solar technology is crucial for India. Nearly half the country's rural population – more than 300 million people – has either no electricity or just a few hours of it a day.

That limits how much people can do in a day, whether its homework or handicrafts.

Tapping local ingenuity
To help, Roy says he did what World Bank and U.N. aid projects often fail to do – that is, tap into the local ingenuity he sees every day.

"You'll find it everywhere in India, this infinite capacity to be able to improvise and fix things without having gone through any formal education," he added. "They have this incredible inbuilt skill that we haven't been able to define, appreciate or respect yet."

Women built solar cooker

As if to illustrate their inbuilt skill, Roy points out a solar cooker that some of the women at Barefoot College helped design and build. At its heart is a "solar tracker" made of old bicycle sprockets, springs and rocks. It allows a parabolic mirror – also homemade and about the size of a satellite TV dish – to follow the arc of the sun, focusing its rays into an aluminum stove. All the meals at the college are cooked on it.

One of its main designers is Sita Devi, a 30-year-old mother of two with only a third-grade education.

She says she wanted to make a solar cooker with materials that are easily available, even in remote villages. She says the cooker saves time – and the environment – by reducing the need for women to wander outside the village in search of firewood for cooking.

In this song, Devi and other women of the Barefoot Brigade extol the benefits of their solar cookers and lamps.

Roy says his program merely provides the space for the women to develop self-confidence. He says that is what drives the Barefoot Brigade's success in bringing power to more than 450 rural villages.

 

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Renewable Energy Technologies in India​

By Venkat Raj

Creating an environment conducive to promote renewable energy technologies is the need of the hour. Our country is blessed with plenty of renewable energy resources. Wind Energy, Solar Energy, Biomass, Geothermal Energy, Ocean Energy and the Energy from Wastes constitute the major alternative to the conventional sources. Though the Renewable Energy Scenario in India looks encouraging, we need to look into a long term strategy to manage the future energy needs. In managing the energy crisis, where do we stand and where are we heading to?

Research shows that an energy mix, with wind energy providing 30%, solar energy 20% and gas turbines (biogas and natural gas) a further 20%, is technically and economically viable. It may soon be possible to imagine a scenario where most of the electricity we use comes from renewable energy sources. We will thus be able to prevent climate change by lessening the emission of greenhouse gases.

But we also need to understand that there are some conceptual hurdles that we have to overcome. Recent research reveal that all the carbon dioxide emissions, in combination with other greenhouse gases, from all the cars and trucks, has emerged as one of the primary causes of global warming.

We know well how global warming endangers human health and welfare. The switch from coal and other fossil fuels to greener wind-based energy will mitigate CO2 emissions, thereby reducing pollution. Even though wind power is mainly an energy resource that replaces fossil power generation, it can also be used for replacing existing power plant capacity.


Solar Cell Panel
In areas where wind power production is high during peak demand, wind power can be used to replace the fall in capacity by up to 40% of the installed wind power capacity. Wind energy might one day become a commonly used clean, renewable, viable source of energy for everyone to use, which would counter the environmental damage occurring from our current use of fossil fuels as our main source for energy.

In India, Solar Power systems are primarily used to cut down on energy costs that most households consume. Solar energy is a concept that excites researchers because of its ability to tap a resource that is so obvious. Though we have unlimited sunlight to tap, we have limited technology to use. Hence, more R &D needs to be promoted to enhance the technical potential of Solar Energy Generation. Turning Garbage into Energy is slowing being adopted in India. There are ways to draw energy from the garbage which we dispose off. Bio-gas also has the potential to generate electricity for homes and offices.

India has developed to a stage where it is generally accepted that renewable energy is the most substantial and sustainable solution to its future needs. Balancing mankind's need for energy with the environmental cost to our planet is a major challenge. I think it is a clear fact that there will be demand, driven by population growth if nothing else, for large additional amounts of primary energy. Hence, we need to provide the new chemistry to support an evolving energy mix if we are going to produce much carbon-free power. Role of NGOs, Academicians, Journalists and Activists will be essential in creating more awareness in India about the renewable energy scenario!

The above article has been contributed by V.Venkat Raj, Director of Centre for Media & Public Affairs, Chennai. Website sites.google.com/site/centreformediaandpublicaffairs
About CMPA
Centre for Media & Public Affairs is the registered public body at Chennai committed to strengthening the roots of democracy by empowering media people and enhancing the journalistic standards. CMPA organizes meetings, seminars, debates, media programs, workshops and lectures on issues concerning the various development sectors at national, regional and global levels. Functioning effectively as the central ingredients of a democratic society, journalists must realize the need to combine social outlook with professional skills.
In converged social environments, media people are required to communicate everything in global and scientific view points which will provide the perspective to understand the correlation between communities. CMPA recognizes and honors innovative and impactful communication practices adopted by organizations. Showcasing such practices will provide useful case studies on effective strategies to address the contemporary challenges.

 

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Mumbai, Vellore students selected for German honour​

2010-10-25 18:40:00
Solar Energy IndustryAds by GoogleThe Sun won't set on Solar Power. Find out more on this rising energy Knowledge.Allianz.com
Mumbai, Oct 25 (IANS) Two Indian engineering students, one from Mumbai and the other from Tamil Nadu's Vellore, have been selected for the prestigious Bayer Young Environmentalist Envoy (BYEE) honour and will attend an international conference in Germany next month.

The Mumbai student, Vaibhav Tidke, has also been selected for a rare honour of making a project presentation-cum-demonstration at the international conference of 20 countries.

The BYEE programme was launched a few years ago by the German multinational in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Tidke (24) is a final year student of Master's in chemical technology at the prestigious Institute of Chemical Technology. Aswin Chandrasekharan is a student of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Tamil Nadu.

Tidke submitted a project entitled 'Solar Processing of Agro-Products' which is among the two selected from India among 20 participating countries, and will be the only one to make a presentation before an international gathering at the Bayer's headquarters in Germany, Nov 7-12.

Chandrasekharan of VIT will take part in the same conference and is working on a project on dye-sensitised solar cells and rechargeable cells with a wide variety of applications like mobile phones and music players.

'I started work on the project in 2007 when I was an undergraduate student here,' said Tidke, hailing from Ambejogai town in Maharashtra's Beed district.

Under this technology, solar energy will be harnessed to process fresh fruits, vegetables and marine products.

'This will increase their shelf life drastically, from a few days to over a year, enable their marketing in the remotest parts of the world, prevent contamination, eliminate wastages and enable all the stake-holders to get the best out of it,' Tidke said.

This project was awarded a Unesco Top 10 Engineering Innovations Award of Rs.1.20 million in 2007.

'My mentor and guide, Professor B.N. Thorat, is now looking at commercialisation of this technology, for which our team is now working full steam,' Tidke said.

The challenge is to make proper equipment for the technology and commercial exploitation which would bring it within the reach of the commonest players, for which he attended a special session at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, said Tidke.

In order to recognise and propagate the objective of science for the benefit of society, Tidke has set up a research and development -based NGO, Science 4 Society (S4S).

The objectives of S4S are to design and develop prototypes of various scientific technologies for the developing world.

Besides solar food processing, under S4S, work is currently on for projects like water disinfection, renewable energy-based iron (for ironing clothes), low-cost medical instruments, and giving a platform for undergraduate research.

'Through S4S, the first commercial solar food processing plant will be inaugurated in my home town, Ambejogai, next year,' he said.

Tidke also participated as a foreign delegate at the Asian Youth Energy Summit in Singapore in 2008 and 2009 and made a presentation of the different works under S4S.

 

[Zebra]

K R Sridhar.


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