Who knew I could look longingly at a water heater? But apparently, if you put the word "solar" in the name of something, I want to own it. Solar shit on a stick? I'll take two.
But seriously, I love solar-powered things. Here are some cool solar whatsits I've come across in my web surfings:
$14 Solar roast coffee
$20 Solar phone/iPod/mp3 player chargers
$25 Solar robot!!! (I doubt I could say the phrase "solar-powered robot" aloud without clenching my jaw to contain my delight.)
$25 Solar flashlight
$30 Solar battery charger
$63.53 Shares in SunPower (SPWR), the company putting solar panels on Wal*Mart
$126 Solar panels
$170 Solar backpack
$50,000 Solar car
Priceless: Shares in EI Solutions, the company putting solar panels on the Google headquarters
Priceless: Solar air conditioning
Priceless: Solar dress
In browsing deli.cio.us to find the silly solar bikini (for all your near-naked outdoor phone charging needs) I'd seen once, I instead found this lovely little animated movie called Solar, which makes solar power look exhausting. I suppose someone does have to dig the silica out of the ground.
2 comments:
Solar is pretty cool in theory, but it's just not that great yet.
Solar cells are still extremely inefficient; typical cells are less than 15% efficient (at best), and even the high-efficiency solar cells are all less than 50% efficient (the current record as of this writing is 42.8%).
Many of the high-efficiency cells also contain Cadmium telluride, which is a heavy metal that is a cumulative poison.
Solar energy is a fantastic resource, but is still rather unwieldy. Hopefully the ongoing research into solar technology will yield cells with over 70% efficiency, and without any toxins.
I just saw this on the MAKE blog:
How to make your own solar bag.
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