Category Archives: Gadgets and Tech
CLEARgen is the new name for the largest Hydrogen Fuel Cell Generator in the world, having base at Burnaby, B.C., to Eastlake, Ohio. This deal between Ballard Power Systems and Ohio’s FirstEnergy Generation Corp will generate enough electricity to power 500 homes all by itself. Based on Ballard’s proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology, the world’s biggest hydrogen fuel cell is as big as a tractor trailer and is said is be one of the most green and clean energy sources in the world.
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Japan is coming up with hybrids faster than rabbits multiplying. This time, yet another Japanese firm came up with a hybrid, not on wheels though. This hybrid, by Seiko shows the time, hybrid clocks to be released later this month. The clocks will use both, batteries as well as energy from the sun to power up. So you don’t need to keep sticking in new batteries into these timepieces. When the sun shows up and the room is well lit, the clock soaks in the sun. And during dark hours, it switches on to battery use. The clock lasts longer than other solar powered time pieces though and can keep ticking for 4 years with 8 hours of sunshine per day. Two versions of the clock will be released, the SQ245S (measuring 6.6 x 9.7 x 1.1 inches) and the smaller SQ751W (4.7 x 5.5 x 2.6 inches), both using an LCD display.
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Energy efficiency is the need of the day, especially when it comes to machinery and appliances based in homes and offices. The lengths of our electricity bills have been ever increasing, without seizing to stop and energy-efficient technology just helps take the load of our shoulders. One such green device is the HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf by HP Korea, a Multi-Function Printer for your desktop that features Ethernet-connectivity and can process printing, copying, scanning, and faxing jobs. If that’s not enough, the HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf does all this, with just a quarter of the energy that is usually required! Small in size and featuring an automatic document feeder (ADF), this one also hooks up with a high-speed USB 2.0 port with printing speeds up to 18ppm.
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A rated dryers have a new peer jumping on board that will give them a run for their money, the new Öko (Eco) Lavatherm T59880 from AEG, that boasts an ‘A – 50%’ energy rating, using 50% less energy than an A rated (probably over-rated) dryer! The appliance uses an innovative compressor and an inverter motor. Using just 1.6 kWh to dry a full 7 kg wash load of clothes, the Eco Lavatherm shows the world of dryers just how efficient one can get. And it doesn’t take too much of a long time either! The Eco Lavatherm also features an extended anti-crease phase and uses a large LCD display. The drier also packs time controlled drying, a stainless steel drum, an end of program acoustic alarm, filter and condenser cleaning indicators and a whole lot more.
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Solar energy generating and wind energy capturing plants are being built more than ever these days, taken the need for clean, green and renewable energy has increased with people trying to decrease their dependence on fossil fuels. Solar panels and wind turbines keep popping up everywhere, all across the globe. Designer Arttu-Matti Immonen however came up with a unique concept that combines both these energy generating sources, wind and the sun. Basically a ball that spins when the wind blows enough and featuring flexible photovoltaic modules that can accumulate solar power during daytime, the Aard is indeed an innovative and practical concept to green energy generation.
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Most of the gadgets we use today hook up via a USB cable to charge, be it mp3 players, e-book readers, GPS devices or mobile phones. And to keep all these charged up on the go, a nearby USB port is a must. Well, Brando Workshop’s USB 2.0 4-port hub works just great if you’re out traveling and need a quick recharge for your device. And the best part is still to come. This one powers up using energy from the sun! Hell yeah! It’s solar powered! Integrated with a solar panel, the hub has 7 mobile-phone connectors and can charge up 4 devices at a time. And incase you think the sun’s too fickle minded and might just not show up, you can charge this one up at home too before heading out. An added feature to the hub is a torch light, also powered by solar power.
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Throw away those silly nets and pool-cleaning equipment you’ve got hoarded up in your garage. You probably won’t need them anymore. Instead, grab a seat, some sun tan and a pair of glares and relax with a cool drink on your poolside while the Solar Breeze cleans up that swimming pool of yours. The world’s only solar powered robotic pool cleaner, the Solar Breeze 2.0 is an enhanced version that skims dirt, debris, pollens and suntan oils from the surface of the pool. It does this all with just the rays from a sun, solar energy! The sun powers up the robots motors and extra energy is diverted to its batteries to charge up. The batteries help keep the robot working through the night too. The robot is intelligent enough too, and with the help of software, it directs itself to areas with more sunlight. Unlike the previous version, the 2.0 features a 300 percent greater output capacity with a brush-less motor and a lifetime of 30,000 hours.
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You probably fling the depleted cartridge out of your printer or refill it. Well, times are changing and the way we print could too, with disposable printers. Designed by Yuexun Chen and Chia-Chen Hsiao, the Instant Cartridge Printer works differently from the printing equipment we use today, to print out pictures, documents and the likes. In short, the cartridge is a printer in itself. So you don’t need to toss out an old and empty barren cartridge in the bin. You now toss the whole printer instead! This somewhat is similar to the disposable camera concept. So if you’re out on a trip or a vacation, you can print out your pictures by yourself instead of hopping around at photo studios or waiting to get back home to hook up your own deskjet.
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Street lamps, the bright lights on our streets that illuminate our paths and keep us from stumbling and that creepy darkness away, are now having themselves a green makeover. Two LED street lamps, as bright as the usual 400W mercury lamps or 180W high-pressure sodium lamps that are used today have been developed by Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corp. these belong to the E-Core series of LED lamps by Toshiba. The lamps provide an average area of 1.0cd/m2 with a power consumption of just 122W with a 200 volt input. Street lights using 400W mercury lamp (KSC-4) or a 180W high-pressure sodium lamp (KSH-2) usually consume 415W and 195W respectively, which is comparatively high.
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Computing gets greener by the day. With developments being made to improve the energy efficiency of technology today, the future of personal computers looks pretty bright green. Well, memory devices like hard disks help store all that essential information and data we keep accessing. And taken the fact that we human beings never have enough, Samsung have come up with a hard disk with as much as 2TB of space. This 3.5-inch environment friendly hard drive, the EcoGreen F4 or F4EG is the world’s highest-density drive currently. It sure will take some time to fill this one up to its brim till the next time you can cry about not having enough of space. That aside, this hard disk is exceptionally green, consuming 23 percent less power during standby compared to the previous model. It also keeps all those harmful materials at bay during manufacture and uses very less power while functioning.
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