THIN FILM SOLAR PANELS

Archive for July, 2011

A group of engineering students from Utah’s Brigham Young University have developed an inexpensive, portable, human-powered drilling rig capable of helping people in developing nations gain access to clean drinking water.

The human-powered drilling station was designed as part of a BYU “capstone” project that encourages engineering students to solve real engineering problems with real clients (in this case, the World Health Organization), with field tests of the design carried out in remote parts of Tanzania.  “At the end of our trip, it was exciting,” said Nate Toone (a graduate student of engineering at BYU and one of the students involved in the build), “… we were drilling in a farm of sandy soil and 70 feet down.  When we unhooked the pipes, there was a small little geyser (of water).  That was evidence to us we were successful.  It was the payoff moment … we had found clean water.”

BYU’s drill is powered by 4 people, and is capable of drilling wells up to 250 ft deep at a cost of just $2000 (US), compared to conventional well-diggers who charge between $10,000 and 15,000 (US) to do the same job, using petro-powered drillers, making the BYU project an emissions-free piece of tech that’s not only more environmentally responsible than the traditional alternative, but one that may also have the potential to help developing nations like Tanzania join countries like India, which plans to skip fossil fuels altogether.

You can check out the drill in action in the video, below.

Source | Photos:  BYU, via LDS Church News.

White roof and skylights on Walmart's Las Vegas store

Bill Clinton may no longer be President, but he still has plenty of ideas on how to address the fact that 14 million people are out of work across America.  Newsweek recently published an article by Mr. Clinton wherein he suggested 14 different ways of increasing jobs throughout the country.

With an overall heavy emphasis on energy sector job opportunities, his eighth proposed solution was to paint the black roofs of every city across America a bright white.  Painting roofs white in order to reduce energy consumption is hardly a new concept, but adding his name to the list of those who endorse the idea is sure to give it a boost.

He suggested that the work of painting the roofs would provide employment and skill training for young workers.  According to Mr. Clinton, “A big percentage of the kids have been able to parlay this simple work into higher-skilled training programs or energy-related retrofit jobs. (And, believe it or not, painting the roof white can lower the electricity use by 20 percent on a hot day!)”

He’s absolutely correct about the benefits of painting black roofs white.  Solar-reflective white paint deflects 90% of sunlight, contrary to the 20% reflected by a traditional black tar roof.  This results in a significant temperature drop within a building, creating a reduced need for air conditioning and considerable energy savings. White roofs also reduce the “urban heat island” effect in which temperatures are higher in dense urban areas because of the number of black tar surfaces.  New York City is approximately 5 degrees warmer than the surrounding suburbs as a result of this effect.

Painting dark roofs white is a simple idea with potentially huge benefits, both environmental and economical.  Hats off to former President Clinton for bringing it to the attention of a wider audience.

Related Stories:

1. Cheap Solar Paint Takes a Giant Step Closer to Reality
2. How Obama’s Home Star “Cash for Caulkers” Program Could Green Up America’s Homes
3. MIT Roof Tiles Save Energy in All Climates

(h/t to Reuters)

Photo via Walmart Stores

Have you ever considered visiting Seoul, South Korea?  It’s a sprawling metropolis teeming with over 10 million people, the very picture of a technologically advanced, ultra-modern city.  And yet, the area has been settled for over 2,000 years.  As a result, there are numerous historical spots that are worthy of exploration by residents and tourists alike.

While there is the option of taking a Seoul City Bus Tour, where you hop on and off the bus at various points of interest, it would be a much more relaxing experience to explore the many parks, palaces, and temples by bicycle.  Unfortunately, there is nothing relaxing about the idea of getting from spot to spot within Seoul on a bike.  As a former resident, I can vouch for the crazy-making traffic and daredevil attitude of most drivers. I have twice been driven around by cabbies who admitted to not having their glasses with them, and it didn’t seem to bother them one bit.  To venture into Seoul’s traffic on a bike is to take your life into your own hands.  Add to this the fact that tourists wouldn’t really know where they’re going, and the bike option seems pure folly.

Unless you’re designer Kukil Han.  He has come up with the idea of combining buses and bikes into a safe — and relatively green — package.  The bus, which has a solar-power roof, takes bicycles and riders from point to point, eliminating the need for individuals to navigate traffic.  That is the basic idea, but there are great little details worked in that make it even better.

Riders would sign up for a tour at one of the many kiosks set up around the city.  At these locations, there would be information about each tour, and riders could use a touch-screen display to check on times and pre-pay for the service.  While inside the bus, passengers watch television screens showing information about the upcoming location.  After they disembark with their bicycle, a screen mounted on the handlebars of the bike displays the same information, as well as GPS navigation, historical facts, and more. Riders are also notified via the screen when it’s time to return to the bus.

Bike Guide from Kukil Han

There’s a lot of potential in this idea, particularly for exploring places within large cities that might otherwise be daunting for the average tourist to navigate to on their own.  After all, it’s one thing to rent a bike in Paris, and quite another to know where to go with it and to not exhaust your body and patience in the process.

Will the bus/bike hybrid catch on?  Seoul might be just the proving ground it needs.

Related Stories:

1. Korea to Abandon Printed Textbooks by 2015
2. South Korea Plans to Create 1.5 Million from Clean, Green Energy by 2030
3. Inspire Software Propels City Bike-Sharing Programs

Photo via Kent Kanouse

After deciding that LED-based solid-state lighting (SSL) was not a good match for extreme desert temperatures, the city of Tempe, Arizona has decided to install 1,000 induction street lights to launch phase one of a street-light-retrofit initiative.

“After evaluating the two leading street lighting platforms of induction and light emitting diode, or LED, Tempe ruled out LED for its high equipment cost and performance volatility in the temperature extremes of the southern Arizona environment.”

The city of Columbus, Ohio reported similar issues of street light failure within two months of LED installation. However, the problems that occurred as a result of this installation were not specifically linked to LED or induction lights and most other municipalities and utilities have had a positive experience with LED and induction lighting, which, generally, has produced 20% in energy savings. For instance, a retrofit initiative in Dublin, Ohio of 1,500 street lights with LED-based lights reduced energy by 40-50% and cut costs by $500,000.

Although it remains unclear as to whether or not the performance of LED-based lights are actually affected by desert southwest climates, the lower initial costs of induction lighting certainly make them a more attractive option for replacing the current high-pressure-sodium (HPS) and metal-halide (MH) street light sources. Most importantly, this retrofit will reduce the energy required to power the lights by as much as 40% and offer increased energy savings for the city of Tempe.

Photo courtesy of Tempe.gov

Related Articles:

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3. Broken-Hearted Lawmakers Just Can’t Quit Incandescent Light Bulbs
4. Sears Canada Bans Inefficient Lighting, Moves to LEDs