First Ever Green Energy bill board to be installed in Times Square. The billboard owned by Ricoh Americas Corporation will weigh 35,000 pounds and will be equipped with 64 solar panels and 16 wind turbines. The billboard costs $3 million and is lit by 16 300-watt floodlights.
Most of the energy to power the billboard (around 90 percent) is expected to come from the turbines, with the solar panels acting as a supplementary power source. A spokesperson from Ricoh, however, said that if ever it happens, "it's just fine." Nevertheless, the blades of the turbine are perfectly streamlined that even a breeze as mild as a normal electric fan's could move in. According to New York Times, generating electricity on its own saves $12,000 to $15,000 per month in energy or 18 tons of carbon per annum.
Inexpensive, reliable, simple, the hallmarks of the Helix system make it the best choice for low wind speed residential and commercial applications. The Savonius turbine based design catches wind from all directions creating smooth powerful torque to spin the electric generator. Mounted up to 35 feet high, in winds as low as 10 mph the Helix system creates electricity to power your home or business.
How it works: As the wind blows the long helical blade scoops catch wind from all directions forcing it through the turbine. The turbine generator is connected directly to your home and as electricity is generated your home is powered. If the wind isn’t blowing your home is powered by the energy grid as usual. If the wind is blowing strongly then your energy produced can exceed your energy consumed and, depending on your local utility, your meter can spin backwards rolling back your energy bill.
Time Magazine has named the Bionic Energy Harvester, a knee brace that harnesses energy from walking, as one of the Top 50 Inventions of 2008. The 3.5 lb brace works by generating power using the same technology that lets hybrid cars harvest energy from braking. One minute of walking with a single brace generates enough power for half an hour of talking time on a cell phone. The harvester is capable of generating seven watts of electricity from each leg— enough to operate 14 cell phones.
The brace, developed by researchers at SimonFraserUniversity, uses the energy put into slowing down the knee joint at the end of a person’s step.
Watercube wins the Jorn Utzon Award for International Architecture
The iconic Watercube National Swimming Centre Beijing has been awarded one of Australia’s highest architecture prizes, the Jorn Utzon Award for International Architecture. The design and construction of the memorable facility was a collaboration between Australian firm PTW Architects, Chinese practices CSCEC and CCDI, and international firm Arup. NationalAquaticsCenter ( Watercube ), the landmark building of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, is located inside the Beijing Olympic Green. The planning area of the NSC is 62950m², and the total floor area is 65,000 - 80,000m², in which the underground component is not less than 15,000 m².The total investment of the project is around 100 million US dollar. The building’s structure is framed in steel, while the bubbles themselves are made from ETFE (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) pillows measuring 0.2 mm thick. The structural design is based on the natural formation of soap bubbles which give a random, organic appearance. To achieve this, research was undertaken by Weaire and Phelan (professors of physics) into how soap bubbles might be arranged into an infinite array.
To bring the design to life, the individual bubbles were incorporated into a plastic film and tailored like a sewing pattern. An entire section was pieced together and then put into place within the structure. There are interior and exterior films. The plastic film was then inflated and continously pumped.
The membrane lets in more light and heat than traditional glass does, which keeps all 5 pools warmer, thus reducing energy costs by 30%. Rainwater from the roof is collected and recycled with efficient filtration and backwash systems, and an incredible LED lighting system turns the Watercube into a beautiful kaleidoscope at night.
The temple, which sits in Thailand’s Sisaket province, roughly 370 miles northeast of Bangkok is made of more than a million recycled glass bottles. True to its nickname, “Wat Lan Kuad” or “Temple of Million Bottles” features glass bottles throughout the premises of the temple, including the crematorium, surrounding shelters, and toilets. There’s an estimated 1.5 million recycled bottles built into the temple. The bottle-collection-turned-building started in 1984.
Formula Zero Racer, a futuristic foray into the next generation of racing. Incorporating elements from luge, yacht, and Formula One vehicles, the zero-emissions racer is propelled by a wind-catching sail in addition to electric motors that are powered by renewable resources. The Formula Zero Racer was submitted as part of the Design Los Angeles automobile Design Challenge.
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Mercedes-BenzFormulaZero Mercedes-BenzAdvancedDesignCenter of North America
Luxury racing arrives in the Formula Zero Racer by incorporating the thrill of Formula One, the track dynamics of the bobsled or luge, and the grace and efficiency of yacht racing.
Reminiscent of the Mercedes Benz racing heritage of the 1930’s, the Formula Zero Racer is loaded with technology designed to extract the maximum thrust from the electric hub motors, aero-efficient solar skin and high-tech rigid sail.
Each team is allocated the same amount of stored energy and it is left to the teams and drivers to manage the variables to win the race. The winner is determined by total elapsed time combined with the energy efficiency factor.
Spectators at the Mercedes Benz Formula Zero racing Series are treated to a new dimension of racing as the transparent track is visible from all perspectives - even from below!
EDITTTower will be a paragon of “Ecological Design In The Tropics”. Designed by TR Hamzah & Yeang and sponsored by the National University of Singapore, the 26-story high-rise will boast photovoltaic panels, natural ventilation, and a biogas generation plant all wrapped within an insulating living wall that covers half of its surface area.
The building has also been designed for future adaptability, with many walls and floors that can be moved or removed. The building will collect rainwater and integrate a grey-water system for both plant irrigation and toilet flushing with an estimated 55% self-sufficiency.
Marine scientists filming in one of the world's deepest ocean trenches have found groups of highly sociable fish swarming nearly five miles (7700 metres) beneath the surface. When the international team recovered their high definition cameras from record-breaking depths in the Pacific Ocean, they were astounded by the abundance of life. The team was investigating the Hadal zone - an area of the Ocean that sits 6,000m -11,000m below sea level. The deep sea is split up into the Bathyal, Abyss and Hadal zones, and Hadal is the deepest of the three.
There are very few places in the world deep enough to fit into this category, and most lie in very narrow trenches around the Pacific rim. The fish, who normally live in utter darkness, are completely blind, and use vibration receptors on their snouts to navigate and find food. The researchers expected fish at this depth to be relatively sedate to conserve energy, but found them to be surprisingly active.
Professor Priede, director of Oceanlab, said: "There is the question of how do animals live at all at these kinds of depths.
"There are three problems: the first is food supply, which is very remote and has to come from 8km (5 miles) above.
"There is very high pressure - they have to have all sorts of physiological modifications, mainly at the molecular level.
"And the third problem is that these deep trenches are in effect small islands in the wide abyss and there is a question of whether these trenches are big enough to support thriving endemic populations."
But this species appears to have overcome these issues, added Professor Priede.
Self sustainable Monte-Rosa Hut - 2,810 meters above sea level
It’s the Swiss Alpine Club’s new Monte Rosa mountaineer’s hut, and it’s 90% energy self-sufficient.
The new Monte-Rosa Hut is a trendsetting research and development project of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in collaboration with the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) and the Empa. Located amid a glacier landscape, it proves that sustainable building is possible even under those conditions and provides incentives for the Swiss building industry.
84 m2 photovoltaic cells provide the power for wastewater treatment, ventilation, lighting and household appliances. Surplus energy is stored in batteries, guaranteeing an uninterrupted power supply even when the sky is overcast. Thermal solar panels satisfy the requirement for heating and water heating. The use of solar energy also makes numerous fuel shipments by helicopter unnecessary, which in turn leads to further emission reductions.
The autonomous alpine shelter, resides at 2,810 meters above sea level. The four-story building is used by mountaineers, from all over the world as a base camp from which to go on expeditions up the mountains and glaciers. The hut can accommodate up to 125 guests in its restaurant and hostel-like guest rooms. Since the hut is situated at the edge of a glacier and outside of the range of power lines, it was designed to be 90% energy independent and very energy-efficient. The hut was recently completed and at the end of September and has received a Holcim Bronze Award for Sustainable Construction.
Situated in Ningbo, China, the University of Nottingham’s new Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies
The building is powered by a large array of photovoltaic cells and geothermal energy (which cools and heats the five story floor slabs). Any additional energy collected is stored in batteries that can provide up to two week’s worth of electricity for sunless days.
CSET’s double-glass skin reduces solar radiation, and the large rooftop opening creates natural ventilation while allowing daylight to illuminate the interior spaces. The building also makes extensive use of locally sourced materials in its construction and boasts an onsite rain and gray-water recycling center.
The University’s graduates will be educated in topics that include energy-efficient technology, sustainable transportation, hydrogen systems, renewable energy technology, low-energy high-rise buildings, and low-energy housing.
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