The age of solar power is upon us, and it’s time to spread the knowledge of the benefits reaped from residential solar capabilities. Your home’s energy consumption may not change much, but solar energy is renewable.
There’s no need to mine for coal. There’s no service interruption to worry about and much more. Take a moment to read over a few of the most impactful benefits of residential solar power, and consider making the switch today.
[Read more…]Have you ever been walking outside, looked up to the sky, and thought to yourself that there is a gigantic wall of burning energy just waiting for you to tap into it? This is not that abstract of the thought process. Solar energy is a gigantic untapped resource.
At least on a global or corporate level, businesses aren’t doing everything that they can to utilize this resource. That means that you have a little bit of leeway to figure out how to make the sun work for you.
[Read more…]
Home automation is working its way from Disney’s city of the future into your everyday life. From simple lawn sprinkler timers to holistic systems that learn from your daily life, automation levels span an incredible gamut of choice and cost. What is the best level for you to enter in.
Remote control
Remote Controls provide the easiest entry point into automating your home. Remote control lighting, garage doors, microwave timers…etc. If you directly control when it goes on and off with minimal programming, it’s a remote control. Remote controls are the most simple entry point, but are becoming more sophisticated in what they control every day.
Command level control
Command level control uses macros (simple programs directing actions or other macros) to control the status of a device within your home. The macro could be a touch that turns on lights, opens blinds, starts a hot tub, etc. The program is entered through a computer or a controller. Command level controls only act upon your direct influence. They are incapable of reacting to conditions.
Conditional control
Conditional controls operate on the basis of programmed conditions. An example would be to turn on a sprinkler system if there is no rain for 2 days. These if-then scenarios are programmed via a computer or dedicated controller. You can set these systems to turn the lights off a set time after you leave a room or change a room’s temperature after you leave. The systems range in size from sensors in light switches to motion detection devices connected to computer controlled heating systems.
Interactive control
Interactive controls use web sites or apps for real time, monitored control of home devices. Through apps or online portals you can assess the real time status of your home, make changes, and monitor the changing situation. You can choose from a wide variety of control apps, some specific to devices, some broad ranging monitoring apps. Light bulbs have apps for controlling the color of your room. Baby monitors can be controlled via your phone. The opportunities are as unlimited as the the apps being developed.
Learning Controls
Learning controls monitor your behaviors and make adjustments based on your actions and habits. Lights can be turned on based on your usual arrival times, heat can be turned on ahead of you getting home. The system learns as you live, adjusts to your life, and changes as you change. These are very sophisticated systems that require dedicated programs and controllers. These systems are professionally installed and are part of the design and structure of the home.
Your options are continuing to evolve as rapidly as technology does. From simple to complicated there is a point for you to enter into home automation. As you open your garage door, maybe you already have entered the future.
Satellite television is the preferred choice of many people primarily because of its quality programming and reception. While it is now strongly competing with cable TV and internet TV, it remains to have a significant number of subscribers.
In the U.S., the number of households with satellite TV subscription reached 66.8 million as of 2012. In Europe, DBS satellite services had an overall market share of 21.4 percent and Australia, this type of TV service is also a more popular option among homeowners because of the distances in population centers. In far flung areas, this is the most feasible option for receiving channels from news and soaps to movies and sports.
Satellite TV, similar to cable, utilizes digital technology to bring numerous channels to homes. The main difference is the use of satellite, a box and dish that needs to be installed outside the house or building.
Quality of video and sound is also what attracts subscribers. But this aspect is also dependent on the position of the dish outside the home or apartment building.
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Bicycle Wine Rack
What’s your favorite mode of getting around? What’s your favorite (alcoholic) beverage? If your idea of relaxation is to take your bicycle out into the countryside (or the park, if you are an urban dweller) and enjoy a nice bottle of wine some time during the day, then you are in luck. I just discovered this little Etsy shop selling a handmade wine rack designed especially for those who like to spin their bike’s wheels. ((Etsy Shop))
Jesse from Montreal, Canada, obviously has a penchant for carrying a bottle of wine while on his bike and has come up with the Bicycle Wine Rack to solve the problem of keeping that bottle intact without getting in the way. The Bicycle Wine Rack is made of leather and some antique brass fasteners.
Those of you who pay particular attention to aesthetics will be interested to know that the leather is oil-treated and vegetable-tanned, meaning that it will become even more beautiful with age and use. And as you continue with your regular forays into the great outdoors on your bike, your Bicycle Wine Rack will only benefit from it.
As for functionality, the image may send across the message that the Bicycle Wine Rack is not a very secure contraption. However, there are hidden clamping mechanisms put in place by the maker, ensuring that your wine bottle has never been more secure! If you need more proof, here is a video showing the Bicycle Wine Rack in action.
I am not so sure about using the frisbee as a wine glass, but whatever floats your boat!
I know the Bicycle Wine Rack is not an electronic gadget, but it is a perfect accessory for someone who is always on his/her bike. With all the accessories that you get for your mp3 players and phones (not to mention tablets and other gadgets you take with you on the go), why not make sure that you always have space for a bottle of wine? After all, you never know when it will come in handy.
Other important details…the Bicycle Wine Rack will only fit bikes that have a 1-inch frame, so if your bike is special, then you might have to get an equally special rack made. Also, the racks have been rather popular so the newer units are taking longer to ship.
The green movement is sweeping the planet. More and more users are becoming more aware of the environment and their impact on it and are taking measures to help out. Manufacturers are also slowly getting on the bandwagon and are taking their own measures to make make their own contributions as well. [Read more…]
Rocking chairs have never gone out of fashion, although one almost always thinks of their grandma when these comfy chairs are mentioned. Then again, you see all sorts of rocking chairs these days, and many of them your grandma would never think of buying!
Now a group of geniuses from MIT have created the rocking chair of the future. Dubbed the MIT SOFT Rocker, it is more than your ordinary rocking chair. It can function as an outdoor lounge, and it can even recharge your plethora of gadgets!
The best thing about the SOFT Rocker is that it does not need to be plugged in to provide you the juice that you need. It has a built-in array of solar panels at the top, which will soak up all of the sun’s rays. At the end of the day, you will have your own light and still be able to charge whatever device you have that is running low on power.
More than using the sun’s rays to power up, the SOFT Rocker also makes use of kinetic movement. As you shift and change your position, this piece of furniture also takes your movements into consideration by “using the human power of balance to create an interactive 1.5 axis 35 watt solar tracking system.” The Rocker does this courtesy of an “interactive real time energy feedback loop.”
The SOFT Rocker has a 12 ampere-hour battery that stores the charge that it collects from the sun, and you can charge devices via USB connection. The furniture is made of soft wood panels as well as a robotic arm.
I can already imagine having one of these in the balcony (if it fits), soaking in the warm tropical sun, and traveling the world via the Internet. Or maybe reading a book while listening to music coming from the iPod. No matter which I angle I look, this Rocker seems to be the perfect piece of outdoor furniture. Unless you live in Antartica.
Seriously, it really is a genius design, something which will probably have a place in the trendiest of lawns. And while there are no details as to the production date, pricing, and release, it looks like this concept is actually going to be more than a concept.
Via ARTS AT MIT
It’s Earth Day today. How’s your carbon footprint? You probably know the principle of little things add up over time, so every little way that you can lower your carbon footprint helps.
Here’s another “little” thing that can help you contribute to the fight against global warming – and in a fun way, too! I am talking about a Hydrogen-powered remote controlled car that runs on soda can rings. Ridiculous as it may sound, I am not pulling your leg.
Without further ado, here is the Earth-friendly RC car named the dAlH2Orean. (Cool play on words/characters, if I may say so myself.)
So how does this work? Go back to the times you spent in Chemistry class. Okay, maybe you were absent when this was taught, or maybe you simply weren’t paying any attention. Get some aluminum. Then get some sodium hydroxide – otherwise known as lye. If you combines these two, what you’ll get is – you guessed it – hydrogen. That is what powers this RC car. Even cooler is that they use soda can rings – which is made of aluminum; recycled soda cans! That is rather simple, isn’t it?
The main thing is how to get that hydrogen and use channel it to actually make the car run. Otherwise, you’ll just be releasing air for no reason. That’s where engineering know-how comes into the picture. The team of engineers from Spain put their heads together and got the car working! As you can see in the video, they did a pretty good job.
Now playing around with RC cars powered by a reaction between aluminum and lye is one thing. Using the same concept to power road-worthy cars is a totally different story! The engineers, however, are unfazed. They are actually aiming to extend the concept to power small vehicles. Road-worthy cars may be out of the question for now, but think about those tiny carts used in golf courses or big resorts. Think about trolleys that take you around large complexes. It is not unthinkable that in the future, these can be run using recycled aluminum and lye. Awesome or what?
For now, I’d settle on having my own dAlH2Orean or two. Who wouldn’t?
Via dAlH2Orean
Just because you love gadgets does not mean you throw all caution to the wind when it comes to being environmentally friendly, does it? Indeed, more and more, developments in the realm of technology include Mother Earth in the list of considerations. After all, it is only to our own benefit to do so.
Now take a look at that image again. Hard as it may be to believe, that is not entirely made of plastic! The casing is actually made of recycled paper and polypropylene alloy. True, polypropylene is still considered a plastic, but with the incorporation of recycled paper, the use of plastic is significantly reduced. And you don’t even have to worry all that much about the trees as the paper used is recycled. Can you think of a better way to get rid of the stacks of paper that you have lying around the house?
This technology is the brainchild of PEGA Consulting Group ((PEGA)), which was showcased at the Milan Furniture Fair. More than being environmentally friendly – everyone claims this about their products these days anyway – is there anything else that points to the success of this new material for casings for gadgets?
Definitely. One may think that paper is too fragile, especially for electronic devices that may be exposed to a lot of wear and tear. However, the resulting alloy has properties which allow it to perform as good as – or even better than – the plastics used today. The Paper PP Alloy is strong, sturdy, and yet flexible.
On the consumer side, the development of the Paper PP Alloy means lessening our individual carbon footprint and yet getting value for our money. According to PEGA, the materials and processes used to create the alloy are not expensive, so this might mean savings on our part. I am not too sure about that, though. One thing is for sure – the manufacturers do not have to make major changes in their processes since the current injection molding method can still be used with the alloy.
It does not come as a surprise that the group has already received an award for this development. It should also not come as a surprise to us if we see gadgets using this material for their casing in the near future. Oh, and in case you really are into good – and environment friendly – design, you really ought to browse PEGA’s web site. It is a veritable treasure trove of eye candy!