Lighting The Wind

Another piece of eco product news for you, one that is not only environmentally friendly (at least in the way that it’s powered), but looks cool too.

The Firewinder, also known as the Original Windlight, is a decorative and completely wind-powered outdoor light from the UK-based Firewinder Company that transforms the ebb and flow of the wind into an upwardly spiraling glowing light. Wind from any direction spins a small turbine on the helix-shaped device, thereby lighting up LEDs along its outer edge.

With light winds of at least 3 mph, the Firewinder emits a dim glow, but as winds increase, so too does the brilliance of its light. In variable winds, the result is a pulsing, twisting glow that appears to float in mid-air. The Firewinder can be hung or mounted to a post or wall, and it’s made of recyclable materials; no batteries or wires are required. It will be available starting late summer in the UK priced at £99.95.

You can watch it in action below:

[Via: Springwise]

Neighbourhood-wide Renewable Energy

Dutch company Qurrent is developing technology that will enable neighbourhood-wide energy networks. Winner of the 2007 Picnic Green Challenge the system will be used to pilot the concept in the Netherlands.

Because of fluctuating patterns of consumption, homes with wind and solar energy generators can find themselves with surplus energy at some times of the day but not enough at others. Surplus energy typically gets sold back to the main grid, but as with most electric power transmission, ~30% of it can get lost along the way.

If a group of homes could work together to manage their collective energy generation and use so that higher levels of demand in one home can be matched with surpluses in others, this would help eliminate waste and make it more efficient. Participating homes essentially form a “mini-grid” that shares energy internally before exchanging any with the main grid.

To do this a Qbox is installed in each house, connected to a central Qserver. This monitors the Qboxes in the network measuring energy flows in each home and optimizing them for maximum network-wide efficiency. It can also turn on devices such as washing machines and dryers so that they are run at the optimal time. A home-owner could tell their Qbox that they want their laundry done by 6pm and that it will take roughly 1.5 hours, for example. They can then go to work and the Qbox will decide when is the best time to run it, taking into account their production profiles and energy rates as well as those of their neighbours.

Sounds like a great idea although at peak times demand would still probably require energy to be drawn from the main grid.

[Via: Springwise]

Spinning Streetlamps

Solar powered streetlights and signs are not that unusual, but Panasonic have installed the solar and wind powered streetlights around their Panasonic Center in Tokyo.

“During the day the solar cells on top and the turbines generate power that’s stored in a battery at the base. At night the battery is used to run the streetlights, though the turbines continue to spin and produce power even in the dark.” [Via: OhGizmo!]