The Parasolar concept by Oded Shorer serves two purposes - it keeps you cool by providing shade on those hot, sunny days while generating power from the very sunlight it is blocking.

It folds up into a case that can be used to carry it with ease. When in use, Parasolar plugs into the carrying case, which houses the battery and energy transformer, to keep it steady on the ground. The battery starts getting charged up as soon as the parasol is connected to the base. It can also be taken out and used as a regular umbrella if any rain decides to interrupt a sunny day.

Energy is generated from the photovoltaic laminated panels integrated in the synthetic cloth that serves as the “umbrella” portion of the device. Parasolar’s carrying case sports a 12 volt output as well as two USB ports for connecting your gadgets.

This looks like a perfect way to power gadgets and maybe even a laptop when camping or at a picnic. Change the strange green design of the umbrella and you’ve got us hooked. Check out a few more pictures after the jump. Read more »

Emanuel Sachs, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, has found a way to improve the efficiency of a type of silicon solar cells while keeping manufacturing costs about the same.

1366 Technologies, founded in part by Sachs, claims that it has improved the efficiency of its new multicrystalline silicon solar cells by 27 percent, putting them on par with today’s standard cells made from single-crystal silicon. Read more »

A team of Canadian and German scientists have found a way to fabricate a superconducting material, made of a silicon-hydrogen compound, that does not require cooling. They say that the breakthrough means we will be able to cut the power usage of all sorts of devices from refrigerators to cell phones.

This new material is super-compressed instead of being super-cooled like conventional superconductors, allowing scientists to create superconducting wires that work at room temperature.

Superconductors offer no electrical resistance, meaning that energy will not be lost while a current is traveling along a superconducting wire.

If the scientists can find a way to mass-produce this material, we could see a new age in electronics. Battery life would improve dramatically for all sorts of gadgets, and power usage would go down for anything that stays plugged in. Hopefully they can figure out the magic formula soon.

Scientists at England’s Swansea University are working to develop a paint which can be quickly applied to large steels sheets to generate power from the sun beaming down on them.

This paint would be suited to warehouses and other buildings that are commonly covered with steel sheets.  It is based on dye-sensitised solar cells. Although less efficient than conventional solar cells, dye-based cells are cheaper as they don’t require solicon and can be applied as a liquid paste.

The solar cells are built up in several layers. First is a layer of regular paint directly on the steel. Then, the electrolyte and dye layers are applied, and the cell is finished off with a clear protective film to guard against the elements.

Researchers expect a commercial cell within two and a half years. Although these cells probably won’t make a huge impact, every little bit helps with the switch to renewable energy.

Designers from Singapore have come up with a concept mouse that can use the heat generated by a laptop to power itself.

The DORmino mouse works by placing an oversize mousepad under a laptop which then collects the extra heat and turns it into electricity using silicon nanowires. The electricity is then sent to the mouse, resting on a different part of the pad, via an induction coil. This mousepad can be rolled up when not in use for easy transportation.

The mouse itself is an ordinary wireless mouse with the exception that it doesn’t ever need to be recharged. One of the more interesting features is a “touch screen scroller” which lets you scroll by moving your finger up and down a sensor on the mouse where an ordinary scroll wheel might be.

DORmino is pretty far-fetched, but is certainly feasible with today’s technology. However, it would probably be a bit expensive as all of this technology isn’t cheap. Either way, we love to see new eco-friendly innovations such as this. Diagram of how the DORmino works after the jump. Read more »

Polymer solar cells that are used today to convert sunlight to electricity degrade over time because of ultraviolet light. Scientists at UCLA have found a solution to that problem.

They suggested coating solar cells with a material that converts photons of ultraviolet light into ones of visible light. Such a material would increase the efficiency of the solar cells and reduce damage to them from sunlight, making them last longer.

The material could be made of a liquid, a gel, nanoparticles, or a solid, the researchers claim. They have already performed some experiments which have confirmed their ideas. A patent has, of course, already been filed.

This is another great step toward renewable energy. With innovations like this we can finally start lowering our dependence on fossil fuels and switch to better sources of energy.

Penn State scientists have created a new type of solar cell that mimics photosynthesis to produce hydrogen gas directly from water.

Unfortunately, the prototype is inefficient, able to use only about 1% of the light energy falling on it for splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen gases. The scientists believe that with some optimization they could get that efficiency up to 10%.

Although still in its infancy, this new technology could eventually make it into cars. That would mean that you would be able to simply pour some water into your H₂-powered vehicle to keep it going.

These solar cells would eliminate the need to build new hydrogen gas stations because they could completely be contained inside a car. This could ease the transition to alternative-fuel vehicles and help us get rid of our dependence on oil.

Mauricio Clavero has designed a street lamp that is solar powered and only uses a third of its energy unless its built-in motion detectors sense someone walking by. The lamp is built using LEDs and can be placed in area with no access to electricity due to its attached solar panels.

It comes in two versions: urban and country side. The differences between the two? Well, you got us there, but there’s most likely a difference in performance since you don’t often see streetlights in the countryside.
This is great for money conservation, but it could be a bit weird to be the only person walking down a street at night and having each lamp you pass turn on fully. It’s an interesting idea, nonetheless.