100% pure solar power from concentrate...

At the Zenith of Solar Energy
Israeli energy startup Zenith Solar is pioneering a "concentrated solar power" method that is up to five times more efficient than standard technology

by Neal Sandler
Busines Week: Energy & Environment March 26, 2008, 1:20PM EST

Rooftops all over Israel look strikingly similar: More than 1 million households in the nation of 7.1 million people have solar panels that produce hot water—a relatively simple technology that gained popularity after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, when oil prices shot up sharply. As of the early 1990s, all new residential buildings were required by the government to install solar water-heating systems.

Yet despite Israel's sunny climate and early lead in solar heating, it has been slow in adopting more sophisticated solar technologies that produce electricity from sunlight. Now, with oil hovering near $100 a barrel, a local startup hopes to build on the country's early embrace of sun power to carve out a new clean-energy business.

Zenith Solar, based in Nes Ziona near Tel Aviv, is a pioneer in a new type of solar energy that uses mirrors and lenses to focus and intensify the sun's light, producing far more electricity at lower cost. Compared with traditional flat photovoltaic panels made of silicon, this so-called "concentrated solar power" technology has proved in tests to be up to five times more efficient. That puts it on the verge of being competitive with oil and natural gas, even without government subsidies.

A Boost to Israel's Energy Supply
"Our goal is to utilize every suitable roof, backyard, and open space in Israel to turn households, hotels, and factories into net producers of electricity and thermal heat," says Roy Segev, the founder and chief executive of Zenith Solar. Founded in 2006, the startup has raised $5 million from a handful of private investors in Israel and the U.S. Now it's trying to raise an additional $10 million to $15 million to cover the cost of commercializing its technology.

The opportunity is compelling. Israel's National Infrastructure Ministry estimates solar panels for water-heating already satisfy 4% of the country's total energy demand. With technology like Zenith Solar's widely installed, the figure could jump to more than 16%—a big boost for a country now almost totally dependent on imported energy.

Zenith bought the rights to the solar technology from Ben-Gurion University and Germany's Fraunhofer Institute. A joint Israeli-German research team from the two organizations designed a working prototype, which consists of a 10-sq.-meter (107.6-sq.-ft.) dish lined with curved mirrors made from composite materials. The mirrors focus the sun's radiation onto a 100-sq.-centimeter (15.5-sq.-in.) "generator" that converts light to electricity. The generator also gives off intense heat, which is captured via a water-cooling system for residential or industry hot-water uses.

Tested over the past few years at Israel's National Solar Center in the Negev desert, the prototype achieved astounding results: A concentration of solar energy that was more than 1,000 times greater than standard flat panels.

Avoiding Costly Panels
One of the biggest advantages of Zenith Solar's approach, especially in today's market, is its limited use of polysilicon. Skyrocketing global demand for traditional photovoltaic panels has led to a worldwide shortage of the material and lifted prices tenfold in the past four years.
"Photovoltaic material accounts for 80% of the cost of standard systems," says David Faiman, chief scientific officer at Zenith, and a 30-year solar-energy veteran who was part of the development team. "Our technology succeeds in reducing this to less than 10%, while at the same time obtaining very high efficiency."

After further refining the technology, Zenith plans in the coming months to take its first major steps toward commercialization. Two large-scale test installations are planned for this summer at a kibbutz and a factory. The company will put 86 of its 7-meter-high dishes on an acre of land at Kibbutz Yavne to provide the community of 250 families with more than a quarter of their energy needs. The second project will replace fuel oil used to produce heat at a large chemical plant in central Israel.

Read the rest of the Business Week article HERE.
Read an older article from Reuters HERE.
Read a Next Energy News article HERE.

You'd work differently if you paid the bills at work...

With the recent surge in interest of household energy monitors, I wouldn’t be surprised to see their development and transition in to user-centered building automation monitoring devices/displays.*

Hydro One, Canada’s largest power utility, recently completed a 500-home pilot project in which homeowners in five different Ontario cities were given indoor displays that allow them to track their electricity consumption in real time (they used technology from Blue Line Innovations). The study, the largest ever conducted in Canada, found an average 7 to 10 per cent reduction in electricity use over the course of a year, when compared to the same months and seasons in the previous year. Their findings support similar conclusions, including a similar study out of Oxford University.

I think it would be interesting to work in a building where the power usage is publicly monitored. It wouldn’t even need to be a digital display, but could instead incorporate colors/ambient lighting in to a lobby or entrance. If a building is running at peak energy and output on any given day, the colors shift to reflect the gross output (while I admit that it would be slightly incongruous to install a large electricity-draining light feature to monitor power usage, that’s where the designers would do their design magic, installing the feature with some technobabble something-or-other that doesn’t drain from the existing grid).

Basically, I know I’d be more inclined to turn off a switch or think twice before I plug in my peripherals during peak energy hours. And while we all should be so inclined to do so on a daily basis, reminders don’t hurt.

Here’s some ambient smart monitors for the home from Springwise to show you what I’m talking about:

Wattson, first of all, is a sleek, aesthetically pleasing device that shows homeowners through both numbers and colors how much energy they are using in their home. Consumers begin by attaching to their electricity meter or fuse box a transmitter device, which can measure both single and 3-phase systems. That, in turn, beams information directly to the freestanding Wattson device elsewhere in the house, where it instantly displays current usage. Wattson's LED display can represent energy use in euros, dollars, yen or pounds, while its pulsing, colored light also reflects the amount of electricity being used, ranging from cool blue for small amounts to red for high energy consumption. The wireless Wattson display is portable, and when appliances are switched on or off, it indicates how much energy they use. Homeowners can store up to 4 weeks of energy-use history on the device and download it for analysis on software that comes included; a forthcoming community feature will let Wattson owners compare their usage. Wattson was listed in Stuff Magazine's "Cool List" of the top 10 gadgets of 2007. It is priced at GBP 149.50 from UK-based DIY KYOTO.

The Home Joule, meanwhile, resembles a nightlight and plugs into any outlet in a home. The device displays not just energy usage, broadcast wirelessly by the consumer's energy meter, but also the real-time cost of energy, which comes wirelessly from the energy company. The colour of light emitted by the device represents the costs of the moment, with yellow and red light indicating expensive energy costs, while green means energy is cheaper. The idea is that consumers can then modify their consumption accordingly, switching off discretionary appliances at peak times of the day. The Home Joule is from Ambient Devices and is currently available only to customers of Consumer Powerline's demand-response program.

Finally, though not truly an energy monitor, we can't resist mentioning Ambient's beautiful Energy Orb, which also emits different colours of light to represent pricing information. This time, however, the device emitting the light is an egg-shaped orb that plugs into an outlet. The Energy Orb has been adopted by Pacific Gas & Electric and other US energy companies, and is priced at USD 149.99.

With energy prices heading nowhere but up, so, too, will demand for devices like these. One to get in on early, especially outside the US!

Websites: www.diykyoto.com — www.consumerpowerline.com — www.ambientdevices.com

*Keep in mind that I have zero planning/architectural experience, but what can I say? It’s fun to think out loud and predict grandiose changes in trends when working from the industry sidelines. I’m privy to my stupid ideas/thoughts/comments/all-office emails and nobody gets hurt.

Lacking Creativity?

Aren't we all? I think this blog is proof of that...

Anywhoo, the good people over at Creative Something developed a Top 10 websurf to help get your design gears in motion.

Think of the following sites as a common cure-all for creativity block (it's like writer's block, only the glasses have thicker/blacker frames). They are intended to inspire...or at the very least, spur your plagiarism genes.

To get you started, here's ten through six:

10. Bauldoff is “a greeting of multifarious stimuli as observed by… author, Joe Bauldoff”. In other words: a superb source for creative inspiration through links, videos, and images of amazing design work, artwork, and all that jazz.

9. Computerlove is a social network for creative talents, and a beautifully-simple source of creative inspiration. Featuring new and talented creative designers, students, and artists, Computerlove is guaranteed to inspire you.

8. Tutorial Blog was one of the very first designer blogs I subscribed to. The blog provides creative design inspiration and articles, but is focused on tutorials for creative professionals. If you ever need a little bit of inspiration, Tutorial Blog is a good place to go. If you need unique design tutorials, Tutorial Blog is perfect.

7. Signal vs. Noise is the inspirational blog of online business-software developer 37signals. Signal vs. Noise is one of the most professional-yet-laid-back blogs I have have read, and everything posted there is always worth taking a minute or two to read.

6. FFFFound is an image bookmarking website, where members of the site blog about images they find online. You have to be invited by someone who is already a member to bookmark your own images, but browsing what others have found is free, and incredibly inspiring. Note that some artwork shown on Ffffound may not be safe for viewing at work.


Read the rest of Creative Something's Creative Websites HERE.

Foldable, Collapsable, Morphable Goodness, Part II...

It's been a while since I posted about all-things-foldable, so it's time to revisit the world of origami gadgetry. Let's see what we have...

1. For the warrior on the go, there's the MagPul FMG9 9mm Folding Submachine Gun.

It's conveniently disguised to look like a portable radio, but transitions into a gun faster than you can turn off a Jessica Simpson song. Coincidentally, both of the aforementioned items produce equal amounts of pain.



Why anyone would ever need a gun disguised as a radio seems rather mischievous to me (to put it lightly) and I'm not quite sure what kind of good could ever come of it...

...additionally, I'm not quite sure if I understand. If you go to the trouble of beach camouflage, why not add a modern iPod scroller or make it Sirius/XM capable? The AM weather radio look is sooooooo 60's. Or why not go completely retro and pimp it out in a ghettoblaster body/50 caliber fold-out mod? Breakin' III: Electric Semi-Automatic Laser Scope Boogaloo.


2. The Nokia shape changing nano-phone, Morph, isn't exactly a transformer...but it is more than meets the eye.

This shapeshifter utilizes space-age nanotechnology to give it elasticity, literally breaking the mold of it's plastic brethren.

The concept demonstrates how future mobile devices might be stretchable and flexible, allowing the user to transform the gadget into radically different shapes.


The more drop-friendly electronics become, the less replacements my clumsy self will need to buy. Excellent. And while the concept is uber cool, I can honestly say that I won't be spending a dime until it copies newsprint with the press of a thumb.

3. Foldable Solar Panels

Winner of two 2007 Nano50 awards, this novel approach to solar harvesting is garnering a lot of interest. Not only does it have the capability to replace existing solar technology, but but it could potentially cost pennies a yard.

Idahp National Laboratory researcher Steven Novack holds a plastic sheet of nanoantenna arrays, created by embossing the antenna structure and depositing a conductive metal in the pattern. Each square contains roughly 260 million antennas. Nanotechnology R&D usually occurs on the centimeter scale, but this INL-patented manufacturing process demonstrates nano-scale features can be produced on a larger scale.

There's a slight snag in the sweater, though. They're still trying to create a way to store or transmit the electricity. The alternating frequency of the current switches at a speed 10 thousand billion times a second (seriously) and that's waaaay too fast for your average blender or refrigerator to handle.

4. The Urban Skiff...it's not a schooner, it's a sailboat you idiot!

Earlier this month, Yanko Design featured an amazing invention by Thomas Giger, Anita Meyer, Florian Ueker, Femke Morf and Thomas Etter.

What looks to be a normal everyday skiff is, in fact, a collapsible version of its floating friends. Initially, I thought the urban in its name applied to its proposed usage; on small ponds in big cities, where owners would have little room to store their boats when not in use. The comment section, however, provide an interesting observation/application. User Funkenstein states:

I want one of these. Living in NY, if the sh*t were to hit the fan, everybody would be flooding the bridges, tunnels and roads out of the city. If you had one of these, you could sail down the river laughing at all the land lubbers getting eaten by zombies. In fact, they should make that the name of the product: “Escape the Zombie Apocalypse Boat”

So I'm not quite sure if this should be filed under foldable boat or foldable escape hatch, but I never would have thunk it to be used for emergency purposes, regardless of its obviousness. Still awaiting a pricepoint, though. If an apocalyptic emergency response firm gets their hands on the skiff, expect the cost to increase 500%.

Want something a little more sturdy? Why not buy the collapsible Catamaran?

5. The crossbreed Foldable Bicycle Wheel

OK, I know, I know...how many decades of foldable bicycles does it take before designers just give up already? There are numerous hurdles to jump and it seems as though every designer has, historically, come up short. Their offerings have been either awkward, inefficient, bulky, flimsy, or just plain ugly. Well, the crossbreed plans on changing all that:

The crossbreed folding wheel enables a full sized adult bicycle or wheelchair to be folded into a compact and convenient package for transportation and storage.

The project is currently being developed further in association with InnovationRCA, an innovation incubator affiliated with the Royal college of Art, London.

See for yourself:



This is nothing to laugh at, because the world is definitely taking notice. It'll be interesting to see what comes of it.

6. Foldable Origami Shoes

Just when you thought it couldn't get more ridiculous, the fashonistas had to jump in! Yet another Yanko submission, the foldable shoe is attempting to turn the manufacturing sector around by speeding up production and nearly eliminating the cost of shipping all together. A flat-pack shoe would dramatically reduce transportation cost, given the fact that each shoe box is void of so much usable space.

Is it practical? Well, see for yourself.

It is, however, interesting. And aesthetically, it's more than I expected. And if they continue to charge $50 per extra bag on flights, expect a flat-pack travel shoe to start selling well.

7. Bobby the Foldable Electric Scooter

Seen at the 2007 Tokyo auto show, Bobby is Yamaha's answer to the commute. It doesn't collapse as much as I would like, but when sticking a scooter in your trunk, every inch can count.

As you can see, the handle bars fold down and the back wheel folds inward. Soooooo, err, what makes it different? Well, this RFID enabled scooter can be turned on and off with a FeliCa-enabled cellphone. Feel free to ooh and ahh at will.

And if the rumors that suggest the Bobby has internet access are true, feel free to file this under idiotic. You'll be the only commuter to ever get laughed at by somebody on a Segway. Otherwise, keep the prototypes coming. Somebody's bound to hit the nail on the head sooner or later.

8. The T-Shirt Television

Marketers have found that there's a decrease in home television audiences, so they're looking for newer ways to shove adverts down our gullets. Yay.



I couldn't figure out why the video quality was so bad (all over the web, not just here), but it's because the shirt is basically an LCD screen stuck in a t-shirt, not a flexible screen capable of be washed.

You want to impress me? Take Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute's flexible LCD screen and mount it to a hoodie. Waterproof it and you're golden.

Then give me a reason where and why I would ever need to wear a shirt with a screen on it.

9. The Feathercraft Foldable Kayak

Boats, in the foldable community, seem to be quite commonplace, but these Feathercraft Kayaks really stand out.

Ingenious design features have been incorporated to each model. The framework assembly of each model has similar characteristics, yet each is uniquely different. Longitudanal sections are shock-corded together like tent poles. To minimize assembly steps, chine and gunwale tubes for both the bow and stern frame sections are permanently attached to keel reinforcements plates. Deck bars are used as lever bars to extend the frame sections tightly into the skin. No additional tools are required for assembly. Because the framework is sectional, should damage occur, the individual section can easily be repaired or replaced. Crosspieces are either hand-cut from high density polyethylene, or are injected molded polycarbonate, depending on the model.

OK, so I didn't understand any of that...

But when I said that they stand out, it was actually because of the photo gallery. A pack-and-kayak retirement would be pretty friggin' awesome. There's numerous shots of people floating the waters of Venice, under and in between crevasses, along coastlines, etc.

My plans might be changing.

10. SPLAT Dish Rack

The SPLAT from Jill Davis Design is beautiful in form and function. It takes real talent to take something so commonplace and make it look interesting. And as one of the dishawasherless few, I can wholeheartedly appreciate this design.



Not to mention, the more you can hide something so typically bulky, the better. Although if my drying rack looked like this, I probably wouldn't put it away.

Sustainable humor...

From Eluvium.

I'd recommend looking over her site, but then I would see you for the next 12 hours. Pretty original, considering what's out there (hey, I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a right-click addict).

From meatballs to pool halls...

You've got to admit, pool tables are an obnoxious void of space.

Nothing screams I'm holding on to my bachelordom or I had a tax return to blow more than a big felted monster in a living room/basement/garage conversion.

But alas, they're fun.

It's the kind of "extra" you never want to have, but it never hurts to know somebody that has one. Unless they're moving, of course, because we all know that there's not enough beer and pizza in the world to help someone move slate. Same goes for sleeper sofas. Same goes for California King mattresses.

And aesthetically, while there are quite a few tables on the market that could (possibly) add some beauty to a modern room, like this luxury table featured on Trendir...

...or this impeccably restored Brunswick Monarch from Billiard Restoration...

...most, however, come up short.

But even if you had a Monarch or a Tresserra planted next to your wet bar, 99.5% of the time, when not in use, you'd still be stuck with a big felt carpet-weight crushing your cashmere (actually even if I could afford this table, I could never justify buying cashmere carpet).

So what's a pool player to do?

Move a Fusion Table in to your loft...

...or dining room...

...enjoy your meal and then slide back the top to reveal...

...an evening of fun.

The best part? It turns back to a table when you're finished. No more slate eyesores.

Check out Fusion Tables for more.

How much do you need?

I've blogged about Tiny Homes before, but the Tumbleweed website deserves a mention. I was floored!

We build tiny, portable houses here in Sonoma County then roll them off to buyers everywhere...We also sell plans for these houses and larger designs as big as 770 square feet.

The houses and their owners are a breed all their own. They really make you question how much you want vs. how much you need. Averaging about 100 square feet, Tumbleweed homes provide the inhabitant a way to live as minimally as possible, utilizing low-output appliances in a small space to minimize impact.

There are two parts of me that are supremely jealous: the six year-old boy yearning for the ultimate treehouse, and the 19 year-old college student subsisting happily on a ramen/salsa diet in a 10' x 10' dorm room. Check them out...

But what I don't understand is why they always seem to be parked/planted on a snow-peaked mountainside in a remote area. Maybe I'm a tad bit claustrophobic, or maybe I'm sick and tired of winter, but I would DEFINITELY want to be in a region that I could relax comfortably outdoors as often as possible...like Baja? While it's obvious that some of these homes would appeal to the environmentalist/hunter/outdoorsmen, there's a niche market of people like me that would happily plant one of these on the coast and pack it full of Milagro and Sex Wax.

Walk on through and let me know what you think...

How much do you want?

How much do you need?

I know that I would need a much bigger oven, but the house --in a warm climate with surf, sun and drink-- would more than suffice.

They're about $30,000-$50,000. I'll take three (does that defeat the purpose?).

Insanity...

Brilliant insanity, mind you...

I recently surfed across the German website, Convertible City. I found myself in awe.

I would write about it, but I invite you to peruse their list of projects on your own. From the wonderful floating Rucksack House...

...to the playful Braunschweig city theater...

...to the engineers that thought up the pool on the Spree...

Wonderful. Truly wonderful.