Novague, a Prague design studio, have proposed a rocking chair concept that will be able to produce enough power for a reading light by converting the rocking motion into electricity. The LED lamp is empowered by a dynamo that can convert the mechanic energy acquired by the movement of the chair into electric energy. A simple steam engine like kinematic mechanism is set under the seat which works with a sliding lever that pulls a flywheel disc while the chair rocks. Produced energy is either supplied to the LED lamp or deposited in the batteries for later use. The aim of the principle is to develop the awareness among mass people of producing their required energy easily by themselves.
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Usage of green energy is the top most priority for people who are conscious about their responsibility towards the nature and environment. Keeping this in mind the mPower system has been developed which generates huge energy at minimal effort. The slender body of the device and leaf like tip resembles the structure of a large leaf. The color is green to enhance its organic nature. The steppers at the bottom are also shaped like leaves with the similar designs. Using this unique product you can save the natural resources and a large amount of money spent on electricity at the same time.
mPower consists of 2 units: Generation and Collection.
mPower Generation is a plant-shaped human-powered unit that produces electricity for immediate and future use. Users access their account using fingerprint recognition, stand on two pads at the base of the unit, and shift their weight from one pad to the other every ten seconds. The system, developed to take up the least amount of a user’s time and effort, can be adapted for the handicapped. A small portion of the electricity generated is used to power the interactive touch-screen at the top of the unit, which offers a broad range of informational services pre-customised by each user. The remaining majority of the electricity generated is sent to the city’s main power plant, to be used or stored. At their convenience, users receive payment for the electricity they generated by accessing their account at mPower Collection.
mPower Collection is a unit that, using the same fingerprint recognition technology, distributes payment and allows for account customisation to users of mPower Generation.
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Today with lot of environmental developments happening world over like global warming, energy crisis, lifestyle changes, it’s become even more difficult to design houses meeting all these requirements. More and more architectural designs are using digital technologies with respect to modeling, simulation, evaluation and fabrication resulting in complex shaped buildings which incorporates the above challenges. One such project is coming up in Tel Aviv whose primary resources are sun, wind, and land and these are fairly distributed amongst these complex structures thus making an optimum utilization of all. It’s of course high quality housing complete with latest gadgets but run on the natural resources. Architect Yiftach Ben Meir, the designer, is a recent graduate from The Faculty Of Architecture and Town Planning at Technion, Israel Institute of Technology (IIT). His final project SeaO2 was conceived under the framework of Tecnion Computer Oriented Design Studio, T_Code with the instruction of dr. Yasha j. Grobman.
Text from Yiftach :
SeaO2 is an experimental ecological housing project. The project poses an alternative to current plans for Tel Aviv North West coastal district. SeaO2 demonstrates vast use of cutting edge computer software, some being used in the aerospace industry, in order to improve building performance and to ensure the existence of a sustainable urban environment with a minimal ecological footprint. The project final form is a consequence of a scientific approach that calculates numerous of elements: the sun orbit, wind conditions, maximum open scenic views, very high density and more, all in a free-form organic manner.
Advanced Computer Simulations ensure the project’s credibility. The project’s unique morphology enables: optimized solar reception for heating at winter time, self-shadowing and solar reception for electricity generation at summer time, natural lighting, optimized natural ventilation, open looks to the natural coastal environment, public green spaces, rain collection and more. Various passive mechanical systems complement the basic morphology, enable better performance and create an energy efficient, environmentally friendly housing project
Designer : Yiftach Ben Meir
City Center, a green development project coming up in Las Vegas, is the largest privately financed development in North America. It’s an $8 billion venture between MGM MIRAGE and Dubai World, the first building is scheduled to be opened at the end of 2009. On completion of the entire City Center project, it includes a resort casino, two non-gaming resort hotels, and almost 500,000 square foot retail and entertainment space and also will feature a $40 million public fine art program.
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Really, you don?t have to be a tree hugger to appreciate the LED Accent Lighting from in-fusions. These innovative eco-friendly lamps are designed to consume only 3W of power with an average life of 18000 hrs. Group a bunch of them together or use them stand-alone to jazz up your living or work space.
Design is in the details
The brushed acrylic tube ensures that the accent lamp is light-weight and doesn?t break easily. The LEDs arranged in a circle at the bottom of the acrylic base cast a cool kaleidoscopic effect on the ceiling ? truly retro. A soft pad at the base ensures surfaces are spared the scratches. Read the rest of this entry »
