posted by admin on Mar 2

There’s plenty of sunshine on deck – but no room for sunbathing!

Floating somewhere in the Pacific Ocean close to French Polynesia is the largest solar-powered boat ever made – and it is on a (hopefully) four-time record-breaking journey around the globe. Check their location for yourself if not reading this today:

This 95-ton, 31 meter catamaran is already 5 months into its amazing journey – one that will hopefully show how renewable energy can become a serious contender in a carbon-reduced world.

The company responsible for this giant floating photo-voltaic panel were also the same company that recently created Earthrace – a boat powered mainly by bio diesel. However, with over 530 square meters of solar panels – this boat is truely eco friendly. It is totally powered by the sun itself – not on processed crops.

And they even got to Cancun in time for the UN World Climate Conference last year to prove a point!

The Boat:
The design needed to be totally energy-efficient and that meant both hydro- and aero-dynamic; I mean just because the sun’s energy is ‘free’ – there is no need to waste it!

They also wanted a boat that would have some usful purpose after the round-the-world adventure – as the massive over-hanging sheets of 825 solar panels don’t exactly scream ‘luxury yacht’.

However the hope is that the boat will still be used after as a personal craft – and that future technology based on this boats achievements will allow for smaller panels generating more energy to be produced.

Due to its energy source – the boat is also silent!

photo credit: Kumaravel

The sun isn’t only beautiful to look at – it could save our planet simply by doing what it has done for billions of years – just shine.

The Aims:
Well, the 4 World Records are just part of the fun of a new invention – but the real targets are proving that the technology of today can do amazing things if harnessed in the right way.

There is all this ‘talk’ of eco inventions being slow to take effect and being more expensive than the normal products or services – but this goes to prove that bigger projects can really work if you set your mind to it.

If such a large boat can power its way across the oceans – then why can’t smaller boats, cars, houses, businesses – all run on solar (where appropriate) or other renewable and sustainable energy sources.

To quote their own website – these are their 6 aims:
1) To demonstrate the potential of renewable energies and photovoltaics
2) To show that we already ahve the technology required for sustainability
3) To take part in the technological development of renewable energy and advance scientific research
4) To inform the public and make them aware of the importance of renewable energy
5) To make the best possible use of energy efficiency
6) To show that the economy and ecology can and must work together.

Read more on their website if you are still interested in their project – or if you have something similar in mind yourself…..

posted by admin on Jan 11

How can your company move forwards if you are left trying to fix a laptop?

What if you need to go to a meeting but you can’t save your data in the right place – or you haven’t quite had long enough to experiment with the latest media upgrade your friend recommended and your presentation doesn’t run smoothly?

Keeping up-to-date with technology and IT advances can sometimes take up so much time that it starts to eat into your ‘business’ time. You have enough to worry about when starting up or running a business – but you then need to spend time researching the latest upgrades, internet security or media packages – and then installing and actually using them!

Well, according to IT outsourcing trends – the way to go is to not worry about your IT department at all: employ someone else to keep on top of everything!

I mean – Why worry about your IT department when you need all the time you can get your hands on to strike up this new deal, implement a new policy or promote your new product?

Widening The Load:
Internet connections and data processing are so fast these days – that you don’t even need your staff in the same office as you.

You can talk to someone online faster than you can walk to the person in the office next door – so why do your employees need to be in the same office at all?

Many companies have virtual secretaries – some even have virtual offices – so why not outsource one of the most important parts of your company to the experts?

Rather than employ 1 or 2 people who know about computers to work for you – you should consider investing that same salary in working with a reputable computer network support services.

For example take NCC Data – one such IT company: They are all experts here – and you are getting the services of more than the 1 or 2 people you traded in! They can offer so much more from their size and experience than can any 1 stand-alone office employee.

Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t have someone in the office for all the basic computing know-how – but IT companies likethis can also offer extensive additional services for the same cost.

For example, they offer business strategy consulting, infrastructure optimization ideas, network security and asset management to their customers. They also know all about the latest technology in the field and the hottest trends in your business area.

And more importantly, they can offer advice on your business needs, growth ideas and disaster recovery planning – as they can see the bigger picture from the expreience they have gained from working with so many other companies similar to yours.

You Already Outsource!
Business IT outsourcing could allow you the extra time in the day that you need to keep your company growing.

In the same way that you outsource your waste management (to avoid worrying about transport and disposal of your rubbish) and you outsource your hygiene management (to avoid worrying about cleaning bathrooms and floors) – you can outsource your IT department – to avoid worrying about upgrades, lost data and server problems!

And you outsource your food and drink too – when you order that coffee and cake!
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posted by admin on Dec 11

There are always ways to make something work more ‘lifestyle friendly’ – in tune with the way we use things.

The most obvious one of this type of invention was the ‘snooze’ button on your alarm.  Rather than having to manually reset your alarm after it goes off if you want to sleep a bit longer, you just hit snooze and it goes off again in 5 or 10 minutes instead.

There are plenty more opportunities out there that could really save us not only time – but lives too!

Most security or safety appliances and features on the market are there to save lives – but as a result, they make life that little bit more difficult – for example self-closing, heavy fire doors.  I’m not denying that they save lives and need to be in place in schools, offices and other large establishments – but when you need to move furniture or whatever, back and forth several times in close succession – there is the temptation to wedge them open instead.

Needless to say this also happens if heating or air-conditioning isn’t working or at it’s best and a variety of other reason no doubt – but it makes having the fire doors totally useless if they are wedged open when there actually is a fire in the building.

What’s The Answer?
The answer is a safety device that allows the fire door to be wedged open securely – but in such a way that if the fire alarms are set off or there are more than so many smoke particles in the air – then they close automatically.

So they are safely wedged open for practicality – but just as safe in the case of their intended use – and thankfully; they are already on the market.

However, I would love to see other ‘temporary’ measures in place on other items that ‘get in peoples way’ or are easier than other current methods.

For example – why can’t you have a 30 minute pause button on your kitchen smoke alarm?  When I cook meals, I get so worried that I am going to set off the smoke alarm that I wish there was a way to give me 30 minutes grace rather than have it scare the life out of me and my neighbours – or set off sprinklers in the building!

No doubt many people are tempted to take out the batteries of their smoke alarms if they set them off to often or they are ‘over-sensitive’ to smoke – and just like the fire door example – this is when they put themselves at risk.  As we know how easy it is to forget to put the batteries back in as the device is usually high up on the ceiling!

Bearing in mind that you are nearly always in your home cooking the dinner when you burn it – you can see that it is burning and deal with the situation – rather than having to struggle to switch off the alarm as well as move burning hot food from the oven!

After the 30 minutes grace – the smoke alarm becomes active again without you having to do anything.  So you are safe again immediately rather than having to remember to put your alarm back together again straight after cooking.

Other Easy Inventions:
I bet you can think of loads of things you can put a ‘pause’ on to make your life easier – like the bedroom/bathroom/other room heater for example if you don’t have central heating. 

Rather than have to fiddle around with a socket timer in each room - why can’t there be a 4/6/8 hour ‘on hold’ button on it?  When you go to bed, you hit whichever button you need and the heater goes off for that amount of time – hopefully coming back on in time to get the room cosy for when you wake up.  I mean, you know how long you are going to sleep for!

I suppose it’s a bit like the old fashioned teas-maid machine that you could set to wake you up to the smell of coffee!  But there are no new versions of it?  Some washing machines have a pause button on them so you can have your clothes washed in the short lead up time to you coming home – that way your clothes haven’t been sitting in the machine all day wet!

Or what about the opposite inventions for turning stuff off after a length of time.  You can already set your TV to go off after a set period of time – if you intend to fall asleep watching it – so why not the same set up on your lamp, your heater, your radio or whatever else you want to stay on for just that bit longer!

What if you just need another 30 minutes to finish running that upgrade on your laptop – but you need to go into a meeting and don’t want to leave your machine on for hours?  Or those cakes in the oven still need another 10 minutes but you have to go pick up the kids from school!

Think of the eco friendly potential as well here – it’s not just about making our lives easier in general, we could be saving energy and money all over the place as well as making sure that we stay safe!

Sometimes you just need to freeze time – and this could be the way to do it! 

posted by admin on Nov 22

Why can’t people invent cheap (and energy-free) versions of everything we own!

I was recently reading about a fantastic new invention in the fight against poverty and world hunger!

It’s a refrigerator which consists of two pottery bowls and some wet sand, would you believe it.

So, I ask myself – why have I got some great big electricity-drinking white machine in my kitchen instead of a couple of these pots?

Why was my laptop £400 when others are only a fraction of that; why is my everything so much more expensive and energy-consuming when there are cheaper, more practical alternatives around?

The Pots:
For around £25 apparently you can buy these Zeer pots for 2 families – so why aren’t we using them back home?

You make 2 pots – one to fit inside the other – and then mount them on a stand.  You fill the gap between the pots with wet sand – and hey presto: you can help lengthen the lifespan of a tomato or a carrot for example by up to 10 times!

That’s right – from 2 days to 20 days! 

Ironically – how often do you see a shelf life or 3 weeks on a packet of fresh tomatoes you buy from the store here?  Hardly ever – and we have fancy top-of-the-range electrical goods!

Other Goods:
So, why can’t we carry on this ‘inventing’ process for everything that we own – but make it available to everyone – not just people in developing countries.

I agree that they should get the technology first and at as low a cost as possible – but to be honest – I would rather use a large pot-based fridge for most of my food than the 24/7 electrical one I have at the moment!

Any ideas for an energy-free hairdryer or toaster?

posted by admin on Nov 10

Green inventions are in demand at the moment – especially energy related ideas!

And we all know that to make an eco friendly alternative worth paying for – it needs to make our lives greener (as well as cheaper) and with no noticeable effort on our part.

Eco inventions aren’t all about ‘new’ and ‘innovative’ like new games and mobile phone technology – although they can be if they want!

However, and eco invention is generally something that offers an eco-friendly alternative to something that already exists.

Take the new VPhase unit: your home already gets a supply of electricity, and you already have all the wiring for your fuse box and everything technical like that – but this little box stops you getting more energy than you need in your home for the things that already exist in your home.

How It Works:
Every electrical appliance works on a minimum voltage – basically once you are sending more than a certain amount of volts through it: it will work.

However, you can send many more volts through it than this minimum amount and it will still work – up to a certain point when it will become damaged.  However, it doesn’t really need more than a set amount to work efficiently and larger voltages can actually put it under ‘stress’ and shorten its ‘lifespan’.

General utility voltages vary between this minimum amount and up to 30volts more than necessary – all day, its up and down – and obviously you pay for all the volts you use: even if you didn’t need them.

It’s like buying a family ticket to a theme park when there is only 2 of you!  You are paying for more volts than you need to ‘run your home’.

So, this great little invention makes sure you never get too many – it limits your incoming voltage to a basic rate (around 220v).  When your supplier is sending out a really high voltage level – your little device will stop all the extra from coming into your home – leaving you only paying for what you actually need.

Why Is That Good?
Well, the obvious benefit is that you aren’t paying for electricity that you don’t need!  By not allowing this extra energy into your home in the first place – you won’t have to pay for it.

And, if you aren’t taking more electricity from the grid than you need then there will be more ‘left in the system’ to power other peoples homes.  Ultimately this will mean that there needs to be less produced in the first place as less is being ‘demanded’.

Add on to this saving, the benefits of not over-charging your appliances will help to extend their workable lifespan.  Lightbulbs for example, will last longer at this lower voltage, as will many other appliances around the home.

Needless to say the environmental and energy savings will be huge.  Not only will your home reduce it’s energy demands, and therefore it’s energy use – it may well also reduce the need for appliances to be replaced – therefore reducing consumer demand over time.

And if all homes used less energy and brought less appliances – imagine the eco savings!

The Down Side:
As will all inventions – there is an initial cost involved.  However, once installed you need do nothing more!

If you are doing it for the money – you need to calculate how soon you will break even and notice the gains from it; bearing in mind that you can save an average of 10% off your energy bills.

If you are doing it for the environment, then you need to be aware that it will start to save energy and reduce carbon emissions instantly.  Once fitted, you are already making a difference to the environment without even having to try.

Your home will run exactly the same as before without any effort on your part.  No nagging the kids to ‘do this’ or ‘do that’ – just carry on as you are and the savings are being made for you!