The artificial leaf could be one of the most important inventions of this decade.  No, this wasn’t the first time someone has invented such a thing, but it was the first time someone perfected the technology and is on the cusp of making it widely available.  Meet Daniel Nocera, Ph.D.

The first artificial leaf worked but on a limited basis.  It was costly because it used precious metals and was unstable, only lasting a day at most.  Nocera’s leaf is different.  It works on nickel and cobalt and is highly stable.  That makes it cost effective.  When the nickel and cobalt are immersed in water and exposed to sunlight, the “leaf” can split water into hydrogen and oxygen 10 times more efficiently than a natural leaf.

Welcome to a hydrogen economy.  When placed in a gallon of water in the bright sun, this device could power a home in a developing country for a day.  As the nickel and cobalt react and split the water into it’s components, the oxygen and hydrogen are stored in a fuel cell for later use.  This way even when the sun is not shining, electricity can be produced.

via sciencedaily

Currently LED’s are manufactured with costly materials such as sapphire or silicon carbide, and currently many companies are trying to scale those materials in order to drive down the costs, but the public is still sitting at $30-40 a bulb.  At that cost it takes a few years, considering you don’t break a bulb, to break even.

This week, Bridgelux said it used eight-inch silicon wafers to make components that achieved 135 lumens per watt.  This means they have reached commercial-grade performance with silicon for the first time. It will take a few years to improve production to make the process more streamlined and commercially viable, but Bridgelux anticipates a reduction of costs by 75%.

Bill Watkins, Bridgelux’s CEO says, “This is a game-changer around the whole cost structure,” Watkins says. “We think we can get to $5 bulbs.”

Recharging a battery is basically reversing the process described above.  There have been attempts in the past to recharge alkaline batteries, but none were very successful because it had not been done properly.  Recharging alkalines can be downright dangerous when not done right.  The batteries can overheat causing a buildup of gas inside the battery canister therefore causing potassium hydroxide (KOH) leakage, or in a worst case scenario, it could explode.  Potassium hydroxide is highly corrosive substance and can cause damage to the eyes and skin.

The company WattsClever has come up with a smart charger for alkalines.  Since overheating is the main concern for recharging these batteries, “a full set of safety features are built in, these includes overcharging protection, over heating protection, and battery type protection. Additionally the LED lights on the product will indicate clearly when charging is completed along with other functions.”

via WattsClever

Currently a huge detractor is that hydrogen is expensive to produce.  Water is very stable, and it takes a lot of energy to break apart water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.  Gerardine Botte of Ohio University has created a new catalyst that can extract the hydrogen from urine.

Urine is the most abundant waste on Earth and extrating hydrogen from it costs fraction of what it would cost to produce hydrogen from water.  A major component of urine, urea, incorporates four hydrogen atoms per molecule and only requires .37 volts to break the molecule down as opposed to the 1.23 volts needed to break water down.

“During the electrochemical process the urea gets adsorbed on to the nickel electrode surface, which passes the electrons needed to break up the molecule,” Botte told Chemistry World.  She also believes that this technology can easily be scaled to both clean up sewage plants while giving us a viable, long-term energy source.

via physorg

Not only will this technology eliminate the bulky bricks.  The technology could make servers, laptops, and electric vehicles more efficient.  Energy is wasted when converting between AC and DC power in the form of heat.

Transphorm’s new technology is based on gallium nitride rather than silicon.  Gallium nitride is a semiconductor that wastes far less energy than silicon.  Because they are so much more efficient, no bulky heat sinks or fans are needed.  They hope to eliminate wasted electicity by up to 90%.

Transform will test its new technologies in data centers first where heat sinks, fans, and massive cooling systems could benefit greatly from the gallium nitride technology.  They also hope to help in the efficiency of solar panels and project they could improve light conversion from 2-4 percentage points.  That doesn’t seem like a lot, but this is in an industry when .5% improvement is considered very good.

via technology review

“We took a clean sheet of paper and designed a system with the goal of achieving an installed capital cost of $1/watt,” Angel said.The energy telescope is different from other systems in that it doesnt use a lens on every solar cell.  Instead, they are concentrating the energy of the sun through a ball lens.  After the light is concentrated in the middle of the ball, it is then emitted at about 400 times the intensity of the light going in.  The light is then channeled through optical funnels which concentrate the light again and evenly distribute the power.  The result light is 1200 times the geometric concentration when it hits the solar panels located behind the funnels.

“Other groups have used dish systems, but they don’t use the same type of optics to control the light at its focus,” Angel said. These optics allow more energy to be made using half the area of photovoltaic cells.  In most instances, the solar panel is the most expensive part of a solar array.  However, this is not the case with the solar telescope.  Consequently, high efficiency panels can be used in a smaller number more efficiently.

“Our goal is to have the first complete 20 kW energy telescope installed and operating by the end of the year,” Angel said. He recently received a $1 million grant that will be matched by REhnu, which will help him meet this goal and advance the technology.

via solarnovus

This is one of those ideas that is so simple and efficient.  Unlike solar panels, hot water heaters actually do not need to be on the roof, they simply need to be exposed to the sun.  While using sunlight for hot water, it also blocks the light from entering the house saving as much as 30% on cooling costs.

Another way this makes for a more efficient system is that it opens up the roof for solar panels.  The Eliosolar awnings and shade structures also qualify as solar hot water heaters for the 30% Federal tax break for solar thermal, and you may be in a location with other solar thermal incentives and rebates, You can check your state at DSIRE.

via eliosolar.com

The rubber from the tires is melted and the debris is filtered.  It is then formed into a sheet that is stretched over a frame that can be made of a variety of materials.  Once the basin is formed in the frame, the drain colar is fitted into the drain hole which will help the rubber take form against the frame.

To further the efficiency, less than one pound of rubber is used per sink.  Two options are available.  The most basic is the 1/8 inch think rubber adhered directly to a surface is the first option.  The other is a framed option that uses aluminum frames that clamp the outer edges of the rubber.  What is the name of this sink?  RUBBiSH of course.

via architectmagazine.com

Now that we don’t need soap for our dishes and we also don’t need to replace our razors nearly as often, a similar technology has come to toothbrushes.  Actually, the technology has been around for about 15 years.

Dr. Kunio Komiyama and his colleague Dr. Gerry Uswak are testing 120 Canadian teenagers willing to brush with the solar powered toothbrush and go to the dentist more frequently to document the effectiveness of the toothbrush.

Fifteen years ago, the first model introduced a titanium dioxide rod embedded in the neck of the brush just below the nylon bristles.  Light activates a wet rod thereby releasing electrons which react with acid in your mouth.  This helps to break down plaque without the use of toothpaste.

The newest model, the Soladey-J3X, is twice as effective as the old model.  The Soladey will not work in the dark, but it only needs about as much light as a solar calculator.  Although the tests on the new model are ongoing, lab tests showed complete destruction of two types of bacteria which are major culprits in periodontal disease.

via canada.com