You won't read it in US media, but Blair's speech on "10 ways to save the world today" was reported in detail in the Independent. They are reminiscent of the Canadian prime minister's list of ways that the average person can combat global warming.
Per Blair's speech, here's one way to help make individual buildings self-sufficient:
The technology of the Sunball is unusual, but not unprecedented. Rather than a flat panel, it uses fresnel lenses to concentrate sunlight onto an arrangement of high-efficiency cells, increasing the amount of light hitting the cells. This allows the Sunball to be less-costly than standard pv, with an estimated cost of AU$1,400 (about US$1,050) per 330 W peak unit. We've talked about solar concentrators before, but the previous examples were clearly meant for larger-scale power generation; one advantage of solar concentrator technology is that it can produce more power in a limited space than normal photovoltaic panels. What's novel about the Sunball is that it's meant for home users, particularly those who don't want to cover their rooftops with black glass panels.
Try to envision suburbs where these things are as ubiquitous as Dish TV.
1 comment:
Really useful info, lots of thanks for your post.
Post a Comment