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“Windancer” Windmills Have Some Great Features

vistasp — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 09:05:30 +0000

With their windmills starting rotation in breeze as light as 1m/s, Wind Simplicity’s designs would be great for many parts of India that are not on the conventional wind-map. They are built to withstand snow and ice – not problems we face every day in our tropical climate! Now if only some Indian manufacturer would tie up with them to make these in India…

GoTo :: “Windancer” Windmills Have Some Great Features

Lightpipes from Skyshade

vistasp — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 04:36:28 +0000

I recently wanted to use solar lightpipes for an interior design project but couldn’t find a supplier. Now, there is at least one company making them in India – in Hyderabad to be exact. I haven’t yet asked what the costs are though…

Go to :: Skyshade
Thanks to :: The Masterbuilder

GoTo :: Lightpipes from Skyshade

Sintex Biodigester for Sewage

vistasp — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:39:22 +0000

Found this article at Sustainable Design Update about Sintex Industries making a prefabricated biogas digester which turns waste and garbage into cooking fuel. Nothing new about the technology but constructing a tank has always been the biggest headache. Now, you can just get it ready-made and install it. According to this Fortune magazine article, it costs about Rs. 17,000 for a tank that’s 1m³ in size. This, apparently is enough for a family of 4 and the payback period is 2 years.

Interestingly, most references to Sintex call it a “plastics and textiles manufacturer”. I didn’t know they did textiles. Here in Bombay, Sintex is to tanks what Xerox is to photocopiers. In the meanwhile, not a single Indian newspaper or website had picked up on this. Yet…

The Sintex website makes no mention of this product and it’s still probably a pilot project because only 100 have been installed as of date. They do plan to increase production tenfold but 1000 tanks is still merely a drop in the ocean. If other manufacturers copy this design with as much alacrity as they did the Sintex loft and overhead tanks, then we might get somewhere.

GoTo :: Sintex Biodigester for Sewage

Innovative Toilets from IIT Kanpur

vistasp — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 10:43:20 +0000

Researchers at IIT Kanpur are working on a toilet design that will reuse water. The design is still under development but, if it works as advertised, it’ll be a good thing because the amount of fresh water flushed down the drain is dramatically reduced. The article at Down To Earth may disappear in the next few days because access to archives requires subscription. From what I understand of the system, a vortex is created to clean the pan and then, further, to separate the solid from the liquid matter. The liquid is then being pumped back for reuse. In places where there is little or no power, hand-pumps can be used a couple of times a day.

What you are left with is dry waste which can be composted and reused liquid which contains a lot of urine. They’ll have to work on the smell angle because… well… have you ever been to a urinal at a train station? The smell is so strong, methinks it would almost be commercially viable to bottle the ammonia!

I’m also left wondering if at least a small amount of electrical power would be required to help with this mini centrifuge work better. Indian Railways have approved the design and they’re going to test it out on one particular route. It remains to be seen if the centrifugal force which is running on gravity is strong enough to override the rock and roll effect of a railway carriage running at high speed.

Finally, even if the system doesn’t work for reusing the water, I still think it’s a good idea to separate the solid and liquid components because dry composting is far more efficient.

Go to :: Down To Earth Magazine

GoTo :: Innovative Toilets from IIT Kanpur

Everlasting Bulb

vistasp — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 14:35:16 +0000

Scientists at a British company, Ceravision, have developed an alternative light bulb which has an energy efficiency of 50% (compared to 5% for incandescents and 15% for fluorescent tubes). As if that’s not enough, this bulb should last for decades and doesn’t contain mercury either. I can’t say I fully understand the technicalities but it involves microwaves being pushed through a hole in a piece of aluminium oxide. In theory this “everlasting bulb” looks like an excellent development but, eventually, it boils down to how many lumens it gives per watt of power consumed.

Go to: Everlasting light via: TreeHugger

GoTo :: Everlasting Bulb

Ye Old Tube-Light – Still Going Strong

vistasp — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:18:33 +0000

I’ve always been interested in LED lighting and, while it is making great strides towards becoming a highly efficient artificial light source, the lowly tube-light is still the least power-hungry domestic lighting source you can find; it just beats its newer counterparts – the compact fluorescents.

And if anyone still thinks incandescent lights aren’t all that bad, the table on this page will dispel the darkness.

Full Report :: Treehugger :: What is the Most Energy Efficient Light Source?

GoTo :: Ye Old Tube-Light – Still Going Strong

Piped Solar Light

vistasp — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 08:08:09 +0000

Solar pipes are not new but they usually employ fibre optics which makes them cost more than many people are willing to shell out. This system, on the other hand uses highly reflective pipes instead and, if it is anything like it should, technically, be, it might do a lot to reduce our consumption of electricity.

With light pipes, there is no conversion of energy and, therefore, the losses are minimal. One thing to remember, however, is that such a system will not be kind to less than perfect installation – one end of the pipe starts in the roof and you don’t want your light pipe carrying in water as well.

I was naturally looking for a dealer in India to get an idea of cost but – not surprisingly, there are none. Not yet, at least. Anyone out there who wants to be one? Please?

A British company has also got a product that combines a light-pipe with a vent to make something they call Monovent. Interesting.

:: SolaTube :: via: Treehugger

GoTo :: Piped Solar Light

Turbine on the Roof

vistasp — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 13:40:06 +0000

Oh, this is good! A company that mainly develops unmanned aircraft has turned its skills to making rooftop wind turbines. Small and light (no price yet so I don’t know if it’s cheap) and mounted on the building parapet – to make best use of the structure’s aerodynamic properties – it requires only 3.1m/s of wind-speed to work. That’s a huge drop from the 12m/s average for larger windmills.

Full article :: EcoGeek at Wired NextFest

GoTo :: Turbine on the Roof

Fiber Optics for Accent Lighting

vistasp — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 04:03:42 +0000

C|NET reports that a company based in Ohio, USA has created interior lighting systems that consume just one-third the energy compared to the average fluorescent system. In addition, it is said to emit neither heat nor UV light and won’t leak mercury if broken. Although the systems are expensive at the moment, they are expected to become affordable in the near future.

Okay, let’s be clear about how it works. What the system does is that it takes light from a conventional source – say an incandescent or a metal halide and distributes it via flexible plastic cables with optical fibre inside. This light is transferred to numerous “bulbs” which are naturally highly efficient given that there is no emission of heat at all.

GoTo :: Fiber Optics for Accent Lighting

Separating Toilets

vistasp — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 08:31:25 +0000

This may not be great dinner-table conversation but simply separating urine from excreta can make a huge difference to how we approach the issue of human waste. Wost Man Ecology, a firm run by Swedish farmer Ingvar-Nilsson, makes separating toilets that are now selling all across the world. Essentially, the urine can be directly used as a source of urea while the solid waste composts (and turns into fertiliser) much quicker when it’s dry.

:: via IANS ::

GoTo :: Separating Toilets