Solar Power

Karim Rashid’s Amazing Komb House in Cairo Bursts with Eco-Friendly Color

Karim Rashid’s Amazing Komb House in Cairo Bursts with Eco-Friendly Color

Rashid incorporated a host of passive and active design principles into this small home. All of the lighting is derived from energy-efficient LEDs, water is heated using solar panels, and all of the

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Solar-Powered Black Forest Wooden House K is Built Around a Core of Clay

Solar-Powered Black Forest Wooden House K is Built Around a Core of Clay

The clients were looking for a contemporary wooden house that would provide them the most amount of comfort on their limited budget. The wooden post and beam house was designed around a central clay core

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Innovative Ray Solar Charger Juices Up Your iPod, iPhone or Other Gadget Using Sun Power

Innovative Ray Solar Charger Juices Up Your iPod, iPhone or Other Gadget Using Sun Power

Sunlight = free, electricity = not free, so doesn't it seem like a no-brainer to charge up your gadgets and small electronics using a solar charging device? That's exactly the thinking behind the Ray,

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Floating Marine Solar Cells Harvest Energy from the Sun and Waves

Floating Marine Solar Cells Harvest Energy from the Sun and Waves

Marine Solar Cells (MSC) by Phil Pauley are conceptual hybrid solar and wave energy generators designed to generate renewable energy off shore. The solar wave unit captures wave energy through natural

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Apple Patents Next Generation Solar Technology

Apple Patents Next Generation Solar Technology

The US Patent and Trademark Office just revealed that Apple has been granted 20 new patents which focus on next generation solar technology. According to PatentlyApple, the patents not only cover solar

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VIDEO: Announcing the Winner of the 2011 Solar Decathlon

VIDEO: Announcing the Winner of the 2011 Solar Decathlon

If you're anything like us, you've been having Solar Decathlon withdrawal since the biennial design-build competition ended at the beginning of the month. We're still buzzing with excitement from the

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6 Groundbreaking Green Innovations We Spotted at Popular Mechanics’ Breakthrough Awards

6 Groundbreaking Green Innovations We Spotted at Popular Mechanics’ Breakthrough Awards

OSORB We've written about Osorb before, but we were eager to see this miracle material in person. Made out of what is essentially glass, the substance acts like a nanomechanical sponge that absorbs

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Solar-Powered Rail Station is a Diaphanous Train Storage Shed in Spain

Solar-Powered Rail Station is a Diaphanous Train Storage Shed in Spain

Planning for the 1,300 sq meter train storage shed began back in 2006 and it was finally completed in 2009. Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalonia Railway) conceived of the shed as a way

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Beautiful Solar-Powered Y-House Perches on Stilts Overlooking the Chilean Coast

Beautiful Solar-Powered Y-House Perches on Stilts Overlooking the Chilean Coast

While the sun isn't great for keeping a beach-home cool, it is a superb source of renewable energy. Plus Arquitectura played to the site's strengths by incorporating solar panels onto the Y-shaped roof,

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Atwater Valley Prefab School For At-Risk Students Opens in Merced County, California

Atwater Valley Prefab School For At-Risk Students Opens in Merced County, California

The new Atwater Community Day School is composed of a four-wing classroom building, administrative offices, art and science labs. The campus was specially designed to integrate educational, recreational

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Solar-Powered Berkeley Courtyard House is Cooled by Natural Breezeways

Solar-Powered Berkeley Courtyard House is Cooled by Natural Breezeways

The 4,880 sq ft home was designed for a scientist and his wife who had previously lived in a home designed by WA Designs and wanted one of their very own. After finding a lot with views of the sloping

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University of Maryland WaterShed House Wins the 2011 Solar Decathlon!

University of Maryland WaterShed House Wins the 2011 Solar Decathlon!

The results of the 2011 Solar Decathlon have just been announced, and the winner is University of Maryland WaterShed house! The beautiful water-conservation themed house has been leading the competition

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Team Massachusetts’ 4D Solar Decathlon Home is a 21st-Century Take on the Gable House

Team Massachusetts’ 4D Solar Decathlon Home is a 21st-Century Take on the Gable House

The 4D Home beautifully blends traditional architecture with modern building techniques to create an exceptionally efficient off-grid home that can produce more energy than it consumes. The heart of the

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Empowerhouse Takes First Place in Affordability at the 2011 Solar Decathlon!

Empowerhouse Takes First Place in Affordability at the 2011 Solar Decathlon!

One of the most common arguments against building energy-efficient homes is that the upfront costs are just too high, but this year's Solar Decathlon competition is telling another story. For the first

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Team Canada’s TRTL Solar Decathlon House is a Modern Take on a Native American Home

Team Canada’s TRTL Solar Decathlon House is a Modern Take on a Native American Home

Building on the importance of family and community gathering, the open plan TRTL house features a flexible dining and living area that fosters family relationships. The two bedroom home can be assembled

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SCI-Arc & Caltech’s Solar Decathlon CHIP House is a Crazy Inside-Out Prefab

SCI-Arc & Caltech’s Solar Decathlon CHIP House is a Crazy Inside-Out Prefab

Currently ranking in at number 8, the net zero prefab heralds a new generation of high-tech solar powered housing. The CHIP (which stands for “Compact Hyper-Insulated Prototype”) impressed us with its

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University of Maryland’s WaterShed Solar Decathlon House Takes First Place In Architecture!

University of Maryland’s WaterShed Solar Decathlon House Takes First Place In Architecture!

Before one even enters the Watershed house the lush green native landscaping and natural siding stand out. The University of Maryland architecture students made a conscious effort to source local plants

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Team Purdue’s Suburban INhome Rises to First Place in the 2011 Solar Decathlon!

Team Purdue’s Suburban INhome Rises to First Place in the 2011 Solar Decathlon!

The two-bedroom house is a cute little bungalow with an inviting front porch and a tract home-like façade -- a characteristic that, we'll admit, had us brushing the house off at first. Inside, the

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Google Invests to Bring Solar Power Systems to 3,000 Homes

Google Invests to Bring Solar Power Systems to 3,000 Homes

Google has recently been making great green strides, putting itself on the map in the world of renewable energy. First, they teamed up with Duke Energy to invest in the power of pig poop, and now they are

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Transpartent Hemlock Building Mixes High-Tech Solar Panels With Ancient Sundial Technology

Transpartent Hemlock Building Mixes High-Tech Solar Panels With Ancient Sundial Technology

Left transparent in order to invite curious onlookers to see what's brewing inside the two-storey center, the building's southern facade maximizes natural lighting. It also has a steep pitched roof which

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Tidewater Virginia’s Unit 6 Unplugged Solar Decathlon House Embraces History and Tradition

Tidewater Virginia’s Unit 6 Unplugged Solar Decathlon House Embraces History and Tradition

The furniture in the Unit 6 Unplugged house reflects the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement, which originated in England in the late 19th century and was spread worldwide by architects and

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10 Solar-Powered Designs to Charge Your Life

10 Solar-Powered Designs to Charge Your Life

From smartphones and e-readers to laptops and tablet computers, today's high-tech devices put a wealth of information and utility at our fingertips - however it can be a real challenge to keep these

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PHOTOS: Solar Decathlon Opens in Washington DC

PHOTOS: Solar Decathlon Opens in Washington DC

Sixteen of the teams are from American colleges and universities, with the other four teams coming from China, Canada, New Zealand, and Belgium. The InhabitatNYC team is particularly excited because three

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Amazing Solar-Powered 3D Printer Showcased at the London Design Festival

Amazing Solar-Powered 3D Printer Showcased at the London Design Festival

The new images show details of this incredible machine's minimalist parts: a fresnel lens that concentrates the solar beams, a couple of small photovoltaic panels, an electric box/battery covered in

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Electree Solar-Charging Bonsai Now Available for Pre-Order!

Electree Solar-Charging Bonsai Now Available for Pre-Order!

We've reported on Vivien Muller’s beautifully designed Electree before, but now her spectacular design is finally available for pre-order! The bonsai tree fits on any side table, and also doubles as a

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PHOTOS: Sanitov Studio’s Green Roofed Floating Home is Almost Complete – Exclusive at London Design Festival!

PHOTOS: Sanitov Studio’s Green Roofed Floating Home is Almost Complete – Exclusive at London Design Festival!

Alexander Host, the Danish designer behind many of the project's most special features, including an illuminated, sculptural facade, a waterproof hull, 93% recycled stone cladding, and many of the

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Welios Science Center Teaches About Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy in Austria

Welios Science Center Teaches About Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy in Austria

The Welios Science Center is located in the Wels’ Volksgarten park, where it bridges the gap between the historic city center and the expo center. Conceived as a giant X, the project offers flexible

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SOLARCROSS: Brilliant Electric Bike is Boosted by the Sun’s Rays

SOLARCROSS: Brilliant Electric Bike is Boosted by the Sun’s Rays

Inventor Terry Hope has created the Solarcross - a sun-powered electric bike outfitted with three photovoltaic panels, a 24-volt electric motor, and three 5,000 mAh lithium-ion batteries. The brilliant

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