Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, Green Culture
How about a garage covered in wind turbines with solar windows?
We ran a story a little while ago that talked about a thin-film solar covering that is transparent and can be applied to windows. I thought that perhaps it was possible to use them on the large automotive sunroofs that are popular these days to charge the normal 12-volt battery of the vehicle. But, after I saw this website, I started thinking, why not have a garage with these wind turbines covering the roof and the thin-film solar covering on the windows too? The electricity generated should probably be used to charge batteries that could be used to charge your electric car. If you were to do something like this, the electric vehicle's batteries could be charged quite quickly, depending on the batteries in the car. Many of the newest electric cars, like the Phoenix SUT, the Tesla Roadster and the not-yet-available ZENN car using the EEStor system offer the capability to charge very fast, making the limiting factor the power-source you are charging from. Direct battery to battery charging would be one solution to the problem, and using solar and wind-power would take your car completely off the grid. Any thoughts?
Of course, alternatively, you could do the same thing with solar cells on the roof of the garage. Depending on where you live, one may work better than the other.
Related:
[Source: Human Shelter via Hugg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
George Krpan 1:49AM (2/24/2007)
It's a great idea for two reasons. First, for the electricity generated and second, for the shelter it provides.
Take it a step further and think of living under a structure like this.
You would not need a substantial building because the structure provides the shelter.
You could live in a tent, a bamboo house, or a cardboard house.
Reply
BLS 9:11AM (2/26/2007)
I think anything to harness the energy that is free and present is a good idea. However if you work a standard schedule your car may not be in your garage when the sun is shining. I think a good solution (though maybe cost prohibitive) would be to generate that electricity and store it in the form of Hydrogen (through electrolosis) and also run your house off of the energy. Then if you had a fuel cell car, it could act as a generator at night when it is garaged. Or, just use the Hydrogen to refuel your car. (I will take a mazda hydrogen RX-8 please)
Reply
Jeremy Korzeniewski 9:25AM (2/26/2007)
BLS - that is why I suggested the battery to hold the charge of the solar panels and the wind turbines. This would allow the electricity to be stored when it is available, and offloaded when necessary. Plus, it would allow much faster charge times with the newest battery technologies.
Reply
JStandefer 6:37PM (2/26/2007)
From the article: "...possible to use them on the large automotive sunroofs that are popular these days to charge the normal 12-volt battery..."
The 1992-1995 Mazda 929 had, as an option, solar cells in the car's moonroof. On warm days, these solar cells would power the car's interior fan to circulate cooler air into the vehicle. On cool days, they would trickle-charge the car's battery. From what I have heard, they were quite effective.
I'm really surprised other auto manufacturers haven't adopted this technology, especially considering how much the technology has advanced and become less expensive since 1992.
Reply