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Passive solar design refers to the use of the sun’s energy for the heating and cooling of living spaces. In this approach, the building itself or some element of it takes advantage of natural energy characteristics in materials and air created by exposure to the sun. Passive systems are simple, have few moving parts, and require minimal maintenance and require no mechanical systems.
Passive Solar Design
Obviously there are many ways to allow natural light into the spaces within a building. However as a generalisation, daylighting systems can be categorised into five main types, as outlined in the sections below. Each type should be seen as having two parts, an aperture to collect the daylight, and a distribution system to control or direct the light within the space. Windows Vertical windows are the most commonly used type of daylighting system. Many rooms have windows only on one side, however light levels fall off quite quickly as you move deeper into the space.
| Daylighting: Design Strategies | Archived Ecotect WIKI
Uma espécie de chalé moderno, ecológico e integrado à natureza atendeu ao sonho do arquiteto George Mills de construir sua casa de veraneio de uma praia do litoral norte paulista. Simples e funcional, o caixote de concreto destaca-se em meio à mata por sua estrutura e pela fluida escada helicoidal (em formato caracol) que liga os pavimentos. Dono de um terreno situado em uma ilha fluvial em São Sebastião - onde a Mata Atlântica ainda é exuberante - o arquiteto tinha o desejo de que “o sertão virasse mar” ao projetar a casa, distante do solo a uma altura de seis metros: "Gostaria que fosse possível ver a praia de lá, mas, mesmo sobre a laje da cobertura - nove metros acima do terreno - as árvores continuam bem mais altas do que a construção, impedindo a visão." Foto 20 de 24 - A mesma escada helicoidal usada como acesso ao pavimento interno da Casa nas Árvores, alcança a laje de cobertura reservada ao lazer Mais Fabiano Cerchiari/UOL
Casa levantada no nível das árvores interage com a vida na Mata Atlântica - 25/01/2012 - Projetos de Arquitetura - UOL Casa e Imóveis
Cordies is a desktop cable management system that organizes your various computer cables while also keeping them weighted down so they don't slide off your desk when disconnected.
Quirky Cordies Desktop Cable Management for power cords and charging accessory cables (Metal): Electronics
How to Make Your Own Touchscreen Heads Up Display
If you've got an old netbook and a little bravery you can easily turn it into a touchscreen heads up display with a cheap touchscreen overlay and some software we made just for you. The video above will walk you through, in detail, how the software works and how you can hack together a touchscreen tablet out of a netbook, but here's the gist. First, let's start with the software. The software is pretty simple and runs cross-platform thanks to Adobe AIR. It's designed to be a home screen that lets you preview items from your RSS feeds and open them in a browser if you want to read more.When you use gas or electric power, you are consuming energy. This costs you money, and the production of energy is particularly hard on the planet. Solar powered items are clean, green and fun to use. Help yourself to the sun's free energy, slip a few dollars into your mutual fund, and let the sun shine on!
Green Home - Solar Powered Lights, Fans, and Electronics
The Solar Lights Site is Your Complete Solar Lighting Resource
Solar lighting is one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to, not only add beauty to your home, but to do so while simultaneously doing your part to help preserve our environment. If you are wondering how you can be a part of the solar lights revolution, you have found the one site that we believe can offer you answers to all of your questions. Here at the Solar Lights Site, we pride ourselves on offering informative and helpful articles on everything solar lighting related. We have tips for finding the right fixtures for your applications, as well as reviews, resources, and just about everything else that we can think of to help you to make the transition to indoor or outdoor solar lights for your home.
Solar Power Car
Current solar power car prototypes operate like regular cars with the addition of a battery pack that can contain any of a number of battery types including Lithium ion batteries and Lithium polymer batteries. Also, a power electronics system monitors how much energy is being gathered, how much is being used, and controls the amount of energy stored in the battery pack. A data acquisition system provides drivers with information about battery power, energy intake, and other important information needed to keep the car moving. The mechanical system also differs from traditional cars in that many prototype solar cars only have three wheels.
May 1, 2009 The Suntrica SolarBadge and the SolarStrap are pocket-sized, durable and lightweight solar-charging devices with a flexible design that's durable enough to withstand harsh environments and versatile enough to be worn on various parts of your body or your backpack. Using a flexible thin-film panel, the devices store the Sun's energy internal battery which can be used immediately or later in the day to charge mobile phones, digital cameras or MP3 players. The battery offers a service voltage of five volts and can also be charged via mains power or USB. Versatility is the key here - these pocket-sized units give you the freedom to go traveling wherever you like - safe in the knowledge that you have a power source for your personal electronic equipment. They can also be attached to different parts of your body or backpack to ensure that the device is always positioned toward the sun.
Suntrica solar-powered chargers: pocket-sized energy sources
U sing parts easily available from the internet (see helpful links) and your local stores, you can make a small solar power generator for $250 to $300. Great for rolling blackouts, life outside the power grid, or the coming zombie apocalypse. Power your computer, modem, dvd, tv, cameras, lights, fans, or DC appliances anywhere you go. Use in cabins, boats, tents, archaeological digs, or while travelling throughout the third world. Have one in the office store room in case of power failures in your highrise.
"How to make a solar power generator"
TreeHugger Are you ready for a rooftop fish farm like this on top of your apartment building? bit.ly/JKbxfh yesterday · reply · retweet · favorite