Junkculture. Unconsumption – Page 1. Autonomous robots to be used in keeping dust off solar panels in Israel’s biggest solar field, reports timesofisrael: Most solar energy farms are located in deserts, where there is plenty of sunlight — which solar panels, of course, need a lot of. But the desert also has a lot of dust, which clogs up the photovoltaic components of the panels, making them less effective in collecting sunlight for conversion into energy. Panels have to be cleaned on a regular basis, but water in the desert tends to be expensive, if available at all — and the use of water to clean the panels raises the costs of production, making solar power too expensive to be considered anything more than a novelty…. Instead of using water to clean panels, Ecoppia’s robot cleaners are equipped with microfibers, with each robot assigned to a row of PV panels.
Pruned. Rina Swentzell's Adobe House. Judy introduced me to Rina Swentzell’s house and I am really impressed. This house does not fit in the tiny house size but fits more in the small size but I find the simplicity and the beauty of the home well worth sharing for inspiration and ideas. The house is based in Northern New Mexico and was designed for the grandmother of Bill Steen’s children and Athena’s mother. The grandchildren were involved in the construction and were able to show and develop there construction talents. Benito worked on the building from start to finish, being there from the foundations through the walls andfinish plasters. The house itself, approximately 700 sf, is a tribute to Rina’s architectural design skills.
The wood was local, as were the adobes used for the walls. To view more photos of the construction and see more of Rina’s house visit Bill’s blog. Jalopy Cabins. Turtleback Nomadic Yurts. Welcome to Landerland. LanderLand.com. Sgnb. A Low Impact Woodland Home. Take one baby, a toddler and a building site. Mix well with a generous helping of mud, combine with 6 weeks of solid welsh rain whilst living under canvas.
Do this in candle light without a bathroom or electricity for three months. Chuck in living with your father for good measure. Top with an assortment of large slugs. Having children is a major motivation for buying a house. Some past experience, lots of reading and self-belief gave us the courage of our conviction that we wanted to build our own home in natural surroundings. Initially we had no capital and we had decided resolutely to be full time parents whilst our children were young. So here we are today. Many people ask how we managed to build a house whilst camping without mainstream facilities and as the mum rather than the full time building blokes (my husband and father) I can assure you of a few things.
If that hasn’t put you off more serious issues do provide an impetus to eco-building. 5,000 Wine Bottles Recycled Into Acoustics-Improving Ceiling At Buenos Aires Restaurant. Photos: Paula Alvarado. When I posted the story about La Dorita restaurant and its dozens of recycled-wine-bottles-lamps, a reader suggested that I took a look at another venue from the city which had a wine-bottle ceiling. Thus I got to Ginger Restaurant, which has, indeed, recovered more than 5,000 wine bottles from trash to improve the acoustics of its salon. Diego Valentin, an engineer who owns the place, explained that the idea to build this lower ceiling (there is an actual ceiling above it) came before opening the restaurant last year. They built a metal net that could hold the bottles, and began filling it when they started pilling up in the restaurant.
According to Valentin, the problem with sound in the salon was the bouncing of the sound waves, and the curved shape of the bottles helps 'break' them. As there is more space above the net, the sound continues its way up, improving the quality of acoustics in the salon, which is now used for events. Pretty neat.