Various sustainable habits are being promoted around the world to help preserve the environment and the planet we live in. Such habits include opting for natural household products and reducing solid waste through recycling and reusing. In the Philippines, the prices of solar panels have become affordable enough that more and more people are using it.
Technology also plays significant role in both worsening and improving the condition of the Earth. Since the advent of technology brings various benefits to humankind, creative minds maximize the availability of new technologies to developed innovations that will benefit everyone, including the environment. Here are a few more incredible solar-powered inventions that are wonderful alternatives to their regular counterparts.
SOL Laptop
SOL, the world’s first solar-powered laptop, was developed by WeWi to aid education in developing countries. This laptop was designed with extreme durability and detachable solar panels, making it efficient to use anywhere you go. It can last for about 8 to 10 hours without being plugged in and only needs to be charged for two hours.
ZubaBox
An Internet café often uses more electricity since it has several computer units that need to be connected with the outlet, which results to more usage of energy. But did you know that it is possible to build a solar-powered Internet shop?
ZubaBox was developed by Computer Aid International to provide computer solutions in a medical mission in Zambia. This Internet café was constructed using shipping containers, low-power lights, and polycrystalline solar panels. Since then, ZubaBox was also installed in other countries, such as Kenya, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe.
Solar Impulse Plane
Typically, an airplane uses a petroleum-based fuel, such as aviation fuel to power up. But for engineer Andre Borschberg and aeronaut Bertrand Piccard, it is possible to fly an aircraft without utilizing fuel, which lessens green gas emissions. With this, they launched Solar Impulse.
Solar Impulse, a long-range experimental solar-powered aircraft project, created a single-seat aircraft that is powered by photovoltaic cells. In 2011, the first solar-powered plane was able to fly its first international flight, which flew between Belgium and France. Solar Impulse Plane is considered the first aircraft to fly both the day and night without fuel. Moreover, the Solar Impulse II finished an entire trip across the globe in July 2016, which lasted for more than 16 months.
Solar-powered Roadways
The first ever bike path was built in the Netherlands in 2015. The bike path stretches 230 ft. long and made up of crystalline silicon solar panels. The solar panels are covered with tempered glass that is tough to withstand extreme weather and hundreds of cyclists that will traverse on it. On the other hand, France has plans, too, to install solar pavers that will cover 1,000 km of the road.
There is no doubt that technology has been a great gift to people. Utilizing it in a good way will surely bring positive results to everyone just like the smart inventions mentioned above. These new innovations will surely profoundly change the daily lives of people and help minimize worsening of the Earth’s condition.