solar – Kristen Baumlier

This past summer something shiny caught my eye at the Ingenuity Festival in Cleveland, OH. The SolarQue, a new lightweight tubular shaped solar cooker, was being demonstrated at the festival. Lots of people were interested in the design of the cooker, and also in eating the free food samples that were cooked in the cooker.

The SolarQue is shaped like a small pop-up projector screen and has a unique shape. Its design was born out of a technology that is used to heat water, the “evacuated tube.” The cooking tray, which slides into the tube can hold up to 3 pounds of food. The unit is made of pyrex and gets as hot as 600+ degrees in the full sun. It can heat up wherever there is light, even in freezing conditions.

I talked for a little bit to Ohio inventor behind the product who is a veteran solar designer and has experience in off-grid living. He found the shortcomings of many solar ovens and appliances and worked to create the current design. Many solar ovens take a while to heat up, and also are fairly heavy.

What is nice about the SolarQue is that it is less that 3 pounds and can cook up to 3 pounds of food in the tray. It takes about 10 minutes to cook hot dogs, and about 20 minutes to make scrambled eggs.

I tasted some of the potatoes that were cooked in the SolarQue. You can order a unit from their website, and the patent for the device is currently pending. Got sunshine? Why not cook with the sun?

Image Source:
http://www.solarque.com/

Links:

http://www.solarque.com/

SolarQue – Youtube video

SMIT is a brother and sister design team, Samuel and Teresita Cochran, who have been working with architectural designer Benjamin Wheeler Howes to develop new innovative solar applications.

Their new design called Tensile Solar Structures are lightweight, modular systems that produce solar power and have a new look.

Usually the use of large solar photovoltaic panels are considered to be an eyesore, and a necessary evil of clean energy. Providing solar with a new look, Tensile Solar Structures are light, have a patterned appearance, and look like a piece of modern sculpture.

Tensile Solar is inspired by the intersection of fabric architecture, modern composite materials, and thin film photovoltaic technology.

The panels are supported by posts and high tensile stainless steel cables at their edges, Tensile Solar Saddle structures are free standing canopies and awnings. They span areas up to 850 s.f. and can deliver up to 3 kw of power.

Possible uses for the solar panels could be a shade cover in a backyard, a cover for a parking lot, or in other locations. The designs are patented, and both preconfigured and custom structures are available.

Image Source:
www.tensilesolar.com

Links:

Kristen Baumlier

Tag: solar

SolarQue: A New Tube-shaped Solar Cooker

The New Look of Solar Panels: SMIT’s Tensile Solar Structures