Hasta La Gadget!

If you so happen to be well off enough to actually own a swimming pool in your home, then to pick and choose the various accessories for it would make plenty of sense. After all, swimming lap after lap in it can get boring after a while, unless you are on some sort of strict training regime. Having said that, you might want to check out this particularly useful add-on for your swimming pool, the $4,000 Solar Powered Entertainment Lounger.

The Solar Powered Entertainment Lounger’s name says it all – this particular motorized reclining lounge chair will come with its fair share of built-in misters to help you keep nice and cool even in the sweltering heat, while the integrated speakers would work well in letting you chill out to your latest songs. If your water-resistant device happens to be running low on juice, fret not – there is a USB charging port that will help you out, where the entire shebang is powered by harnessing the power of the sun. A pair of 24″ x 6″ solar panels that are located on each side of the chair’s base will provide power for all the extensive entertainment features, while there is a control pad on the left armrest which offers simple push-button operation of a quiet hydraulic lift that will gently recline or raise the back. The fingertip-adjustable nozzles atop each armrest will also be able to emit a refreshing mist. Now this is definitely living it up in style.
[ Solar Powered Entertainment Lounger lets you chill without energy worries copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Installing a set of solar panels on the roof of your home can lead to significant savings when your monthly power bill arrives. But how do you know how well they’re performing in between without watching the meter like a hawk? With this innocuous looking piece of art that doubles as a home energy monitor.

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Based on the same technology that lets Citizen’s high-end watches with Eco-Drive stay perpetually charged by the sun, Q&Q (a company founded almost 40 years ago as part of Citizen) has finally made its once Japan-only SolarSmile watches available internationally. So for just $40—with free shipping—you can get a simple timepiece that never needs winding, charging, or a new battery.

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I am not quite sure about you, but when it comes to hunting down a particular house on a street at night, it always helps if the streetlamps there actually work. Not only that, it would also go a long way for guests who are trying to locate your house for the first time to see the numbers on your house properly. The mailbox should feature your house number, but over the years, the numbers might have faded or are covered by extra growth from the creepers and other trees. Why not make life easier for everyone, all the while adding some aesthetic value to your home, with the $119.95 Solar Illuminated Address Mailbox?

The Solar Illuminated Address Mailbox happens to be a solar powered device that features address and numbers which remain clearly visible, regardless of whether it is day or night. This is made possible thanks to a solar panel that has been built into the top of the mailbox, where it will harness the power of the sun in order to send juice to an LED that illuminates the address numbers on both sides of the mailbox. There is also a light sensor that ensures the LED will be able to turn on automatically at dusk and off at dawn, with the bright illumination working so well, guests or deliverymen can see it from up to to 50′ away. A single day of charging on the solar panel will allow the 3″-tall numbers to remain illuminated for up to 40 hours. Simply fantastic, no?
[ Solar Illuminated Address Mailbox offers an edge at night copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Last week in the California desert, a $2.2 billion solar plant opened that creates electricity by harnessing solar energy. Rather than using traditional solar panels, this facility has hundreds of mirror-like reflectors that shoot the sunlight at a tower filled with water in the center of the mirror arrays.

That water inside the tower is turned into superheated steam by the 1000°F temperatures to turn a steam generator, making electricity. Researchers working on the project said that they expected the heat could result in some dead birds. What they didn’t expect was how many birds would be killed by the massive solar death ray. Unfortunately, dozens of birds with singed and charred feathers have already been recovered at the site.

The birds don’t even have to land on the tower; simply flying through the solar beam will kill them. Researchers are currently conducting a study to determine how to reduce the threat to local avian populations. Until the research is complete, Big Bird should maintain his distance.

[via WSJ]