Hasta La Gadget!

Need to pick up a foursome of Detolf display cases? Better know a pal with a pickup, bub. Unless, of course, your nearest IKEA happens to be one of ten situated in Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington. The famed furniture retailer has just nailed down a partnership with ECOtality, with a smattering of its western US stores to host Blink electric vehicle charging stations. Each of the sites be evaluated for feasibility and installation needs, and we’re told that the first stations should become operational this fall. The pilot program is currently set to last through December of 2012, but we’re guessing it’ll end up surviving quite a bit longer — after all, it was already tough enough to resist a weekly trip to this place. Now? Swedish meatballs just become a daily affair.

Continue reading Select IKEA stores to host Blink electric vehicle charging stations, Volts now suitable for furniture pickup

Select IKEA stores to host Blink electric vehicle charging stations, Volts now suitable for furniture pickup originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 05:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s hard to forget a face like this one, and if Samsung’s NC215s solar netbook has been tickling your brain for the past few weeks, you’ll likely be delighted to hear that you can pre-order one now for $399. We’d actually not heard yet of Sammy’s plans to ship this thing here in North America, but it’s fairly clear that Amazon intends to hawk it — complete with an Atom N570 CPU, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, 1GB of DDR3 memory, 25GB HDD and Windows 7 Starter. If you’re not exactly keen on ponying up for the solar panel, the otherwise similar NC110 has also popped up in pre-sale fashion, with $329 getting you in line for that one. Per usual, tap those links below to do the deed(s).

Samsung’s NC215s solar netbook up for pre-order at $399, NC110 follows at $329 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The summer sun supercharged green technology this week as Inhabitat reported that IKEA flipped the switch on a massive 65,000 square foot solar array and designer Markus Kayser unveiled an awesome self-sufficient solar-powered laser cutter. We also spotted a clever off-grid Tropicana billboard that is juiced by oranges, and we learned about a new piezoelectric film that could lead to laptops powered by typing. Energy-generating architecture also made headlines as SMIT announced plans to roll out their Solar Ivy system on several buildings and one designer unveiled plans for a green energy island large enough to power Copenhagen.

Green transportation also reached for the sky this week as the sun-powered Solar Impulse airplane made its public debut at the Paris Air Show and EADS unveiled plans for an innovative all-electric commercial aircraft. Efficient autos also hit the streets as the Nissan Leaf became the first electric car to tackle Pike’s Peak, and we learned that Porsche is working on a new breed of cars that are able to drive themselves. If pedal-powered transportation is more your speed you won’t want to miss this beautiful kinetic energy-storing Potenza vehicle, and we were wowed by the solar panel-clad Emax Excalibur hybrid yacht.

In other news, we shined a light on green consumer electronics this week as we brought you a lunar LED light modeled after the moon and Peter Rojas explained how wasteful it is to keep gadgets chargers plugged in as part of our Ask a Tech Geek column. We also shared a low-tech tablet that’s perfect for kids, and we showcased a new type of climate-controlled clothing that beats the summer heat. Finally, we were excited to see Sprint launch a contest where you can recycle your old cell to score a Vespa scooter and an eco smartphone, and we brought you seven sustainable designs for a greener Fourth of July.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: IKEA’s massive solar array, climate-controlled clothing and ultra-green yachts originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jul 2011 21:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like the push to turn the inkjet printer into the next great manufacturer of solar cells has found another proponent in a team of engineers at Oregon State University. That group of resourceful researchers claims to have created the world’s first “CIGS solar devices with inkjet printing,” thus giving birth to a new production process that reduces raw material waste by 90 percent. CIGS (an acronym for copper, indium, gallium, and selenium) is a highly absorbent and efficient compound, especially suited to creating thin-film solar cells. The team has used inkjet technology to pump out a CIGS ink with an efficiency of five percent, and a potential efficiency of 12 percent; apparently enough to produce a “commercially viable solar cell.” Unfortunately, the group has yet to announce plans to bring the ink to our desktop printer — so much for that backyard solar farm. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Oregon engineers roll out cheaper, less wasteful solar cells with inkjet printer

Oregon engineers roll out cheaper, less wasteful solar cells with inkjet printer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 01:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Green transportation soared to new heights this week as Inhabitat showcased the world’s first true hybrid-electric airplane, and we spotted plans for a zero-emission hypersonic jet capable of traveling from London to New York in a single hour. Meanwhile, Japan gave the green for the construction of a blazing fast 313 MPH maglev train line, and we spotted a crazy high-speed rail concept that would allow passengers to change trains while speeding along the tracks. We also watched as an 11-year-old student piloted a 1,325 MPG hypermiling supercar and we saw an 8-ton Volkswagen beetle sculpture sink into the sea to start a new life as an artificial reef.

It’s been a scorching summer for solar power as Torresol opened the world’s first 24/7 solar plant in Spain, and Samsung unveiled the first photovoltaic-laden laptop to be sold in the US. We also saw Aquamarine Power break ground on a massive wave energy farm in Orkney, while Germany hatched a plan to store excess wind power in abandoned coal mines. Finally, we spotted several novel incredibly odd new energy-generating gizmos — a t-shirt that converts rock music into electricity and a power-generating USB camping pot that charges your gadgets as you cook.

Speaking of renewable energy, this week we caught a first look at the amazing EDV-01 shelter — a high-tech solar-powered building with a luminous LED facade that is capable of doubling its capacity with the flick of a switch. We also brought you Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill’s plans for the world’s 4th tallest skyscraper, and we showcased an ultramodern paperless office in the Netherlands that looks like a meteor fallen from space. Last but not least, we took an exclusive first look inside BIG’s mountainous green-roofed eco village in Copenhagen, and tech expert Peter Rojas tackled the question of whether it’s better to turn your laptop off or set it to sleep in our Ask a Tech Geek column.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: ’round the clock solar plants, USB camping pot and wave energy farms originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Jun 2011 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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