Tag: #solar

First Look – Urbanista Phoenix solar powered earbuds

Just over year ago a pair of headphones was introduced that could charge by solar power and it grabbed people’s attention it must be said and some even snubbed the idea until they seen it first hand from me with the Urbanista Los Angeles headphones and still up till now I have not seen any mainstream headphone/earbud manufacturer come up with an alternative and the same thing has happened again after showing the new Urbanista Phoenix off.

Now Urbanista has brought the same powerfoyle technology to their earbuds which makes for a very interesting path forward with this technology and hopefully more will adopt it in the future.

Urbanista Phoenix is compatible with the Urbanista mobile companion app that puts you in complete control of your audio experience. The Urbanista app, available on Apple App Store and Google Play Store, gives you deep customisation options, including EQ controls to adjust the audio to meet your taste. The companion app also provides information on how to get the most out of the product’s playtime, including visual indications of solar charge levels and usage, and the option to customise the earphones controls and voice assistant.

 

Tuomas Lonka, Urbanista’s Brand and Marketing Director, comments: “It’s a privilege to continue on this path of innovation together with Exeger and use the latest in solar cell technology to bring ground-breaking audio products to market. Our Los Angeles self-charging headphones were so well received by customers and consumers alike, that we knew right away that we wanted to apply this futuristic way of consuming audio to a true wireless design. Urbanista Phoenix really is a market leading product, and we are excited to see how these shape the future of our listening experiences in years to come.”

Urbanista Phoenix key features:

●      Solar and ambient light charging with Powerfoyle™
●      Hybrid active noise cancelling
●      Transparency mode
●      Multipoint connection
●      Playtime 8 hours
●      Total battery reserve 32 hours
●      Microphone noise reduction
●      In-ear detection
●      Automatic power off
●      Touch controls
●      Voice assistant support
●      IPX4 water resistant
●      USB type-C charging
●      Bluetooth 5.2 version
●      Urbanista mobile app compatible
●      Available in Midnight Black (Black) and Desert Rose (Pink)

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Unboxing

Solar Power: What is it and How Does it Work?

We’ve all heard of solar power before but how many of us actually know what it is and how it works? Probably not quite as many of us. I mean, most of us know the basics: solar technology generates energy from the sun that we can then use as power. But let’s dig a little deeper into the subject…

Brief History

It could be argued that solar energy has been used by our ancestors for centuries, starting way back in the BC days. Remember when they’d use the sun to bring fire to life with magnifying materials? That’s what we mean. However, solar energy that we know today, collected via silicon panels, was brought to life in the 1950s. Since then, the urgency for humans to choose renewable energy over fossil fuels has accelerated massively, as many countries are aiming to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by the year of 2050. 

Therefore, solar technology has come on leaps and bounds in the past few decades, with the mounting pressure of climate change and environmental issues at new highs. People are starting to wake up to the need for change, and can now see the multitude of benefits to solar energy – it’s typically much better for the planet as well as the people, animals, and plants on it. Solar PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) are something that have made renewable energy all the more accessible in recent times – wondering ‘what is PPA?” Click the link to find out. Now, using a premier solar company is more affordable and cost-effective long term than it ever was before, for the individual as well as businesses.

How Does Solar Power Work?

Solar power is generated by energy from sunlight being absorbed by photovoltaic (PV) technology. Electricity can then flow through cells producing a current. This works as solar cells have a semiconductor within them made from silicon – when sunlight hits this, an electric field is created through one of the two silicon layers becoming positively charged, the other negatively. Electrons become loose and subsequently create power that can be converted into electricity for us to make the most of. In addition to efficiency advancements, the physical design and durability of solar panels have significantly improved, allowing them to better withstand environmental factors such as inclement weather and temperature fluctuations. This has been pivotal in their widespread adoption in various climates and regions around the world.

Will All Countries Make the Switch to Solar?

As it stands, many affluent countries are trying to encourage and increase the usage of not just solar power, but renewable energy in general. However, Ireland is experiencing a slow transition to renewable energy for a number of reasons, including a lack of confidence in the implementation efficiency and affordability in current times. However, plenty of countries are going full steam ahead, with China the country that produces the most solar energy out of any other country in the world – which is relatively good news, as they’re the country with the highest carbon footprint and population. China is followed by the EU and the United States. Cost and infrastructure can be something that holds many nations back when it comes to solar, but as it becomes more affordable and commonly found over time, we are likely to see a large shift.

 

Ørsted announces acquisition of its first solar project in Ireland

Leading global renewable energy company Ørsted has today announced the acquisition of its first Irish solar project, in an agreement with renewable energy developer Terra Solar. This acquisition is a strategic first step in Ørsted’s commitment to multi-technology deployment in Ireland across a variety of renewable energy sources.

The acquisition of the Ballinrea solar project, located between Carrigaline and Cork City, will power up to 16,000 homes. With construction due to begin in 2024, the Ballinrea Solar Farm is expected to be operational by 2025 and will add a further 65MW of solar to Ørsted’s global goal of 17.5GW of onshore renewables by 2030. Ranked the world’s most sustainable energy company*, Ørsted’s Irish headquarters are based in Cork City, where it employs 90 people.

Kieran White, Vice President, Ørsted Europe Onshore said: “For Ireland to ensure energy resilience and deliver its 2030 energy targets, it is essential that multiple technologies are delivered in tandem, from solar and onshore wind to offshore wind and storage. This is a key priority for Ørsted, both in Ireland and overseas. Projects such as Ballinrea pave the way, but significant investment in our electricity grid is required to match the ambition of Government targets, continue the push to net zero and ensure energy security long-term.”

“The Ballinrea Solar Farm will make a meaningful contribution to Ireland’s national energy target of 80% renewables by 2030 as well as to the Government’s new 5.5GW solar target. It will also enhance the climate neutrality of the region by generating power for 16,000 homes, which is also the number of new homes planned to be built in the city between now and 2028.” 

The transaction marks a significant milestone for Ørsted following the acquisition of the Brookfield Renewable Ireland business in June 2021.

Concluding, Mr White added: “We are continuing to invest in our Cork-based team and development projects to grow our existing Irish operational asset base of 327MW. As well as the cost and security of energy, the ever-present climate crisis has never been more acute. It is essential that Government and stakeholders continue to work collaboratively with industry to ensure that it can deliver environmentally, socially and economically for Ireland. Issues such as long planning, licencing and judicial timelines, and access to adequate grid infrastructure continue to hold the renewable sector back.” 

Eminence of LoomSolar providing the best Solar Installation Services

Battery technology is always evolving and keeping an eye on how leading Indian battery manufacturers meet the needs of their customers and what their EV battery ambitions are is important.

With the advent of electric vehicles (EVs) as a viable alternative to traditional energy storage, the world’s need for stored energy has skyrocketed. This has led to an ever-increasing need for better batteries. Many different kinds of batteries have been used over the years to power automobiles other than Solar System. Eventually, lead-acid batteries took over. Lithium-ion batteries, particularly in the mobility and storage segments, have finally posed a threat.

There are various ways in which Li-ion technology surpasses older technologies. It can take up to ten hours to charge a lead-acid battery for example. Lithium-ion batteries, on the other hand, may be recharged in as little as a few minutes, depending on the size of the battery. Lead-acid batteries charge more slowly than lithium-ion batteries, which can tolerate a higher rate of current. Li-success Ion’s is also being aided by improvements in the number of charging cycles or battery life. Li-ion batteries are being used in a variety of applications besides automobiles, such as telecom towers, mobile phones, and power grids. According to some estimations, 60 GWh of Li-ion cells would be needed by 2025 and double that by 2030.

Government Initiatives for using Green Energy

The Government of India is also taking steps to promote the growth of the electric vehicle industry in India, following the worldwide trend of increasing Li-ion battery use. The Make in India program and incentives for electric car purchasers are among the measures. A PLI plan for battery manufacturing’s advanced cell chemistries is already under way, with proposals from major businesses both inside and outside the country.

Monocrystalline solar panels and AC modules are made by Loom Solar Pvt. Ltd. They began in Faridabad in 2018 and have been producing the highest-quality solar panels ever since. Through 1500 re-sellers, they distribute their items throughout India, including rural areas. The solar panels they produce are among the best in the industry. All of their solar panels are made to exacting standards. As an interesting aside, they assert that their batteries for inverters and solar applications are the only ones made for the automotive, lithium, and tubular markets they serve.

Buying Loom Solar Products Has Benefits

Conserving energy is becoming increasingly dependent on solar panels. Many locations now have solar panels installed in their entirety. Loom Solar, the best lithium battery manufacturer, provides the highest-quality solar products to meet this need. Golden Bridge Business and Innovation Awards’ 11th annual 2019 gold and silver medals went to Loom Solar. They have direct access to India’s leading solar manufacturers. They offer items that meet the demands of their customers. All of their solar panels are of the highest quality and are guaranteed to perform correctly and endure longer.

The Li-ion or Lithium battery beta from Loom Solar is open to providing sustainable and greener options for household lighting systems, inverter compatible solutions, EVs (Electric Vehicles), science or DIY projects, and farming. Because of its high power density, long life, minimal self-discharge, and low maintenance requirements, Li-Ion batteries are becoming more popular for EVs and backup power systems in particular. The company has also recently been spotted actively entering the Lithium Ion market.

Dell Technologies Solar Community Hubs Bring Technology, Healthcare, Workforce Skills to Remote Communities

Dell Technologies, in partnership with Computer Aid, Intel and Microsoft, announced its Solar Community Hubs strategy, marking an evolution in its established Solar Learning Labs program. Moving beyond technology access for education alone, the hubs improve access to technology, healthcare and workforce skills for communities in remote areas around the world.

The Solar Community Hubs will be built with Dell technology-enabled solutions and look to introduce 5G, edge computing and other services. Each hub will be managed by the community and will offer services based on each community’s unique needs. The hubs will provide communities with access to water and electricity, healthcare and resources for environmental preservation. Community members can also access technical skills training, entrepreneurship support, education and career guidance, and revenue-generating services to support job creation and financial sustainability.

“Research shows that the greatest impact starts with empowering local communities,” said Cassandra Garber, VP of Environmental and Social Governance, Dell Technologies. “By introducing the Solar Community Hubs, communities will have access to resources and infrastructure to address their most pressing issues. This evolution puts community needs at the center, and we are eager to see – and be a part of – the impact these community partnerships will have around the globe.”

Digitizing the Amazon to Support Sustainability

Dell Technologies recently introduced the first Solar Community Hub in Boa Esperanca, Brazil, in partnership with the Foundation for Amazon Sustainability (FAS), bringing digital tools like Latitude Rugged, desktops, servers, projectors and Wi-Fi to community members in a dozen outlying riverside communities and Indigenous tribes in the Amazon. Community members, who previously traveled far for modern services and school, can now continue their education, take vocational courses, start college and prepare for the job market – in their own community.

The hub is also designed with circularity at its core, using repurposed shipping containers, sustainably sourced wood and furniture, and solar panels so devices run primarily on renewable energy.

Participants in the project are part of FAS’ Bolsa Floresta program, a government initiative of the State of Amazonas introduced in 2008 to decrease deforestation through community building. The hubs help improve the lives of people living in the Amazon who then cultivate a more sustainable relationship between the rainforest and its residents.

Power in Partnership

Dell currently collaborates with approximately 60 strategic partners globally, including Computer Aid, Dell’s nonprofit partner for Solar Community Hub development. Computer Aid helps identify the locations and local partners who can help make the hub a reality.

Since 2011, Dell and Computer Aid have partnered to support 24 Solar Learning Labs, which reach 18,000 students and community members per year in countries including Brazil, Colombia, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa.

Dell also works with customers, partners– like Intel and Microsoft – and other stakeholders to bring additional resources and capabilities to the communities based on local needs. Partners and customers can now join Dell Technologies and Computer Aid in supporting the roll out of the Solar Community Hubs over the coming years.

Urbanista Wins Red Dot And iF Design Awards With The Urbanista Los Angeles, The world’s first solar-powered headphones.headpon

Urbanista the Swedish lifestyle audio brand, is proud to announce that it is the winner of this year’s iF DESIGN AWARD and Red Dot ‘Best of the Best’: Product Design Award. In 2021, the brand launched the world’s first solar- powered wireless
headphones that are set to revolutionise the audio industry. Urbanista Los Angeles has also recently been listed in the consumer products category for Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas 2022 Awards.

Red Dot ‘Best of the Best’ Product Design Award 2022

This year, Urbanista Los Angeles solar- powered headphones have been awarded with the Red Dot ‘Best of the Best’ Product Design Award. Designers, design offices and manufacturers from around 60 countries entered their products in 2022. The Red Dot Jury made of 48 international members has evaluated almost 20,000 products “in search of good design and innovation”. Only those products that won over the experts with their outstanding design quality won a distinction. With
Urbanista Los Angeles, Urbanista sets a new standard in the design industry.

iF DESIGN AWARD 2022

Urbanista Los Angeles Solar – Powered Headphones, won in the product discipline and audio category in the iF DESIGN AWARD 2022. Each year, the world’s oldest independent design organisation, Hannover- based, iF International Forum Design
GmbH, organises the iF DESIGN AWARD. Urbanista Los Angeles won over the 132 member jury, made up of independent
experts from all over the world, with its revolutionary technology that converts light into energy for a nonstop audio experience.

iF design award
Red dot award

The competition was intense: almost 11,000 entries were submitted from 57 countries in hopes of receiving the seal of
quality. Anders Andreen, CEO at Urbanista, comments: “We are honoured that a product like Los Angeles keeps winning
awards. These headphones are an advancement in technology that our industry has been waiting for and we at Urbanista are proud to deliver this groundbreaking technology to the market. Solar- powered technology will be at the forefront of audio technology for the foreseeable future and we are excited to drive this advancement in the audio space.”

See our full hands on review of the Multi Award Winning headphones and see how they work for yourself, this is super cool technology and the future of what is to come.

Video Review

Tech Review – Garmin Instinct Solar review

I have a thing for watches and have lots of them and over the years this has extended to smart watches and now I have a collection of those too and people again ask WHY but just like my phone collection which both happened by accident really because of what i do it is nice to pick and choose from and weigh up what is on offer and it is good to change over every now and then, currently I am using the Apple Watch Series 7 45mm which I have left aside to check out this offering from Garmin as it has quite alot on offer despite its clean plain looks vs a stand out looking bright screen face and full of colour do not let the black and white screen on the solar instinct fool you.

Build is solid on the Instinct Solar and one of the best you may find out there this is as tough as it gets, having used this for a few weeks it has had all kinds of bangs and knocks and not a mark to be seen which is remarkable which less can be said for other watches I have which have had to have a cover added or screen replacement so for me this is win.

On the looks department well it is pretty bog standard and plain akin to a casio however people like this and some do not for me it is new and by that I mean it is a first of a kind when it comes to a display I do own older similar styled non smart watches just because your watch might be plain and simple looking does not mean it is not capable and that is what most folk I showed this watch could not believe when I showed them however there is some caveats here but overall not much else to complain about being honest.

The watch has 3 pushers on the left and 2 on the right and all labelled these pushers are also solid with a texture and easy to identify blindly and function well all the time,sometimes pushers can get blocked or simply fail to work which is not the case here certainly after what I put it through.

The screen is Black and White but it does not take away the features available or what you can avail of built in on the app, there is something for everyone here no matter what sport you are into, you can see more of what I mean in the video below. The screen is power glass which can keep your watch topped up on the go never mind the insane battery life which is really impressive and for someone who hates charging a smartwatch daily this is one key feature for me that I like, I have not had to charge the watch yet since it landed which is great.

To get going you will need the garmin connect app which is quite good actually in terms of functionality and easy enough to set up and navigate and once applied you can custom to your needs like any other offering out there and control what you want delivered to your watch, this is something you spend time on with any smartwatch as having the dam thing going off all day can be annoying and for me I tailor what I want to receive.

This watch is ideal for the outdoors for the most and also has a built in compass which is handy but it also offers health features galore so it is a pretty solid overall purchase if you can get past the black and white affair on the screen yet robust and solid with graphs galore and more which can deliver much useful information to you, the price though might out some off due to the influx of cheaper watches out there but again these do not offer as much as this one does, perhaps if this was a color screen it might be more attractive but then so would the price.

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Video Link 

Review – Nowlight, A green answer to instant power and light. #Nowlight #Tech #SolarPower

Typically Techbuzz review technology products that involve a download of an app, connected via a USB connection with the potential of security, audio, video.  This product has none of the above but the successful crowdfunding and from the support of Comic Relief has resulted in a product which efficiently harnessing human effort or uses solar power to turn on lights or charge devices through its USB ports. 

 

The nowlight kit includes:

  •         1 x NowLight
  •         1 x SatLight (SL03)
  •         1 x 3W Solar Panel
  •         1 x DC charging cable
  •         1 x Setup instructions

 

Tech specs

Warranty:

This product which promotes green, working for the good of the community has their brief as Their goal was to create a sustainable alternative to dangerous, polluting and expensive kerosene lamps, has a disappointing 1-year warranty. My belief if they wish to create “create a sustainable” they should start with a minimum of a 3-year warranty rather than the disposal society encouraged by the 1-year warranty.

 

Setup: & connections

The setup is easy without the need for any technical expertise, while there may be safety concerns if using a ladder to install the solar light, the hanging cable would be required to be kept out of reach of young children to prevent been pulled down on them.

 

 

 

Affordable and renewable charging

The Kit comes with a 3W solar panel placed outdoors in direct sunlight can fully charge the nowlight in around 5 hours,  The Kit if placed inside a window will not have sufficient light to correctly charge the kit, Manual charging can take less than 30 minutes while recommended to manually charge in blocks of a few minutes rather then constantly pulling the cable. Alternatively, if expecting to use on e.g. a camping trip the unit can be charged using a standard USB charger to the mains.  (Any typical smartphone charger word work)

  •         The nowlight has Up to 50 hours of light with •     Up to 160 lumens
  •         The nowlight has 6 independent brightness settings: 5 – 10 – 20 – 40 – 80 – 160 lumens
  •         1-second manual charging = up to 2 minutes of light
  •         1-minute manual charging   = 15 Minutes of talk time on your mobile

 

Niggles:

This kit has numerous advantages from a technical perspective environment and humanity side but has a few niggles. The 1-year warranty for a product which is classed as affordable and renewable is let down by a paltry 1-year warranty which may be a continuous source of supply (albeit or 1 year as the warranty does not go further)  The IP rating for the 3-watt solar panel is IP33,  which is ok for outdoor in mild showers but not suitable for long terms in the rain/submersible, In the UK & Ireland a fine day is a where the sun casts sharp shadows and it doesn’t rain, but typically Ireland gets on average about 151  wet days per year, this solar panel should be 100% waterproof for our climate ensuring fit for purpose.

Conclusion,

In the world today 1 in 7 don’t have access to Electricity, the developer of the product have been able to develop a product renewable energy solution to provide light anywhere, anytime. This is not aimed at your commercial organisation rather getting assistance from Red Cross and Comic Relief to achieve humanitarian organisations equipment in terms of light. On practical terms, the unit works well with an abundance of light when required with the options of using solar, manual or traditional mains charging.  A few slight niggles but the principle for renewable light with the options to charge a phone when stuck is impressive. This is ideal for areas where electricity can be haphazard, or on camping trips or as a backup alternative. This is a great product using technology with humanitarian gains also.

Alternatively, there is an option to donate a nowlight for €52 via the Deciwatt partnership with humanitarian organisations to provide nowlights to households who have been displaced by natural disasters or conflict. This would provide a family with a nowlight, a SatLight and a Solar Panel for a reliable source of lighting and power for mobile devices.

 

 

https://deciwatt.global/shop   €115