Sunday, March 2, 2008

Electric ivy.


Every day literally every day some thing new and ground breaking is happening in the world of renewable sources of energy. If we look 5 to 10 years back alternate sources of energy were big PV panels, good old 3 propeller wind mills and bio gas plants, but its different today not that the sources of eco friendly energies changed, it’s the shapes , sizes and efficiency, that don’t fail to amaze us with the sustainability and compatibility along with there pleasing shapes that attract our aesthetics.
Here is some thing that should be able to amaze most of us who like to peep into the world of alternate energy Teresita Cochraine’s sustainable design group, SMIT (Sustainability Minded Interactive Technology) has a gripping new project called GROW that’s an innovative and aesthetically arresting solar and wind power solution. GROW draws inspiration from ivy growing on the side of a building - resulting in a hybrid energy delivery device of leafy, fluttering solar shingles that provide power via both sun and wind. Teresa began working on GROW after cutting leaf-shaped solar panels for her brother’s project. What followed was GROW as SMIT’s first product offering, which now exists in 2 versions, GROW.1 (currently at the Museum of Modern Art), and GROW.2, a residential application built on top of a stainless steel mesh system, allowing ivy and other crawlers to grow with it.
Using a series of flexible solar cells as leaves, GROW takes the shape of ivy growing on a building- the leaves are solar cells while the wind that causes them to flutter is harvested as viable energy. Teresita hopes that the modular system would be readily available via the Moma store or Design Within Reach, rather than a commercially out-of-reach system like many traditional solar components. GROW also integrates an energy monitoring system for users to visualize their consumption. The leaves are made of 100% recyclable polyethylene, and are available in a variety of colors and opacities.
To learn more about Teresita Cochraine’s GROW & (Sustainability Minded Interactive Technology) visit http://www.ecolect.net/limelight

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