Electrolux Wind Washer – Dish Cleaning Re-invented

I must say, the Electrolux Wind Washer Dishwasher puts a little more fun into washing the dishes with their high-pressure air and UV-based dish cleaning gadget! The gadget looks a lot like a car wash in some respects, since the cleaner uses a 3-step process to clean your dishes.

Step 1, a stream of high-pressure air is used to blast off your food debris into a holding bay. Step 2 uses a jet of steam to cut through the grease on the plates. Finally step 3 uses UV light to kill off any nasties left on the plate. The dishwasher only does 2 dishes at a time, since it’s designed for people living on their own or with a partner.

I like the idea of not using any chemicals (good for people with allergies), and using a lot less water. Even the food waste in the drip tray could be composted. However, as does the reviewer on YankoDesign, I question how much energy it uses!

Flexible Solar Panels roll into green AA batteries

A designer by the name of Wu Jian has come up with a concept for an eco-friendly battery gadget. The Soft Solar Battery is made of several layers of film, including a flexible battery and flexible solar panel. The battery is rolled out flat to charge up in the sun, the level of charge indicated by the small display on the panel.

When you wish to use the flexible battery, you simply roll up the film into a cylinder to use within conventional devices that need a battery. It’s an interesting concept, but I image the film will degrade/peel very quickly. Technical specifications have not been provided, so I get the impression this is merely a concept.

I think that high capacity rechargeable batteries are the (near-term) future, but simply using standardised charging devices as a power source. I don’t think that the Soft Solar Battery is a practical eco-friendly energy source.

NoPoPo Urine Powered Mini Lantern

Recently, the NoPoPo Batteries where released. The NoPoPo batteries use urine to provide battery power. The battery is made from carbon and magnesium, and uses urine (as well as other liquids like beer, sake and cola) as an electrolyte to generate an electrical current. Well now the Japan Trend Shop is offering a NoPoPo Urine Powered Torch and Lantern gadget. The torch uses a bright white LED which can be used in lantern or flashlight mode.

Unfortunately, a NoPoPo battery can only be recharged four times, which means it has a pretty short lifespan. However, with a capacity of 500mAh, the batteries would be pretty effective in an emergency kit. The torch and batteries sell for $39 (about £24), so it’s a little pricey, but very novel!

Energy Saving Eco Kettle

The Eco Kettle is a kettle that saves energy by helping you to only boil the water you need. Research suggests that people boil around twice as much water as they need, which means 50% of the energy being used is wasted!

The kettle works by having a separate chamber of water. When you want to boil some water, you press a button to release the amount of water you need into the boiling chamber. The boiling chamber has a handy measuring guide built into the kettle that helps you to work out how much water you need.

Other than that, the kettle is pretty much the same as any other kettle. It’s really simple to use, and you should start saving money from the moment you use it. My calculations suggest it should pay for itself in a year, despite being roughly the same price as a decent kettle anyway.

The Eco Kettle is available for £29.95.

Battery Wizard recharges Rechargeable and Non-Rechargeable Batteries

The Battery Wizard is actually a gadget I had heard of ages ago, but I hadn’t been able to find one recently… until now! The Battery Wizard will recharge both rechargeable and conventional non-rechargeable batteries.

The charger is capable of charging conventional non-rechargeable batteries up to 10 times. Admittedly, the batteries will not be as well charged as they were when brand new. The Battery Wizard uses a patented pulsing system that charges the batteries. But if you have a set of faulty batteries, the charger will reject them.

The Battery Wizard is capable of recharging almost every size of battery, including AA, AAA, C, D, PP3 (9v) and N. The charger is compatible with batteries that have alkaline, rechargeable Ni-Cad, NiMH, high power and zinc carbon type chemistry. This charger gadget will help you get a little more usage out of your batteries before they go to your battery recycling plant.

The Battery Wizard costs £20 plus postage.

Solvatten – Solar-Powered Water Purifier

Petra Wadstrom is a Swedish inventor has developed a solar-powered water purifier that could provide billions of the world’s poorest people with access to clean and disease-free drinking water. The purifier treats 10 litres of water at once, all within a compact case. The cost of the unit is to be set at around just $35, which would make it very affordable for many aid agencies.

The Solvatten uses solar energy to treat the contaminated water with ultra-violet (UV) rays. The UV rays essentially render all bacteria and viruses inert. The purifier does not need any special technical skills and is completely portable. The price, ease of use and portability make it a great device for developing countries who need access to safe drinking water.

Pyron Solar innovates with highly efficient solar cells

Pyron Solar, a San Diego-based company, has developed a unique 90kWp DC CPV generating system with dual axis solar tracking that magnifies solar energy up to 6500 times via its dedicated acrylic lenses. The technique is capable of producing 800 times more output than conventional solar cells of the same size. It’s definitely going to revolutionize solar power-generation.

The highly efficient HE optics system, patented and specially designed, causes reflection and refraction. During the process, a secondary optic deposits the concentrated beam of concentrated light on a small multi-junction PV cell. Be it summer or winter, Pyron Solar tracks the sun efficiently via a special gear. Since the solar cells acquire enormous heat, they are immersed in specially-treated water, i.e. a passive coolant.