kuhlGREEN

A boat tail, a tapered extension on the back of a truck, provides a fuel savings of 7.5 percent. This is because the aerodynamics significantly improves, according to road tests of the collaboration platform PART (Platform for Aerodynamic Road Transport).

Public road
A boat tail is a tapered extension on the back of a truck with a length of about two meters. The boat tail had during wind tunnel experiments and computer simulations, both performed at TU Delft, in theory and proven at scale. Now is a combination equipped with a boat tail, also tested on the road.

Emission
A truck drove one years combined with long tail boat (of variable length) and one years without a long tail boat. The improved aerodynamics caused, depending on the length of the boat tail, for fuel (and emissions!) Up 7.5 percent. A boat-tail length of two meters was optimum.

With the RidgeBlade-system developer Dean Gregory won the PostcodeLoterij Green Challenge. The RidgeBlade-system of small wind turbines can be placed on roofs and takes away objections  like noise, view decay and long return on investment. This means that the RidgeBlade might be a smart investment that can contribute to a greener energy supply. On top of that little trouble for civilians and companies with getting permits from the local government. KuhlGreen asked prize-winner Dean Gregory these questions:

1. In The Netherlands we see local governments struggling with permits to place wind turbines, would your invention solve these problems?

We have much the same problem in the UK. I am not up to speed with the details of the planning requirements in Holland, but I suspect that they are similar to the UK. In the UK planners have been reluctant to allow urban wind turbines for a number of reasons:

Visual intrusion – a “propeller on a stick” is something that is often seen as objectionable by neighbours, and in the UK there are many areas that have even stricter planning guidelines due to the natural beauty of the area. The RidgeBlade adds only 30cm to the height of a roof line, so is very unobtrusive. For new-build houses, the unit can be integrated into the roof making it virtually invisible. In addition the turbine housing can be colour-matched to the existing roof (take a look at our website – www.thepowercollective.com for a visualization). It’s for this reason that we have been supported by the North York Moors National Park (www.northyorkmoors.org.uk) in undertaking a feasibility study, installing 3 RidgeBlades in one of the most protected environments in the UK.

Noise – there is a worry (often false) that wind turbines will be noisy, and that this will disturb neighbours. The RidgeBlade is very quiet – much of the work in research and development was to make the units quiet and vibration free – much of our patent addresses these issues.

Structural Damage – many planning authorities in the UK have found that attaching standard turbines to the end of a building can cause structural damage – in effect, the mounting pole becomes a long lever, pushing and pulling at the brickwork mounting point in a variety of directions. The RidgeBlade causes no such problems.

Damage to Wildlife – again, objections have been made to wind turbines because of the imagined damage to wildlife; birds and bats etc. This is probably a little spurious – there is little evidence of small turbines causing such damage, but the RidgeBlade’s design means that birds and bats cannot fly into the turbine.

2. How much does it actually yield?
Good Question! If we were to rate the Ridgeblade operating in perfect conditions, current data suggests that it would be rated at 3kwh. However, we are more interested in how much electricity the RidgeBlade will produce in a real life scenario over an average year. As a reference point, average wind speed in the UK is 20kph. Our units are optimised for between 7 kph and 60 kph meaning it is suitable for use in many locations. At these speeds, the RidgeBlade will realistically be expected to generate an average of over 20 kwh per day. By the way – all of these figures are VERY conservative – we do not want to make claims for output until the units have been independently tested, but if you were to ask our Technical Director what the output figure will be, he would probably give you a higher figure!

3. Should municipalities use these small turbines themselves or stimulate inhabitants or compinies to use them? What are your thoughts in this?
We have already been in contact with local Councils here in the UK regarding the RidgeBlade. In the UK all local government has been given challenging targets for carbon reduction, and they seem to be very interested! In addition, we have a held talks with a large Credit Union which means that small communities or groups of people will be able to “club together” to buy a larger RidgeBlade installation (for example on a local warehouse or farm) and using a soft loan from the credit union, buy a share of a RidgeBlade. This would be suitable for people who live in flats (without pitched roofs) or who for other reasons cannot have a RidgeBlade on their own home.

 

 

With the RidgeBlade-system developer Dean Gregory won the PostcodeLoterij Green Challenge. The RidgeBlade-system of small wind turbines can be placed on roofs and takes away objections  like noise, view decay and long return on investment. This means that the RidgeBlade might be a smart investment that can contribute to a greener energy supply. On top of that little trouble for civilians and companies with getting permits from the local government. KuhlGreen asked prize-winner Dean Gregory these questions:

1. In The Netherlands we see local governments struggling with permits to place wind turbines, would your invention solve these problems?

We have much the same problem in the UK. I am not up to speed with the details of the planning requirements in Holland, but I suspect that they are similar to the UK. In the UK planners have been reluctant to allow urban wind turbines for a number of reasons:

Visual intrusion – a “propeller on a stick” is something that is often seen as objectionable by neighbours, and in the UK there are many areas that have even stricter planning guidelines due to the natural beauty of the area. The RidgeBlade adds only 30cm to the height of a roof line, so is very unobtrusive. For new-build houses, the unit can be integrated into the roof making it virtually invisible. In addition the turbine housing can be colour-matched to the existing roof (take a look at our website – www.thepowercollective.com for a visualization). It’s for this reason that we have been supported by the North York Moors National Park (www.northyorkmoors.org.uk) in undertaking a feasibility study, installing 3 RidgeBlades in one of the most protected environments in the UK.

Noise – there is a worry (often false) that wind turbines will be noisy, and that this will disturb neighbours. The RidgeBlade is very quiet – much of the work in research and development was to make the units quiet and vibration free – much of our patent addresses these issues.

Structural Damage – many planning authorities in the UK have found that attaching standard turbines to the end of a building can cause structural damage – in effect, the mounting pole becomes a long lever, pushing and pulling at the brickwork mounting point in a variety of directions. The RidgeBlade causes no such problems.

Damage to Wildlife – again, objections have been made to wind turbines because of the imagined damage to wildlife; birds and bats etc. This is probably a little spurious – there is little evidence of small turbines causing such damage, but the RidgeBlade’s design means that birds and bats cannot fly into the turbine.

2. How much does it actually yield?
Good Question! If we were to rate the Ridgeblade operating in perfect conditions, current data suggests that it would be rated at 3kwh. However, we are more interested in how much electricity the RidgeBlade will produce in a real life scenario over an average year. As a reference point, average wind speed in the UK is 20kph. Our units are optimised for between 7 kph and 60 kph meaning it is suitable for use in many locations. At these speeds, the RidgeBlade will realistically be expected to generate an average of over 20 kwh per day. By the way – all of these figures are VERY conservative – we do not want to make claims for output until the units have been independently tested, but if you were to ask our Technical Director what the output figure will be, he would probably give you a higher figure!

3. Should municipalities use these small turbines themselves or stimulate inhabitants or compinies to use them? What are your thoughts in this?
We have already been in contact with local Councils here in the UK regarding the RidgeBlade. In the UK all local government has been given challenging targets for carbon reduction, and they seem to be very interested! In addition, we have a held talks with a large Credit Union which means that small communities or groups of people will be able to “club together” to buy a larger RidgeBlade installation (for example on a local warehouse or farm) and using a soft loan from the credit union, buy a share of a RidgeBlade. This would be suitable for people who live in flats (without pitched roofs) or who for other reasons cannot have a RidgeBlade on their own home.

 

 

(Automatic translation from Dutch) Professional surfers seem to carve their board from a kind of plastic foam. Mike Sheldrake designed his board with 3D-software, the board to be made out of paperboard.
The inside of the surfboard has been made of approximately 400 small bits of paperboard. In a flexible way, very strong and relatively environment-friendly material.

The paperboard has been poured in transparent fiberglass, I'm not sure if that is an environment-friendly material or process. On the photograph above you can see the paper-carcass shine through.
Innovative, maybe unintended, use of sustainable material. Almost everything we see around us can be made with materials that will be more sustainable. Make way for the  cradle-to-cradle-surfboard.

Picture of the board in action in Surfermagazine

 

[Original post in Dutch on Ecocool.nl: Duurzame surfplank van karton]

 

Electronic bracelet with watch and digital pictures which the user himself can charge. Concept designed by the French but China-based office Chocolate.
The required energy for storing and showing the pictures is provided by the wearer, by means of movement of the arm. No further energy source necessary therefore. Kinetic watches exist very long allready. In the future all watches will run on kinetic energy and in that sense will be autarkic.

Chocolate call it an e paper solution, since you don't need to print the pictures of loved ones to carry them with you, but chances are you allready use another mobile device for that. Still an elegant design.

 

 

[Original post in Dutch on Ecocool.nl: Kinetisch is king]

China runs first on environmental issues as everyone knows. There the S116 solar mobile phone is available for quite some time now (watch it here: Solar mobile phone).
French telephone designers Modelabs, who have designed models for all renowned phone makers, made concepts for apparatuses that combine solar-energy and kinetic (movement) - energy. Constituent was SFR, a French telecom-company that wants give way to CSR, particularly in the field of environment.

There are 3 concept apparatuses ("ecological
mobility concepts'): The YoYo, a yoyo (above).

U-turn, a mini boomerang that gets its energy from the movement of the unfolding and folding.

And the runaway, that uses the movement of the sporting (anyway moving) bearer.

Telephone companies: invest. 

China runs first on environmental issues as everyone knows. There the S116 solar mobile phone is available for quite some time now (watch it here: Solar mobile phone).
French telephone designers Modelabs, who have designed models for all renowned phone makers, made concepts for apparatuses that combine solar-energy and kinetic (movement) - energy. Constituent was SFR, a French telecom-company that wants give way to CSR, particularly in the field of environment.

There are 3 concept apparatuses ("ecological
mobility concepts'): The YoYo, a yoyo (above).

U-turn, a mini boomerang that gets its energy from the movement of the unfolding and folding.

And the runaway, that uses the movement of the sporting (anyway moving) bearer.

Telephone companies: invest.