It may sound like a contradiction, but Le Lievre, current founder of the Chromasun company, says he and his team are working on an air conditioner that runs off of solar power.  They currently have a working prototype and are in the fundraising stage to truly go global with the device.  Lievre hopes to be mass producing them by 2010, something I and, I’m sure, others with high electricity bills can’t wait for.

What do these devices do?  Well, unlike standard PV solar cells, they use what are called multifunctional solar cells.  This means they collect both light and heat from the sun’s rays.  This makes them more efficient—75% efficient, while solar thermal systems, which collect heat only, are about 48% efficient.  Standard solar cells are only 23% efficient at converting light to energy.  I wasn’t aware that solar devices were so inefficient!

Chromasun’s air conditioning unit is fairly large, but it contains everything to collect light and heat and convert them to energy.  The heat itself runs the air conditioner while the energy gathered from light is used to help offset the electricity needed from the local power grid.  While the prototype is bulky, Chromasun has already mentioned reducing the size for home units since they will require less power.

Air conditioners are one of the biggest power draws in any home or business, and companies have looked for ways of making them more efficient for years.  However, this is the first major breakthrough in creating a solar powered air conditioner that will both reduce power usage and be affordable to the average home owner.  Of course, one of the issues with the Chromasun product will be location—those who live in a primarily cold, overcast location won’t get as much benefit from the device as those who live in sunny, warm areas.  Of course, if you live in a cold area, you probably don’t need your air conditioner that much, anyway!

Here is some international news I came across, that I think could eventually be of great benefit in helping people understand what power they are using, and where this power is being consumed, i.e. which appliances are using what amount of energy.Read on and see what you think, and if you think it is a good idea, could it be implemented elsewhere in the world?

“The UK is jumping ahead of the European Union’s plan to make smart meters mandatory by announcing that they plan to have a smart meter in every house by the year 2020.  This ambitious plan is driven by the overall goal of making Europe a more eco-friendly location within the next several decades.

Many of the meters already installed in homes are outdated—they were designed before the push to conserve energy.  These energy meters will let people know exactly how much power they’re using on a daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly basis.  Of course, just telling people how much energy they’re using won’t instantly teach them how to save power, but it is a start.

Energy companies are also looking forward to the introduction of smart meters as well.  These new meters will make the old job of meter reading obsolete and help cut down on the time their customer service departments deal with billing issues.  This will result in a large amount of savings for the companies, money that could be spent on more energy-efficient technologies and practices.

Studies done on homes and businesses using the smart meters have shown that they can cut their energy bills by up to fifteen percent.  However, as stated above, it takes more than just installing a smart meter to save power.  The homeowners have to be educated in saving power.”

Solar powered items are becoming very popular these days since they allow a person to use a device without using up any electricity.  One of the more recent devices to go solar is the cell phone.  Numerous devices have been created, but few of these solar powered cell phones are on the market yet.  However, that’s about to change with the release of Samsung’s Blue Earth cell phone.

The Blue Earth is more than just solar powered.  It is a completely green cell phone.  It is constructed out of PCM, a type of recycled plastic that comes from water bottles.  It also features an eco mode.  This adjusts the power used for brightness, the backlight, and the Bluetooth options.  The Blue Earth also includes an app that counts your steps and tells you how much CO2 emissions you’ve saved by walking.

Of course, the most noticeable part of the Blue Earth is the large solar panel on the back of the phone.  All you need to do is leave your phone in your office’s sunny window ledge or on the dash of your car while driving and it will charge up.  If you use your phone often, of course, you’ll need to charge it off an adaptor because the solar panel won’t generate that much power, but it will help.  Samsung is looking to release the Blue Earth during the second half of 2009.

I’ve seen ShamWow on Tv so many times, and was always amazed.  Well, after seeing it on TV so much I decided to buy one.  The sponge like reusable towel picks up 20x its weight in liquid.    It was an excellent decision.  ShamWow is phenomenal.  What makes it great for the environment is that it saves people from wasting all those towel paper for cleaning.  Its so versatile because it can be used almost anywhere in the house.  It can be used in the kitchen, in the bathroom, and even to dry your cars after washing.  They are very durable and come with a 10 year warranty.  The ShamWow package I bought came with 8 shams (4 large and 4 small) for only $19.95.  Money well spent.  If you want to get some, you can get them by clicking here.

The ‘Le Project Triangle’ is a new building being built in Paris by the famous architecture firm, Herzog and de Meuron.   The building will be Paris’ first new building in over 30 years thanks to a change in mayor of the city.  The new mayor of Paris vetoed a ban on any new construction in the heart of the city.  The triangular shape of the building was created to enable the structure to harness solar and wind power.  This unique design is not only visually stunning but will be built using sustainable concepts.  The building has also been designed to be so slim that it does not cast a shadow.  The project is anticipated to be complete in 2014.  Herzog and de Meuron have created the famous de Young Museum in San Francisco along with the Portsmouth Soccer Stadium in England.

I decided to make a travel related post in honor of the holidays.  Who doesn’t love vacations?  How about pampering yourself in a eco friendly and conscious luxury environment while leaving a minimal carbon footprint?  Even if you can’t afford any of these trips, it never hurt anyone to dream about it. I’ve put together a list of my top Five Eco Friendly Luxury Hotels/Resorts.  Let me know if you have any to add to this list.

1) Six Senses (Maldives) – Not only is the eco luxe resort set in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, but its committed to reducing green house gas emissions in half and reaching carbon nuetrality by 2010.   They use an air conditioning system utilizing cold water pumped from 1000 feet below the sea for their resort.  Enough said.  This must be heaven!

2) Spice Island Beach Resort (Grenada) – This is one amazingly eco friendly property.  The water on this resort is solar heated, all the light bulbs are energy saving compact flourescents, the water in the pool is treated with salt instead of chlorine, and smoking is not allowed on the resort.  All the left over food is composted and all the soap bars that are left from guest stays are ground up and used as laundry detergent to wash the employee uniforms.  Wow!

3) Whitepod (Switzerland) – Along with many of my readers, I thoroughly enjoy skiing and winter sports.  There is nothing more rewarding after a hard day of flying down the slopes (whether that be on your skiis or your buttocks) than coming back to a warm, cozy, and serene resort.  Whitepod fits the bill but does it an eco friendly way.  You sleep in organic bedding with sheep skin throws.  Oh, and did I mention there is no electricity at this resort?  But don’t worry you don’t need it.  Fireplaces use sustainably harvested wood and oil lamps are everywhere instead of incadescents and halogens.  Also important to note is that there are no roads leading to the resort so you have to walk or ski there.  Definitely for the luxury eco traveler with an adventurous spirit.

4) Seven4one (Orange County, CA) – In addition to five star service, the management and staff are committed to environmental sustainability. In addition to integrating sustainable building facets into the construction of the hotel, the resort uses only organic sustainably sourced products and firmly believes in recycling.

5) Urban Hotel (Shanghai, China) -  Urban Hotel is China’s first Carbon Neutral hotel.  The hotel itself is built in a renovated downtown factory.  During construction there was a focus on building using reclaimed materials such as old bricks and hardwoods from old structures.  Operationally, the hotel uses a water based air conditioning system, passive solar shades, energy efficient lighting, environmentally safe cleaning products, and has an extensive green wall over their South facade.

I was looking for a unique present for someone who is very eco and health conscious, and at about the same time I received an email from Cynthia over at Healthy Kitchenware.  Great timing!  She shared with me the story behind her company and the benefits of her products.  Her company promotes reducing plastic in items used to store and prepare food, and instead recommends stainless steel.  She sent me a stainless steel lunch carrier with accompanying sauce container.   This is great for friends/family who take their lunch to work.  I tried it out and love it.  It sells for only $15.99 on their website which puts it in the ‘affordable gift’ category.  Buy this lunch carrier or other items from their site today!

Ever been confused about which bin your recyclable garbage goes in?  Well, your not alone.   Apparently this was a large enough problem that designer, Woo Seok Park, created a barcoded set of recycling bins.   If you have some trash and you are confused as to which bin it goes in….well fear not.   Mr. Park created this unit just for you.   Simply scan the trash item’s barcode on the scanner mounted on the unit and the correct trash compartment door will open allowing you to safely and effectively play your part in being “green” and saving the planet.  These are perfect when you are trying to figure out which bin depending on if you have paper or plastic.

What is faster than a speeding scooter, more powerful than a go cart, and able to leap small dirt mounds in a single bound?  Yes, you are right.  Its Enertia!  Enertia the electric motorcycle.  This new electric motorcycle is the latest green vehicle to get me excited.    Long gone are the images of big guys with muscular bodies and long hair blowing in the wind riding fast Kawasaki bikes and Harleys.  Now the average Silicon Valley geek can look cool riding a motorcycle.  The Enertia is a zero emissions machine that hits a top speed of 50MPH, goes 40 miles on a charge, and completely made of carbon fiber.  Its priced reasonably at $12,000 USD so maybe its time to go green and look super cool doing it!

I found out about a new app for the iPhone that plants a real tree when someone buys the app from the iTunes store.  Real Tree is currently working on 12 reforestation projects in countries around the world and you can help.  Spend a whopping 99 cents for the app and a tree will be planted.   Your app will allow you to control the daily life of your virtual tree (its not the actual tree) including sending wind its way and helping it get rid of those pesky birds weighing down its branches.   Even in these rough economic times,  I think we all have $1.00 to plant a tree!  Download the app and do your part with this great cause.