He who can install solar paneling, does; he who cannot, Kickstarts energy-generating solar panel window blinds.
Less than a week into its campaign, SolarGaps is more than halfway to reaching its $50,000 crowdfunding goal.
The “obvious solution” for those who can’t or won’t invest in rooftop solar panels, SolarGaps promises to to reduce home or business electricity bills by up to 70 percent.
Based on the sun-tracking characteristics of sunflowers, the smart blinds automatically adjust position to provide optimal angles for generating solar electricity.
“I spent one day in the fields outside of the city studying how the sunflowers followed the sun,” founder Yevgen Erik said in a statement. “Then, I carried out research which proved that although solar modules are the cheapest among all other sources of energy, they are the most effective ones.”
Built-in solar panels can generate up to 100W-150W of renewable energy per 10-square-foot of window: That’s enough to power 30 LED light bulbs, or three MacBooks.
The blinds, as most do, also shade your home or business interior, helping to reduce air conditioning costs by 40 percent. Any energy surplus can be stored by battery or sold back to your electric company via a two-way meter.
Blinds a Renter’s Dream [Geek.com]