Yevgen Erik, the founder of the Ukrainian startup company SolarGaps, wanted to bring the Eco-friendly concept of producing your own solar energy to anyone who wants it, even if they are just renters in a building. The SolarGap solar panel window blinds ($250+) are a unique, affordable ‘plug and play’ photovoltaic solution for those who cannot install permanent fixtures on the roof.
Each SolarGap window blind can generate up to 100 watts of electricity for every 10 square feet of photovoltaic window blind. This is enough power to run either 30 LED lights or 3 MacBooks. When used in tandem, a three-window array can create up to 600 watt-hours (circa 4 kilowatts) per day. Utilized in an office environment, the shades can potentially power the entire space with leftover power that can be stored in the accompanying battery pack or sold back to the electric company.
Even more impressive, the SolarGap window blinds have a smart feature so they automatically follow the sun for the best possible angle for charging throughout the day, while integration with Google Home & Amazon Echo allows for voice-activated control in smarthome environments. [via]
