Solar table made from teak and stainless steel
This handsome, expensive table has solar top that tilts up so you can charge its built-in batteries.
Place SunTable in a sunny outdoor location and it automatically stores backup energy. Get hours of power for laptops, cellphones, lights, radios, water purifiers, and more. Perfect for entertainment and vital during electrical blackouts.Sun Table: $2200.00The SunTable is designed for ease of use and weather-resistance. The solar cells charge the battery even when partially covered. A charged battery provides more than 4 hours of laptop use.
The teak frame and edging are low-maintenance and moisture-resistant. The stainless steel legs are resistant to weather. All the outer electronics are designed for outdoor use. Stainless leveling feet ensure an even tabletop surface. Zero moving parts. Hose down to clean.
The voltage meter displays the voltage of the battery, and the hour meter displays the total hours the table has been on. Its electrical output is 12 volts DC, like a car. With the included inverter, you have a regular wall outlet.
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...Wouldn't you want to put stuff *on* a table? Thereby inadvertently covering up the surface?
An umbrella design would make more sense to me.
-Edward
Putting stuff on the table you wouldn't cover the WHOLE table no? Yes it would reduce its ability to gather power, but it still could do so. Covering it with a tablecloth might reduce its abilities to almost nothing however, well maybe not NOTHING as in completely zero, but nothing really worthwhile, probably dependent on the thickness of the tablecloth. Its a good idea however, utilizing more surfaces as collectors of energy... still costly however, but if the printable solar cells get cheaper to produce and the efficiency gets better... it will become more feasible.
I think it would be great to be able to jack my laptop into it to charge while the sun is out and the backyard is too hot - then head out in the evening with a beer, snacks (stuff that covers table) but you get the idea.
i bet we could make this at tech shop for cheaper.
This strikes me as a peanut butter and jelly in the same jar sort of idea.
I want good cells. I want a teak table. I'm not at all certain they go together well. Though this execution is somewhat elegant.
Probably a great thing if you can afford a huge deck to keep it on.
Making it yourself is a good option, and will get even better as time goes by. Solar cells are a great emerging technology; very few weeks go by these days without a research announcement, and some of these technologies will become products before long.
i'm willing to give this up for free just to see the idea get out there, because if anything is done with it to make it a reality i would gladly give up the gazillions in royalties. o.k., here it is : solar panel /roof shingles. all that vast untapped real estate on top of peoples houses, now generating untold amounts of POWER! addd a couple barrel roof wind-turbines and unplug from da grid!
http://www.altersystems.com/catalog/unisolar-17-watt-solar-roof-shingle-p-287.html
There you go MINTPHRESH. ;)
-Edward
Covering wouldn't be a problem - it has batteries, so you can use the reserve power when you need it
hells yeah! now the next one: mold the panels into auto hoods, roofs, and trunk lids for self recharging electric and hybrid vehicles! car recharges whist it sits in the parking lot baking in the sun! (hold applause, please)( aw, never mind, applaud at will)(whoever he is)
Hm, a slab of plywood and a fragile polycrystalline solar panel (Looks like a Unisolar US-64; ~$320 at discount) plus a cheapo inverter for $2200?
Must be using the principle of Steve Jobs iEconomics: People will spend stupidly if you can convince a group of them it's the latest and thinnest to show off to one another.
Idea:
Make a solar panel table: awesome.
Execution:
not so much. Teak? C'mon.
Why dont they use gorilla hand ashtrays for accent pieces?
@#11:
FINALLY! My ordinary tables, made of stupid things like wood or metal, have no power source at all! They're so backwards.
And I always put MY tables in full sun here in Los Angeles, rather than in pesky shade or, as some of my STUPIDER friends do, inside the house, where there's no sunlight at all!
Finally, a product that Just Makes Sense.
Umm.... black table top meant to be placed in as much sunlight as possible....
I'd be worried about burns and possibly melting anything you stick on the thing. I think this design (which is nice) as some sort of canopy/gazebo would work _much_ better and it would help deal with some of the major problems for solar panels today. Plus, it would also be the most efficient use of the energy in that situation.
When you're outside you often don't want to be hit by the sun's full rays, if you put a solar panel between you and the sun, you don't get toasty/burnt and it uses all that energy that was bugging you to provide you with something you do want.
can it do this?
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/10/01/robot-chair-assemble.html
@#10: At noon in the summer, direct sunlight can theoretically provide about 1000W per square meter. Over the course of a full day, the average is more like 400W/m^2 on sunny days. If you could get three square meters of 20% efficient solar panels on your car (the best technology available today is close to 20%), you're looking at around 2.8 kwh per day, or about 9 miles of driving, assuming perfect battery charging efficiency, a bright sunny day, and a typical 300wh/mile electric car (http://evalbum.com).
Now, those same solar panels would do fine on a 30wh/mile electric moped, but not really practical for a car. You'd have to live in a sunny area, and never park in the shade, and -- this is the tricky bit -- invent near 100% efficient solar panels.
but it would still be a nice, green alternative that would help, but you would probably have to plug into the grid or use a wind/solar recharging station as the primary source of power.
Greetings
Gotta admit its a nice package: solar panel, battery, inverter - pretty much turn key if you want laptop type gadget power and you've got sunlight...
Might be interesting entry level to more permanent solar especially in areas like MN where the very idea of enough sunlight is seriously laughable ;)
Enjoy the journey
WarLord