Gizmodo: Green Living

Solar City Teams Up With Tesla for Solar-Powered Sports Car Driving

Charlie White — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 13:20:00 EST

One of the problems we can see with the Tesla Roadster is that you still have to suck up pollution-causing power to run the thing, even though it doesn't directly pollute the air with noxious internal combustion engine fumes. Now Solar City has teamed up with Tesla to provide solar panels that you install on the roof of your house, and then those panels feed power to the outlet for the Tesla Roadster. So now you can go from 0-60 in 4 seconds, guilt- and gasoline-free.

The way Solar City figures it, if you have a daily commute of 40 miles, you'll require 500 square feet of solar panels on your house's roof to power the Tesla Roadster for a 40-mile commute each day. Install a 20x25-foot array of solar panels, and then you're on your way to carbon-neutral driving.

But cost is another matter. The Tesla roadster will be $100K, and though Solar City's not talking price just yet, add another, say, $10K for these panels, and energy will be about the only thing you're saving. But if you can get rebates for such things where you live, and it's always sunny there, this just might be worth it to you. [Autoblog Green, via Ecotality Life]

Power House Kit: Your Action Figures Are Going Green

Sean Fallon — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 19:00:57 EST

It is high-time that your Star Wars figures, GI Joes and Barbies woke up from their fantasy worlds and realized that in the real world, there are limits to the power we can consume. The first step in their education would be to move into one of these Power Houses and learn what life would be like without fossil fuels. With each kit you can build a small model house complete with solar panels, a windmill, greenhouse and a desalination system—but the lesson in sustainable living does not end there.

You can even build and operate an electric train, windmill, solar cooker, solar hot water tank, hygrometer, electric motor, power hoist and sail car. And let's not forget that action figures need to eat. You can take care of their needs by planting watercress, preparing sauerkraut, and making chewing gum. All in all you can conduct 70 experiments and 20 building projects with the Power House kit —all of which are outlined in the included 90 page instruction manual. Available for $149.95. [Product Page via EcoGeek]

Zero House From the Future is Totally Green, Off-Grid

Charlie White — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:31:38 EST

Not only is this Zero House by architect Scott Specht completely green, automatic and self-sufficient, but it looks so badass it could've come out of the movie Clockwork Orange. That extra wide roof holds a slew of high-efficiency solar panels that let you say goodbye to electric bills, powering the whole house and storing up enough extra energy in its batteries to keep everything running for a week, even if every single day is cloudy. That's just the beginning.

The house holds its water in a 2700-gallon roof cistern, and the sheer weight of all that liquid pushes water through the plumbing. When you flush the toilets, it all ends up in a compost container in the basement, which digests all that stuff organically, relieving you of attaching your abode to any sewage pipes. Goodbye, civilization.

Even so, this house is highly civilized unto itself, with LED lighting built into the walls and ceiling, using very little power and lasting 100,000 hours without changing a single bulb. It's off-the-grid living, in gorgeous style. Cantilevers, anyone? [Architechnophilia, via Yanko Design]