Designed by students from MIT, Harvard and Tsinghua universities, the SolSource 3-in-1 is a solar-powered cooker and electricity generator. The umbrella-like light weight solar energy device developed by One Earth Designs Inc., provides users with a low-cost and portable means of cooking, heating and electricity generation. It uses yak wool and a cheap Chinese insulation fabric with unusually high reflectivity to focus the sun’s rays and generate about 11 watts of power.
Combining advanced technology with user-centered design, the $13 solar device has was developed and tested in China. It comes with a thermo-electric module that allows excess solar energy to be used to produce electricity, while the OED’s HeatSource fabrics transform waste heat from cooking into portable personal warmth. The SolSource has recently won a $667,000 environmental prize from the Netherlands’ Green Challenge.
Via: Off-grid