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resistion
Solar needs to be paired with batteries to be worth it.
eveperro
I went to visit my parents the other day and I saw that a company installed ...
LG boosts 'green' investment
R Colin Johnson
8/2/2010 1:33 PM EDT
PORTLAND, Ore. -- LG Electronics recently unveiled the world's first solar-powered air conditioner as part of its "green" energy initiative. Over the next five years, the South Korean company will promote energy efficiency across all it business groups, including solid-state lighting.
Korean giant LG hopes to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions with its solar powered air conditioner.
LG recently signed an agreement with Germany's Kellendonk Elektronik to participate in the Smart Watts project, which is being sponsored by the German government to develop a decentralized, intelligent electricity network. "The deal marks the first time a Korean company has taken part in a smart grid project in Europe" LG said.
LG's solar-powered air conditioner, a 28,000 BTU unit with a 70-watt solar array, supplies only about 10 percent of the over 700 watts required for cooling. However, the solar array powers the air circulation and filtering system. so that the unit only needs to draw power from the wall outlet when its compressor is running. LG said it is aiming to increase the percentage of power supplied by its array as it beefs up capacity at its solar panel manufacturing plant in Gumi, South Korea.
LG will invest $820 million over the next five years in to expand the Gumi solar cell plant. The investment is expected to increase production capacity to more than 1 gigawatt.
Meanwhile, it is also expanding efforts to create low-power LED lighting products. The initiative will seek to leverage LED technology developed for flat-panel TVs.
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ewoelk
8/2/2010 3:59 PM EDT
It is amazing to see how much money large Korean companies are investing in innovative energy saving products and alternative energy generation. The timing seems to be excellent. And - unlike the in the US and Europe - it seems, that there is very little or no public money being spent. There is real competition and real competition drives innovation. In contrast, governments in the US and Europe seem favor one technology over another by lavishing subsidies. I have always wondered who makes the call which technology to subsidize? Letting bureaucrats steer technology has never been a good idea and normally ends in regret (remember the Soviet Union?). If Korea continues down its current path, it may turn out to be the White Knight who saves the world. At least as far as catastrophic climate change is concerned.
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http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/poconoarmchairreview
8/2/2010 7:40 PM EDT
I have to congratulate them for this, too. And even though the solar array supplies only 10% of the power, it's a start. Or at least a cool marketing gimmick.
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yalanand
8/2/2010 11:28 PM EDT
Way to go LG. I hope other companies will take queue from this environment friendly company.
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Baolt
8/3/2010 9:51 AM EDT
it’s not only LG nor Samsung (who plans to spend 20B$) so Korean co.s spending on "Green tech", the Solar power lead is done by China. Chinese invest in green energy almost 2 times more than US. On the other hand in EU Germany and Italy is leading again ahead of US. So that’s true US is behind the other countries but no doubt after oil spoil catastrophe Obama administration's politic vision have changed. We'll see more environment friendly products/tech in imminent future. No more oil lobby to block greener solutions.
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DrQuine
8/3/2010 10:17 AM EDT
A very interesting concept. As smart grid deployment kicks in, this unit could also supply power to the building when the air conditioner is not running to further contribute to the local energy supply.
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R_Colin_Johnson
8/3/2010 3:02 PM EDT
I asked LG is they planned on allowing the power generated by the solar panels to be sold back to the grid, and they said that would have made the unit too expensive--but to stay tuned for future models that not only let you use the solar panel energy elsewhere, but also allow more solar panels to be added on so that more than 10 percent of the air-conditioners energy consumption is covered.
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elctrnx_lyf
8/3/2010 1:05 PM EDT
I don't think the companies in US are not really lagging with respect to the investments in the alternate green energies. Most of the universities are running development projects with funding from obama administration. But there isn't many product companies in US other than general electric co, those are investing in the green products.
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eveperro
10/18/2012 10:52 AM EDT
Oh my God, this is so smart! I hope that we will be able to do this with everything we use that needs energy!
http://www.agora-yachtcharter.com/italy/yacht-charter-elba-portoferraio
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eveperro
10/25/2012 9:49 AM EDT
I went to visit my parents the other day and I saw that a company installed windmills on the hills and fields. I like that! It's called progress.
http://www.yachtchartersmallorca.com/
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resistion
10/25/2012 10:50 AM EDT
Solar needs to be paired with batteries to be worth it.
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