For many of us, energy is an important issue. Whether it is for saving money or protecting the environment, we are trying to do something in one way or another. Solar energy is an easy but often costly and impractical move. Exploiting the light rays entering your home to lighten your electricity bill is the concept of solar panels. And those who have neither the budget nor the possibility of installing them on the roof of their house will soon be able to call on the SolarGaps’ start-up. Zoom on this new ecological and economical home equipment!
SolarGaps, solar and intelligent blinds, could well represent a solution adapted to all publics. It offers window blinds with mini solar panels. They can be installed inside or outside your windows and they are able to produce enough energy to run 3 computers and 30 LED bulbs simultaneously. The icing on the cake, the solar panel blinds are also connected to your Smartphone and can be controlled remotely!
Producing our own energy and ease our electricity bill is the dream of us all, achievable with the installation of solar panels on the roof of our homes. However, in urban areas, this approach can become a real obstacle. When you are not an owner, this type of installation requires a large number of authorisations, especially if you live in a condominium, not to mention the heaviness of the equipment and the work to be done on the roofs.
A 70% energy-saving bill with mini solar panels
The Ukrainian start-up wants to address this issue. It offers blinds (Venetian type blinds) equipped with photovoltaic cells (mini solar panels, in short) to install directly against your windows. The solution allows everyone to produce their own energy and reduce their energy bill, without any work or installation. The reduction in invoice amounts to nearly 70%, according to the start-up.
The blinds that house the solar panels can be attached to the outside as well as inside the windows. One square metre of these blinds has the capacity to produce between 50 and 100 Watts per hour, which is enough energy to operate three laptops or thirty LED bulbs.
The energy captured by the photovoltaic cells is thus used directly or stored in a battery, for example a nocturnal use.
A motorized system allows to lower or raise the blinds, but also to automatically change the inclination to better capture the sun’s rays. The solution allows to follow the motions of the sun during the day and thus to capture the light energy, whatever the season!
Intelligent blinds controllable on Smartphone
In addition to surfing the trend of green devices, these blinds are also true intelligent devices. Sensors connected to your Smartphone allow you to control the tilt of your blinds remotely, directly on your phone. You become the true master of your energy consumption. The device also has an automatic mode which allows the blinds to adjust themselves and to adapt to the light rays to store a maximum of energy.
Finally, photovoltaic blinds can even be associated with Google Home or Amazon Echo, the virtual home assistants designed to manage its interior at best.
SolarGaps was looking for funding on the platform of Kickstarter. The start-up launched its campaign on May 9, 2017 and the project has already raised the targeted amount of $ 50,000. The camera is available from 390 € for the smallest model (81x91cm), and varies up to 1910 dollars for the largest (183x213cm). Deliveries are scheduled as from September 2017.
