Solar Powered Bird Scarer

 

Keeping birds away from crops and other structures can be a real challenge; particularly when attempting to approach the problem in a humane way.
 
According to a recent study by the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, birds are surprisingly Australia's most destructive agricultural pest in monetary terms, even more so than wild dogs, mice, foxes and feral pigs combined. Birds are costing Aussie farmers more than $313 million a year.
 
Aside from crop damage, birds create problems in urban areas, mainly through nesting and defecation. Birds can also cause solar farm owners headaches as bird faeces can throw shadows over a panel, limiting their efficiency. Once baked on, bird poop can be hard to remove. 
 
This is where solar power can also come to the rescue for protecting solar farms, buildings and crops using bird scaring devices.  The mother of these devices is the Bird Gard Mega Blaster PRO from Chicago based Bird X. The intense sound output covers up to 30 acres (12 hectares). It's so loud that full volume needs to be engaged from quite a distance using the remote control.
 
The Bird Gard Mega Blaster PRO includes a 20-speaker tower, built-in 200 watt amplifier and is powered with a 40 watt solar panel and deep cycle battery. The device generates intermittent distress calls to create a "danger zone" that frighten birds away. The unit has a frequency range of 2,000 - 10,000 Hz and generates sound up to 125 decibels, louder than a chainsaw and about the same intensity as a rock concert or pneumatic drill. 
 

The Solar Roof Tile .. That Looks Like One

 

Solar roof tiles are nothing new; but most just look like small solar panels, not blending in well with the surrounding roof structure in terms of design.
  
The Solé Power Tile is an electricity-generating "barrel-style tile" that can be installed alongside traditional clay tile roofing produced by by US Tile, the largest manufacturer of premium sustainable roofing in the United States.

It's the first curved solar tile to be introduced to the U.S. market.
  
Light-weight and of polymer construction, the tiles can generate 500 watts per 100 square-feet. Solé Power Tiles are easy to handle and employ "plug and play" quick-connect technology. The tiles are guaranteed to produce electricity at a rate that reaches at least 80 percent of the tile's generating capacity for 20 years, and are expected to continue to produce well beyond the warranty period.
   
The makers of the tile, SRS Energy, envision around 20-25 percent of the average roof would feature the Solé Power Tile, with the remainder utilizing authentic clay roof tiles.
  
SRS Energy says it takes less time than conventional solar panels to generate the amount of energy required to produce them and their embodied energy is recouped during a small amount of the tile's life span. Unlike many other thin-film solutions, the technology within the tile is cadmium free and not toxic. The Solé Power Tile system also incorporates triple-junction amorphous solar cells produced by UNI-SOLAR, a leader in thin-film photovoltaics.
  

News for Friday 18 September, 2009

 

• World's Largest Wind Farm Inaugurated
  

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