WHAT'S HAPPENING AT GREEN ACRES !?!

Brilliant and Bizarre Off-the-Grid Green Designs and Technologies

Dutch Tub

(image via: Dutch Tub)

While it may look suspiciously like a storybook witch’s cauldron, the Dutch Tub is a portable hot tub that runs entirely on wood. Some may question the greenness of any hot tub, regardless of how it’s heated, but off-gridders who are determined not to give up life’s little luxuries will appreciate the ability to lounge and soak, without consuming fossil fuels.

Light Cap 200 – Solar Panels for Water Bottles

(image via: SolLight)

If you’re going to be carrying around a bottle of water all day anyway, why not put it to use and let it soak up some rays for use after dark? The ‘Light Cap 200’ attaches to standard 2”-mouth water bottles (like Nalgene and Camelbaks) and transforms it into a solar-powered lantern. The built-in light sensor automatically turns the light on whenever it gets dark, and off when there’s enough light for charging.

DIY Backyard Wind Turbine

(image via: mdpub)

When you’re living off the grid, you’ve gotta have a substantial source of renewable power – unless you’re really into living like it’s 1850. Wind power may seem out of reach for most residential spaces, but some intrepid DIY-ers have figured out how to create backyard wind turbines on the cheap. Michael Davis has detailed instructions, including where to find the parts.

Off-Grid Seattle Farm

(images via: Eco Geek)

Living off grid can be especially challenging in urban environments, given that there’s not much space to work with. This brilliant design for an off-grid urban farm in the middle of downtown Seattle, created by Mithun for the Living Building Challenge, is fully self-sufficient in both energy and water. It features 31,000-sq-ft rooftop rainwater collection, gray water recycling, over 34,000-sq-ft of solar panels, fields for growing food and 318 apartments.

Sun Stations

(images via: Core 77)

What if you could get free solar energy in open areas, to charge gadgets like cell phones and laptops even while at the park or outside a bus station? Sun Stations, designed by Julene Aguirre-Bielschowsky of Germany, are pieces of public furniture made of concrete, wood and stainless steel that have solar panels built in. A display above the power socket indicates how much energy the gadget is using, and a green light below the solar panel provides soft local lighting and displays the energy available.

Move Your Energy Rocking Chair

(images via: Core77)

Continuing the theme of multiple-use items is the ultra-modern ‘Move Your Energy’ chair, which harvests energy from your rocking motions as you sit in the chair. That energy then powers the built-in LED reading lamp. The lamp is connected to a kinematic mechanism similar to those used in steam engines, which works together with a lever that runs a fly-wheel disc as you rock.

World’s Most Fabulous and Funky Furniture Sets

Space-Saving Teak Bathroom Furniture

(images via: Trendir)

Anyone who has lived in tight quarters knows that space can sometimes come at a premium, making innovative space-saving solutions all the more important. This minimalist teak bathroom furniture set from Bristol and Bath may not look like it offers much in the way of storage upon first glance, but hidden within the wooden supports are pull-out drawers roomy enough to hold all of your toiletries.

Kure Pod Dining Table & Chairs

(images via: Furniture Store Blog)

For those who lean toward extreme minimalism, the Kure table and chair set may be your ultimate dining furniture. When not in use, the Kure dining set is a giant white sphere, but when you’re ready to eat, it opens to reveal four seats, a tabletop, a lit central pillar and an umbrella-like roof with built-in lights. This design, by Fatih Can Sar?öz, is still in concept phase – but it’s an interesting one.

Poufman Living Room Set

(images via: Thread Mad)

The Poufman living room set by Italian company Qayot uses the retro imagery of Pac-Man video games to create seats and ottomans that fit together in various configurations. Designed as a tribute to pop culture, the Poufman set will be a favorite of nostalgic geeks.