Solar ‘Sunflowers’ Provide Energy and Décor

Many people are put off by the less-than-impressive aesthetics of solar panels, maintaining that they take away from the visual impact of a home or business, while others insist that looks shouldn’t be a factor. But if more solar panels were like these flower-shaped ones by public art team Harries/Heder, nobody would have any cause to quibble.

15 of these ‘sunflowers’ sprouted up in Austin, Texas, on a pedestrian and bike path between the village of Mueller and highway I-35. From Inhabitat:

When construction on Mueller, a mixed-use urban village in Austin, Texas first began nearly a decade ago, developers set up a number of environmental and aesthetic rules to safeguard the green spaces and keep the town from taking on an industrial feel. So when a massive retail lot was proposed, Mueller agreed to let it be built on one condition: loading docks behind the stores had to be covered up. Enter Sunflowers, An Electric Garden — Austin’s largest public art installation.

The solar flowers collect sunlight during the day to power their own blue LEDs at night, turning them into an illuminated art display. Unused power is fed back into the grid.

Solar + art = smart! Design like this makes solar energy desirable to everyone.

Link [Inhabitat]

Related Posts:

Big Solar and Little Solar Engaged in Turf Wars
Lower-Cost Solar Cells Can be Painted onto Rooftops
Off-Grid Homes Save Electricity and Provide a Great Example for the Rest of Us
New Generation of Solar Cells Inspired by Plants
94% of Americans Want Solar Power; Politicians Lag Behind