The Energy Tree

Votes: 4
Views: 4612

The "ENERGY TREE" project combines 3 Renewable Energy Sources -- Wind, Solar and Geothermal -- into a single, functional and eco-integral unit, a TREE. Recreating one of nature's most beautiful designs, the project encompasses designing and building an artificial tree whose bark and leaves capture solar energy, roots capture geothermal energy and branches together with specially designed flowers and leaves capture wind energy.

Solar panels and wind generators are not a very visually appealing product. In 20 years or less, buildings and cities will be forced to deal with ridding themselves of first generation "Alternative Energy Junk."

The project is inspired to put the green into "Green." A single 15 foot "Energy Tree" is projected to capture sufficient energy to power an independent home and family churning out between 12-18 KWH per day. The intent of this project is to offer a practical, affordable and visually aesthetic solution to the energy crisis.

Suited to most homes, companies and institutions it empowers us to reduce our dependencies on conventional, polluting forms of energy and drastically reduce our carbon footprint. Furthermore, the TREE can be "planted" on a south facing wall thereby shading the building (reducing energy costs) while exposed to maximum available sunlight.

The retail price is projected at between $25-$30k for an installed TREE, which translates into approximate energy savings of 80%-90% for an average household. An energy savings of over 100% is made possible by making use "net metering" which enables a power source to give back unused energy to the power grid.

The design of a TREE is fully customizable and can be configured, both mechanically and aesthetically, to suit any environment.

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  • ABOUT THE ENTRANT

  • Name:
    Vikram Aditya Swaminadhan
  • Type of entry:
    team
    Team members:
    Vikram Swaminadhan
    Tanya Gans
  • Profession:
    Innovation & Creativity Catalyst
  • Number of times previously entering contest:
    2
  • Vikram Aditya's hobbies and activities:
    Challenging assumptions,creative thinking for kids
  • Vikram Aditya belongs to these online communities:
    LinkedIn, The Hub, Facebook, Twitter, Quirky
  • Vikram Aditya is inspired by:
    Everything is Interconnected. We have the rather FUN job of finding the connections.
  • Patent status:
    pending