Including Renewable Energy in Product Design

One of the ways that MAKO Design + Invent keeps up with innovation and creates innovative products is to look for ways to make functional products in the most energy-efficient and sustainable way possible. With so much interest and sudden popularity in creating more green inventions and environment-friendly products that are beneficial for the world’s health and economy.

One unique way that is not often explored in the realm of ‘green inventions’ or sustainable products is using renewable energy sources to power your products. Although it may seem inconvenient to rely on things other than electricity to help power your electronics, you’d be surprised about how many handy products actually work more efficiently because they rely on renewable energy.

What is Renewable Energy?

Renewable energy is a form of energy that is derived from the Earth’s natural resources. These resources are not finite nor exhaustible but are a great alternative to traditional energy that relies on fossil fuels, making it less harmful to use for the environment.

Some examples of renewable energy include wind and sunlight. There are a couple of different types of renewable energy, some of the most popularly known ones are solar energy, wind, hydroelectricity (from wind turbines), and the ocean.

Below are some great examples of green inventions that rely on renewable energy to function!

A Green Invention That Can Stick Anywhere for an Instant Charge

In the age where everyone needs to make sure that their devices are properly charged, having access to an outlet is a must. When you find yourself stuck in a room or meeting with no available outlets nearby, getting your phone or electronics charged for when you need them is crucial.

The Window Socket is a green invention that is both a convenient and helpful product that can be a lifesaver! Simply attach the socket to a window and plug in your charger to charge your phone! The Window Socket harnesses the energy from the sun to allow solar energy to charge your electronic devices.

How Green Inventions Save You a Ton of Money

If you live in a busy city, saving your costs and hydro bills is probably important to you. Solar Gaps is a genius green invention that homeowners will love. Once installed, these blinds can generate 100W per 1sqm, enough to charge a smartphone, a laptop, or power a TV. Therefore, not only can you lower carbon emissions and reduce your carbon footprint, but you can also efficiently charge and power your home electronics without running up the costs of your hydro bill.

Some of the smart features within these blinds are their abilities to control them through a connected app on your phone, connect them to Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home, and set them up as an alarm clock that opens up, letting in sunlight to your home to naturally wake you up.

A Perfect Green Invention for Summer

If you know you want to create a product that is perfect for the outdoors, it’s not a bad idea to make use of having it function with a renewable energy source, such as solar power! One of the most vital products used in the summer is the traditional cooler – but instead of relying on ice, the GoSun Chill Solar Cooler relies on renewable energy to keep drinks cool.

Using solar-powered energy from being placed in the sun all day, this cooler is powered through the sun to keep your beverages and food cold during your whole trip outside! The genius in creating a seasonal product such as Summer to make use of being powered through solar power is a great example of how renewable energy in green inventions can be integrated into consumer products, given their function and use in different situations.

The Green Invention You Can Wear

Designed in 2018 and released to the public in 2019 is the Solar Charged Jacket by Vollebak. The genius behind this green invention lies in its construction and design, which helps separate it from regular sports jackets. With the outside and active community, a huge problem that exists is how to create and stay safe when going out for runs and participating in sports outside.

With the solar-charged jacket, runners, and members of the active community will stay warm and sweat-free while ditching the need for extra light-reflecting material to stay safe and visible once it begins to get dark outside.

The solar-charged jacket is made of a highly responsive material that can be instantly charged to glow in the dark by any light source, such as the flashlight on your iPhone. Not only can you light up your whole jacket, but you can also write and draw a design on it. The jacket is sustainably charged through sunlight or daylight on cloudy days.

Learn more about why eco-friendly design is important to MAKO here!

If you have a great new invention idea and you’d like to learn more about this process, get in touch with MAKO today, and we can set you up on a call with our product strategist!

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!