If you've ignored the naysayers, saved enough money and splashed out on an electric car, you're probably now looking for a dedicated home charging station. If that's the case, look no further -- architect Giancarlo Zema has teamed up with Luminexence to design a bonkers yet beautiful leaf-shaped example known as the Lotus.
The Lotus -- no relation to Norwich's premier manufacturer of mid-life crisis mobiles -- is a giant solar-powered piece of faux flora that delivers pure, carbon-neutral electricity captured from the Sun. It comes with night-time lights plus an optional information screen, seat and car charging port.
The Lotus is a modular system that's designed in a variety of colours and sizes. The smallest component, a single-leaf design, can be supplied on its own, or mated to other single-leaf units to form double, triple or quad leaf setups. A large leaf, which provides 19 square metres of photovoltaic panels, is also available. Both leaf styles can be combined to resemble a curious water lily configuration.
Sadly, as imaginative and as attractive as the Lotus may be, it's not particularly effective. The smallest model doesn't produce anywhere near enough power to be of any real use when recharging an electric car, and would need to be connected to a separate mains outlet, which sort of defeats the object.
Still, there's no denying it's an interesting concept and one that might be of use in some scenarios. We'd be quite happy installing one of these things at the bottom of the garden and letting it feed juice to a shed, or using one to power an information point in a public park.
Have a look at the video below to see the Lotus in action and let us know what you think in the comments below or on our Facebook page.
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anonymous 25 January, 2012 12:56
HAVING CHECKED OUT THIS FILM, I THINK.....WHAT AN AWESOME CONCEPT. THOUGH CHARGING FOR CLEAN ELECTRIC SHOULD BE MINIMAL AS IT BEING PROVIDED BY THE SUN. TO RECOVER COSTS, YES I AGREE WE SHOULD PAY A SMALL AMOUNT FOR A CHARGE BUT THAT IS WHAT IT SHOULD- BE A SMALL FEE.
THE DESIGN LOOKS GREAT AND IF I COULD HAVE ONE OUTSIDE MY HOME I WOULD.
KEEP UP WITH THE INNOVATIVE DESIGNS - CARBON FREE FUEL IS A NECESSITY ESPECIALLY FOR OUR FUTURE SURVIVAL
JohnCanali 28 January, 2012 05:35
It's very attractive design with the , video gives the complete idea about the structure of the solar charger, thanks for shearing the video also. I think in coming years we come across many such parking lots having the solar charging sell.
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