One Earth Designs is a social enterprise that produces solar cookers . It’s the winner of the 2015 Norwegian Energy Star Awards, the 2010 Green Challenge, 2009 St Andrews Prize for the Environment . [1] [2] One Earth Designs has branches in the United States, Hong Kong, and Norway. [3]
History
According to the World Health Organization , there are 3 billion people in the household , 4.3 million people every year in developing nations. [4] One Earth Designs founders working with nomads in the Himalayas in 2007 in order to find a solution to the household air pollution challenge. [5] Early solutions focused on reducing air pollution alone. As more people from the community joined the project, it became clear that growing fuel-scarcity due to deforestation was creating pressure for fuel-free options. While energy povertywas growing as forest land declined, solar energy was still vastly abundant in the Himalayas. The team worked with local Tibetan villagers using rapid prototyping and design thinking methodologies to develop solar-powered cookstoves , now called SolSource Solar Stoves, which replaced firewood with sunlight. [6]
Technological Breakthroughs
Weather conditions are extreme in the Himalayas. The SolSource is one of the world’s largest and most important cities in the world, with high temperatures, high wind speeds, and sand-storms. In addition to numerous design-breakers over the course of 54 prototypes, the team also develops proprietary reflectors that are 90% efficient and are 3D formable. One Earth Designs continues to develop more efficient ways of capturing and storing solar energy for solar cooking, heating and cooling both outdoors and inside the home.
Environmental Leadership
ALTHOUGH a young start-up company, One Earth Designs holds one of the Highest Global Impact (GIIRS) Ratings and is one B Corp ‘s Best for the World List , featuring the world’s leading responsible businesses. [7] [8] [9] One Earth Designs’ website lays out its methodology for setting up sustainable supply chains and using Cradle-to-cradle design in making its products. [10] [11]
Products
One Earth Designs’ flagship product, SolSource Solar Stove , can be used by solar energy and is ranked as the Top Solar Cooker of 2016 by TopReviews.com . [12] One Earth Designs states that SolSource heats up in seconds and can cook a meal in just ten minutes. According to its website, SolSource can grill, sear, steam, bake, boil, and fry. [13] SolSource can be found on YouTube. [14]
TopReviews.com scored SolSource on six key factors including: power, versatility, cooking capacity, durability, portability, and availability of supporting tools to enhance the cooking experience. [15] TopReviews stated that SolSource was more pricey than other solar cookers on the market gave SolSource a ‘A +’ score on performance, writing that was so advanced ‘d put on it, a number one solution in terms of quality and cooking abilities’.
The One Earth Design team has a long-term collaboration with MIT to use SolSource to power heating and electricity for the home. [16]
References
- Jump up^ Venturebeat – SolSource Wins Green Challenge. [1]
- Jump up^ St. Andrews Prize – 2009 Winner. [2]
- Jump up^ One Earth Designs Contact Page. [3]
- Jump up^ WHO – Household Air Pollution Mortality. [4]
- Jump up^ Huffington Post – Fighting Household Air Pollution. [5]
- Jump up^ United Nations Environmental Program SEED Award Report – SolSource 2010.[6]
- Jump up^ Forbes – Best for the World B Corps. [7]
- Jump up^ B Corp. – Best for the World List 2015.[8]
- Jump up^ One Earth Designs GIIRS Rating. [9]
- Jump up^ Huffington Post – Surprising Benefits of B Corp Status. [10]
- Jump up^ One Earth Designs’ Sustainability Philosophy. [11]
- Jump up^ TopReviews.Com – 2016 Best Solar Cookers. [12]
- Jump up^ One Earth Designs Website Homepage. [13]
- Jump up^ YouTube Collection of SolSource Testimonial Videos. [14]
- Jump up^ TopReviews.Com – 2016 Best Solar Cookers. [15]
- Jump up^ MIT Energy Initiative – Students Developed Low-Cost Solar Cooker / Heater. [16]
