Recently, R&D Magazine released the 2012 R&D 100 Awards and three latest green technology innovations from Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) won the awards.
 
The institute has its three latest award-winning innovations: Light&Light, the first A19 all-plastic LED light bulb; a low-cost, easy-to-use voltage and current meter called AVA-Clamp; and SideLighter, billed as “the first low-cost, high-performance, transparent concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar panel” that can be used both as a structural panel or window and to generate clean, renewable electricity.
 
A ‘light-guiding solar concentrator film/panel,’ ITRI’s SideLighter can be incorporated into windows and building and roofing materials, as well as solar power systems. “A light-guiding solar concentrator panel/film can be integrated with a small number of solar cells to develop a rooftop solar system with building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems that can save the cost of silicon cells substantially and is also transparent,” ITRI explains in a press release.
 
Sidelighter’s solar PV cells cost 93% less to produce than current PV cells, which contributes to a 46% reduction in building CPV solar panels, according to ITRI. The institute is already working with Infinite Solar Optics Enterprise and Chi Lin Technology to mass produce SideLighter for some applications. ITRI has posted a video showing and describing SideLighter’s applications and performance on YouTube.
 
Similarly, at less than 100 grams, the Light&Light A19 all-plastic LED light bulb is small and highly efficient. According to ITRI, it uses less than 10 watts to produce the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent light bulb, with an illumination angle of 300 degrees at a price that’s 10-20% that of competing LED light bulbs. That can save 85% on light bulb power consumption.
 
Finally, as the name indicates, the AVA-Clamp is a clamp-on voltage and current meter that can be easily attached to typical household or commercial appliances, such as a microwave or TV, or an industrial machine to measure and display the electric current being used. Employing the micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) metering technology to monitor and manage their electricity consumption, users can save up to 10% on energy bills, ITRI says.