![solar sunflower](https://static.designboom.com/contest/files/copy_23_poster1.jpg)
solar sunflower by edita barabas from croatia
designer's own words:
The Solar Sunflower can change our attitude towards classical usage of electricity, allowing us to welcome solar energy into our everyday lives.
It represents an alternative way of looking at standard home appliances which we use for cooling down or heating up our food. The Solar Sunflower is a solar lunch box that combines heating and cooling technologies all in one portable appliance. It allows you to heat up or to cool down your meal while you are outdoors, giving you the convenience of the household without the attached home appliances. The food may also be kept at a constant cool temperature to keep free from bacteria. Its functionality allows you to cool down a drink while warming up your soup all from the same portable package.
The Solar Sunflower is an ecological appliance that collects the sun's energy through a series of solar panels that spread like the petals of a flower. The basic ingenuity of nature is combined with today's technology.
Energy is captured from the spherical solar cells and stored within an internal battery. Power is then, at the touch of a button, used to heat up or cool down the elements within the internal compartments.
When the lunch box is closed, the compartments are connected to an electrical circuit through three lids for heating and cooling at the same time or separately, depending on the user's wishes. Once opened, the electrical circuit is broken allowing you to take out the compartments individually and eat!
Every pan has its own display through which you can control the heating or cooling your food. The Solar Sunflower is ideal for people who take out their food from home to work, or for the ones who travel often. It is also the ideal portable appliance for the family while camping. The Solar Sunflower represents a new way of using alternative sources of sustainable energy - a utopian way of thinking for usage in our everyday life. It represents a new philosophy of using solar energy for supplying our standard home appliances.
solar sunflower opened and section view
solar sunflower closed nd portable
colecting solar energy to solar panels