If solar panels on the roof offend your aesthetic sensibilities and Tesla’s sun-soaking roof tiles aren’t quite in your budget, then maybe the roof isn’t the right place for you to harvest the sun. SolarGaps allows you to do that from the window instead.
A set of window blinds equipped with solar panels, the rig allows you to harvest sunlight at home without complicated roof installations, so you can supplement your connection to the grid with sustainably-generated power. Since these are just windows blinds, there are no permanent installations, making it a straightforward plug-and-play solution that you can set up and remove at any time.
Each SolarGap look no different than traditional window blinds from afar, although you will notice the presence of photovoltaic cells once you start inspecting up close. Each 10-square foot window area covered by the blinds can generate as much 150W of power, which should be enough to power all the lights in your home, as well as three MacBooks all running at the same time. While they can be opened and closed much like any set of window blinds, it comes with an accompanying app (iOS and Android) where you can adjust them remotely, with options for various automated movements (e.g. it can align itself to maximize sun harvest all through the day). Each set of blinds is hooked up to a central dock with integrated outlets, where you can plug in your appliances and devices directly.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for SolarGaps. You can reserve a unit for pledges starting at $390.