In the same way as Jobs and Wozniak rThey evolved IT from a garagethis amateur changed the game in terms of domestic energy from a shed. Their project succeeded in giving a second life to more than a thousand discarded laptop batteries. The story of Apple starting in a garage is one of Silicon Valley's most famous stories.
The garage exists and can be visited, but as Steve Wozniak himself admitted years later, the legendary Apple I was never built there. The garage was more of a meeting point, a symbol of those humble beginnings that we love to romanticize so much. But the “creative” spirit, which desire to create something revolutionary from scratchis still more alive than ever. And the new example is in a shed 50 meters from any house, where more than 1,000 recycled batteries have achieved what seemed impossible: total energy independence.
It all started in 2016, when he decided to use old laptop batteries.
Gublux, as this innovator is called in specialized forums, cHe started his adventure in 2016 with 650 batteries rescued from obsolete laptops. While Apple is investing millions in its Daisy robot (capable of dismantling 1.2 million iPhones per year), this electronics enthusiast has created his own green revolution from scratch. All on a limited budget and tons of ingenuity.
“Not a single battery has blown or exploded in all this time,” he says on the Second Life Storage forum. Over there carefully documents each stage of your project. A significant fact considering that safety is generally the main concern when it comes to reusing batteries. We don't need to name a competing brand to Apple, do we?
First assembly of the shed and the solar panel
The timing couldn't be more opportune. We live in a time where artificial intelligence threatens to generate a quantity unprecedented amount of electronic waste. According to recent studies, the impact of AI could be equivalent to throwing away 10 billion iPhones in the coming years. The figures are alarming: in 2023, 62 million tonnes of electronic waste will be generated, or 82% more than ten years ago. And even though major tech companies like Apple plan to go carbon neutral in just five years, projects like Gublux's show that solutions can start with ourselves, with a modest hangar.
Interior of a hangar with hundreds of reused batteries
The energy system based on recycled batteries
The Gublux system has evolved since its creation. Which It all started with a modest 1.4 kW solar installation and a forklift battery, now incorporating 24 440 W solar panels, installed by the end of 2024. The key to success lies in the details: each battery contains exactly the same number of cells, organized in rows of 100 Ah.
Continue to collect laptop batteries that are in the trash to increase the energy generated
And solar power isn't the future, it's the present. Giants like Apple are investing in huge solar fields in Segovia and Tesla is marketing its “Powerwall” at prices that are prohibitive for many. For its part, Gublux shows that with a lot of ingenuity (and knowledge) you can do it yourself. Companies like Ikea also sell their own solar panels to install at home, which helps the planet and everyone's budget.
Even your Tesla charges with solar energy
A simple installation of solar panels costs around 3,000 dollars. If you want to add a battery to be able to consume energy day or night, this amounts to around 10,000 dollars. The saving on the electricity bill is 70% approximately. Thus, in ten years, the investment would be amortized in most cases. From there, all the electricity you use would start to be “free”.
Gublux is close to reaching this deadline. The result after ocho years of uninterrupted operation speaks for itself: no cells have had to be replaced and plans are still in progress. All this while giving a second life to devices that would otherwise end up increasing the mountain of waste. And of course, have free electricity every day.
Steve Jobs years later in front of the garage door where it all began
If Jobs and Wozniak showed that You didn't have to be IBM to revolutionize computingGublux proves that you don't have to be Tesla to create your own energy storage system. Perhaps the next big breakthrough in sustainability won't come from Silicon Valley or a legendary garage, but from a modest shed where more than a thousand batteries found a second chance.
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