About suntoy

Suntoy combines the potential of solar technology with renewable and sustainable energy solutions. From design to manufacture of the Consol Solar Jar ™, we are proudly South African.

Hamba Kahle Madiba

By |2025-02-24T15:49:21+00:00January 14th, 2020|

“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” – Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela’s charisma, intelligence and wisdom inspired beyond boundaries. His courage, ability to forgive and continued hope touched us all. As proud South Africans, we pay tribute to our greatest son and father. His star shall always twinkle brightly and continue to inspire generations to come. Hamba Kahle nTaTa. Siyabonga Madiba.

“The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement.” – Nelson Mandela
“No sun outlasts its sunset, but will rise again and bring the dawn.” – His Day is Done by Dr. Maya Angelou

 

Happy Holidays!

By |2025-02-24T15:49:21+00:00January 14th, 2020|

Summer holidays have arrived in the Southern Hemisphere. There’s plenty of warm rays and golden beams of sunshine to bottle in a Consol Solar Jar. It’s time to hang out with family and friends in the midst of laughter and relaxation.

Suntoy wishes you a sunny festive season and a prosperous new year. Let there be light! Happy holidays!

Please note: Suntoy is closed from 13 December 2013 until 13 January 2014 for our annual summer vacation.

Fun in the Sun at School

By |2025-02-24T15:49:21+00:00January 14th, 2020|

Steering our planet towards a greener sustainable future lies in the hands of our youth.

Mr Sunshine, also known as Harald Schulz, has created SunFan and SunCar assembly kits as practical learning resources for teaching the concept of renewable energy. In the classroom, these solar powered toys bring to life alternative concepts for electricity.

Parktown Senior School in Johannesburg invited Mr Sunshine to facilitate a workshop. Students in Grade 5 learnt to assemble their own hand-held SunFans. As the plastic blades spun in the sun, they excitedly cooled themselves. That’s a fun science lesson!

Each SunFan is made with a recycled tin – the type found in a supermarket. So, in addition to solar power, students learn about recycling too.

Mr Sunshine has visited approximately 16 schools and enjoys encouraging potential solar enthusiasts. Fun in the sun is what education should be!

Want to learn about solar energy? Invite Mr Sunshine to your school! Email: admin@suntoy.co.za

Earth Hour ‘To Do’ List

By |2025-02-24T15:49:22+00:00January 14th, 2020|

Earth Hour reminds us to consciously honour our world. There are so many eco-friendly things to do in the dark. Stock up on Consol Solar Jars and give our planet a brighter future by making every hour, Earth Hour.

1. Gather friends and family for a solar-lit dinner at home.
2. Go star-gazing with a lantern in-hand on a path lit by solar light.
3. If you’re a city dweller, from a building with a view, check out what’s switched off and what’s left on.
4. Create fun shadow art illusions on walls in the glow of solar light.
5. Get musical with an unplugged jam session or a djembe circle.
6. For a quieter eve, be mindful with a solar-lit meditation of gratitude to our planet for the life it offers us.
7. Sit on a bench and simply appreciate the sounds of nightlife from near and afar.
8. Read a favorite bedtime story in the coziness of solar light.
9. Inspire discussion on using alternative energies to lessen the possibility of power cuts and rolling blackouts.
10. Snap flash-free photographs by solar light and post them to social media using #earthhour.

Solar Walking

By |2025-02-24T15:49:22+00:00January 14th, 2020|

The 2014 Cape Getaway Show took place on the picturesque Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West, Cape Town, during March. The Consol Solar Jar was featured at the expo.

Solar Walking is a fun and educational opportunity for passionate photographers to enjoy an evening taking photographs of objects, architecture and small landscapes in the solar light emitted by the Consol Solar Jar. Professional photographer, Peter Hassall, is present to teach and share tips on low-light image capture. He took these wonderful low light photographs.

Capetonians showed keen interest in the Consol Solar Jar and there was much enthusiasm. Joburgers also enjoyed Solar Walking during Earth Hour – Drawing with Light.

Drawing with Light during Earth Hour

By |2025-02-24T15:49:22+00:00January 14th, 2020|

Drawing with light during Earth Hour created a photographic artwork solely in the glow of solar light emitted by Consol Solar Jars. The backdrop was beautiful, set at Nizamiya Turkish Masjid (Turkish Mosque) in Midrand, near Johannesburg. Professional photographer, Peter Hassall, magically captured the word, Earth Hour, in solar light.

The word photograph derives from Greek:
phos = light
graphê = draw or write
phos + graphê = drawing with light = photograph

Nine people lined up in the camera frame. Each wrote a letter spelling Earth Hour backwards with a Consol Solar Jar in their hand so that it appeared right reading and pointed directly at the camera. The exposure was 15 seconds and they had to move the Consol Solar Jar in as wide an area as possible. If you look behind each letter, you will see the ghosted figure of a person holding their Consol Solar Jar.

With all the interior lights switched off during Earth Hour, 12 Consol Solar Jars were placed upside down to shine up and light the archways, balancing the interior exposure with the exterior lighting of the clouds and turrets. The contact sheet shows four images:

Top left: all interior lights turned off.
Top right: six jars turned on to light right-hand side.
Bottom left: additional six jars turned on to light left-hand side.
Bottom right: final pic.

Suntoy promises to give our planet a brighter future, the eco-friendly way, by making every hour a solar-power-hour.

AfriOceans Warriors

By |2025-02-24T15:49:22+00:00January 14th, 2020|

Suntoy is always excited to discover where our Consol Solar Jars journey after our team in Selby assembles them. Being the manufacturer, it’s interesting to find out who uses them and how they make every hour a solar-power-hour.

So, we were chuffed to spot a photo of the AfriOceans Warriors holding our Consol Solar Jars in the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) electronic newsletter. The photo was snapped during Earth Hour 2014 in Cape Town. The AfriOceans Warriors Environmental Education (AWESOME) Programme is a marine focused environmental education and shark conservation initiative for youth in South Africa. It makes us smile to know they love solar energy as much as we do!

Our Consol Solar Jar is also a warrior for South African oceans. It shone its solar light on the Indian Ocean bed in Sodwana Bay at a depth of 19.8m!

Photo by Lesley Rochat

Wow! Watertight!

By |2025-02-24T15:49:22+00:00January 14th, 2020|

Sodwana Bay is an unspoiled environmental jewel on the east coast of South Africa along the KwaZulu-Natal shoreline. It is the perfect setting to take the Consol Solar Jar for a scuba dive to discover the rich natural bio diversity on the Indian Ocean’s floor.

Stefan Neubig of Sonnenglas went on a mini-vacation to this beautiful spot. He put a 1kg weight inside a Consol Solar Jar (CSJ) so that it would sink easily. He added an absorbent sachet to prevent moisture within the jar because of the temperature difference on land and at sea (32 degrees on land vs. 26 degrees at 20m under the sea). No modifications were made to the Consol Solar Jar at all.

Stefan and his CSJ took a shallow dip in the pool at the diving school and reached a depth of 5m. Then the duo embarked on their deep-sea adventure. They reached a depth of 19.8m and our amazing solar light shone on the ocean bed. After both adventures, the CSJ returned to the surface without a drop of water inside its glass jar, working perfectly on dry land. Its electronics, including all the marine life, were unharmed. Waterproof proven!

Harald Schulz, Suntoy Technical and Managing Director, explains: “What makes it watertight is that the inside of the Consol Solar Jar is sealed via a rubber ring from the outside. We employ a magnetic switch so there is no pathway for air or water to enter. The jar is thus water and airtight. Stefan’s photographs confirm that very nicely. It is not a technical marvel, as any jar filled with jam will do the same. It is an excellent demonstration of the build quality of the Consol Solar Jar.

Beautifully captured, Stefan! These images are worthy of a huge wow!

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