Budding Solar Entrepreneurs

By |2024-07-30T17:43:35+00:00January 14th, 2020|

Brothers, 15-year-old Christopher and 11-year-old Tristan, were inspired by the Consol Solar Jar to start their own small business. They are spreading sunshine across South Africa! Chris emailed us:

Dear Suntoy,

Three months ago, my dad and I discovered the Consol Solar Jar. My brother, Tristan, and me came up with the idea to start a business selling these solar lights. We bought 24 jars and we sold them to people in our neighborhood of Camps Bay. We realized that this is a unique product that sells well.

Over the holidays, we visited Hermanus. We sold 100 solar jars to restaurants. Creation Wine Estate invited me to a night market to sell the solar jars. I sold 50 in three hours!
 We then bought another 100 and sold them to buyers in Cape Town.

Tristan and I visited our Grannie in Durban. The Book Boutique bought all our remaining jars. I hope to continue selling more jars in KwaZulu Natal because it is an untapped market.
 We believe in the Consol Solar Jars with great passion and think they have great potential.

Thanks for publishing my story.
Regards,
Christopher

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Rhino Solar Collars

By |2024-07-30T17:43:35+00:00January 14th, 2020|

Southern Africa’s rhino are in grave peril. The total number of rhino poached and killed in South Africa in 2012 was 618, up from 448 in 2011. At this alarming rate, by 2025 there will be no rhino left on earth. Crime syndicates are fearless. The rhino horns are ground into powder for traditional medicines in East Asia. Experts say this powder actually has no medicinal purpose though that has not stopped the demand. Rhino horns are made of keratin, the same substance that comprises human hair and fingernails. $65,000 a kilo…!

Suntoy is collaborating with specialist anti-poaching units and field ranger patrols. Rhino Solar Tracking Collars are in development. GPS tracking collars monitor position, speed and behavior over preset intervals. When battery power on these devises is depleted, the radio antennae stop sending information on the location of the rhino and poachers pounce. Charging these GPS tracking devices from solar energy prevents loss of battery power. Malleable solar panels have been sewn into leather collars. Prototypes are currently being tested on one rhino and two cows.

 

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Living Off Grid

By |2024-07-30T17:44:01+00:00January 14th, 2020|

Eco-friendly is a lifestyle worth pursuing. In his book Off The Grid, Nick Rosen writes: “The era of 40 acres and a mule has been replaced by the era of half an acre, a laptop and a solar panel.”

Leshiba Wilderness is an eco game and nature reserve in the Soutpansberg Mountains. It is off-the-grid, without any connection to an electrical transmission grid. Nature plays an important part here and the sun is the primary power source. Leshiba is a perfect location for our Consol Solar Jars to light up starry nights and morph into lanterns on walking trails, just enough so that wildlife aren’t disturbed.

Kathryn Straughan, general manager of Leshiba Wilderness, wrote us: “We have used our Consol Solar Jars every day for nine months and we love them! We started off with two and ordered 50 for our lodge, camps and shop. They are in each room as bedside lamps, along our pathways and hanging in trees. Living off-grid, we have to conserve power. The solar jars are fantastic especially if the main solar power runs out and we need quick access to light. In the middle of the night, I get up for sick kids, taking the puppy out, checking on the horses or to see which animal is munching my garden. The solar jar is brilliant for this!”

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ScopeX Exhibition

By |2024-07-30T17:44:01+00:00January 14th, 2020|

Join us at the ScopeX Telescope and Astronomy Exhibition. We’re honouring the star at the centre of the Solar System, the Sun. Have fun learning about this hot plasma that gives us Earthlings solar energy.

Saturday, 20 July 2013
9h00 – 21h00
Star Party Lighting Ceremony at 18h00
National Museum of Military History
Erlswold Way, Saxonwald (adjacent to Johannesburg Zoo)

Visit our exhibition stand and assemble a SunFan or SunCar.
Check out our Solar Cooker.
Meet the Suntoy team.
Consol Solar Jars with RED LEDs will set the scene for optimum telescopic vision of sky charts.

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be know. ~Carl Sagan

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Happy Holidays!

By |2024-07-30T17:44:02+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.

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We’re Moving!

By |2024-07-30T17:45:04+00:00January 13th, 2020|

We’re moving to our new abode! An existing building is being revamped and spruced up, the eco-friendly way, in anticipation of us relocating in September. We look forward to welcoming you to our new Suntoy home at 27A Baldwin Street, Village Deep, Gauteng, South Africa (next door Amalgamated Insulations).

Our postal address has also changed: P O Box 38770, Booysens, Gauteng 2016, South Africa

Please note our phone number remains the same: +27 087 754 4060

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Suntoy Solar Jar Team Adventure

By |2024-07-30T17:46:02+00:00January 10th, 2020|

It was non-stop adventure in the wild of the South African Pilanesberg for some of our Suntoy team members including Distributors Heiner Klaus from Europe, Nick Wiehe and Jean-Philippe Pierre from Mauritius, joined by Suntoy’s CEO Harald Schulz, brand Manager Adam Viles, and production manager Rolf Willenbrock who descended on The Ivory Tree Lodge for some fun in the sun from 26 – 28 Feb. 2016.

Being from the warm shores of Mauritius, Jean-Philippe did not take too kindly to the fresh crispy morning air as we embarked on our first game-drive.  In no time at all, Jean-Philippe was wrapped tightly in a thermal blanket, lying low to avoid the wind?  Sorry Jean-Philippe, us native South African’s could not help finding this amusing in the middle of one of our warmest months of the year. 🙂

We witnessed the most spectacular sunrise and close-up sightings of some of the big five including Elephant, Rhino, Lion and Giraffe to name but a few….

We came across an Elephant in Musth who decided to give charge towards us at a point during the drive when we had stopped to observe the majestic animal…. Never had we experienced a Jeep in high-speed reverse as we did in that moment, and not a moment too soon either…. pretty adrenalin pumping stuff.

It did not end there, as the great African sun, set behind the hills in the west, it coloured the skies with breathtaking shades and shapes, giving birth to the night skies and our next adventure which was an evening game drive that delivered the opportunity for us to view – the all African night owl – amongst other – foxy – animals who prefer to remain unseen or heard.  A whole new kind of excitement…

No sooner had we returned from our evening game drive, the African Gods decided it would be a good time to bestow upon us, their most thunderous hurricane-like storm sending us all rushing inside for shelter…. It was this ominous event of nature that rewarded us with an unexpected gift and opportunity to mingle with other lodgers, and in so doing, displaying our Consol Solar Jar™ on some of the tables in the dining area; leading to much interest shown by locals and international visitors. O what a night….

This unforgettable environment awarded us all with the time needed, to put our heads together and discuss relevant topics such as future branding strategies, global marketing, reseller and distributor challenges as well as upcoming product improvements.

Suntoy thanks all participants for sharing this time with us!

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The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Solar Products

By |2024-07-30T17:46:03+00:00January 10th, 2020|

Innovation in Solar energy are the hottest buzz words at the top of minds in most businesses today.

The global population is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of producing and utilizing effective eco-friendly energy in a manner that conserves and protects nature and our environment in general.

In celebration of all the efforts being made by many around the globe to invent innovative and exciting new Solar powered products, Suntoy have identified 10 Solar products we found to be robust, user friendly and fit for purpose and bring these to the awareness of all our supporters, customers and the solar enthusiasts around the world, in the hopes that these new innovations inspire all to make use of, improve and promote eco-friendly lifestyles:

Finally, technology has caught up with aesthetics and consumer demand.

Portable Solar kitchen
It is a portable kitchen that lets you boil, bake and fry.  Read more here…

 

Simple Solar Shingles
The shingles are installed over new or existing roof sheathing. Although one shingle only generates enough power to run a fan, an entire roof’s worth of shingles can turbocharge an entire home.  Read more here…

 

SODIS Water Filters
The water bottle’s design was inspired by needs of developing countries, specifically with the intention of killing harmful microorganism that contaminate the water.  Read more here…

 

Solar Powered Window Socket
A portable device intended to enable you to use electricity freely and conveniently in a space restricted in the use of electricity, such as a plane, a car, and outdoors.  Read more here…

 

Eliodomestico Solar Terracotta Water Filters
Diamanti’s solar powered water filter is designed to provide drinking water for families in developing countries. Read more here…

 

Solar Jar
The Consol Solar Jar™ is an eco-friendly solar light that literally provides bottled sunshine. The solar-powered lid collects sunshine during the day. At night, it powers 4 built-in LEDs inside the glass jar.  Read more here…

 

Solar Roads
The Consol Solar Jar™ is an eco-friendly solar light that literally provides bottled sunshine. The solar-powered lid collects sunshine during the day. At night, it powers 4 built-in LEDs inside the glass jar.  Read more here…

 

Solar powered billboards
The EnviroLight Series is designed to light up your billboard and sign, no matter if it is for residential or commercial use.  Read more here…

Solar bicycles
This hybrid bike can be charged via electricity and the sun and energy. It works in 3 modes being muscle power, Semi- electric and electricity which helps the user to ride easier and faster. Read more here…

 

Solar power stations in space
Japan is planning to build a solar power station in space within the next 30 years. It is expected to cost $21 billion. How will they do it?  Read more here…

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Press Relase: Consol Solar Jars™ used in interactive light show

By |2024-07-30T17:46:03+00:00January 10th, 2020|

To commemorate the 300th anniversary of renowned British Landscape Architect; Lancelot “Capability” Brown, who shaped our vision of the picture-perfect English countryside, Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park will be hosting a light art commission using 1000 Consol Solar Jars™ as one of its key set pieces.

Compton Verney Park is a place steeped in rich architectural history, its current state being the result of an 11-year restoration project that will see this magnificent building returned to its 1768 splendour and glory that was designed by one of the most important Landscape Architects of the 18th century, Lancelot “Capability” Brown himself.

Visual artist Laurent from Creatmosphere, a cross-genre studio specialising in the interplay of light as art between architecture and space, has been commissioned to create a light spectacular as has never been seen before using our Consol Solar Jars ™. Applying stunning, ground-breaking technologically, this new interactive light commission entitled “IN LIGHT: Illuminating Capability Brown’s Landscape”, launches on the 29 October and runs until the 13 November.

Compton Verney’s 18th century mansion, ‘Capability’ Brown Chapel and Bridge will be lit in vibrant ways for people to appreciate and play with. There is an interactive element that gives visitors the opportunity to take over the light controls and light up various parts of the house and trees in exciting ways. This is the first time globally, that wireless DMX technology has been used to activate so many solar powered lanterns in an art exhibition of this magnitude.  The technological challenge was made easier in collaboration with UJ (University of Johannesburg) and their research facility RC (Resolution circle).

By using 1000 Consol Solar Jars™; a product proudly conceptualised and manufactured by Suntoy in South Africa, Laurent will be filling an entire field with pinpoints of light to map the rich and diverse history of green spaces in a creative and captivating way.  Three centuries later, Lancelot “Capability” Brown’s work is still celebrated and lives on.

We here at Suntoy, together with our European distributors Sonnenglas, are enormously proud to have our Consol Solar Jar™ play an integral and creative part in this initiative.  Seeing it being used in this way and not just as originally intended (as a reading light and portable solar lantern), demonstrates its potential as a fun, eco-friendly and sustainable alternative light supply that makes it easy to go green. It truly is bottled sunshine!

Event details can be found here:
Life in light

Contact:
Harald Schulz
Managing Director
Email: harald@suntoy.co.za
South Africa
Ph: +27 87 754 4060

Adam Viles
Suntoy Brand Manager
Email: adam@suntoy.co.za
South Africa
Ph: +27 73 406 1803

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