A new company called Pikip has developed speakers, a mobile DJ booth, amps, and more festival audio equipment all powered by solar energy.
The solar-powered kit uses photovoltaic cells on the roof of the rig to support two CDJs, two turntables, a mixer, an amp, and speakers for an outdoor crowd of 1,500 people for ten hours.
Traditional speakers do require too much energy to be powered by solar energy alone, but the Pikip brand uses horn speakers, which use less energy than previously thought needed.
Horn speakers use a specially shaped diaphragm that doesn’t have to oscillate as much as traditional speakers to create a loud sound, making them more energy efficient.
Founder Julien Feuillet told Resident Advisor, “Last year we did Gay Pride in Marseille, with two rigs playing for six hours for around 1,700 people, and the total power used was the same as one hot bath or two hours of an energy-efficient washing machine.”
French festivals Le Bon Air and Pete The Monkey will test-run the speakers and equipment later this summer.
To learn more about Pikip and its speaker design, check out their website or Instagram page below:
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Featured image from Pikip Solar Speakers, photo credits Heistudio and imranhm_
