The enormous scale of all the energy that we never used The Washington Post, August 19, 2016 Energy efficiency takes a huge number of forms, ranging from weatherizing a house to upping the fuel efficiency of vehicles. A new report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a prominent nonprofit that both researches and promotes energy … Read more
Chernobyl’s Atomic Wasteland May Be Reborn With Solar Energy Bloomberg, July 26, 2016 Ukraine’s looking toward the sun to put a radioactive wasteland back into business. Thirty years after atomic fallout from the Chernobyl meltdown rendered an area the size of Luxembourg uninhabitable for centuries, Ukraine is seeking investors to develop solar power near the … Read more
Savings Project: Insulate Hot Water Pipes for Energy Savings Department of Energy Insulating your hot water pipes reduces heat loss and can raise water temperature 2°F–4°F hotter than uninsulated pipes can deliver, allowing you to lower your water temperature setting. You also won’t have to wait as long for hot water when you turn on a … Read more
Energy-efficient window tinting goes dark at the flick of a switch New Atlas, August 14, 2016 Current electrochromic window tinting techniques are effective to a point, but there are limitations to the technology. They’re generally slow to change state, struggle to achieve high levels of darkness, and rely on a constant current to maintain their tint. A team at … Read more
Mark D’Antonio, ERS, for Zondits This is the first in a multi-part series about solar PV systems that will cover several topics, including approaches to and considerations of going solar, actual installation examples, performance, details of system components, the economics thereof, and what is going on in the market. According to the Solar Energy Information … Read more
There is a Water-Energy Nexus. But It’s Not What You Think. NRDC, August 12, 2016 Earlier this summer, researchers at UC-Davis confirmed what a lot of us already know—that saving water saves energy. The analysis from the UC-Davis Center for Water-Energy Efficiency found that California’s mandatory 25 percent reduction in urban water use, which was adopted in … Read more
Radiator Lock Boxes Slash One-Fifth Off Two Buildings’ Heating Costs Observer, August 4, 2016 The heat of summer can get brutal inside my Crown Heights apartment, but winter is the real scorcher. When there’s snow on the ground, the building-wide steam heat cooks the insides of my first floor digs. This is not unusual for … Read more
Daniel Stewart, ERS, for Zondits Compressed air is a notoriously expensive energy source but one that is widely used in commercial and industrial settings because of its ability to be easily stored, the high output-to-weight (and output-to-size) ratio of pneumatic actuators and tools, and the low maintenance requirements of end-use devices. As a general rule … Read more
Daniel Stewart, ERS, for Zondits Compressed air is often referred to as the “fourth utility” in commercial and industrial settings – joining water, electricity, and thermal fuels – because it has a wide variety of applications and is often essential to process and facility operation. Major advantages of compressed air as an energy source include … Read more
‘The future of farming’ The Australian Driving across the wide saltbush plains towards Port Augusta, north of Adelaide, the first thing a visitor notices on the horizon is the sky-piercing solar tower of Sundrop Farms. Only when you get close do you see the 24,000 mirrors arrayed at its base, each of them beaming the … Read more