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PowerHouse eMonitor lets you manage power use down to the circuit
Mar 8th
As energy prices increase, so does our desire to understand and actively manage household power use. Joining the fight alongside Google's PowerMeter and NEC's "dung beetle" game, PowerHouse Dynamic's eMonitor interfaces with your circuit box to tell you how much energy each individual circuit is using, and the management software seems particularly robust: users can look forward to real-time stats, customized energy saving recommendations based on your home's energy usage, and a handy read-out of your "carbon footprint" and what it would take to offset it. In addition to all that, alerts can be configured for everything from overloaded circuits to left-on appliances, individual outlets and thermostats can be controlled remotely (optional), and an iPhone app is slated to be released later this year. Packages start at $800. PR, video after the break.
Continue reading PowerHouse eMonitor lets you manage power use down to the circuit
PowerHouse eMonitor lets you manage power use down to the circuit originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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PowerHouse Dynamics | Email this | Comments Caltech gurus whip up highly efficient, low cost flexible solar cell
Feb 28th
Solar cells are cute and all, but let's be real -- these things are far too inefficient for mainstream use. Scientists at the California Institute of Technology are working hard to remedy that very issue, and they've recently concocted a "new type of flexible solar cell that enhances the absorption of sunlight and efficiently converts its photons into electrons." The solution relies on arrays of long, thin silicon wires embedded onto a polymer substrate, which uses just a fraction of the expensive semiconductor materials required by conventional solar cells. According to professor Harry Atwater, these cells have "surpassed the conventional light-trapping limit for absorbing materials" for the first time, and we're told that the arrays can convert between 90 and 100 percent of the photons they absorb into electrons, and yes, that does mean that they have a near-perfect internal quantum efficiency. Hit the source link for all the technobabble, and cross your fingers for this stuff to get the honored approval of the Governator.Caltech gurus whip up highly efficient, low cost flexible solar cell originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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EE Times | Caltech | Email this | Comments Melbourne’s decommissioned Observation Wheel re-imagined as energy-making windmill
Feb 28th
Melbourne's decommissioned Observation Wheel re-imagined as energy-making windmill originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkInhabitat | Buro North | Email this | Comments Tesla launches Roadster lease program for wannabe eco-ballers
Feb 26th
Tesla launches Roadster lease program for wannabe eco-ballers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Autoblog | Email this | Comments Solaroad’s CubeTube adds solar panels to your cube, lowers the cost of you working there
Feb 25th
It's 2010, which means there's a significant chance that your cubicle work could be done from absolutely anywhere. For those still stuck under the burden of old-school management, here's an idea that might just nab you that raise you've been longing for: the CubeTube. Engineered by Solaroad Technologies, this indoor photovoltaic electrical generator straps onto the edges and tops of conventional cubicles and collects light from every angle. Internal batteries are charged up, and power is instantly available for the decade-old Latitude and CRT monitor that's still residing on your desk. It sounds like you'll need to ping the company directly for pricing quotes and the like, but if you managers are seriously considering this for your office, maybe they should first calculate the cost and carbon savings from letting their subordinates telecommute. Just sayin'.Solaroad's CubeTube adds solar panels to your cube, lowers the cost of you working there originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkGizmag | Solaroad Technologies | Email this | Comments Samsung’s 4Gb DDR3 RAM modules could put 8GB in your next netbook
Feb 24th
Continue reading Samsung's 4Gb DDR3 RAM modules could put 8GB in your next netbook
Samsung's 4Gb DDR3 RAM modules could put 8GB in your next netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Hot Hardware | Email this | Comments Leech Plug disconnects when your gadget is charged, does Ma Earth a favor
Feb 22nd
[Thanks, Kevin]
Continue reading Leech Plug disconnects when your gadget is charged, does Ma Earth a favor
Leech Plug disconnects when your gadget is charged, does Ma Earth a favor originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkUberGizmo, Engadget German | Conor Klein | Email this | Comments The Bloom Box: a power plant for the home (video)
Feb 22nd
Those two blocks can power the average high-consumption American home -- one block can power the average European home. At least that's the claim being made by K.R. Sridhar, founder of Bloom Energy, on 60 Minutes last night. The original technology comes from an oxygen generator meant for a scrapped NASA Mars program that's been converted, with the help of an estimated $400 million in private funding, into a fuel cell. Bloom's design feeds oxygen into one side of a cell while fuel (natural gas, bio gas from landfill waste, solar, etc) is supplied to the other side to provide the chemical reaction required for power. The cells themselves are inexpensive ceramic disks painted with a secret green "ink" on one side and a black "ink" on the other. The disks are separated by a cheap metal alloy, instead of more precious metals like platinum, and stacked into a cube of varying capabilities -- a stack of 64 can power a small business like Starbucks.
Now get this, skeptics: there are already several corporate customers using refrigerator-sized Bloom Boxes. The corporate-sized cells cost $700,000 to $800,000 and are installed at 20 customers you've already heard of including FedEx and Wal-mart -- Google was first to this green energy party, using its Bloom Boxes to power a data center for the last 18 months. Ebay has installed its boxes on the front lawn of its San Jose location. It estimates to receive almost 15% of its energy needs from Bloom, saving about $100,000 since installing its five boxes 9 months ago -- an estimate we assume doesn't factor in the millions Ebay paid for the boxes themselves. Bloom makes about one box a day at the moment and believes that within 5 to 10 years it can drive down the cost to about $3,000 to make it suitable for home use. Sounds awfully aggressive to us. Nevertheless, Bloom Energy will go public with details on Wednesday -- until then, check the 60 Minutes sneak peek after the break.
[Thanks, Abe P.]
Continue reading The Bloom Box: a power plant for the home (video)
The Bloom Box: a power plant for the home (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsInhabitat’s Week in Green: nuclear power, body heat electronics, and Greener Gadgets
Feb 22nd
The Week in Green is a new item from our friends at Inhabitat, recapping the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us.
We also saw signs of the inevitable cyborg uprising as researchers unveiled energy generating gadgets that may one day be implanted within our bodies. MIT is working on a range of heat harvesting electronics that could power biomedical devices such as heart rate and blood sugar monitors. Meanwhile, the University of Michigan has developed an energy recycling prosthetic foot that makes walking easier for amputees. Even the planet is getting wired, as HP gets set to roll out its Central Nervous System for the Earth -- an array of billions of sensors that are paving the way for smarter cities, healthier humans, and the "Internet of Things".
Finally we took a look at two more entries from the Greener Gadgets Design Competition that will be taking the stage next Thursday for live judging: an energy generating glider lounge for public spaces and bass-kicking subwoofer made from recycled car tires.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: nuclear power, body heat electronics, and Greener Gadgets originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsUMich gurus greatly reduce gadget energy consumption (at the expense of awesomeness)
Feb 20th
Mama always told us that there'd be trade-offs in life, but we aren't so sure we're kosher with this one. As the story goes, a team of Wolverines from the University of Michigan figured out a solution to an age-old problem: effectively lowering power consumption by a significant amount in electronic devices. Anyone with a smartphone yearns for better battery life, and while Stevie J may argue that no one reads for ten hours straight, we'd still rather have the option than not. The development revolves around "near-threshold computing" (NTC), which allows electronic wares to operate at lower voltages than normal, in turn lowering energy consumption. Researchers estimate that power energy requirements could be lowered by "10 to 100 times or more," but unfortunately, that low-voltage operation would lead to "performance loss, performance variation, and memory and logic failures." We appreciate the hard work, folks, but could you hit us back when the side effects are somewhat less daunting?Filed under: Science
UMich gurus greatly reduce gadget energy consumption (at the expense of awesomeness) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Feb 2010 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Physorg | Email this | Comments 
