Energy -- Engadget

energy posts

Incandescent bulbs making a comeback, GE still launching new LED lights

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 8th 2009 at 9:51AM

On the eve of Christmas 2007, quite a few obituaries for incandescent light bulbs were penned. News was slow, time was short and Congress had just outlined a new energy plan that would essentially force these energy-wasting bulbs out by 2012. Now, however, legions of scientists are racing the clock to develop new incandescents that will still meet the upcoming guidelines, with a Deposition Sciences technology paving the way for a post-2012 model from Philips. Without drowning you in technobabble, let's just say that said tech has seen 50 percent efficiency gains in the lab, which is more than enough to please even the most outspoken tree hugger in Washington. In related news, GE has issued two more LED light bulbs: the 7-watt Energy Smart LED PAR20 and 10-watt LED PAR30. Both of 'em are aimed more at commercial customers than at actual homes, but you'll be hard pressed to find a better option for lighting up your makeshift basketball court.

Read - Incandescent bulbs stage comeback
Read - GE Energy Smart bulbs

InterHome learns from inhabitants, adapts to save energy

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 6th 2009 at 7:59AM

We've seen all sorts of devices that learn over time, though most of them fall into the humanoid category. Now, a team of gurus over in the UK has developed an entire home that can learn from those dwelling in it and react in order to curb energy waste and even prevent unauthorized entry. InterHome, a model designed by researchers at the University of Hertfordshire, is scheduled to be unveiled at the Microsoft Imagine Cup finals, and it should make other home automation systems look rather antediluvian in comparison. By sensing how the owner(s) like their climate and such, it can reportedly save up to £300 a year in energy costs alone. Furthermore, it can "take decisive action and text if it is being burgled or the door has been left unlocked," and the whole system can be monitored remotely and controlled via the web. Too bad we're terrified that it could one day turn on the owner and refuse to allow entry to anyone other than leaders of The Resistance, but other than that, it sounds pretty nifty.

Wireless charging comes to Apple's iPhone 3GS, thanks to WildCharge

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 24th 2009 at 1:44AM

Envious of your Pre toting pals and that Touchstone charging rig? Don't sweat it -- WildCharge is coming through in the clutch to bring similar wireless charging technology to Apple's own handset. Starting today, iPhone (3G and 3GS included) and iPod touch users can order up a WildCharge Skin along with a WildCharger Pad in order to bring wire-free charging to their smartphone. Just slap the skin on, plug the pad in and toss the handset down on said pad. Just like that, you've got fresh energy flowing without having to scour the house for that little AC adapter. The pain? $34.99 for the skin, or $79.99 for the skin and pad.

Supermarket generates piezoelectric power in parking lot

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Jun 15th 2009 at 10:46AM

Remember that piezoelectric road prototype we saw late last year? Looks like someone (besides us) thought it was a good idea. According to The Daily Mail, a Sainsbury's supermarket in Gloucester, UK (you've never been there), has installed kinetic plates in the parking lot that use the weight of shopper's cars to pump a series of hydraulic pipes, which in turn drive a generator. The system is said to generate up to 30kw of energy an hour -- or enough to power the store's checkouts. And if that weren't enough, the store is also harvesting rainwater and heating it (during the summer, at least) with solar panels. The next in this store's "eco-friendly evolution?" Might we suggest Soylent in the deli? We hear the "green" stuff is particularly good.

[Via Green Launches, Thanks Deepa]

More scientific black magic promises to double Li-ion battery capacity

by Darren Murph, posted May 30th 2009 at 11:52PM

Go on and file this one away in the folder of "awesome things that could, but won't ever happen." As the brilliant minds around the world figure out how to solve vicious diseases, move motorcars with peanut oil and send engineers to fix a telescope in outer space, we still can't buy a pack of AA cells that last longer than a month or two in our favorite toy. Some call it a limit of physics, some deem it a conspiracy. Whatever the case, we've no doubt whatsoever that a new silicon-containing carbon material -- designed by Dow Corning Toray to double the capacity of existing Li-ion batteries -- won't ever have a real impact in our lives. Of course, it's not like any consumer would actually benefit from having a netbook battery good for 16 hours, nor would wedding photographers enjoy being able to shoot 1,000 indoor shots without cracking the battery door open on their SB-600. No -- that's just absurd. C'mon Dow, prove us wrong here.

Air-fuelled STAIR battery could last ten times longer than traditional cells

by Darren Murph, posted May 23rd 2009 at 11:44AM

It's funny, really. We've figured out how to put men an women on the moon and repair an orbiting telescope, but we can't concoct an AA battery that lasts more than four days inside a Teddy Ruxpin. Thanks to a revolutionary new design from the labs at the University of St Andrews, all that could be well on the way to changin'. Researchers at said institution have teamed up with partners at Strathclyde and Newcastle in order to design an air-fuelled STAIR (St Andrews Air) cell that could theoretically last up to ten times longer than current batteries. Put as simply as possible, this design utilizes oxygen in the air as a re-agent instead of heavy, costly chemicals; the result is a lighter, cheaper battery with loads more capacity. Needless to say, gurus within the project are already dreaming of a prototype to fit in small gizmos such as cellphones or MP3 players, though we wouldn't expect one anytime soon -- after all, there's still two years of research left to complete.

[Thanks, Khattab]

Automakers agree on common plug to recharge electric vehicles

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 19th 2009 at 4:24PM

Just hours after General Motors put forth a proposal for a standardized plug for electric vehicles, in flies this. German energy firm RWE has stated that a cadre of respected automakers and energy firms have all come together in agreement on a three-point, 400-volt plug that will enable electric cars the world over to be recharged anywhere, regardless of which recharging station they stop at. Caroline Reichert, an RWE spokeswoman, noted that the idea here is to ensure that "a car can be recharged in Italy in exactly the same way as in Denmark, Germany or France." We're told that the agreement includes nods of acceptance from the likes of Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Fiat, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Eon, Vattenfall, EDF, Npower, Endesa and Enel, and while there's no time frame for when it'll be introduced, we're pretty stoked to hear that at least something has been decided upon.

Toshiba dramatically increases energy density of Li-ion battery

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 15th 2009 at 10:12AM

The last time we heard of lithium titanate battery technology was when learning about the £120,000 Lightning GT, and while we've no way to confirm, we're definitely hoping that the latest development from Toshiba ensures that we're talking about it far more frequently than once per year. According to a report over at Nikkei's Tech-On, said outfit has crafted a cell of a Li-ion secondary battery (aimed at electric vehicles, mainly) that sports an energy density as high as 100Wh/kg. Needless to say, the invention relies on lithium titanate for its negative electrode, and considering that Tosh is currently producing a 4.2Ah cell with an energy density of around 67Wh/kg for electric bicycles, it's easy to see what kind of improvement we're staring at. Now, if only this stuff could be applied to AA cells, our power-gulping camera flash would be forever grateful...

75-megawatt solar plant to power "first solar city" in Florida

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 11th 2009 at 4:11AM

Given that Florida has accurately been coined The Sunshine State, it's not at all shocking to hear that America's first "solar city" will be built in the state's southwest corner. Or, at least that's the plan. According to a new report, West Palm Beach-based Kitson & Partners is currently developing a new city near Charlotte County, which will get juiced by a massive 75-megawatt solar plant. Said plant will cost around $300 million to build and will be installed by Florida Power & Light; if all goes well, homes will begin construction on a sizable plot of land dubbed Babcock Ranch by 2011. If things don't go so well, we're told that the actual power plant will still be erected and fed into the larger grid. In other words, Florida's gettin' some solar power, with or without this newfangled concrete jungle.

[Via Fark]

Piezoelectric nanowires could lead to blood-powered iPods, cellphones

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 29th 2009 at 11:54AM

You know what'll be awesome? Actual end products resulting from this presumably nonstop research on piezoelectric nanowires. Yet again we're hearing of a new group of researchers that have figured out a way to harness electricity from life's simplest things: walking, a heart beating or even the flowing of blood. Put simply, the gurus have discovered how to use zinc oxide nanowires in order to generate an electric current when "subjected to mechanical stress." The difference here, however, is that these critters could actually be implanted under the skin, though the scientists have made quite clear that there isn't a timetable for commercial production. In other words: yawn.

[Via textually, image courtesy of NSF]

EcoDrain heat exchanger makes good use of warm waste water

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 26th 2009 at 5:59AM

File this one directly in the "why didn't I think of that?" folder. As the bathroom gets more and more eco-friendly, the EcoDrain is stepping in to take advantage of all the hot water that goes to waste each time you shower. Put simply, this user-installed heat exchanger transfers heat from hot shower waste water to cold incoming water, essentially cutting water heater usage by as much as 40 percent. Of course, we've never seen a plumbing job that was anything close to simple, but for savings like this, it may just be worth the trouble.

[Via Inhabitat]

AT&T inks deal to provide smart appliances equal time on the grid

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Mar 19th 2009 at 10:13AM

Up until now, if you had dreams of managing your household energy consumption with some sort of smart appliance, you had to either live in an area where a utility built its own network (Corpus Christi or Burbank, for example) or rely on some proprietary method of getting data from your site to the electric co. It looks like this is about to change, however. AT&T has announced a deal with smart meter manufacturer SmartSynch that will see the carrier provide two-way communications between the your home and the grid, a "first of its kind" agreement that will allow you to get the most out of those Energy Management Enabled Appliances GE has been feverishly developing. Sure, refrigerators that wait until midnight to defrost aren't as exciting as, say, robotic monster trucks -- but this is progress, man. Show a little enthusiasm.

$25 billion in electric vehicle loans still waiting for perfect beggars

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 28th 2009 at 7:22AM

While the Big 3 seem to be visiting Washington on an all-too-regular basis trying to secure funding for future success, $25 billion in loans set aside to promote electric car usage in America has been sitting untouched for nearly two years. As the story goes, the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan program was established in 2007, but administrations have been toying with ideas about how to use it until present day. Some 75 applications from hopeful companies have been whittled down to 25, but there's no telling how long it'll be before we hear who's getting the cash (and when). Many are irate that this dough is still sitting idle, but we tend to agree with the "let's wait until we find truly remarkably beggars" approach before it's just handed out to those without a viable plan. The takeaway? Electric vehicles may still end up progressing as planned despite the current economy, but only if brilliant plans can cut through miles of red tape.

Jacketed hamsters demonstrate movement-powered nanogenerators

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 27th 2009 at 12:33AM

Imagine this -- one day, with enough steroids, your pet hamster actually could power your home by just running on its wheel. Georgia Tech researchers have discovered ways to "convert even irregular biomechanical energy into electricity," and it's demonstrating the finding by showing off jacket-wearing rodents that are game to run. According to the institution's Zhong Lin Wang, the minuscule nanogenerators "can convert any mechanical disturbance into electrical energy," which theoretically means that power can be driven by simple, irregular mechanical motion such as the vibration of vocal cords, flapping of a flag or the tapping of fingers. As with most of these university discoveries, there's no telling how soon this stuff will be pushed out to the commercial realm, but at least they've found something to keep the rats busy during the off hours.

[Via news:lite, thanks Charles]

Continue reading Jacketed hamsters demonstrate movement-powered nanogenerators

GreenWheel converts any Huffy 10-speed into an electric bicycle

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 26th 2009 at 7:13PM

It's a struggle we all face. There's the urge to bike to work each day, and then there's the realization that you're too huge / lazy / tired to make it on your own. Brilliant minds at MIT understand your frustration, and rather than asking you to drop a few grand on a bona fide electric bike, they're developing an apparatus that can convert any standard bicycle into one that's juiced. The GreenWheel contains an electric generator, batteries and an electric motor, all of which only need a wheel to be respoked in order to fit in. Under its current configuration, a single GreenWheel (yes, one can be added to each wheel) can propel a bike and your faineant derriere for around 25 miles; start peddling and that range doubles. There's no clear indication of when these things will splash down at your local bike shop, but word has it that Copenhagen and South Africa are already looking to add it to their public transportation systems by 2010.

[Via DVICE, thanks Scott]

Continue reading GreenWheel converts any Huffy 10-speed into an electric bicycle