Green -- Engadget

green posts

U.S. Army and EnerDel team up for electric-hybrid Humvee

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Nov 6th 2009 at 3:46PM

EnerDel, who we last saw soaking up some of that Joe Biden stimulus money, is teaming up with the U.S. Army to develop a battery solution for a hybrid Humvee. Of course, your High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle is by its nature very large and very heavy -- great for dropping out of airplanes, perhaps, but not so great a candidate for electric power. Two of the company's battery chemistries will tested in the program, including lithium-manganese spinel (for extending electric vehicle range and electronic systems runtime) and lithium-titanate system (for the hard acceleration and braking required). In addition to "extreme performance simulations" that re-create battlefield conditions, a hybrid vehicle can also sport a "stealth" mode, which kills the diesel generator altogether, allowing the vehicle to run silently with a low thermal signature. And if that weren't enough, the vehicle is also being designed to perform as a highly portable, temporary power plant for field hospitals or command posts. The program is expected to last eighteen months. PR after the break.

[Via CNET]

Continue reading U.S. Army and EnerDel team up for electric-hybrid Humvee

Mavizen's electric bike hits 130 MPH, ships with Linux and WiFi

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Nov 5th 2009 at 1:49PM

Mavizen, the manufacturing arm of the TTXGP (the Time Trials Xtreme Grand Prix -- a race for zero-emissions motorcycles) has just announced the TTX02 at this year's SEMA. A shining example of "EVs as consumer electronics" (the buzz-concept going 'round the electric vehicle scene) this guy is being billed not as a bike, but as a development platform -- shipping not only with a chassis and drivetrain, but with an open source Linux OS, web server, USB-based system bus, and WiFi connectivity. If you're looking to give the gang from Mission Motors a run for their money at the next TTXGP, hit the read link -- about $41,000 will get you in the game. Videos after the break.

[Via Asphalt & Rubber]

Continue reading Mavizen's electric bike hits 130 MPH, ships with Linux and WiFi

Japanese team takes top prize at World Solar Challenge

by Laura June posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 10:51AM

A Japanese team from Tokai University has taken the top spot at the World Solar Challenge, which was held at the end of last week in Australia. The team beat out the Delft University team which won four consecutive previous Challenges, and this year took second place, with the third seat going to the University of Michigan. The race course travels from southern to northern Australia over 3,000 km (about 1864 miles), and the winning team's car, Tokai Challenger, completed the race in just under 30 hours, averaging 62 miles per hour. Other notable participants included the MIT-built Eleanor.

[Via Wired]

Pavegen taps pedestrians for power in East London (video)

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 29th 2009 at 1:41PM

When we were kids, we assumed that in the future everything would be powered by tiny nuclear fusion reactors: automobiles, toothbrushes, time machines (apparently we read a lot of sci-fi from the 1950s). The truth, as usual, is more mundane than all that: some of the more promising advances we've seen in green energy has been kinetic, taking the movement of automobiles or the tides and converting it into electricity. Pavegen, for example, can be set in public walkways to generate as much as 2.1 watts of electricity per hour from the footsteps of grizzled pedestrians. Using marine grade stainless steel and recycled materials, just five of these bad boys distributed over a well-worn sidewalk should be able to generate enough energy to keep a bus stop going all night. If not put into nearby lighting, the units are equipped with lithium polymer batteries for storage. Currently being tested in East London, look for them throughout the UK in 2010. Video after the break.

[Via Inhabitat]

Continue reading Pavegen taps pedestrians for power in East London (video)

US government lays out cash for wall-based, in-home 'smart meters'

by Darren Murph posted Oct 27th 2009 at 4:47PM

Google has its PowerMeter, Microsoft has its Hohm and Obama has his "smart meters." Got it? Good. Around two years after UK taxpayers began footing the bill for in-home energy monitors, it seems as if America's current administration is looking to follow suit. While visiting the now-open solar facility in Arcadia, Florida today, the Pres announced that $3.4 billion in cash that the US doesn't actually have has just been set aside for a number of things, namely an intelligent power grid and a whole bundle of smart power meters. Aside from boring apparatuses like new digital transformers and grid sensors (both of which are designed to modernize the nation's "dilapidated" electric network), 18 million smart meters and 1 million "other in-home devices" will be installed in select abodes. The idea here is to give individuals a better way to monitor their electricity usage, with the eventual goal set at 40 million installed meters over the next few years. Great idea, guys -- or you know, you could just advise people to turn stuff off when they aren't using it, or not use energy they can't afford. Just sayin'.

How-to: recycle your old gadgets

by Laura June posted Oct 27th 2009 at 1:56PM

We see a lot of gadgets come in the door here at Engadget. In fact, getting them in the door is actually the easy part... it's getting them back out that's a bit confusing. Recycling -- something that most of us do on a day-to-day basis with our trash -- is a bit stickier when it comes to gadgets. In recent years, however, most major consumer electronics companies have stepped up their games a bit and begun "take back" recycling programs of their own. There are a lot of resources out there if you want to rid yourself of old gadgets in a responsible way, but it can be a pretty overwhelming prospect, especially if (like us) you have an actual pile of old cellphones which has been growing since 1998. We thought about that a lot, and decided to try to make sense of all the wild masses of information out there on the internet, and to provide our readers a central location to look for all that information. Read on and see what we've come up with!

Continue reading How-to: recycle your old gadgets

ReNu solar panels announced for iPhone charger, sound dock, LED desk lamp

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 26th 2009 at 1:57PM

Sure, we've been frustrated by solar-powered iPhone chargers and amused by the irony of solar-powered lamps in the past, but that doesn't mean we're not looking forward to the day when we can meet our gadgets power needs without relying on fossil fuels. That's why we're pleased to note that a company called ReNu has just announced a solar panel that can be used to charge your iPhone or iPod, power the device's sound dock, or even keep your desk light shining sans mains power. Featuring a modular design, the panel can dispatched to your window to soak up the rays for 10 or 20 hours (depending on the amount of sunlight it receives) and then returned to your dock for about nine hours of music playback, recharge your iPhone (twice!), or provide about four hours of light with the LED desk lamp. Of course, most people are going to hang this thing in the window once, forget about it, and then spend the next several years powering their devices with the included AC adapter -- but at least they're trying, right? Available for pre-order now, the ReNu solar panel ($199) and the Renu panel / iPod dock combo ($249) both ship in February 2010, while the Side Light desk lamp ($89) ships in next March, and the Sound Dock ($149) should see the light of day sometime in April. Hit the read link to place that order, but not before peeping the galley below.

Gallery: PR shots for Renu's solar powered iPhone charger, desk lamp

[Via TreeHugger]

America's (newest) largest solar plant set to go live in Florida

by Darren Murph posted Oct 25th 2009 at 8:33AM

If all goes well, this 25-megawatt solar plant in Florida won't be America's largest for long, but it's not like we'd pass up the opportunity to let this $150 million facility bask in its own glory (and the sun, if we're being thorough) while it can. The Desoto facility is just one of three solar projects that Florida Power & Light is spearheading, and judging by the proximity of this one (in Arcadia) to the 75-megawatt facility planned for nearby Charlotte County, we'd surmise that the two are linked in some form or fashion. President Obama is expected to show up rocking a set of Kanye glasses underneath a welder's mask when the plant is fired up this Tuesday, and while it'll only provide power to "a fraction" of FP&L's customer base, it'll still generate around twice as much energy as the second-largest photovoltaic facility in the US of A.

[Thanks, Yossi]

Southwest builds first 'green plane,' Ma Earth shows her gratitude

by Darren Murph posted Oct 25th 2009 at 12:11AM

Southwest Airlines may not own a plane with a headrest infotainment system, but it's still far and away the most enjoyable commercial flight you'll find in the US of A (save for Virgin America, naturally). Granted, we'd like to see in-flight WiFi offered on a few more of its flights (read: 100 percent of them), but hey, we'll take free checked bags and friendly employees any day of the week. We'll also take fuel savings and environment stewardship, both of which Southwest is aiming to give us by creating the planet's first "green plane." By utilizing recyclable InterfaceFLOR carpet, weight-saving seat covers and life vest pouches, a lighter foam fill in the seats and aluminum (as opposed to plastic) seat rub strips, the newfangled Boeing 737-700 ends up some 472 pounds lighter than a conventional one. The savings? 9,500 gallons of jet fuel per year. We're not sure when the bird is expected to take her first voyage, but here's hoping a few others are hatched in the near future.

[Via DailyFinance]

Read - Southwest press release
Read - China View's fuel calculations

Gallery: Southwest builds first "green plane," Ma Earth shows her gratitude

Lenovo's new slate of ThinkVision LCDs really, really love the environment

by Darren Murph posted Oct 20th 2009 at 9:22AM

It's not like we haven't seen a ThinkVision monitor trying its best to be good to Ma Earth before, but Lenovo's ThinkVision L2251x Wide has just become the first in the industry to notch a TCO Certified Edge -- which, we'll be honest, sounds like a pretty bodacious award to have. Dubbed the company's "greenest monitors yet," the ThinkVision L1711p, L1951p Wide, L2250p Wide, L2251p Wide and L2251x Wide are all at least TCO Certified, EPEAT Gold rated and are 50 percent more energy-efficient than previous models. Outside of all that, you'll find 1,680 x 1,050 resolution panels, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio and a five millisecond response time on the whole lot, while select models boast DisplayPort compatibility and a built-in webcam. The ThinkVision L1951p Wide, L2250p Wide and L2251p Wide monitors will be available starting this Friday for $239.99, $249.99 and $259.99, respectively, while the L1711p will land on November 6th for $229.99 and the L2251x Wide sometime next month for $299.99.

Gallery: Lenovo's new slate of ThinkVision LCDs really, really love the environment

Continue reading Lenovo's new slate of ThinkVision LCDs really, really love the environment

California Cool Cars regs put the kibosh on radio, cellphone, and GPS reception

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 13th 2009 at 3:27AM

We've seen plenty of tech over the years meant to mitigate our destruction of the environment -- from greener autos to Grateful Dead-themed cellphones -- most of which don't really ask us to tone down our consumer impulses all that much. But how about these new "Cool Cars" regulations recently adopted by the California Air Resources Board? By the year 2016, all autos sold in the state must have windows that prevent 60 percent of the sun's energy from entering the vehicle. To achieve this, windows are given a coat of glazing that contains microscopic specs of reflective metal oxide -- which will seriously hamper reception for your GPS, cellphone, and (this is of special interest to Engadget readers) white collar criminal-style work release ankle bracelet. As you can imagine, companies like Garmin are fuming -- although we suppose that if they play this right they can make a killing in the external car antenna business. It just goes to show you -- when it comes to environmental catastrophe, everyone's a victim.

[Via AutoBlog]

Hitachi's face-recognizing display turns off, saves power when you look away (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 10th 2009 at 12:31AM

CEATEC is a breeding ground for new innovations, and Hitachi made sure to get its name on the A-list with a simple face-recognizing television that seeks to save power whenever you glance away. Essentially, the prototype plasma on display packs an inbuilt camera that notices when your face is peering at it, and whenever you glance away, a power-saving mode goes into action. Unfortunately, that means that the panel goes black, and while we understand the point here, we can envision such a feature causing all sorts of rage around the house, particularly if you've got a handful of viewers trying to keep watch from a few feet further away than yourself. Hit the read link to have a look at how things work in practice -- here's hoping you can opt for the sound to stay on throughout the blackout, at least.

Continue reading Hitachi's face-recognizing display turns off, saves power when you look away (video)

Ask Engadget: Best 'green' power strip out there?

by Darren Murph posted Oct 8th 2009 at 9:13PM

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Randall, who isn't ashamed of his unbridled love for Ma Earth.

"I just moved into a new apartment and have been reading about all of the new power strips out there, especially the green ones. I was wondering if you had any suggestions about which "green "power strips are out there with decent joules ratings. And when I say green, I mean power strips that have the remotes or switches to turn off all electricity flowing to certain plugs and with at least 2 plugs that are always on. I was looking specifically at sub $50 because I will need two, but if that is not possible I could be convinced otherwise. Thanks!"

Don't be afraid to wave your green pride around here, folks. If you've got a power strip that nixes vampire drain and fits the bill, spill the details in comments below. It helps everyone to help the planet, ya heard?

Wheego Whip gets pictured, driven around at mind-blowingly slow speeds

by Darren Murph posted Oct 8th 2009 at 7:59AM

Given just how difficult it has been for even Chevrolet to get its all-electric gears going, we kind of wondered if we'd ever hear more about the Wheego Whip after it quietly faded earlier this year. Lo and behold, the low-speed city car has made an appearance at AltCar 2009, and after receiving about 100 orders, it seems the car is all but ready to begin pleasing those who shelled out just under 20 large for the privilege of a pink slip. Our good pals over at Autoblog Green were able to zip around in the car recently and serve up some impressions of the drive, and while it didn't seem to live up to the "Cadillac of neighborhood electric vehicles" claim, it definitely got the job done... at 25 miles per hour. Hit the read link for a gallery of shots and a fresh take on what a whisper quiet, low-speed driving experience is like.

TDK unveils fashionable, colorful solar chargers (video)

by Ross Miller posted Oct 7th 2009 at 9:51AM

Solar power is something we've seen touted in every big tech trade show for as long as we can remember, but it's taken until recently to make it a bit easier on the eyes. Enter TDK's design-, color-, and sun-enhanced chargers, found hanging out under a hard light in the back of the company's CEATEC booth casually powering a fan. It's definitely a step up from dark paneling, so how long until we see this applied to some stylish mobile phones, eh world? Video after the break.