After Gutenberg explores this and more in an article focusing on Texas and its huge and expanding amount of wind power. We have technology now that uses heat produced in creating electricity to create more even electricity. Why waste it?
Posts under ‘Energy conservation’
Reviving nuclear power
President Obama this week announced a revival of the nuclear power industry with the first new planned new nuke plant in more than 30 years. Obama promised loan guarantees of more than $8 billion.
Why can’t a nuclear power plant get built without the taxpayers promising to foot the bill? Three Mile Island Unit #2 cost [...]
Smart windows save energy
Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are working on “dynamic windows” that change shadings so as to better regulate energy and efficiency.
Buildings consume 40 percent of the nearly 100 quadrillion Btus (quads) of energy the United States consumes annually. Conventional clear windows account for about one-tenth of the buildings’ share of that energy load, [...]
Glycerin byproduct from biofuel refining now being reused
Prodigious amounts of glycerin are produced as a byproduct of biofuel, and sometimes was being landfilled. However, scientists now have devised a multitude of ways it can be used and reprocessed.
Waste glycerin can be made into a profit center, yielding high-value chemicals (alcohols and acids) that can be used to make fabrics, insulation, and food [...]
Using waste heat energy for industrial-scale air conditioning
New technology from China use multiple forms of waste heat to heat water. Absorption chillers then use that heat to create AC cooling. This saves considerable money and uses no fossil fuels.
Holiday Inn to save $4.4 million annually by switching to LED signs
Holiday Inn will save $3 million on annual maintenance and $1.4 million on energy savings.
Jetson Green has the details. Interesting, isn’t it, that the bulk of their savings is in maintenance. Plus, the signs just look better, more modern too.
Energy-aware Internet routing coming soon
Researchers from MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, and the networking company Akamai recently published results from a study that suggest big Internet companies could save up to 40 percent on their electricity bills by using an algorithm to send Internet traffic to data centers where electricity is less expensive.
Wow. Imagine what such a smart grid could [...]
Chevy Volt’s 230 mpg in perspective
GM, using EPA standards, predicts that the Chevy Volt will get 230 mpg– an astounding figure for a big-six vehicle. It’s commonly compared with Toyota Prius’s 48 mpg. But that’s only because several higher mileage cars, like the 70 mpg VW Polo, aren’t sold in the U.S.
The mpg figure makes the Volt look better than it [...]
USPS green roof
This new 2.5 acre green roof in NYC is a park for employees, saves energy by providing more insulation, and reduces water runoff. The plants are drought resistant and watered by collected rain.
Onion waste converted to electricity at California processing plant
[Gills Onions] The nation’s largest processor of fresh onions, will debut today an anaerobic digester system at its Oxnard, California location, whereby 100% of its onion waste and juice is transformed into electricity, heat and cattle feed.
Wow. No waste. Thus, they’re turning an expense (trucking away the waste) into a new source of income. And [...]
Waste heat from data center to warm buildings
A London telecom company plans to use excess heat from their data center to provide heat and hot water for 450 nearby homes, who will then get “free energy for life.”
Imagine the enormous energy savings once using waste heat becomes a standard practice.
A house you can heat with a hair dryer
A rigorous German standard for insulating homes is so efficient that the house can be heated with a hair dryer.
Of course, all of this makes the homes difficult (and expensive) to build. The hardest part is making the homes nearly airtight. The foundation walls and ceiling all have to seal together perfectly. In effect, a [...]
IBM’s next-gen data center to use 50 percent less energy
It will generate some of its own power, run on DC rather than AC, use heat from the power generation to provide energy for cooling, and have a virtualized data center that will essentially be a smart grid, applying cooling and power when needed without wasting any.
IEA: Little gadgets consume gigawatts of power
All those little electronic gadgets we keep plugged in all the time waste
prodigious amounts of energy, says the International Energy Agency.
We need smart electronics and smart power strips, so electricity isn’t pointlessly drained by gadgets that aren’t being used.
Some solutions here are simple. I keep our toaster, coffee maker, and coffee grinder plugged into a [...]
Green homes of the future
WSJ asked four architects to design energy-efficient homes. They came up with some amazing designs, like this Incredible Edible house. Read the whole article.
