The Efficiency Zone
ZAP Cars Go Zoom Zoom Zoom
July 11, 2007 7:04 am | Blogs | CommentsProductive Product: We last gave an update on electric sports cars three months ago but now we're hearing about ZAP ("Zero Air Pollution") which is promising a $60,000 crossover SUV that goes 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and can travel 350 miles with one charge.
Shell CEO: Conservation's Good, Not Forever
July 11, 2007 5:59 am | Blogs | CommentsEnergy News: Pressed recently about the need for alternative energy research, Exxon's CEO persisted on a traditional tack: "We're in the business of oil and gas." But Shell's CEO is being more progressive. "Well, you won't see me in an SUV. And I've just installed solar electricity panels on my roof," he told U.S. News & World Report.
Fresno Gets World's Largest Solar Farm
July 10, 2007 10:03 am | Blogs | CommentsEnergy News: Cleantech America is planning the world's largest solar farm, at 640 acres, for completion in 2011 in Fresno, California. At 80 megawatts, that would dwarf the current largest solar farms in the 4-5 megawatt range.
Electronics Are Energy Hogs
July 6, 2007 6:29 am | Blogs | CommentsOp-Ed: Want to save $119 and deprive Earth of 1,405 pounds of CO2? Then all you have to do is activate your computers' power management settings, tech writer Larry Magid notes (but you'll have to register to read this one.) Computers and other common home electronics
Freedom to Be Foolish
July 5, 2007 7:30 am | Blogs | CommentsEnergy News: Yesterday was Independence Day here in the US, which serves as a nice reminder that we're all free to be foolish from time to time. On the energy front, some people do this conspicuously, such as driving large SUVs for no particular reason. Others are more subtle: would you believe that some people still go for perpetual energy?
One Man's Trash, Another Man's Energy
June 27, 2007 9:43 am | Blogs | CommentsEnergy News: AgriPower Inc. is preparing to commercialize its biomass burners. These aren't quite the Mr. Fusion gadgets commonly found on your time machine, but the idea is similar: rather than paying to haul away your trash, why not
Brits Invent Filament-Free Light Bulb
June 25, 2007 10:34 am | Blogs | CommentsEnergy News: Replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps is a simple way to save energy, but a new technology using microwave power may soon lead to traditional(-ish) bulbs that last for thousands of hours. According to The Economist, researchers at Ceravision are perfecting a bulb with no filament, and therefore
Solar-Powered Cell Phones Debut
June 21, 2007 6:16 am | Blogs | CommentsProductive Product: Solar power worked pretty well for calculators in the 1980s, and now it's available in cell phones from China's Hi-Tech Wealth company. Like any other new technology, this does not come cheap: think about the $500 range and for now it's only available in China. But it's a great way to show off your green-friendliness to friends and colleagues without having to invest in a hybrid car
Are You Googlin' My Way?
June 19, 2007 7:09 am | Blogs | CommentsProductive Product: Google.org is giving up to $11 million for hybrid vehicle research, with the goal of developing plug-in vehicles capable of reaching 70 to 100 miles per gallon. Google also hopes the project, dubbed RechargeIT, will lead to development of
What's the Purpose of Energy Efficiency? Or Am I Just an Idiot Dorkosaurus Rex?
June 15, 2007 10:45 am | Blogs | CommentsOp-Ed: It happened a month ago: two months after founding The Efficiency Zone, someone in readerland finally posted a reply. They said, "You're an idiot. Energy efficient design is not about saving mother earth. It's about delivering a device that lasts on a battery all day such as a cell phone. All the new devices stress low power needs to keep the battery going, not because an extra mWh is gonna lessen the carbon foot print on Motorola."
Solar Thermal: Tech on the Rebound
June 11, 2007 12:26 pm | Blogs | CommentsProductive Product: Try, try again: it might work for solar thermal technology, which unlike traditional solar power can still generator power in the evening. A 64-megawatt plant just opened outside of Las Vegas, but even at that scale it may not be efficient enough to offer mainstream cost savings.
Efficiency Vital To Planetary Health?
June 11, 2007 11:56 am | Blogs | CommentsEnergy News: Energy efficiency is vital if the world's leading nations want to curb global warming, officials at the Group of Eight summit said last week. The necessary long-term steps are to "promote the appropriate policy approaches and instruments, including inter-alia economic incentives and sound fiscal policies, minimum standards
DSC Chips Gain Floating-Point Efficiency
June 5, 2007 6:57 am | Product Releases | CommentsProductive Product: Texas Instruments announced a line of floating point digital signal controllers. The TMS320F2833x devices provide 300 million FLOPS at 150 MHz at costs typically associated with fixed point processors, which means developers can accomplish more tasks using fewer chips, and thereby consume less energy. Software development is also simplified. Technology from solar power inverters to automotive radar
Power-Saving 3W and 5W Modules
June 5, 2007 6:20 am | Blogs | CommentsProductive Product: Efficient power supplies warm our heart. Synergistic Technology Solutions's latest models, in its BlueCube series, are the 3 W LX3i and 5 W LX5i. Neither requires any additional components. They offer input voltage ranges
Exxon: Environmental Line Stays At RD
May 31, 2007 10:36 am | Blogs | CommentsOp-Ed: Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholders voted yesterday to keep the world's largest oil company focused on fossil fuels. Some institutional investors and individual stock holders raised strong objections, saying that Exxon's focus on R&D is not enough for a company if its size and scope.
Making Companies Defend Their Environmental Practices
May 25, 2007 8:51 am | Blogs | CommentsOp-Ed: What is "green fatigue"? It's when ordinary people "just want to go about their lives, avoid cancer and feel like responsible citizens," blogger Hemal Vasavada Gill explains. As for constant media attention to green-ness (are we guilty here at ECN?), it "might make us replace a few light bulbs and recycle more frequently, but it will ultimately leave us overwhelmed
Burning Man 2007: 'Green Man'
May 25, 2007 6:55 am | Blogs | CommentsEnergy News: Explained at BurningMan.com: "This year our art theme will express the immanence of nature in our lives The Burning Man will stand atop a structure that resembles green mountain peak. Nestled at its base, will be the Green Man Pavilion
Power Control Chip Saves Energy
May 23, 2007 10:23 am | Product Releases | CommentsProductive Product: Texas Instruments announced a new low-power control chip, the UCC28060, features an interleaved transition-mode power factor correction circuit. The two-phase high-performance controller for 75W to 800W applications
NYC Cabs Going All-Hybrid by 2012
May 22, 2007 10:06 am | Blogs | CommentsEnergy News: New York City will require all new vehicles entering the taxi fleet after October 2008 to get at least 25 miles per gallon; to get 30 miles per gallon and be hybrid by 2009; and all taxis must be hybrids by 2012, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced today.
Solar Manufacturing Not So Bright
May 22, 2007 7:31 am | Blogs | CommentsEnergy News: "Copper indium gallium selenide" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue nor the assembly line, according to News.com. The composition is intended to make solar panels that are slightly less efficient, but much less
Staples Announces Recycling Program
May 21, 2007 11:25 am | Blogs | CommentsOp-Ed: The Staples chain of office supply stores announed an electronics recycling program today. For a $10 fee, they'll recycle big objects such as towers and monitors, while small items like keyboards and mouses are free.
Sixteen Cites In Green Building Program
May 16, 2007 8:27 am | Blogs | CommentsEnergy News: Sixteen cities around the world are signing up for a new focus on green building technology, former U.S. President Bill Clinton will announce at a climate summit in New York today. Government builds in New York, Chicago, Houston, Toronto, Mexico City, London, Berlin and Tokyo will highlight the project
Another Enviro-Design Contest Announced
May 16, 2007 7:30 am | Blogs | CommentsOp-Ed: Premier Farnell announced a green technology design contest, very similar to the contest announced by Echelon last month. The top prize is $50,000
EPA Writes Reality Check For Hybrids
May 14, 2007 9:53 am | Blogs | CommentsEnergy News: It's in black-and-white at Toyota.com --the 2007 Prius Hybrid averages 55 miles per gallon. Or does it? Not according to the new real(er)-world calculations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
LEDs Battle Incandescents, Fluorescents
May 14, 2007 7:38 am | Blogs | CommentsEnergy News: The advantages of LED lights probably aren't news to ECN readers, but there are some interesting developments occuring. Local and national governments around the world are engaging in legislation against the older technologies. The problem is, who wants to pay $50
