Energy efficiency

EEStor: You truly are the company that keeps on giving.

Mort Topfer, the former vice chair of Dell and one of the execs credited in helping turn it from a local phenomenon to a global PC powerhouse, has left the board of EEStor, according to Tyler Hamilton. Hamilton is not the disgraced bike racer but a reporter for the Toronto Star.

It's just one more bit of baffling news out of the Texas-based manufacturer of ultracapacitors, a device that stores electricity, and no doubt another factoid that critics will use to say that the company is not living up … Read more

Marvell has released chips for PC and notebook power bricks that can will substantially cut down the amount of electricity required to run these machines.

The chips, a type of power factor correction (PFC) controller based around a digital signal processor, effectively determine the amount of power an application will need and optimize accordingly. The chips also try to keep peak current at the lowest level.

The chips, which will be included in power supplies, are made to comply with new Energy Star requirements that require that 80 percent or more of the power pumped into PCs actually gets used … Read more

North Carolina's LED Lighting Fixtures has received a $16.5 million injection as the push to bring light-emitting diodes to the home gains momentum.

The company makes light fixtures for commercial buildings and homes around LEDs. LEDs consume far less energy than incandescent bulbs--LED Lighting Fixtures, for instance, sells a lighting unit, the LR6, that puts out 650 lumens but only consumes 12 watts. One or more LEDs can be combined into a single light fixture as well.

Individual LEDs are beginning to challenge compact florescent bulbs in lumens per watt. LEDs also last longer--some go as long as … Read more

Pacific Gas and Electric has entered into a contract to buy 177 megawatts of power from a solar thermal power plant that will be built by Ausra.

The power plant will be located in San Luis Obispo county in central California and provide, roughly, enough power for 60,000 homes. Ausra has filed applications to build the plant with the California Energy Commission and hopes to have the plant up and generating power in 2010.

This won't be the last solar thermal contract PG&E will sign. PG&E says it plans to get a gigawatt worth of power from solar thermal systems in five years. … Read more

Refrigerator trucks may not be sexy, but they play a vital role in our day-to-day lives by carrying food and supplies from one part of the country to another. However, they also contribute a significant amount of pollution on our roads.

Aura Systems, a company based in El Segundo, Calif., on Wednesday introduced a mobile-power system that keeps produce cold by using electricity instead of diesel fuel.

Traditional refrigeration trucks use a separate diesel engine to drive the compressor that keeps the inside of the truck cold. The extra engine not only emits more pollutants, but is also extremely expensive … Read more

Chevrolet is in the midst of launching "Project Driveway," an ambitious program where more than 100 fuel cell electric vehicles will be put in the hands of select consumers for the largest market test ever of its kind.

Testing will take place over the next several months in the Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., metro areas. Drivers range from average consumers to business owners to policy makers. Chevy reps also promise that some cars will go into the hands of "celebrities," but no names have been dropped yet.

The cars are modified Chevy … Read more

The average person has probably never heard of Miles electric cars. The fledgling Miles Automotive Group, originally based in Malibu and now located in a renovated building at the Santa Monica airport in Southern California, currently makes small, low-speed electric vehicles used primarily by universities, government and the military.

But as it gears up to launch its first freeway-speed consumer car, Miles is hoping to raise its profile by urging college students to create and upload their own videos about how electric cars can help clean up the environment. Miles will post the videos on YouTube and will award each … Read more

A recent AAA survey names some of the most common -- and potentially dangerous -- auto ailments. Fortunately, all of these maladies can be prevented with a little care and attention. Here are the top culprits:

5. Worn-out windshield wiper blades. Old, torn, or cracked wiper blades can greatly reduce visibility when driving in bad weather. Experts recommend changing blades at least once a year, or when streaking begins.

4. Low or dirty oil. Low oil levels can cause overheating and severe engine damage, since there is not enough fluid to lubricate all of the engine's moving parts. Dirty … Read more

Love him or hate him, Bob Lutz is somewhat of a celebrity in the automotive world. From GM to BMW to Ford and back again, Lutz has seen firsthand the growth, as well as the trials and tribulations, of the automotive industry over a span of more than four decades. Oh, and in his early days, he flew fighter planes in the Marine Corps.

When I told some of my colleagues I was invited along with a small group of bloggers to have dinner with "Maximum" Bob, some beamed in envy, others snarled in skepticism. After all, GM … Read more