energy

Power-wasting battery chargers to go on energy diet

Most battery chargers today are like leaky faucets dripping out a tiny flow of electricity even when not charging your electronic gadget.

The California Energy Commission yesterday voted in favor of efficiency standards aimed at cutting wasted energy from battery chargers for small electronics, including cell phones and electric toothbrushes, to larger battery-powered machines such as power tools and forklifts.

Once enacted, the measures should improve the efficiency of chargers by at least 40 percent and save over $300 million a year in utility costs, according to the Commission. The energy savings would be about 2,200 gigawatt hours per … Read more

Green Car Journal announces five finalists for 2012 award

Green Car Journal announced five finalists for the publication's annual Green Car Vision Award. The award recognizes innovations in fuel efficiency, low emissions, alternative fuels, or electric power.

To be considered for the Green Car Vision Award, vehicles must be in demonstration on public highways today or nearing commercialization but not yet widely available to consumers, Green Car Journal said in a press release.

The five finalists include the BMW i3, the Cadillac ELR, the Ford's C-MAX Energi, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell, and the Tesla Model S.

The 2012 Green Car Vision Award winner will be announced at … Read more

New lead-acid battery angles for micro hybrids

Modernizing 150-year-old battery technology may be one of the cheapest routes to hybrid autos.

Axion Power International has a developed an advanced lead-acid battery it hopes will attract automakers and grid storage providers. The basic chemistry and components are the same, but the company has an activated carbon negative electrode, a change that leads to better performance over time, according to the company.

In the auto industry, the company is targeting start-stop hybrids in particular. Also called microhybrids, start-stop systems feature a small battery to run a car's electronics when idle and to aid in accelerating.

Unlike an all-electric … Read more

Lowe's muscles into smart home

Do-it-yourself retailer Lowe's later this year will sell three home automation kits designed to plug thermostats and home security gear into a home network.

The company today announced a deal with U.K.-based AlertMe which will provide the equipment and a cloud-based service, called Iris, for home energy management, automation, and monitoring.

The products will be available mid year and be priced for the "mass market," said Kevin Meagher, the vice president and general manager for smart home at Lowe's. All three kits will be self-installable and can be accessed from Internet-connected devices, such as … Read more

Assess your environmental impact with Carbon Footprint Calculator

Your carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide that you produce through such activities as traveling, using electricity, consuming food, and other aspects of daily life. Carbon Footprint Calculator is a simple program that can help you calculate your carbon footprint and identify areas where you might be able to reduce your output.

The program's interface is simple and easy to navigate, consisting of only one screen with a variety of simple questions about your daily activities. There's a transportation section, an energy section, a recycling and activities section, and a food section. Some … Read more

Ford focuses on a more energy-efficient future (video)

Ford Motor has set a goal to have hybrids and electric vehicles make up 10 percent to 25 percent of its fleet by 2020.

SmartPlanet correspondent Sumi Das talked to Ford executive Dan Kapp recently about the company's alternative-fuels strategy and one of its first electric vehicles to hit the market in 2012, the Ford Focus Electric.

This video originally appeared on SmartPlanet with the headline "Ford driving into the future with energy-efficient autos."

A solar hot water collector that makes electricity, too

Startup GMZ Energy thinks solar hot water panels can pull double duty.

The company today announced it raised $14 million in series C funding to commercialize a product that will draw electricity from solar hot water collectors. It will also make small chips able to convert heat from car exhaust pipes and industrial machines into electricity.

GMZ Energy, which was spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston College in 2008, has created an improved material for converting the energy in heat into electric power. The process works in reverse so an electric current will produce heat.

Thermoelectric … Read more

Fill 'er up with plastic? Waste turned into oil

Rather than recycling plastic, startup Agilyx can bring plastic back to its original source: oil.

The Beaverton, Ore., company yesterday raised $25 million in a series C round of funding, which was led by Keating Capital and joined by existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Waste Management, an affiliate of oil company Total, and Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital.

The company, which raised $22 million in March this year, will use the money to develop four plastic-to-oil plants expected to go online in the first half of next year, according to CEO Chris Ulum. Agilyx is now operating its first … Read more

Ha, good one! IBM predicts people-powered homes

commentary Some of IBM's distinguished engineers may want to review the laws of thermodynamics.

The computing giant today announced its "IBM 5 in 5" predictions of five technology developments in the next five years. The most provocative is mind reading, to understand brain disorders, or where sensors will be able to translate people's thoughts into actions, such as operating a computer.

The least plausible perhaps is the idea that homes will be powered by human motion. In a video on its "People power comes to life" prediction, an IBMer says "you will be … Read more

Myths, Marketing, and Misdirection: HDTV edition

The onslaught of marketing this time of year is unsurprising, but no less unpleasant. Advertising of products can be a useful tool, informing the public of the latest and greatest.

Where it becomes offensive is when it includes blatant lies, misleading truths, or perpetrates a myth.

Don't be fooled by these deceptive practices, in this (admittedly first) edition of Myths, Marketing, and Misdirection, the HDTV edition.… Read more