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Public buildings in Europe will lead the way in energy efficiency
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The European Commission, European Parliament and European Council talks in Brussels yesterday have ruled that public buildings will lead the way in improving the energy efficiency of buildings in the region.
The decision makers reached an agreement that will see new or refurbished public buildings having to reach new standards in energy efficiency from the end of 2018.
Most newly constructed buildings will also have to meet the same improved efficiency standards, but only be the end of 2020.
Member States will be responsible for setting their own energy efficiency standards, as the talks concluded that it would be impractical to set levels applicable to all the climate conditions across the region.
The proposals will now go to the European Parliament for endorsement at the beginning of next year.
Smart Plugs (TalkingPlugs) for Your Home
"Google’s PowerMeter can monitor home energy usage in great detail as well but it generally requires that an electrician install a smart meter or a home energy display. LaMonica reported a couple months ago that IBM and the utility company Consert have been working together on a smart grid program where major appliances can be hooked up to controllers and can communicate with a meter in much the same way as these TalkingPlugs do. With this system, a person can view the data and even control appliances on the web as well. The end use is much the same as these TalkingPlugs."
Can technology persuade us to save energy?
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Last week New Scientist reported that US emissions could be cut by more than 7 per cent if people changed their ways at home. Separate studies in US, Dutch and British homes have reported that 26 to 36 per cent of domestic energy use is "behavioural" – determined by the way we use machines, not the efficiency of the hardware itself.
This means that "machines designed to change humans", as the persuasive technology group of Stanford University, California, calls them, could save us huge amounts of energy and money.
Energy awareness
Many projects are trying to make that happen, with two main motivations. One is to understand which facets of human nature can be manipulated to change behaviour. The other is to develop technical strategies to do so.
The Energy Producing Home
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Who says that a home with cutting-edge energy efficiency has to look like an ultra-modern pod? This recently completed Wisconsin home packs so much energy tech that it makes money by selling electricity back to the grid, and it still keeps a low neighborhood profile.
Want fewer power plants? Make outdoor lighting more efficient
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The proposed changes will phase out the least efficient outdoor lighting products by the end of 2012, transitioning to new lighting products that are better for the environment and less costly to run. For example, new outdoor lights will be required to have a sensor that will turn them off during daylight hours, putting an end to wasteful streetlight operation during the day. New parking lot lights must be capable of being dimmed, which can cut their energy use in half.
The agreement also directs the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop even better standards by 2013.
Motors Help Minimising Impact Of Sulphur Dioxide On Environment - Engineer Live, For Engineers, By Engineers
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Chris Bennett, a senior electrical engineer at Ratcliffe, said: "It is always surprising to people who visit the site that we are so efficiency conscious, but they're often even more surprised that we have to pay for the power we use during the generation process so it's essential we don't use more energy than we actually need. Even more important is minimising the environmental impact of the power station and ensuring the reliability of the plant; outages have to be avoided where possible so critical equipment such as the motors have to be reliable."
Kansai Electric and Cree Demonstrate a 100 kVA Silicon Carbide Three Phase Inverter
""In the future, a tremendous amount of energy savings could be realized in industry by switching from Si inverters to SiC inverters because the power loss of the inverters is estimated to be reduced by more than 50 percent,""
EU to consider energy efficiency overhaul of buildings
"The EU is considering proposals that could require the upgrade of 15 million buildings across the region by 2020 to reduce their energy use by a fifth, according to a report from Reuters."
Alternatives To Four-stroke Engines Promise An Increase In Efficiency
What, then, are the innovations in internal combustion engine design that will carry us through the next decade or so, meeting the need to increase efficiency and reduce emissions? For one, earlier this year the Scuderi Group unveiled a proof-of-concept prototype split-cycle engine. The new engine, which its designers claim has the ability to revolutionise the long-term viability of the internal combustion engine, was unveiled as a naturally aspirated one-litre petrol unit (Fig.1). Scuderi Group expects it to produce up to 80 per cent fewer toxins than a typical internal combustion engine and, when fully developed with turbocharged and air-hybrid components, to achieve significant gains in fuel efficiency.
Steven Chu Suggests Open Source to Design Net-Zero Energy Buildings
Steven Chu at the Department of Energy just opened up $346 million in stimulus funds for boosting the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings — but thinking ahead to new design, he wants the best ideas to be incorporated into structure designs from the beginning.
How better tap into the hive mind than with an open-source software platform.
He wants the DOE to provide advanced design tools for free or at very low cost so that it will become almost automatic that builders use the tools.
US completes energy efficiency standards for electrical appliances | Energy Efficiency News
US Energy Secretary Steven Chu yesterday confirmed that his department has completed new energy efficiency standards for electrical appliances in response to President Barack Obama’s request earlier this year.
Energy efficiency at the atom level
Nanotechnology researchers at IBM’s Zurich lab image the chemical structure of molecules to revealing insight in how charge transmits, potentially improving computer components and solar panels.
Holiday Inn switches to LEDs saving $4 million
As part of a $1 billion global relaunch, Holiday Inn is incorporating energy efficiency lighting measures at its 3200 hotels that will save over $4 million annually.
India to make fuel efficiency mandatory from 2011 - Yahoo! News
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India will make fuel efficiency standards mandatory for the transport sector from 2011 as part of a growing suite of measures to fight climate change, the country's environment minister said on Wednesday.
BSRIA looks into the impact of banning the traditional light bulb in favour of CFLs
So far there are a lot of questions but few answers. It is worth recalling that the filament lamp went through about 50 years of development before reaching maturity. Although the perception is of more rapid progress today, we may have to wait until 2020 before CFLs reach their prime.
Driving up the efficiency of motor based applications through improved control
The European sales market forecast for integral horsepower (750W and above) motors is dominated by AC motors. Sales of these motors represent 96% (or over 9 million) of all units sold, of which 87% consists of 3-phase AC induction motors.
The market for efficient motors in the EU has seen a significant transformation and demand, following the introduction of the CEMEP/EU agreement, where the lowest efficient motor of the three classifications have since been virtually withdrawn from the market.
ABB to improve power efficiency in Saudi Arabia and UK
Power and automation technology group ABB has won two major contracts to improve power transmissions and distribution in Saudi Arabia and the UK.
The $60 million contract with the Saudi Electricity Company will see ABB undertake the design, engineering, supply, installation and commissioning of technologies to improve the power efficiency of 28 distribution substations.
Congress Slashes Obama’s Energy Education Program in Energy and Water Bill
These slim-to-none appropriations demonstrate a serious lack of consideration for clean tech research and education - both crucial factors in the effort to transition to a clean energy economy and maintain leadership in the clean tech race.
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