Michael Thompson | posted on November 19, 2008

Here in the USA, citizens use nearly twice as much electricity per person as the English. Of course, this isn’t really all that surprising, since the cost of electricity here is only two-thirds what it is in the UK. But that doesn’t mean US residents should be unconcerned with energy usage, especially given the current squeeze on household budgets. According to the Nation Resources Defense Council, a new study has revealed that the total amount of electricity used to power game consoles in American households is much more than you might assume, and that this energy turns into lost dollars very quickly.

The report concludes that the power used by consoles each year is roughly equal to the annual amount needed to power San Diego. This massive amount of power usage is due to two factors: a) most modern consoles use far more electricity than other types of consumer electronics, and b) Americans have a habit of simply leaving their consoles turned on even when they’re not in use. …read full discussion

Chris Morrison | posted on November 18, 2008

Another significant funding deal for the energy conservation crowd was announced this morning, with ReGen Power Systemstaking $5 million for an engine that converts waste industrial heat into power. That may sound a bit boring, but the investment and technology are a harbinger of big changes to come.

Everyone has experienced waste heat from electricity-driven machines — take your common electrical oven for example. The oven exists to cook things, whether atop its burners or inside. Either way, the majority of the heat bypasses the food and escapes into the air and environment around the oven. Unless you need a warm kitchen, most of the electricity you just used was wasted. …read full discussion

Bridgette Steffen | posted on September 25, 2008

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Craig Rubens | posted on September 23, 2008

While there certainly is no ideal time to have one’s financial institutions come crumbling down, the collapse of America’s major banks was particularly poorly timed for those hoping to have the renewable energy credits extended before Congress adjourned. The Senate pushed back a vote from Friday to this week on the tax credits, but with the need to pass legislation on the financial bailout, the renewable tax credits could easily take a back seat. Meanwhile, the much touted bipartisan “Gang of 20″ has pulled their bill and plan to reintroduce it next year. …read full discussion

Chris Morrison | posted on September 12, 2008

Yet another thin film manufacturer has picked up a massive funding raise. SoloPower, based in Milpitas, Calif., has taken almost $200 million to expand its manufacturing capacity, according to this morning’sVentureWire. …read full discussion

Chris Morrison | posted on July 29, 2008

Plenty has been written about electric utilities’ need for better information about the power their customers are using, and a number of companies are tackling that problem. But what about customers — shouldn’t they get the same info? For the first time, consumers may have a chance to see their power usage patterns, with a suite of devices from Tendril Networks.

Utilities get data from the meters attached to every home and business that uses electricity, letting them see minute-to-minute usage. The challenge is to give people in their homes the same view in a convenient way, so that they know when prices are high or low, how much they’re using, and which of their household devices, like heat pumps and refrigerators, are energy hogs.

Tendril’s Residential Energy Ecosystem (TREE) gives several points of control. A display called the Insight shows current electricity prices, the amount spent so far over the month, and issues an audio or visual alert in case of a price spike or emergency. The Volt is a wall plug-in for devices that tracks and controls their energy usage, and Vantage is the company’s software portal that allows consumers to set rules (like not turning on the air conditioner when they’re out of the house) and remotely control the system.

The company is well along in development, and the Insight, when CEO Adrian Tuck showed it to me, impressed me with its ease of use. Tuck says they’ll have 50,000 units distributed by the end of the year, and hopes to have half a million out by the time 2009 is over.

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Jonathan Kimak | posted on July 21, 2008

Andrew Liszewski | posted on April 21, 2008

In a typical office building thousands of people pass through revolving doors on a daily basis. Multiply that by the number of buildings in a typical city, and you can see why harnessing all that human power is actually not a bad idea. So the Revolution Door from Fluxxlab in New York is basically a turbine that’s powered by people as they enter or exit a building, just like how water powers a turbine as it rushes through a hydroelectric dam. …read full discussion