New Pyroelectric Device Transforms Heat into Electricity With 30% Efficiency
Thermoelectric devices transform waste heat into electricity and can one day provide increased efficiency for everything from small gadgets to power plants. Scott Hunter, working at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) hopes his new heat-recovering invention will scavenge lost heat with an efficiency of up to 30 percent.
Seattle Project to Improve The Energy Efficiency of Buildings
The massive consumption of energy can be counteracted not only by finding alternative sources, but also by cutting on the "appetite" we already have. If we look at the bigger picture, 70% of the total electricity production in the U.S. is eaten up by commercial buildings (according to the U.S. Department of Energy). So, wouldn't it be great if we could reduce that amount as much as we can?
Alcoa Launches Self-Cleaning Aluminum Panel for Commercial Buildings
Today, thanks to Reynobond with Eco Clean we can skip unneccessary work: this coil-coated architectural panel cleans itself and the air around it. If you can't believe your eyes, just check it out on May 12 at the AIA 2011 National Convention and Design Exposition in New Orleans.
Samsung Plans To Unveil Solar Powered Laptop
Right now I'm propped to a tree, writing this article, at the margins of an enchanting forest, with birdies singing everywhere. My laptop's battery is nearing its low percentage, and I'd really need some power source. I'd use Samsung's solar powered laptop, or at least the one they're planning to release in the not-so-distant future.
People in Developing Countries Could Charge Their Phones From Soil Microbes
Science should be used to benefit people and nowhere is that purpose clearer than in the new project led by a team at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences: mobile phones could now be charged by putting them in contact with microbes living in the soil.
New Aluminum Alloy Helps Generate Clean Water and Cheap Electricity
A new aluminum alloy could soon clean out water and at the same time generate electricity for afflicted areas. Purdue University researchers Jerry Woodall and Go Choi have been working on the alloy of aluminum, gallium, indium and tin that could split polluted or salt water into hydrogen and oxygen and then reunite them to generate electricity and pure water.
VacuSen: Oxygen Sensor Used in Space Missions, Now Helps Manufacturing Greener Windows
It looks like sensors regularly used in space missions can now be a part of a technology aimed to improve the making of glass. Hold on, not any kind of glass, but one that excels in thermal insulation in both cold and hot environments - a glass that may reduce carbon dioxide emissions and your electric bill, too.
Mr. Beam – Amazingly Green Virtual Light-Powered Redecorations
Now, everyone who's ever done a redecoration of their home knows how time and energy wasting is to buy the bed, then realize that the color won't fit the color of the wall, or that you wanted another model for the table, wall clock etc.
Clean Water Harvested From Fog by Beetle-Inspired Device
Inspired by Stenocara gracilipes, a beetle found in the Namib Desert, MIT engineer Shreerang Chhatre developed a simple and efficient device that can harvest fog. Being actually an inexpensive way to provide clean drinking water, this fog harvesting device could be perfect for poorer countries, where water scarcity is still an unsolved problem.
Drinkable Water Extracted From Diesel Fuel Now Possible
Apparently, necessity teaches us better than any ecological drive, or at least this seems to be the case for the U.S. military. Missions can't do without water, but the amounts they need are very hard to transport. So the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has found a way to ease the pain of carrying large water supplies.
