I usually don’t spend a lot of time posting about advancements in solar panels because the main problem is conversion efficiency and constantly hearing about the incremental improvements of fractions of a percent doesn’t really get the juices flowing for most people. SunCube is looking to change how we do roof-top solar in a way many have probably never heard about, that is interesting. (Read more...)

Making bikes smart and sexy is one of the best ways to get people back in the saddle improving health and drastically reducing transport inefficiency. Many attempts have been made at ‘rethinking’ the bicycle by literally thousands of designers and visionaries, but most of these are at best examples of rendering skills; it’s tough to improve 10 kilos of steel on two wheels. (Read more...)

Electronics displays are disproportionately hungry energy hogs, finding a solution that improves efficiency while actually increasing the visual experience is a pretty fantastic advancement. (Read more...)

LED’s use a fraction of the energy of bulbs, they do not burn out and some LED’s are made specifically to be able to produce a huge range of colors, perfect Christmas lights. (Read more...)

The reason electric cars are so very expensive is not about economy of scale, or ‘newness’ to market, rather the battery required to do everything a gas car can do is up to 50% the cost of the finished vehicle. This fact has led to the paradox that the electric car market leaders have had to focus their products for the rich, providing a more economical and environmentally benign form of personal transportation to only a very thin sliver of the population. Of course it would be smarter to provide electric cars to a much wider market at a lower price-point in order to really affect change in CO2 emissions and to wean countries off of fossil fuels. (Read more...)

A recent study conducted by the Danish Electricity Saving Trust shows 38% of a business’s electricity consumption comes after hours with no one there to enjoy it. (Read more...)

Word is out that Honda is planning a rapid release of an all-wheel drive (that’s 2wd) electric version of their top selling Super Cub model scooter. (Read more...)

Google and The Energy Detective team up to bring you an integrated power meter and a great looking interface available now to save on energy bills immediately. (Read more...)

Solving more problems than you thought you had, the Lemnis Lighting Pharox 60 LED bulb is next generation, available now. (Read more...)

The Cargohopper is a small electric delivery train being tested in the Dutch city of Utrecht in an effort to reduce congestion and eliminate medium-haul delivery vans. (Read more...)

If you’re going to take the time to make a serious investment in increasing the energy efficiency of your home, windows are a great place to focus. The window represents a weak-point in insulation as glass is such a dense and heat-conductive material, unfortunately staying cooped up in a windowless and well insulated home, will lead even the most stoic to cabin-madness. (Read more...)

This design by Finnish savant Olli Erkkilä is genius. The attention to detail and surprising use of pretty advanced ideas such as single side drives and linker-bar steering makes it even more remarkable; it is forkless for heaven’s sake. (Read more...)

A new process for treating wood aims to both squash demand for unsustainable logging and let you expand the house with that new star-gazing deck. The company Kebony wants to bring environmentally friendly wood to the world. (Read more...)

Designed to leave music untouched, these speakers are warm, dry, and detailed. Their 4″ full-range drivers and T-class amplifier, encased in acoustically dead porcelain and cork, create a remarkably simple path from source to ear. (Read more...)

Finding home solutions for a more sustainable use of our resources is becoming a complicated task as the market grows and both quality and totally “green-washed” products flood into stores. (Read more...)

The cellulose Uppsala researchers have identified as a game changing advancement for nonmetallic batteries comes from Cladophora algae which is the same green pond scum seen on rocks and submerged branches on beaches, in lakes and streams around the world. (Read more...)

Visual Voltage exhibition presents creative designs to get us thinking about how we use energy in our homes. The Energy Aware Clock is a simple, striking example which layers information for instant awareness; reduced consumption is the goal. (Read more...)

In a rather surprising level of openness Google Inc. has laid out its roadmap for the near future realization of its renewable energy investment at the Reuters Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday. (Read more...)

In my ceaseless online searching I have come across a couple jewels of inspiration that really should not be kept secret. These are sites that offer huge collections of real ideas and real products to spark the imagination. (Read more...)

Water quality is not just a matter of concern for people who would like to get rid of that “funky” taste from their river water source, an entire ecosystem of plants and animals is also dependent on river health.What we need is a synergistic design movement where engineers identify the most important aspects both natural and human systems need, and then ties those two restrictions into a mutualism relationship. (Read more...)

A new high-tech solution for insulating windows has been developed adding a proprietary nano-coating to conventional double-paned windows slashing your energy bills by 30% and doubling the energy savings of the leading energy-efficient windows. (Read more...)

Now this is one of mine OK, I’m sharing this one though because I love you guys and I want you to start thinking of ways to help bring this to market so I don’t have to sell a kidney or something to get one. (Read more...)

Getting stuck with having to cover the bill when out at the bars all in the name of “making things easier” is bad enough, but a product code named “Square” would have your credit cards picking up the tab at hotdog stands or any other “cash only service” as well. (Read more...)

The negative environmental impact of harnessing the energy stored in falling water through the use of dams is pretty obvious.The dam represents an over-valuation of electrical energy at the expense of natural river services, thankfully there are people thinking of smarter ways to harness energy from rivers. (Read more...)

A paper recently published by Christopher R. Knittel of the Institute of Transportation Studies outlines some disturbing statistics on the development of automobile design in relation to weight, fuel efficiency and horse power. (Read more...)

The results of these changing times may lead to novel solutions for a new breed of automobile and paradigm shift in vehicle manufacturing. (Read more...)

The Stirling engine makes up the so called and trademarked “Solar Heart” of the system, running on excess heat during warmer months to offset some fraction of the home electricity costs. (Read more...)

All that a solar panel manufacturer need do to get that little extra advantage, and push its panels closer to that dollar-per-watt nirvana of grid-parity, is give an out-the-door coat of Xerocoat’s patented finish. (Read more...)

An interesting report about findings from the University of Delaware showing a promising lead for hydrogen storage based on a most unexpected technology…feathers. It is so cheap, begs the question, could this technology leap-frog directly into developing countries?
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With an advancement of this magnitude the photovoltaic market can expect a major shift in venture capital for manufacturers away from silicon based technology, likewise installation is greatly simplified by the reduced weight and robustness of thin-film cells, no need for bulky panels with accompanying roof mounts. (Read more...)

Air travel is one of the fastest growing sources of energy use and CO2 production, but I can’t help but think that is because of the speeds, and size of planes being used. Perhaps there exists a point of balance, a more efficient intersection between the convenience of air travel and its energy footprint to be explored. (Read more...)

Supplying the heating needs of 750 homes by solar energy doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you take into account that the energy is entirely solar and it was collected two seasons ago, six months back and stored underground, this is a very interesting experiment. (Read more...)

The engineering focus for developing these solar-thermal systems was to produce designs that prioritized use of readily available materials and parts such as from old refrigerators and cars. (Read more...)

Being able to report on advances like this is really what Non-scalable is all about, providing links to research, products, ideas and opportunities for finding appropriate solutions to an ecological future. (Read more...)

When you consider that the average family car is expected to travel 15,000 miles per year, this test demonstrates at least a 12 year lifespan for your Lithium-ion battery pack. (Read more...)

In what is one of the most opaque press releases I’ve read, Rainbow Solar Inc. has released findings of a one year side-by-side test at Osaka University, of something called “SuperPV” able to increase output from silicon photo voltaic panels by between 60-200%. (Read more...)

Ganapati was my boss. He taught me how to climb coconut trees during the harvest, how to make lentils and rice “correctly” and how to use a small hand axe to do everything from opening a rusty lock, to scratch ones back. (Read more...)

With an appropriate stove design you reduce pollution by growing your own fuel, efficiently converting that fuel to heat and generate a waste product that improves your garden, smart. (Read more...)

LED lights can now boast color quality equal to incandescent bulbs using a thin sheet of material containing very small structures called quantum dots. (Read more...)

Because of the huge expense associated with purchasing LED bulbs outright, companies such as KFE Japan Co Ltd. have been experimenting with a rental scheme where-by each bulb costs approximately 1 euro/ month. (Read more...)

These waxes have been specially designed to melt at very specific temperatures so that they act like a buffer, both absorbing heat when there is too much, and releasing that heat when the surrounds cool. (Read more...)

Leviathan Energy has thought of an interesting passive design improvement to match any make of turbine, substantially improving the energy generated by an average of 30%. (Read more...)