• Toshiba’s IT Power Measurement Unit helps remotely manage power usage

    Posted in Gadgets and Tech on July 10, 2008

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    Showcased at the green pavilion in the Green IT Promotion Council Hokkaido Toyako Summit was Toshiba’s IT Power Measurement Unit. It is aimed at reducing power consumption at homes and remotely monitoring and controlling energy status. The unit is connected with power distribution boards at homes. The power measurement unit measures power used for each system and transmits the data to Toshiba Home Appliances’ server using the “IT Home Gateway” communication terminal for Feminity. Users can check their current power consumption and cumulative power consumption by month, for example, on the company’s “Feminity Club” Web service using PCs, digital TVs and mobile phones. Solar cell energy status can also be displayed.

  • Gas Balloon over Paris to indicate pollution levels

    Posted in Other Stuff on July 10, 2008

    helium_balloon.jpg If you want to know how clean or filthy the air over Paris is, then very soon all you will need to do is look yonder to the Helium filled balloon that will indicate the pollution levels. Aérophile has announced the launch of AERO30NG Aérophile 5500 model, which is located in the Parc Andre Citroën in Paris. This balloon is filled with 6,000 cubic meters of helium and will serve as a tourist attraction as well as green-consciousness. Several sensors set up by Airparif, an organization that measures air quality in France, will collect air pollution data from all over the city. After computing the data, the Aérophile balloon will display two measurements: ambient air quality and air pollution produced by auto emissions, which is measured at major traffic junctions. The balloon’s color indicates the ambient air quality using three projectors that are located in the middle of the balloon. Red signifies highly polluted air, orange for polluted, yellow for moderate, light green for clean, and green for very clean.

    Hyundai Elantra LPI HEV – An LPG hybrid

    Posted in Transport on July 10, 2008

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    Hyundai is all set to launch its Elantra LPI HEV hybrid vehicle based on its “Elantra,” in July 2009 in Korea. The vehicle employs the mild hybrid system that incorporates a Li-polymer secondary battery manufactured by LG Chem Ltd of Korea, a 1.6L LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) engine, a 15kW DC motor and a CVT (continuously variable transmission). The fuel cost of Elantra LPI HEV has been reduced by the adoption of a LPG engine. When fuel costs are compared based on the figures, the fuel cost of Elantra LPI HEV is 40% lower than that of other existing hybrid vehicles and 50% lower compared with the gasoline engine version of Elantra. The additional vehicle cost paid for a hybrid vehicle will be offset by the difference in fuel costs in about two years. The CO2 emission is 103g/km, which is 90% less than a gasoline engine.

    Sewage plant to be named after George W Bush

    Posted in Other Stuff on July 10, 2008

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    Everyone wants to remembered after they are long gone, be it as a wage memory or as a legend of their times. When it comes to being the President of the USA, it’s not that hard to be forgotten considering the remarkable achievement one already may possess in being a president of any country. Nevertheless, no one would like to be remembered or even associated let alone be named after a garbage dumping ground. The Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco wants to switch the name of the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant to the George W. Bush Sewage Plant. Supporters hoping to put the issue on the November ballot turned in more than 10,000 signatures to San Francisco election officials. It takes just over 7,000 valid names to qualify and the group expects to find out later this month whether they made it.

    GM’s Spain plant to go solar

    Posted in Alternative Energy on July 10, 2008

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    Solar cell arrays on houses are commonly a handful of kilowatts, or thousandths of a megawatt. On big commercial buildings, installations of one or two megawatts have become common. A one-megawatt installation will run about 1,000 window air-conditioners simultaneously, at least as long as the sun is shining. Energy Conversion Devices has planned to solarize the General Motors assembly plant in Zaragoza, Spain. The project will be putting out 12 megawatts, a huge number in a field where most arrays are measured in kilowatts. The project will use solar devices manufactured in rolls, like carpet runners. Installation will be completed this fall, according to the company, which is based in Rochester Hills, Michigan Energy Conversion will supply the equipment to Veolia Environment and Clairvoyant Energy, which will lease the rooftop space from GM and own and operate the installation, which will be two million square feet.

    Mercedes to ditch petroleum by 2015

    Posted in Transport on July 10, 2008

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    Mercedes may be name of true luxury, safety and class, now it will be the name for green too. It is planning to eradicate petroleum powered vehicles from its own line up of vehicles by the year 2015. It will now be putting its best brains into building electric, fuel cell, and biofuel vehicles; the company is revving up research in alternative fuel sources and efficiency. From what we know Mercedes well they really do one of the best research in the field of automotive engineering, so nothing less than perfect is expected off a green Merc. The Mercedes facility in Spain has one vehicle the F700, powered by a DiesOtto engine that combines HCCI and spark ignition to get nearly the same efficiency as diesel, but minus the expensive after-treatment systems. Mercedes is looking into electric vehicles, both battery-powered and fuel-cell powered. Not only are models in development, but we’ve also seen the company making steps towards its zero-petroleum goal right now, from better cabs in London to li-ion battery improvements. The company also has about 100 Smart electric cars undergoing testing in London, with that favorite 2010 year as the projected market release date.

    Inside the Zero-Emission House where all home appliances work with electricity generated by solar and wind energy

    Posted in Architecture on July 9, 2008

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    The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan build a model house called the “Zero-Emission House” in the outdoor car park of the International Media Center (IMC) for coverage by international journalists during the Hokkaido Toyako Summit. This house of the near future is equipped with a photovoltaic power generation system, fuel cells, advanced robots, and other cutting-edge technologies. All home appliances in the zero emission house work with electricity generated by solar and wind energy.

    Germany says no to Nuclear power announces 30 wind Farms

    Posted in Alternative Energy on July 7, 2008

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    Germany’s Bundestag or lower house of parliament passed a law last month aimed at increasing the amount of power generated by renewable energy sources like wind or solar power to 30 percent from the current 14 percent by 2020. The rise in the oil price has made this all the more pressing and the interest from investors’ shows that it is economically viable. The government is aiming to obtain “25,000 megawatts of energy from wind farms by 2030.

    LG builds Korea’s biggest solar plant

    Posted in Alternative Energy on July 7, 2008

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    LG completed construction of the Korea’ biggest solar panel plant, as part of the group’s strategy to make inroads into the alternative energy market. The LG solar plant in Taean county, about 110 kilometers southwest of Seoul, is capable of producing 14 megawatts of electricity a year, equivalent to the demand by some 8,000 homes, LG said. The solar plant is part of LG’s move to provide alternative energy amid rising oil prices. LG spent 110 billion won (US$105 million) to build the facility.
    Via – Fareastgizmos

    An all electric car that recharges in 2hrs flat

    Posted in Transport on July 7, 2008

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    With the amount of new technology coming up in the field of alternate power for our vehicles, it seems to me that the future of driving isn’t so dark after all. A graduate student at the University of Delaware created an electric car that can go for 150 miles on a single recharge, and has prospects of the power company paying back to him instead of charging him. The students also created a “vehicle to grid” technology. When you plug the car in, it actually becomes a storage device for the power grid. The power company would actually pay you to store their power in your car until they need it. That could add up to about $2,500 to $5,000 a year the power company would pay the driver back. The $70,000 Scion that’s fully electric and goes about 3 cents to a mile, when compared with a gas vehicle that might go between 10 and 12 cents a mile, barely takes 2 hours of recharge time. The car is no a hybrid, it is all electric. It gets plugged into an outlet.