Nov. 8, 2022 -The material itself is a transparent coating that can be applied to windows in order to passively reduce the temperature inside buildings. It achieves this by blocking the ultraviolet and near-infrared spectrum of incoming sunlight. This is the part of sunlight that passes through windows and heats up enclosed rooms. It does all this while allowing visible light to move through freely.

Oct. 18, 2022 -The Finnish capital is joining Europe’s rush to find new sources of energy and reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels with a new, carbon-neutral heating system. The city’s power company, Helen Oy, will partner with Spanish builder Acciona SA and local infrastructure company YIT Oyj to construct a tunnel for extracting water deep from the seabed, where it stays at a constant temperature. By processing the water through underground heat pumps, the system could generate enough heat to serve as much as 40% of the Finnish capital.

Oct. 4, 2022 -As the world increasingly warms, urban heat islands have become a deadly concern. Heat is actually the number one weather-related cause of death, claiming more lives each year than floods, tornadoes, or hurricanes. This is why it’s paramount that we find solutions that decrease building temperatures during both day and night to give people the chance to cool off and hydrate.

With this in mind, in 2021, researchers at Purdue University unveiled the world’s whitest paint, which reflects up to 98.1% of sunlight, reflecting infrared heat and beaming it back into space.

Sep. 30, 2022 -Europeans are opening their energy bills with trepidation these days, bracing for hefty price hikes as utility companies pass on the surging cost of natural gas, oil, and electricity tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Many are trying to conserve by turning down the heat and shutting off lights this winter.

Not so the people of Feldheim, population 130.

Sep. 24, 2022 -Summers are increasingly becoming unbearable, and even people living in typically cool regions such as the UK are now seriously thinking of installing an AC. This means that we’ll only start spending more energy on air conditioning, draining both our money and our shrinking carbon budget. While sourcing electricity for air conditioning from renewable energy is one way to manage this growing demand, so is pursuing more efficient technology.

Researchers at MIT have really outdone themselves, reporting a three-layer device that only requires water to cool its surroundings by up to 9.3°C (19°F) compared to the ambient temperature. The passive cooling device is meant to preserve food crops and supplement conventional air conditioners in buildings — no electricity is required.

Sep. 14, 2022 -For years, Tami Nelson struggled with what she called the “temperamental old man” in the basement. He was inefficient. He was smelly. Plus, he took way too much of her money.

No more. This past spring, she evicted the old machinery and replaced it with electric heat pumps. In so doing, she brought her century-old property in New York City along an increasingly urgent global transformation: weaning homes and offices off oil and gas.

Sep. 9, 2022 -Hats, fans, sprinklers, and pools. We all look for ways to keep cool in the summer, so why not do the same for your home? Typically we crank the AC or plug in a fan, which both get the job done, but consume a considerable amount of energy while doing so.

The demand that air conditioners put on the electricity grid is actually a major concern during the summer months in Ontario. Fortunately, you can help alleviate this issue by relying on one – or all – of the following energy-saving strategies.

Aug. 8, 2022, -Heat pumps are being touted as a great way to heat and cool our homes efficiently and with no direct carbon emissions. (Emission levels for all things that run on electricity always depend on how the electricity is generated in the first place.) Newer heat pumps are able to keep our homes warm even in winter, according to the latest report from Efficiency Maine.

Aug. 4, 2022, -Following arguments last week from a suitably tie-less Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Spain published new rules Tuesday stipulating that no business will be allowed to cool its interior below 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) or to heat it above 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) in winter.

In place until November 2023, the decree also calls a halt to the illumination of monuments, bans stores from lighting up their windows after 10 p.m., and requires shops to have an electric display showing the temperature inside to passersby.

July 9, 2022 -No one wants to go home to the most uncomfortable environment in existence, even if it looks aesthetically pleasing. Installing a roof skylight throughout your roofing system does exceedingly well in balancing comfort and aesthetics.

Skylights are often found on one’s roof as a window set. Compared to the ones along the walls of the building, these window sets are expected to be oriented to where sunlight comes from instead of simply positioning it for the sake of having the best view of the outside.

June 4, 2022 - This energy-efficient device not only can heat your home in the winter, it can cool you down on hot days — while saving you money.

As temperatures and energy bills spike this summer, it might be time to consider installing a heat pump. Despite its name, a heat pump cools your home as well as warming it in winter, but the device is far more efficient than a conventional air conditioner and fossil fuel furnace.

May 19, 2022 -Heat pumps are emerging as a key technology for securing Europe’s energy independence from Russian natural gas.

The highly efficient electrical devices extract warmth from air, liquids or other sources to heat and cool homes and provide hot water, producing more energy than they consume.

May 9, 2022 -Scientists at Johns Hopkins University may have invented the perfect material for protective gear. They’ve devised a new material that is strong and sturdy like metal, but is super lightweight like foam. The material performed very well in preliminary tests, which suggests it could be a real game-changer for the automobile and aerospace industries, as well as the military that could use it to fashion lighter body armor and helmets.

Apr. 26, 2022 -After lighting the nation’s homes and businesses for more than a century, transforming the design of buildings and even lengthening the average workday, incandescent light bulbs are finally on their way out.

Apr. 8, 2022,-The report card, from the American Council for an Energy-efficient Economy (ICEEE)'s first since 2018 and fifth overall, graded the 25 largest energy-consuming countries based on 36 efficiency metrics. The average score of 48.5 out of 100 was down slightly since the last report.

France, which ranked first, scored a 74.5.

Energy efficiency measures have never been more important with Russia's invasion of Ukraine causing a global energy crisis amid the pre-existing threats posed by climate change, according to ACEEE's executive director Steve Nadel.

Mar. 31, 2022 -Fewer and fewer people are using bitcoin for digital payments. Nevertheless, bitcoin transactions are consuming more energy than ever before – the same amount as the whole of Thailand. With a carbon footprint equivalent to the Czech Republic’s (around 114 million tonnes per year), bitcoin is cancelling out other climate wins.

Mar. 19, 2022 -The International Energy Agency said the world could quickly reduce global oil demand by 2.7million barrels a day by cutting down on car and plane travel, which would help ease the supply crunch caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Paris-based agency said in a report released Friday that 'practical actions by governments and citizens' could significantly reduce oil demand, make fuel cheaper for consumers, shrink Russia’s hydrocarbon revenue and boost efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Jan. 25, 2022 For years, people bought light bulbs at one of the many dollar stores that serve poorer neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio.

But the bulbs for sale were highly inefficient, shorter lasting, incandescent ones — the pear-shaped orbs with glowing wire centers — meaning that over time Mrs. Turner, who lives in a neighborhood where a quarter of the residents are below the poverty line, would spend hundreds of dollars more on electrical bills, because of the extra power they use, than if she’d purchased energy-saving LED lights.

Dec. 27, 2021 -Although cooler weather can bring many beautiful days and lasting memories, it can also have the unfortunate side effect of bringing higher energy bills due to heating costs. High heating costs can lead to headaches and unwanted money-management problems that most people do not want to deal with at the end of the year.

Luckily, there are many steps you can take — both large and small — that will help reduce your overall energy costs throughout the winter.

Mar. 15, 2020 (CleanTechnica) -You may not have heard much about the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands since a series of treaties signed there in the spring of 1713 brought an end to the War of Spanish Succession. The city is famous for the number of its residents who rely on bicycles to get around. It built the first bike lane in in the Netherlands in 1885. Last year it built the world’s largest multi-story bicycle parking garage with room for 12,500 bikes.

Now a new development of 6,000 homes in the city’s Merwede district is being planned with bicycles as the preferred mode of transportation. It is expected to be serviced by 20,000 bicycles but no cars, with construction scheduled to begin in 2022. The new 24-hectare community will be home to about 12,000 people and will include 2 new primary schools, a high school, and several health centers, together with an assortment of shops and businesses.

From: Huber Technology -Most companies and agencies today operate with the concept of business sustainability. This is a holistic way of managing a business that includes environmental, social, and financial responsibilities. To meet this triple bottom line, companies must find ways to be cost-efficient, socially responsible, and eco-friendly at the same time.

Heating and cooling facilities uses large amounts of energy, and accounts for much of a company’s operating costs. With new technologies, companies can reduce reliance on fossil fuels while saving money.

Union of Concerned Scientists,   - How you drive and take care of your vehicle can have a big effect on how much fuel you use. Follow these simple tips to save money and reduce pollution.

Covered are “Before You Hit the Road,” “Behind the Wheel,” and “Driving a Clean Car Revolution.”

(8Rivers)-The future of our planet – considering a rapidly growing global population – demands a balanced portfolio of renewables and carbon-based methods of power generation, particularly those employing carbon capture.

Free emissions capture is the holy grail of carbon-based power generation. Today, power cycles require the addition of expensive, efficiency-reducing equipment to decrease and capture emissions. The Allam Cycle embodies major advantages over conventional systems: attaining high efficiencies at low costs with low to no water consumption. All this with full, free emissions capture.

EnergyCentral Apr. 9, 2019 -Offsets are financial instruments that are used by the California Cap and Trade Program and other similar programs. This paper we will reviews the types of offsets, offset protocols and offset verification.

Jan. 14, 2021(ScienceDaily)-Just one hour of videoconferencing or streaming, for example, emits 150-1,000 grams of carbon dioxide (a gallon of gasoline burned from a car emits about 8,887 grams), requires 2-12 liters of water and demands a land area adding up to about the size of an iPad Mini.

But leaving your camera off during a web call can reduce these footprints by 96%. Streaming content in standard definition rather than in high definition while using apps such as Netflix or Hulu also could bring an 86% reduction, the researchers estimated.

-With clean energy from the sun and wind, we have the technology to provide for our energy needs without the global consequences of pollution. Yet we’re still producing and consuming virtually all of our energy in ways that do lasting damage to our environment, our health and our climate. And to make matters worse, of all that dirty energy we produce, two-thirds of it ends up being wasted.

We can address the largest environmental challenges of our time by shifting toward 100% renewable energy. The fastest, easiest and cheapest way to do that is to first reduce the total amount of energy we use and let go to waste. Learn how you can reduce your energy waste and become more energy efficient in your home.

The article tells about the many ways we can save power and reduce both our carbon footprint and utilty bills.

Everyone loves electric cars—they’re clean, fun to drive, and increasingly affordable to own. But what do electric vehicles (EVs) mean for the electricity grid? Could they enable the use of more renewable power?

Drivers, electric utilities, and the environment can all benefit when electric vehicles are better integrated with the grid.

July 2020, (Bloomberg Green)-In Singapore, close to the Equator, temperatures regularly rise above 32 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit) — but inside the soaring glass greenhouses of Gardens by the Bay, the country’s award-winning botanical park, it’s a pleasant 24 degrees.

The daffodils and tulips of the flower dome, along with two dozen nearby towers that are normally full of bankers, shoppers, residents, hotel guests and gamblers, are chilled by what is probably the world’s largest underground district cooling system.

Feb. 7, 2017- Taxa Outdoors’ tow camper, the TigerMoth, is a compact home on wheels geared towards traveling adventurers. The lightweight camper sleeps two, has LED lights, and even better, comes with a built-in electrical system that generates energy while being towed. The camper’s battery can store energy for at least seven days, making off-grid living easier than ever before.

Solar and wind are poised to become a larger part of that green-power mix. But there’s a problem: people need electricity even when the sun’s not shining and the wind isn’t blowing.

One way to solve this problem is to store the excess energy and then release it when there’s a need.

Energy conservation is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about freeways jammed with idling vehicles.

But in California, which has some of the most congested freeways in the country, that's about to change. The CEC has approved a pilot program in which piezoelectric crystals will be installed on several freeways.

An international team of engineers, physicists, and chemists have created the first fiber-optic solar cell. These fibers are thinner than human hair, flexible, and yet they produce electricity, just like a normal solar cell. The US military is already interested in weaving these threads into clothing, to provide a wearable power source for soldiers.

Mar. 30, 2022, (ENERGY.GOV)-Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), sometimes referred to as GeoExchange, earth-coupled, ground-source, or water-source heat pumps, have been in use since the late 1940s. They use the relatively constant temperature of the earth as the exchange medium instead of the outside air temperature.

Although many parts of the country experience seasonal temperature extremes -- from scorching heat in the summer to sub-zero cold in the winter—a few feet below the earth's surface the ground remains at a relatively constant temperature. Depending on latitude, ground temperatures range from 45°F (7°C) to 75°F (21°C).

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Apr. 1, 2021 (ZME Science) -Seemingly small changes in lifestyle can add up to have a huge impact at the societal level. According to a new study, choosing to bike rather than drive a car may reduce the average person’s transportation-related carbon emissions by 67%.

These findings apply for choosing to bike over driving a car only once over the course of a day, meaning you don’t have to substitute all car trips in order to make a huge dent in your carbon footprint. This also means you could reduce your transportation-related emissions by 95% if you choose to exclusively bike.

Oct. 3, 2019 (inhabitat)- Just in time for the annual celebration of Energy Efficiency Day, the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has released its 2019 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard.

July 14, 2015  (National Resources Defense Council(NRDC))-There has been a veritable explosion in the number of electronics, appliances, and other miscellaneous devices plugged into, or permanently connected to, America's homes.

Most are consuming electricity around-the-clock, even when the owners are not using them or think they have been turned off. This always-on energy use by inactive devices translates to $19 billion a year -- about $165 per U.S. household on average -- and approximately 50 large (500-megawatt) power plants' worth of electricity.

July 22, 2019 (National Resources Defense Council(NRDC))) -One of the easiest, cheapest ways to fight climate change may be shining down on you right now. The bulbs you use in your kitchen ceiling, chandelier, bedside lamp, or bathroom vanity can be either a major energy suck or a smart way to lighten your power load.

Jan. 15, 2019 Energy.Gov -Professional energy assessments generally go into great detail to assess your home's energy use. The energy auditor will do a room-by-room examination of the residence, as well as a thorough examination of past utility bills. Many professional energy assessments will include a blower door test. Most will also include a thermographic scan. There's also another type of test -- the PFT air infiltration measurement technique -- but it is rarely offered.

Check out the Energy Saver 101 home energy audit infographic to get an idea of what energy auditors look for and the special tools they use to determine where a home is wasting energy.

Aug. 26, 2014,  -Researchers at Mich. State have created a fully transparent solar concentrator, which could turn any window or sheet of glass (like your smartphone’s screen) into a P.V. solar cell.They can be efficiently deployed in a many settings, like tall buildings or any kind of mobile device that demands high aesthetic quality like a phone or e-reader.

January 13th, 2014 -Yes, all you rhubarb fans take note. A new energy storage breakthrough is under way at Harvard University, and it is based on a common little molecule that is almost exactly the same as one found in rhubarb.

June 23, 2018 -Energy bills are one of the largest regular bills behind mortgages, rent and council tax.

The average annual dual-fuel bill, which covers both gas and electricity, stands at more than $1,700 per household – and this is on the rise.

For most homeowners, cost is secondary to the aesthetics and milieu of the home they are creating. Can you design a beautiful home that still helps you save each month on your energy bill?

June 13, 2014 - LEDs outperform incandescent lights, hands down. But they should also give farmers unprecedented control over plant growth, development and nutritional content in future, say researchers.

Jan. 26, 2015 -Reducing energy use by enhancing efficiency has long been viewed as “low-hanging fruit” in the drive to lower energy bills, boost economic productivity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Can a home be beautiful, powered entirely by solar energy, use sustainable heating and cooling systems and save it’s owners roughly $3,500 a year? Why, yes it can. Just ask Joanne Coons, who built her award winning, single-family, Net Zero Energy Home in 2010. Sustainable Woman Joanne talks Net Zero standards, efficient appliances and goods, her 10kW solar panels and more.

December 1, 2014 -It requires no electricity, uses the universe as a heat-sink even with the sun shining. -A material that simultaneously reflects light and radiates heat at frequencies that vent it through the Earth’s atmosphere could one day help cool buildings on hot days.

Powered by a five-watt solar panel and a built-in thermal fridge, the Beachill waterproof mattress lets beach-goers keep their drinks cold and their portable devices charged while making a positive impact on the environment.

Experts weigh in on tips for energy efficiency. Appliances, home energy audits, driving tips. Try it, you might just learn something.

Want to save money and reduce your carbon footprint? Who wouldn't?