Tag: news

The SmartThings platform relies on an Ethernet-connected hub capable of communicating with ZigBee, Z-Wave as well as IP-accessible devices. Once dispatched to the internet router, the info can be processed on the cloud and fed back to smartphones via a control application. The hub can be paired with a multitude of sensors such as presence sensors or motion/actuation sensors (very

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When I bought my Chevrolet Volt I became that person that doesn’t stop talking about their no-sugar, no-thrills lifestyle. That middle class urbanite buying vegetables from the grocer and edamame beans from Waitrose. The domestic goddess with the bread-maker next to the microwave. Of all of the lifestyle contradictions that exist, I had decided I was not going to be

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Queensland businesses are being hit with daily service charges of more than $500 a day on their electricity bills, in a move the solar industry says is designed to kill the roll-out of commercial-scale rooftop solar across the state. The charges were quietly unveiled by the Queensland Competition Authority and the state government in July. But their implications are only

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Over the course of the next two columns, I plan to finish up the recent look at BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2014. The final two columns will focus on renewable energy, and carbon dioxide emissions. Today I want to provide an update on the natural gas picture, as prices declined sharply at the end of July. I have

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Reducing the renewable energy target would cost the federal budget about $680 million more to meet Australia’s target of 5% emissions reduction by 2020, according to modelling released today by climate and conservation groups. The modelling found that cutting the RET would increase the profits of coal power stations while boosting the costs for the public through more pollution without

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Do you remember Twin Creeks Technologies? The VC-funded startup was attempting to commercialize an ion-implant machine that would allow solar manufacturers to produce super-thin photovoltaic cells from crystalline silicon. It was a wildly ambitious bet, and the company went from unstealthing in early 2012 to having its assets purchased for approximately $10 million by GT Advanced Technologies in late 2012.

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Starting a new car company isn’t easy. Given the complexity and cost of cars, buyers are often hesitant to try an unknown quantity. If a car gets even a hint of a reputation for unreliability, that task could turn impossible. Which is why news that a Tesla Model S electric car on long-term test by Edmunds had its drive unit

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The research team described their work at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The device works by detecting and responding to lactate, which is naturally present in sweat. Lactate is a very important indicator of how you are doing during exercise, explained Wenzhao Jia, Ph.D. In general, the more intense the exercise, the more

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The ultralow-density, ultrahigh surface area bulk material with an interconnected nanotubular makeup could be used in energy storage and conversion, thermal insulation, shock energy absorption and high energy density physics. The three-dimensional nanotubular network architecture developed by the team also opens new opportunities in the fields of energy harvesting, catalysis, sensing and filtration by enabling mass transport through two independent

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Energy storage systems are a boon for generators, especially renewable energy generators, as they can regulate their energy supply while maintaining grid discipline. But energy storage systems can be of great advantage to large consumers such as industrial units and commercial buildings to keep their power bills in control. Sharp has launched an energy storage system aimed at large individual

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