2011 Boulder TechStars graduate Simple Energy is teaming up with San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) to help the utility engage its customers in energy conservation efforts.
To accomplish this, Simple Energy is running an energy saver contest that offers a social gaming experience with real-world rewards. → Read More
Today, EnergyHub launched its new, comprehensive, in-home energy management system for U.S. consumers. The system includes the EnergyHub Home Base, for centralized management of the electricity usage in the home, as well as The EnergyHub Thermostat, Sockets and Strips.
The Home Base also connects to the Web via Wi-Fi, allowing users to remotely manage individual components via Web-based or… → Read More
Gleaning electricity from radio signals isn’t super-efficient (or a new concept), but it’s possible technically. Two companies from Japan have recently come up with new devices that can do just that: one is harvesting energy from cell phone signals, the other uses a rectifying antenna (Rectenna) to produce energy. → Read More
Remote electricity meters are interesting things. They essentially change the way you think about the juice flowing into your home by connecting to the potentially aged box in your basement and sensing the total energy usage in your home over time. The resulting stats are often quite enlightening and may help you make wiser energy-use decisions. → Read More
You know what would be a fun experiment? To go outside and find your electricity meter. All those laptops and netbooks and iPhones and PS3s and speaker docks you’ve got plugged in are, in fact, drawing power. As such, we’re all essentially killing the planet. I don’t know about you, but I’m patting myself on the back right now for being so awesome. → Read More
Breaking news! Pay attention, people of the Internet! Apple has revealed that under some circumstances, iPod and iPhone users may receive a mild electrical shock to their ears through their earbuds. Knowledge base article TS2729 has the full technical details about how something called “static electricity” can build up in your precious iPod or iPhone and then lay in wait until you insert the… → Read More
Yes, your refrigerator, washer, and dryer may be Energy Star certified, but any good you’re doing is offset by your DVD player, TV and computer. That’s the simplified version of a new International Energy Agency report that says white goods—refrigerator, washing machines, etc.—are a lot more energy efficient than they used to be, but that consumer electronics—computers, TVs… → Read More
Earth Hour was last night. From 8:30 to 9:30, no matter what time zone you live in, we were all asked to turn off outside lights and any inside lights that weren’t being used. → Read More
It was very busy today in Tokyo as Japan, too, loves the Christmas season. And Tokyo’s Shibuya district, as one of the most crowded areas in the world, was particularly full with people. → Read More
Leaving the PS3 plugged in and turned on all the time could add as much as $145 to your electricity bill every year. That’s what the Natural Resources Defense Council has concluded in a report issued this week. Nearest we can tell, the report means that leaving your console in standby mode—not merely “on’ as in you’re actually using it—doesn’t do you any good. The… → Read More
First the awesome emergency shoes, now another shoe-related technology from Japan: NTT, the country’s biggest telecommunications company, presents sandals that are able to generate electricity when walking. Each step users take puts pressure on the liquid-filled sole. Two tanks are positioned below the toe and heel and connected via a small pipe. Every step creates water flows within the… → Read More
This isn’t exactly cutting-edge technology, but this triple-plug socket looks like it may actually be handy. I wonder how practical they are these days, though, when most phones, laptops and so on all have big AC adapters or otherwise funky plugs. Well, the third plug doesn’t stop you from using the plug the way you usually would, so what do you have to lose? A little money, I guess… → Read More
Luckily, my electric bill is covered by the building (I pay for gas), but those of you who have to pay your own way, take heed of this advice: turn off your video game console, and make sure they’re not in standby mode. A recent study shows that a PS3 plugged in and on standby pulls five times as much electricity as a refrigerator similarly plugged in. Other electronic devices, like plasma… → Read More
A fascinating post in Dell Community support forums details the travails of a young man and is XPS m1530. It seems that his laptop is “crackling” and “sparking” when he touches it, suggesting a grounding issue. While we’ve all felt that weird “smoothness because we’re about to be electrocuted” feeling on laptops and even lamps, this sounds… → Read More
Like all things, any "green" product will enjoy success when it costs less yet does more than its competition. I’m all for using products that consume less electricity but that’s more because I hate paying my electric bill and wish it was lower each month. One of the great promises of green products is that they save people money over time. Not all of them do, though. The… → Read More
A few TV manufacturers and broadcasters have joined forces to develop 10 minutes of boredom as a standard way of measuring energy use. Apparently energy consumption varies based on the genre so the clip combines all of them into one including soap operas, sports, and nature programs. It would be assumed that porn uses up the most energy and as a result we encourage everyone to cut back and go… → Read More
Sorry about the title but I couldn’t resist. Hack a Day has a little post up on how you can make your own Jacobs Ladder, which is that crazy thing you see at museums with the electricity shooting up between two metal poles. Basically, you just have to get your hands on a high voltage transformer, such as one found in a neon sign. Add a set of two insulated electrodes (aka metal poles) and… → Read More
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