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...)

The use of mono-crop, economy of scale and the reliance on highly efficient (and equally costly) farm equipment relentlessly drives competition to the bottom line; price. The slightest inconsistency in production costs (such as that leveraged by cheaper labor in foreign countries) in a global market sends ripple effects focused on the farmer. (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...)

Update: In a head-to-head test between the electric water heater and the stove-top kettle Holms was able to show where a twice a day habit of boiling water can really add up. (Read more...)

Home energy monitors are a new product with a rapidly expanding market of competing designs focused on saving people money by increasing awareness of electricity use. One of the most interesting models available comes from the small industrial design firm DIY Kyoto based in London. The Wattson home energy monitor is different from the majority of other monitors because of its approach to delivering information on multiple sensory levels. DIY Kyoto’s approach does not rely solely on a ‘numbers’ based display, many mains breaker boxes already offer that, rather use of color, numbers and physical interaction are meant to integrate information into savings. As it turns out Wattson is a pleasant and interesting guest with lots to say, even if some of his information seems to point to the cat cooking a four course meal at 3am. (Read more...)

Months of preparation, followed by a couple anxious weeks of waiting at the end, we finally get to meet our little Peanut. I have been informed that there will be no time for sleep let alone making any blog posts, so I thought I should warn all my readers that it could be a while before posting picks up again. (Read more...)