energy efficiency
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Here’s a tiny greenhouse for your tiny home
There’s no reason that your tiny house should mean you have to sacrifice the luxuries that make great spaces. May we recommend this tiny greenhouse to go in your tiny house?
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Robots could make solar power super cheap
It’s a simple enough robot: an ATV equipped with a robotic arm and few cameras. But it’s already stealing green jobs from humans. Its suction cups grab onto the glass face of huge, power-plant-grade solar panels and lift them onto a metal frame. One robot, with three human helpers, can install a field of solar […]
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Wolverines refrigerate their food
Wolverines are loners, and they don’t like to share. They try not to hang out anywhere near other wolverines or other mammals, a social preference that some of us can relate to. And like other grumpy, anti-social creatures, wolverines do not like to share their food. You’d think that they’d be safe by living in […]
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Power play: Can utilities turn energy efficiency into fun and games?
Utilities are taking a page from Angry Birds and "gamifying" power consumption with a host of software and social tools. Conserving energy now brings high scores and badges -- along with money saved for the consumer and a smarter, safer grid for everyone.
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Here’s what to buy so you can stop living in self-denial
Trying to reduce a building’s energy footprint is so dang hard, especially when it involves leaving pee in the toilet, sweating through hot days, and nagging your significant other to please turn off the goddamn lights when leaving the house. And while some people might want to live like that, most people don’t. Normally we […]
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This summer’s blockbuster: Tiny House, THE MOVIE
The best cinema taps into our secret dreams, and TINY taps in specifically to our secret dreams about running away to Colorado and building a tiny house. Thus, we think it’s reasonable to assume it’ll be bigger than Avengers. TINY chronicles filmmaker Christopher Smith’s attempt to build a tiny house more or less from scratch. […]
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Spray-on solar windows use teeny tiny solar cells to capture energy
If the Internet has taught us anything, it is that everything is better when it is smaller. Kittens are better than cats. Cake pops are better than cakes. LEGO models of anything are pretty great, even if the full-sized version is pretty iffy (say, a meth lab). Thus: Solar panels? Good. Teeny tiny solar cells? […]
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This gigantic hybrid ship can run on a battery
Although gigantic ships are relatively efficient — compared to, say, transporting massive amounts of stuff by airplane — they do use an astounding amount of fuel. The shipping industry is working on this problem. In particular, a Norwegian shipping company and a marine energy company are partnering to work on a hybrid ship, the Viking […]
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Power your laptop with your butt
Swedish designer Eddi Tornberg has turned the plight of modern workers — sitting like lazy larvae in front of computer screens all day — into a form of renewable energy. He uses the heat of our rear ends to create electricity. You’ll still die from sitting, but at least your energy bills will be lower!
