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How To Stay Efficiently Cool This Summer
Summertime is almost here, but hot weather doesn’t have to mean skyrocketing power bills and nonstop air conditioning. We’ve compiled these tips to help you maximize your summer comfort and energy efficiency.
© Justin Thomas for MetaEfficient Reviews, 2009. |
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Schwarzenegger’s proposed state park cuts
Since I moved away from California, I pay less attention to news there, however, a piece in the SFGate recently caught my eye.
According to the piece, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s newly proposed budget cuts may close down nearly all Bay Area state parks. Parks that may be spared include Albany State Marine Reserve, Emeryville Crescent State [...]
Post from: Blisstree
Eco-friendly gym bags
KEEN makes quite a few nice little eco-friendly bags that are perfect for the gym. You can store your gear, head to the gym, and workout without compromising the planet. Here are some options:
Twenty-Six tote: Comes in three shades and is stylish enough to use outside the gym as well. Made with 100% recycled interior [...]
Post from: Blisstree
New Eco-Label for TVs
The New York Times has the scoop on the soon to be coming new TV eco-label.
TVs are already labeled (or not) as Energy Star but this new label, which is maybe going to be called Epeat for TV, will go a step further. According to the Times, the label will be modeled after the already [...]
Post from: Blisstree
Product Review: Ecogear Genus Bag
Product: Mohave Tui Bag, one of the new bags from the Ecogear Genus Series from Ecogear of course. This bag is available in three colors; garnet, slate, and ebony and is sized, 18.5 in. x 12 in. x 6 in. I reviewed the garnet bag as seen below in the middle. Genus bags are also [...]
Post from: Blisstree
Where to find green goods and services
If you’re shopping for green good or services, you can do a Google search for green goods or you can focus your search efforts on places that offer quality green goods constantly. These places below are trust-worthy places to start when shopping for green goods and services.
Where to find a BULK of green goods and [...]
Post from: Blisstree
How much energy does an appliance use?
The question of just how much energy does a particular appliance or electronic device use is a valid one. For one thing, if you’ve got some cash for a green upgrade why not invest that money in the best most energy saving option?
The U.S. Department of Energy offers the following calculation…
Formula for Estimating Energy Consumption
“(Wattage [...]
Post from: Blisstree
Tesla Recalling 345 Roadsters
After the exciting news last week that Daimler is purchasing a 10 percent stake in the auto company, Tesla has been hit with a bit of a setback. The Office of Defects Investigation has discovered that many of the already-delivered Roadsters contain "under-torqued" bolts that could lead to major safety issues for the drivers. The company has had to recall 345 of the 400 cars they’ve delivered so far to fix the error.
Tesla is passing the blame for the cars manufactured between March 2008 and April 2009 onto Lotus, saying they built the chassis on those cars and are having to recall some of their own Elises and Exiges for the same problem.
Obviously trying to stay in the good graces of their customers, Tesla is offering to make house calls to repair the potentially-loose hub bolts, plus they’re performing full vehicle inspections and software upgrages at no cost while they’re at it.
The company pointed out that this recall has nothing to do with the electric powertrain and no accidents have been caused by the issue.
via Earth2Tech
New Labels for TVs Go Beyond Energy Star
A large consortium that includes electronics retailers and manufacturers, the EPA and the Natural Resources Defense Council has agreed to start labeling TVs with environmental impact ratings that are based on criteria beyond energy efficiency such as mercury, lead and other toxic content.
The labeling system is being called E-PEAT-for-TV after the E-PEAT labeling system for computers that is used for all government computer purchases. The rating system will be developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and administered by the Green Electronics Council and should start appearing on TVs in the next 18 to 24 months.
The labeling system met a lot of resistance from manufacturers, but the long timeline to get the labels in place will most likely be to their benefit. Many consumers will be buying new digital TVs as the switch from analog to digital broadcast signals takes place on June 12, which means lots of sales long before the labels show up.
No word yet on the exact criteria and ranking system, but it will likely be similar to the standards used for the original E-PEAT.
via Green Inc.
IBM and Syracuse Working on Ultra-Efficient Data Center
IBM and Syracuse University announced today their plans to build a data center at the university that will use 50 percent less energy than a typical data center.
IBM will supply its most efficient computers and computer-cooling technology, while Syracuse will manage and analyze the data center performance and implement new energy-saving operations as they’re discovered. The project will explore how to increase efficiency in computer hardware and software and in the data center infrastructure itself. The $12.4 million project will include its own electrical tri-generation system that uses natural gas-fueled turbines to power the data center and to cool the servers so that the center is run completely off of the grid.
The electrical tri-generation system includes a liquid cooling system that converts exhaust heat from the turbines into chilled water to cool the servers and will also deliver electricity through a direct current instead of alternating current.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is contributing $2 million to the data center, which IBM hopes to use as a showcase for clients trying to increase their efficiency. U.S. data centers use 62 billion kWh a year and current trends show that number doubling by 2011, so an example of a data center that reduced energy use by half is greatly needed right now.
The data center should be built by the end of 2009, but the study of its processes and performance improvements will continue for several years.
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