Category: Energy & Efficiency
Samsung to replace plastic packaging with sustainable materials
Samsung has announced it is to begin replacing plastic packaging materials with “environmentally sustainable elements”. The South Korean technology giant, which is the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, said it would start to substitute plastic for recycled and “bio-based” plastics and paper during the first half of this year. The company said the trays used for…
Edinburgh Premier Inn becomes first battery-powered hotel in UK
The trial is expected to save the hotel £20,000 a year in energy costs (Premier Inn/PA) An Edinburgh hotel has become the first in the UK to be battery-powered. The Gyle Premier Inn at Edinburgh Park has installed a five-tonne battery which will charge from the national grid during off-peak periods…
Tiny solar panels embedded in clothes could charge a mobile phone
Researchers at Nottingham Trent University have developed small solar panels which can be embedded in clothes and used to charge a mobile phone. The tiny panels are small enough to be placed into yarn and then knitted or woven into textiles. The team behind the technology said that in testing it was capable of charging…
Government climate advisers suggest hybrid heat pumps could slash carbon emissions
Carbon emissions from heating could be slashed by installing hybrid heat pump technology that does not require major changes to people’s homes, Government climate advisers have suggested. The potential for hybrid heat pumps using electricity most of the time and then hydrogen to meet peak demand on cold winter days has been a “light bulb…
Energy firms well off 2020 smart meter target, Which? warns
Large energy suppliers need to triple the current rate of smart meter installation to hit a target of replacing all existing meters by 2020, according to new analysis from Which? The consumer organisation found large suppliers would need to work around the clock, installing 30 smart meters per minute, every day, for the next two…
How can we maintain our future energy supplies?
The authors of 'The Future - Reinvented: Reimagining Life, Society, and Business' outline four different scenarios to save the planet's limited resources including producing your own energy to share with others and heat-generating wearables... As the summer heat hits, our power grids work at full pelt to keep cooling and ventilation systems battling against the sweltering temperatures. …
Nissan offers low cost power for electric vehicles, introduces new home chargers
The new Nissan LEAF is capable of travelling 235miles on a single charge At the European launch of its new Leaf in Oslo, Norway, Nissan promised to kickstart the electric car revolution, offering virtually free power to its EV (Electric Vehicle) customers as well as new home and office chargers.…
Living in the smart city – solar powered pavements and roads that can charge electric cars
From big data gathering information about pollution, water use and traffic through to smart roads capable of managing autonomous vehicles and charging electric vehicles, Fast Future's Rohit Talwar, Steve Wells and Alexandra Whittington look at what the future has in store for the smart city In the coming decades, the planet’s most heavily concentrated…
Frankfurt Motor Show. Mercedes unveils first compact electric car, the EQA
Mercedes has revealed the new Concept EQA, its first all-electric EQ concept vehicle in the compact segment, at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2017. Set to rival the Tesla Model 3, the Concept EQA has a system output of over 200 kW from two electric motors. What's more two drive programs, "Sport" and "Sport Plus", offer a different front to…
Smart light bulb LightFreq updated. Available on Indiegogo June 23
LightFreq Square2’s wake up mode can wake you up to light, sound or both As long as you have your phone in your pocket, LightFreq Square2 will turn on and off automatically when you enter or leave a room. Starts playing music in the room you are in, and as soon as you enter a…
