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I cover a lot of upcoming or future technology, but it’s time to step into the present and aim for the past. Today we’re going to look at a technology available right now that can make some wanton energy waste history. It’s a surge protector that stakes the hearts of vampire electronics without hassling you, the sleeping victim.
Vampire appliances are pretty much anything you can plug in that still sucks energy when it’s supposedly turned off. Some are pretty obvious - the clocks on your microwave or VCR/DVD player burn all day, everyday. We know they’re not “off” because we cans see their LEDs glow. But other electronics, from your television to your cell phone charger also draw power when they’re plugged in but not in use. Check out a handy graph from Good Magazine. Some gadgets are notorious, like your plasma TV. Estimates claim that 5% or more of U.S. energy usage is insidiously wasted by “stand-by mode” or certain misleading “off” buttons. A whopping 5% may not sound like much, but it adds up to about $1 Billion dollars per year - and energy prices will probably continue to rise.
Be honest - how many times would you go around the house unplugging everything before it got old? Smart greenies have been switching off their surge protectors, but it’s easy to forget while watching your favorite late-night TV show or blogging at 4am. So what can we do about these metal-toothed Nosferatu in our midst? How about a surge protector that turns off all your appliances for you?
As has happened before, with gas prices continuing to climb, the demand for improved fuel economy will increase as well, and all manner of improvements and upgrades that promise to help get better mileage will be touted. Some offer real benefits; others are pure snake oil.
An improvement that offers both improved mileage and increased horsepower seems counterintuitive at first. After all, the tradeoff that hybrids and other economy vehicles offer seem to be one of reduced horsepower and acceleration in exchange for improved fuel economy. So how can you have both?
As the automakers scramble to make plans for achieving 35 MPG by 2020, it seems that our suspicions that the task is entirely possible without fancy hybrids or hydrogen cars has been confirmed. The manufacturers been achieving high mileage in Europe and Japan for years now, so I expect to see it in the US eventually. Luckily, there are six exciting new technologies that are going to make it possible in the US.
These technologies are interesting because they come without the paradigm shift that seems to accompany buying a hybrid or a small economy car. Cars equipped with this green tech will be just like any other car, just more efficient.
More on the six new engine technologies after the break.
How much does business-as-usual cost? This morning, Green Car Congress reported that the US is projected to pay $440 billion for imported petroleum in 2008:
The increase to the estimated $440 billion for 2008 is based on an average $90 per barrel crude oil price for the year. In 2002, before the current bull market for oil began, US oil imports cost less than $103 billion. The preliminary figures for last year came to some $327 billion.
With little prospect for cheaper gas prices in the future, any decrease in the US export bill will have to come from a reduction in petroleum usage.
Which brings to mind two important questions:
- What percentage of our Gross Domestic Product will the US have to export before things start to change dramatically?
- Where is all this money going, anyway?
Solar thermal technology provides space heating and hot water and is a frequently forgotten member of the solar family. These highly effective systems are popular in many parts of the globe, from China to Greece to Zimbabwe. They displace the use of the existing hot water heater and heating equipment, typically saving either natural gas or electricity.Solar thermal is a more mature technology than solar photovoltaic systems that produce electricity. It has been used for centuries for water heating. In fact, even Leonardo Da Vinci owned one.
When considering the installation of such a system, it is important to consider the following items.
While gasoline prices continue to inch upward, the U.S. still enjoys some of the cheapest fuel in the world. FastCompany.com put together a list of world gas prices that could make you feel better about $3 per gallon gas.
Country and Price per US gallon:
Norway $ 8.67
Netherlands $ 8.52
Belgium $ 8.36
Germany $ 8.06
United Kingdom $ 7.91
Italy $ 7.68
France $ 7.46
Think you need a hybrid to get great mileage? Try a souped-down 1959 Opel T-1.
In another tribute to high-mileage car hacks, a man named Evan McMullen rediscovered a 1975 Guiness-World Record-Setting car that got 376.59 MPG.
It was wasting away in a museum in Florida:
That number doesn’t come from some manta ray-shaped, wind tunnel-vetted carbon fiber space car. No, it’s from a chop-top, steel-frame 1959 Opel T-1 (think melting jelly bean, but uglier). And the record was set in 1973 in a contest sponsored by Shell Oil Co.
Unfortunately, that contest-winning mileage number occurred on a closed track at a steady 30 mph. Not exactly highway speeds. Nonetheless, it makes you wonder about the evolution of automobile manufacturing in the last 50 years:
By Philip Proefrock •
February 22, 2008
The Dryer Miser is a huge step forward for one kind of energy sucking home appliance, the clothes dryer. While clotheslines are even more efficient and lower energy consuming, not everyone can use them all the time. Climate and weather can limit when a clothesline can be used, and many people live in buildings or sites where line drying is impractical.
Instead of directly heating the air, the Dryer Miser uses a heat exchanger filled with a fluid that is heated in order to transfer heat much more efficiently. “Made of durable copper and aluminum, the Hydronic Dryer’s heat technology works by heating up a specially formulated, non-toxic and non-corrosive heat transfer fluid with an immersion element (similar to a water heater). The fluid is transferred to a heat exchanger where it is mixed with air. The heated air is then blown into the dryer’s drum. The result is a safer, highly energy efficient dryer, that dries faster than any other brand available on the market – up to 41% faster!”
By Paul Smith •
February 21, 2008
Depending on your business, mailing can be a major expense and large use of resources. But it doesn’t have to be that way. EcoEnvelopes is a new company that has created reusable envelopes. As in they can be two-way, between you 
and your customer, eliminating the need for reply envelopes. It’s been said that a mailer, in order to be effective, needs 6 distinct pieces to it, to engage the potential customer in a number of ways. With such a visually striking mailer as the ones offered by ecoEnvelope, it could take much less then that.
These envelopes can serve the dual purpose of reducing resource use in terms of paper, handling, and tracking, and at the same time shining a green light on your company. With more then 80 billion reply envelopes mailed each year in the US, this is not an insignificant impact. According to ecoEnvelopes, every one million ecoEnvelopes used saves an estimated 250 million BTUs of energy and 37,000 pounds of greenhouse gases.
By Maria Surma Manka •
February 19, 2008
I just had two super-efficient compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) burn out on me, which surprised me since they’re only about a year old. Then again, my husband does leave the bathroom light on a lot…. At any rate, the rest of my bulbs are still going strong, even after several years for most of them. Here’s a great video on CFL 101.
Tip of the hat to Dave over at e-Strategy blog.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/26DLW3ktGvI" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
By Sarah Lozanova •
February 14, 2008
The internet is saving 10 times the energy required to run an internet-linked computer.
Remember when renting a movie required a trip to the video store or checking a bank balance required a visit to the bank? Now, anything from used books to driving maps are just a click away. Telecommuting is common and taxes can be submitted electronically to the IRS. The internet is shaping our lifestyles, allowing us to save energy.
A recent study by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) discovered that every kilowatt-hour of electricity used to power communications and information technologies is resulting in a 10 fold increase in energy savings.
“Acceleration of information and computer technology across the US landscape post 1995 is driving much of the nation’s energy-productivity gain,” says John Laitner of the ACEEE and coauthor of the study. “Had we continued at the historic rate of prior years, we would today be using the energy equivalent of 1 billion barrels of oil more [per year] than we were” in the early 1990s.
