conservation Archives - Page 5 of 5

Solar PV Panel Shading, a New Consideration for ROI?

July 26, 201115 years breathonthewind 3 Comments

One of the essential questions we ask with solar PV installation is “what will the return on the investment (ROI) be?” Many considerations are used to calculate a result. Researchers at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, under the direction of professor for environmental engineering Jan Kleissl, have recently provided us with yet another consideration to incorporate into these equations — the energy efficiency benefit of solar panel shade. Using a thermal infrared camera, they were able to calculate the value of solar panel roof shading.

Find Energy-Efficiency Incentives in Seconds, Compare Your Energy Bills to Your Neighbors’

March 1, 201116 years Z. S. 3 Comments

Want to know what energy-efficiency rebates and incentives are available to you without having to tediously search through numerous hard-to-read sites? I’m sure some of you do. A cool new web tool from a Silicon Valley startup, Ennovationz, can do that for you (and quite a bit more). On the … [continued]

U.S. Military Harvests Rainwater in Hawaii

November 8, 201016 years Tina Casey 5 Comments

Add rainwater harvesting to the long (very long) list of sustainability initiatives undertaken by the U.S. military. In Hawaii, the Army is developing a full scale rainwater harvesting system for its Schoefield Barracks on Oahu, which will be used to irrigate landscaping at the site. The icing on the sustainability … [continued]

Clinton Global Initiative Brokers Waste-to-Fuel Partnership

September 23, 201016 years Guest Contributor 0 Comments

Practical solutions to recently-understood manmade problems like the great Great Pacific Garbage Patch (and others like it around the world) generally seem few and far between, especially given the minimal penetration such problems have made into our collective consciousness. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t people working on them. Fast … [continued]

Green IT: Buildings Are Now Twittering Their Energy Consumption

August 27, 200917 years Derek Markham 1 Comment

umissgym: Is it just me, or is it hot in here? The social media craze has hit building automation, as the campus at the University of Mississippi will soon be broadcasting its energy consumption via Twitter and Facebook updates. In partnership with smart grid company SmartSynch, Ole Miss has created … [continued]

Sink-to-Yard Graywater Retrofit Could Make Desert Bloom

March 29, 200917 years Tina Casey 3 Comments

Researchers at New Mexico State University are testing a relatively inexpensive plumbing retrofit that could help buildings capture relatively clean graywater from plumbing before it hits the sewers, and reuse it onsite for outdoor watering. It’s a green four-for-one: the NMSU graywater system conserves water, relieves sewer systems of excess … [continued]

Recycled Plastic Building Material Could Replace Concrete, Steel and Timber

October 23, 200818 years arielschwartz 10 Comments

A UK-based company called i-plas has invented a building material—also called i-plas—made from recycled plastic that could replace concrete, steel, and timber. I-plas can make use of any type of plastic waste except for PVC and thermoset.

Wind Farms Not Bane of Birds Existence

October 1, 200818 years Joshua S Hill 6 Comments

Environmentalists and anyone else attempting to derail wind farms have often turned to the fate of birds for scientific back up. In the case of the environmentalists, I’ll let it pass, but it’s when the senators and other politicians who have never shown an ounce of interest in the outdoors … [continued]

Clean Tech of the Week: Wash Clothes Without Water

June 16, 200818 years michellebennett 13 Comments

Not exactly washing without water, but with less than 2% of a normal washing machine. That’s only 1 cup of water for those sweaty gym clothes, grubby kid-wear, and foul socks. Washing with soap and water has been THE WAY to clean most clothes for so long, it’s hard to … [continued]