All articles tagged with #energy savings
The article ranks the top 10 smart thermostats based on user reviews, highlighting their features, pros, and cons, with the Sensi Smart Thermostat rated as the best for its affordability and robust features, while others like the Google Nest Learning Thermostat and Ecobee models offer advanced functionalities but at higher prices.
Electric bills in the US are rising across 41 states due to increased demand from data centers and aging infrastructure, with costs expected to continue climbing. While some energy-saving measures and switching providers can help reduce bills, the overall increase is driven by large-scale developments like AI data centers, making it challenging for consumers to significantly lower their costs. Long-term solutions such as solar panels and electric heat pumps are recommended but may not provide immediate relief for all.
Unplugging household gadgets like TVs, gaming consoles, kitchen devices, and smart home devices when not in use can significantly reduce energy consumption and save up to $200 annually, especially by avoiding standby power and phantom loads. Practical tips include turning off unused devices, using smart plugs, and optimizing home insulation and lighting to cut costs during hot summer months.
With winter approaching, experts recommend weatherizing your home to save up to 20% on heating bills. Simple steps like sealing cracks, gaps around doors and windows, and using weatherstripping and caulking can significantly reduce energy loss. While these small repairs are effective, investing in bigger projects like upgrading insulation, replacing old doors and windows, and installing more efficient HVAC systems will provide long-term energy-saving benefits.
With winter approaching, experts recommend weatherizing your home to save up to 20% on heating bills. Simple steps like sealing cracks, gaps around doors and windows, and using weatherstripping and caulking can significantly reduce energy loss. A visual inspection or professional energy audit can help identify problem areas. While these small repairs are effective, investing in bigger projects like upgrading insulation, replacing old doors and windows, and installing efficient HVAC systems will provide long-term energy-saving benefits.
Germany has passed a new law, The Energy Efficiency Act, which makes energy savings measures mandatory across all economic sectors, including public buildings, industry, and data centers. The aim is to reduce energy consumption by 26.5% by 2030 compared to 2008. While the law requires companies to develop energy-saving plans, it does not include binding measures. Germany's aggressive green initiatives also include a goal for renewable energy to generate over 50% of the country's electricity this year, with a target of 80% by 2030. However, there are concerns that Germany may not reach its emissions reduction target of 65% by 2030 compared to 1990.
The assumption that the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is always 100% is wrong, according to a new study from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Electrical and Computer Engineering researchers. The IQE of an LED can be as low as 27.5%. To meet the efficiency standards laid out by the DOE, it will be increasingly important to properly quantify the efficiency of LEDs.
Chemical engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a model of how catalytic reactions work at the atomic scale, which could allow engineers and chemists to develop more efficient catalysts and tune industrial processes, potentially with enormous energy savings. The team used powerful modeling techniques to simulate catalytic reactions at the atomic scale, looking at reactions involving transition metal catalysts in nanoparticle form. The understanding could have major ramifications for industry, including petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, plastics, food additives, fertilizers, green fuels, and industrial chemicals.
Chemical engineers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a model that explains how catalytic reactions work at the atomic level, potentially leading to more efficient catalysts, optimized industrial processes, and significant energy savings. Catalysis plays a crucial role in producing 90% of the products we use daily, and just three catalytic reactions use close to 10% of the world's energy. The researchers used powerful modeling techniques to simulate catalytic reactions at the atomic scale and found that the energy provided for many catalytic processes to take place is enough to break bonds and allow single metal atoms to pop loose and start traveling on the surface of the catalyst, forming small metal clusters that serve as sites for chemical reactions to take place much easier than the original rigid surface of the catalyst.
The US Department of Energy is investing $18.7 million in colleges and universities to help small manufacturers identify ways to cut costs by reducing waste and saving energy. The program, called Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs), will provide assessments that typically identify more than $130,000 in potential annual savings for small manufacturers. The assessments look at waste reduction, energy savings, improved productivity, and competitiveness. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $400 million in grants available to small manufacturers to make the necessary efficiency-enhancing and greenhouse gas-reducing investments.
Chemical engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a breakthrough model of how catalytic reactions work at the atomic scale, which could allow engineers and chemists to develop more efficient catalysts and tune industrial processes, potentially with enormous energy savings. The researchers used powerful modelling techniques to simulate catalytic reactions at the atomic scale, looking at reactions involving transition metal catalysts in nanoparticle form. The new framework challenges the foundation of how researchers understand catalysis and how it takes place, and may apply to other non-metal catalysts as well.