Solar Breweries come to Michigan

Photo credit: Jeffrey Smith, AnnArbor.com

As renewable energy becomes more popular and affordable, companies all around the world have begun to use it. The latest instance is the Arbor Brewing company, who has decided to make two of their locations run on renewable energy. Not only is the company decided to find a new way of creating energy, but they have implemented several different strategies to be more efficient with the energy as well.

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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: New spray-on batteries could revolutionize energy storage, Portable solar power source is perfect for emergencies,

New spray-on batteries could revolutionize energy storage

Renewable energy has been one of the most researched topics ever since gas and oil prices have begun to rise and people have paid attention to their effects on the environment. Making your home run on renewable energy can be quite challenging and in some instances (very) expensive, but a research team at Rice University has just discovered a way to make it a lot easier to create energy and even store it.

Imagine being able to take a bottle of substance and spray it on a wall of your house. Then the sprayed substance converts the sun’s energy into renewable solar energy and even stores it for you. Rice Universities researchers have come up with the designs to this and possibly many other types of spray-on batteries.

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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: New battery electrode could last 40,000 charge cycles, NEC’s new battery technology said to last twice as long,

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: energy-harvesting toilet, LED lightbulb overhaul and a floating, solar-powered resort home

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

DNP This Week in Green TKTKTK

LED technology shone brighter than the summer sun this week as artist Bruce Munro unveiled plans for his largest lighting installation ever — a field of thousands of LED flowers that will spring up next year at Australia’s Ayers Rock. Best of all, the entire installation will be powered by solar energy! We also saw Rice University flip the switch on its new Epiphany Skyspace — a green-roofed pavilion that’s topped with a brilliant blue canopy of light. If you’re still not convinced that LEDs are the future, we recently produced two videos that are sure to show you the light — check out our interview with five professional lighting designers on today’s state of the art LED bulbs and watch as we give Inhabitots editor Julie Seguss a light bulb overhaul that shaves over $400 off her utility bills. And if you’re ready to make the switch, check out our guide to 24 gorgeous green lamps that look great with LED bulbs.

This week saw some exciting new developments in the realm of renewable energy. First, a group of scientists in the UK developed a new energy-harvesting device that attaches to the joint between the thigh and shin. The device could be used to power monitors and mobile devices, to name a few possible applications. Meanwhile, scientists from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have invented a new toilet that turns human waste into electricity while reducing the amount of water needed for flushing by up to 90 percent. That’s what we call, win-win!

Continue reading Inhabitat’s Week in Green: energy-harvesting toilet, LED lightbulb overhaul and a floating, solar-powered resort home

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: energy-harvesting toilet, LED lightbulb overhaul and a floating, solar-powered resort home originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Jul 2012 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FishPi sets course for the open sea, captained by a Raspberry Pi

FishPi sets course for the open sea, captained by a Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi‘s journey to reach owners has been a lengthy one, but Greg Holloway is preparing to send his board on a longer voyage — one across the Atlantic. Nestled inside a tupperware tub, the RaspberryPi is the brains of FishPi, an autonomous vessel — guided by GPS and a compass — that measures 20 inches from bow to stern. Currently in proof-of-concept form, the craft uses a 40 mm rotating propeller and draws juice from batteries powered by a 130 watt solar panel. Producing kits for students, enthusiasts and professionals is the goal of the project, but testing and development are still on the docket. While the Linux-laden launch isn’t ready for the high seas quite yet, you can sail to the source for the technical breakdown or check it out at the Nottingham Hackspace Raspberry Jam next month.

FishPi sets course for the open sea, captained by a Raspberry Pi originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 03:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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