Posts by — techstar

Satellite telephones were the stuff of off-gridders’ fantasies – until now. The new SPOT Global Phone is a portable sat phone that will retail for $499 (solar chargers not included). And it handles data at claimed speeds that are relatively fast, compared to older models. (more…)

Phys.org reports on a completely self-sufficient apartment building revealed at the International Housing Exhibition in Hamburg, which produces renewable energy by harvesting micro-algae.

The 15-apartment block has 129 algae filled tanks hanging over the exterior of the south-east and south-west sides of the building— powered exclusively by algae.

The fast-growing algae not only create biofuel, they also produce heat, shade the building, and abate street noise. The algae were retrieved from the nearby Elbe river, and put into large thin rectangular clear cases. Inside, the algae live in a water solution and are provided nutrients and carbon dioxide by an automated system. Each tank was then affixed to the outside walls of the building onto scaffolding that allows for turning the tanks towards the sun—similar to technology used for solar collectors.

In ten years, everyone will be doing it. (more…)

Returning to a theme often covered on this site, the US Army continues to make the pace in off-grid technology.
The idea of converting communities to total renewable energy, complete recycling and a culture of conservation to bring humankind’s carbon footprint into a sustainable balance with a healthy earth, is usually seen as one for deep green activists.
The last place you’d expect this ideal to take root – and even flourish– is a Texas Army base. But Fort Bliss, a sprawling military base accommodating 35,000 soldiers in El Paso, is one of the armed forces’ leading hotbeds of energy conservation and creativity.
The Department of Defense recently released this announcement:
WASHINGTON, April 5, 2013 – The largest renewable energy project in U.S. military history is slated to begin soon at Fort Bliss, Texas, a big step toward the installation’s goal of generating all the energy it uses, Army Maj. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard, the installation and 1st Armored Division commander, announced today. (more…)

A ground-breaking car battery that requires no mains recharging may revolutionise ecofriendly transport.. The Metalectrique battery powers a car for a claimed 10 times further than existing models, Devon-based engineer Trevor Jackson and colleague George Adams say that bench tests indicate their battery is capable of distances of between 1,400 and 4,000 miles without stopping off to re-power.

When the batteries are spent, they are removed and replaced, with the idea that drivers will eventually be able to swap them at depots or services stations at a cost of around £27, working out at around 13p per mile travelled. Known as long-range metal air batteries, energy is transferred through the corrosion of aluminium by a chemical solution. While the driver simply buys a replacement, the spent cells themselves can be re-filled by suppliers, ready to go again. (more…)

How much land do you need to survive? This is not a theoretical question if, like Carol Deppe, you bellieve the zombie apocalypse is just around the corner.

The author of The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times,Deppe says you need an acre. But others say a quarter acre is enough.

Deppe’s book might help you build a veggie-garden with climate change in mind, but she lives in temperate Corvalis, Oregon, population 54,462. In other parts of the country such as New Mexico, Texas or Nevada, she might have other concerns. As it is, the book is mainly about surviving when the world infrastructure collapses and she has nothing to rely on but herself. (more…)

Tokyo, 4 MArch – Japanese scientists have developed a way to generate electricity from chemical waste – a byproduct of paint-manufacturing.

IHI Corp. envisages receiving its first order this year for a next-generation gas-turbine cogeneration system it developed that uses volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitted by chemical, paint and printing plants as fuel to generate electricity, allowing users to lower their VOC-abatement costs while cutting their fuel costs by as much as 40%. (more…)

 

Just as the Internet was invented by the US military, in conjunction with University College London and a Norwegian research lab – so the US military are at the leading edge pf the next generation of energy production
The U.S. Department of Defense /DoD/, is the biggest single energy user in the country. It accounts for 93 percent of U.S.government fuel consumption and 30,000 gigawatt hours of electricity annually — enough to power 6ر2 million American homes.

The DoD recently embarked on a mission to source 25 percent of its power from renewable energy by 2025 and one of its latest technologies is on show today in Abu Dhabi where you can see some of the world’s leading off-grid military energy solutions at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference /IDEX this week. (more…)

Solar chargers, speakers, weather radios, wireless accessories, medical devices, toys and other trinkets were on display at the Consumer Electronics Show 2013 at the Mandalay Bay casino in Las Vegas.

The annual CES fair is always a hit with gadget fans, and, increasingly, it contains a string of products for those living off grid.

There is rarely anything groundbreaking, just the slow game of catch-up between the ease and comfort of off-grid life compared to grid–connected homes

Star gadgets this year included a (more…)

The giant software company has worked out a way to deliver cheap high-speed Internet to remote locations where there are no power or phone lines. Their new patent application transforms the options for people who are doing long-term planning about where to live or work, if they need to tap into the Internet for any reason such as health, or client communication, or just entertainment. (more…)