The AZ of ‘greening’ up your home Tuesday, 09 March 2010 11:06 Being more eco friendly can be as simple as knowing your ABC… A – AERATING S… … Reduce your carbon emissions by opting for a green car , whether that is electric, petrol- hybrid (using an electric motor) or one that runs on biodiesel . Say goodbye to petrol. W – WHITE GOODS Energy efficient washing machines use 40 …

Simply more expensive compared to conventional and hybrid cars, despite energy savings The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory is prepared to release a new study on ways of achieving plug-in hybrid and EV cost-effectiveness. Like most studies, the NREL study also finds that under essentially every scenario possible, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles simply are not going to be cost-effective compared to conventional …

Branson’s SpaceShipOne Think the recession caused by the financial crisis was bad? The recession caused by the next oil crunch will be even worse, at least in Britain according to The Oil Crunch – a wake up call for the UK economy penned by Sir Richard Branson’s Taskforce for Peak Oil and Energy Security. According to the report within the next 5 years an oil crunch “could lead to shortages in consumer products and …

Eco friendly cars . Hybrids are hot nowadays. Hybrid cars use 2 engine, one for the traditional fuel, while the other uses the energy from a rechargeable battery. The recent years had car manufacturers scrambling to rollout a entire …

Is the grid ready for plug-ins? The Department of Energy is awarding $620 million for smart grid demonstration projects. And that’s fine. Of course, inevitably, one must ask how much will full scale implementation cost? Numerous estimates thus far have put the cost at hundreds of billions. Yet, even some utilities have claimed that very little smart grid technology – if any – is necessary to …

A Prius being converted into a plug-in hybrid The Department of Energy has now logged more than 1 million testing miles with their fleet of plug-in hybrids , and they’ve collected some interesting data . First, driver behavior, charging frequency and environmental conditions have significant impact on plug-in hybrid efficiency. Second, driving patterns suggest per day driving range is much less than expected. Third, forgetting …

In the U.S., biodiesel is powering more and more cars and trucks. For example, the city of Mesa, Arizona, switched its entire fleet of more than 1000 diesel-powered vehicles—from high-performance fire trucks to lowly street sweepers—to … Researchers have been hard at work making algae-based biodiesel easier on the pocketbook. Chemists at United Environment

It all sounds very good, though I’d rather see EV/PHEV, along with some biodiesel the future reality. Did the napkin calculation take into account the energy it takes to produce all new cars vs. keeping at least all the fuel efficient …

Where does lithium fit in? Yesterday, Panasonic confirmed its acquisition plans for Sanyo, despite anti-trust worries regarding hybrid cars . As Panasonic and Sanyo are the two top dogs in the NiMH world of battery production, monopolistic concerns have dogged this deal for months. However, to offset anti-trust issues, Panasonic is now going to pare back…

Ready for the plug-in revolution? A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how one utility executive claimed that 3 – 5 plug-ins in one neighborhood could “overwhelm” the grid . Well, that’s California. In other areas the situation is not so dire for plug-in hybrid vehicles . Mike Ligett, director of emerging technology for Progress…

Can the hybrid king make money? So far this year, the Toyota Prius accounts for 47.5 percent of all hybrid vehicle sales. The next closet competitor, the Toyota Camry hybrid , comes in at 8.3 percent. Still, is the Prius profitable, wonders a recent Investors Business Daily piece ? With strong sales and 2,092 patents, many analysts predicted that the third generation Prius would be very profitable. Of course, that …

Exporting Biodiesel Tax Breaks December 3, 2008 | Houston Chronicle Companies that produce biodiesel in the United States are getting a $1.00… Incentive to Trade in Old Cars June 10, 2009 | CNN Money … While today’s housing market is far from flourishing, the demand for eco-friendly … Americans Cutting Back on Energy Use January 28, 2009 | Yale University Many Americans are taking measures to become more energy-efficient, according to a. …