We can’t all install a wind turbine at the bottom of the garden, yet simply changing when we use electricity can make our power consumption greener.
Some years ago, making a science programme for RTE radio, I was let into the inner sanctum where skilled engineers control the Ireland’s electrcity supply to meet the constant rise [...]
Archive for the ‘electricity’ Category
Earth hour 2009, the LHC and greening your electricity
Posted in Carbon, Sustainable living, electricity on March 10, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Who do you buy your electricity from?
Posted in Carbon, electricity on October 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Veteran environment journalist Fred Pearce has started a new Green Wash column at The Guardian.
His opening salvo examines the question of green electricity supply, and green energy tariffs — the scheme that lets British energy customers pay a premium for green energy. But, as Pearce reveals, there is no guarantee that the [...]
Einstein’s fridge and the Aga cooker
Posted in electricity on September 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I hadn’t known that Einstein had invented a novel type of fridge in 1930, together with Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard. I was even more intrigued to read that engineers at Oxford are reviving their elegant design, because it has no moving parts and is ideal to run on solar power.
The physics fridge uses ammonia, [...]
What’s green, and earning money?
Posted in Carbon, Sustainable living, Tourism, electricity on September 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Expect to hear more about the Danish island of Samsø which, thanks to a massive community effort over the past decade, is now self-sufficient in renewable energy.
The 4,000 inhabitants spent €54 million (raised in local taxes and investment), to install nearly a dozen wind turbines on land, and the same again offshore, plus banks of [...]
Irish firm makes CleanTech top 100
Posted in electricity on September 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
An interesting list of the ‘companies of the future’ has just been published by the Guardian and Library House. It spotlights 100 private firms around the world working to develop new clean, renewable and sustainable technologies.Interesting to see Irish firm OpenHydro tipped among the 100 hottest to watch.
The Dublin company, one of only a [...]
Misleading energy ratings
Posted in Shopping, Sustainable living, electricity on June 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Buy A-rated electrical appliances, we are told, because they are more energy-efficient.
Not so, says Brendan Boardman of the UK’s Environmental Change Institute, writing in the latest edition of Chemistry & Industry magazine. It seems that it is easier for larger devices to achieve an A-rating, even though they consume more electricity on average than [...]
Electricity use and prices soars
Posted in Sustainable living, electricity on June 18, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Bad news but also some good news in yesterday’s report from Sustainable Energy Ireland on our soaring electricity use, and the ESB’s application for a 30% increase in the price of electricity.
First the bad news. There are nearly 1.5 million households in Ireland now (up 43% since 1990); our homes are larger on [...]
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