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Showing Tag: "energy" (Show all posts)

Dropping Costs in Renewable Energy spurs rapid shift to Clean Energy

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Saturday, April 8, 2017, In : Renewable Energy 

Welcome to the clean energy revolution – with or without Trump. A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), and Frankfurt School – UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance reveals plunging costs in renewable technology have generated a whole new world of power. Unsubsidized renewables in more countries are now the cheapest new form of energy.
Renewable energy detractors love to claim it’s too expensive, but th...

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6 Ways to add Passive Solar Features to Your Home

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Thursday, March 23, 2017, In : Energy Efficiency 

6 ways to add passive solar features to your home.

Looking for a way to reduce that electric bill, lower your carbon footprint, and show off to your neighbors? The good news is that you don’t have to build a brand new home in order to reap the benefits of sustainable building techniques. Here are 6 ways to passively solarize your current home so you can slash electricity costs, cut emissions, and impress your friends with science.
Thermal Mass
Have you noticed that your pool tiles stay hot eve...

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Parasitic wooden cubes slash Parisan building's energy consumption by 75%

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Sunday, March 5, 2017, In : Energy Efficiency 

Stéphane Malka has designed a clever way of optimizing the energy efficiency of older urban structures while working within the restrictions of Parisian building codes. Malka’s Plug-in City 75 design envisions attaching parasitic wooden cubes to the facade of a 1970s-era building, extending the living space and significantly reducing the building’s annual energy consumption by approximately 75 percent.
The innovative design is slated for a 1970s-era building in the French capital’s 16th...

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Science meets Architecture in a robotically woven, solar active structure.

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Thursday, March 2, 2017, In : Renewable Energy 
New York's MoMA PS1 will feature a shelter installation that uses robotically-knitted solar fabrics that absorb and release light. Winner of the art institution's Young Architects Program competition, the canopy from Jenny Sabin Studio is photo-luminescent by night and cooling by day, with a misting system that delivers a cooling spray when someone comes near.
The installation includes long fabric tubes that hang from the canopy stalactite style, and make up part of the site's multi-sensory e...

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Duke University researchers use light to convert carbon dioxide into Fuel.

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Wednesday, March 1, 2017, In : Sustainability 

What if the carbon dioxide building up in our atmosphere could be put to good use as fuel? For years chemists have chased a catalyst that could aid the reaction converting carbon dioxide to methane, a building block for many fuels – and now Duke University scientists have found just such a catalyst in tiny rhodium nanoparticles..

Duke University researchers converted carbon dioxide into methane with the help of rhodium nanoparticles, which harness ultraviolet light’s energy to catalyze car...
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New Silicon Nanoparticles could finally make Solar windows commercially viable.

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Monday, February 27, 2017, In : Renewable Energy 

The trend toward integrating solar into homes and buildings seems to be taking off. First Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled his rooftop solar shingles that are invisible when viewed from the street. Now, researchers at the University of Minnesota and University of Milano-Bicocca have developed technology that could usher in a future with photovoltaic windows harvesting renewable energy from the sun. The research, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Photonics, demonstrates that high-tech silico...

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Students build Solar Devices for Rural Hospital in Africa.

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Wednesday, January 25, 2017, In : Renewable Energy 

 A group of graduate students at Grand Valley State University recently created devices that provide solar power when electricity fails at a rural hospital in Malawi. They then made the 22-hour trip to southeastern Africa to deliver and install the devices, according to a press release.  
Embangweni Mission Hospital is in an area where electricity is often disconnected, and the results can be fatal.
Martha Sommers, an American physician currently working in Madagascar, frequently experienced th...

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Will these houses make you dizzy? Architects Build Rotating Homes

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Tuesday, January 24, 2017, In : Green Building 
Will these houses make you dizzy? Architects build rotating homes.  Imagine living in a house that follows the direction of the sun when it's hot. Or one that offers a different view out of your bedroom window every day of the week. For some bold homeowners this is becoming a reality, thanks to an innovative wave of architects who are re-imagining the concept of the house. Once something firmly routed to the ground, homes are now becoming moving entities that can rotate, change shape, and eve...
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NEXT Solar Window Coating Generates Free Electricity From Sunlight

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Monday, January 16, 2017, In : Renewable Energy 
NEXT Solar Window Coating Generates Free Electricity From Sunlight - they have developed a scalable solar window coating that allows commercial glass products to produce clean energy from the sun. The product pays for itself in a year and provides clean energy for up to 30 years.http://greenbuildingelements.com/2016/06/29/next-solar-window-coating-generates-free-electricity-sunlight/Close


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Green buildings make you work smarter and sleep sounder, study reveals

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Sunday, December 18, 2016, In : Green Building 
Improved light, ventilation and heat control can boost workers’ productivity by thousands of dollars a year and reduce instances of sick building syndrome

People working in green buildings think better in the office and sleep better when they get home, a new study has revealed.

The research indicates that better ventilation, lighting and heat control improves workers’ performance and could boost their productivity by thousands of dollars a year. It also suggests that more subjective aspects...


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Google says it will run entirely on renewable energy by next year

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Wednesday, December 14, 2016, In : Renewable Energy 
Google just announced that it will be fully powered by renewables before the end of 2017. The tech giant has been growing its solar and wind investments over the years, and is now making a final push to achieve 100 percent renewable energy through additional purchases. Google initially announced its 100-percent goal in 2012, and this week’s announcement confirms the company will hit the target next year. http://inhabitat.com/google-says-it-will-run-entirely-on-renewable-energy-by-next-year/

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The Importance of Insulation by Claire Cardwell

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Friday, December 2, 2016, In : Sustainability 

Heating and cooling accounts for up to 50-70 percent of the energy used in an average home. Installing Insulation in your house is the most practical and cost effective way of making your home more energy efficient keeping it warmer in winter and cooler in summer and can save up to 50% on your energy bill. In addition Insulation can also reduce condensation in your home and some types of insulation can make your home more soundproof. A well insulated house is very energy efficient and will ne...
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SolarWindow Window Coating – Versatile Solar Power Generation

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, In : Renewable Energy 
http://greenbuildingelements.com/2016/08/15/solarwindow-window-coating-solar-power-generation/

SolarWindow™ window coating generates electricity from light, both from the sun, and artificial light, as well. It is extremely versatile, able to be printed onto glass, plastic, or even paper, making it easy to install this wonder material in many places.



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1000 year old UK Cathedral now the oldest to go Solar

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Wednesday, November 2, 2016, In : Renewable Energy 
http://inhabitat.com/1000-year-old-uk-cathedral-is-now-likely-worlds-oldest-cathedral-to-go-solar/


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Green Power Installations beat Fossil Fuel for the First Time

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Tuesday, October 25, 2016, In : Renewable Energy 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-25/record-green-power-installations-beat-fossil-fuel-for-first-time

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Climate Change & Renewable Energy Myths - Greenpeace

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Saturday, August 13, 2016, In : Renewable Energy 
http://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/campaigns/Climate-change/renewable-energy-myths/

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European Wind Energy is now Cheaper than Nuclear Power

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Friday, August 12, 2016, In : Wind Energy 
http://inhabitat.com/european-wind-energy-is-now-cheaper-than-nuclear-power/

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6 Great Green Designs that put South Africa on the map.

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Monday, July 18, 2016, In : Green Building 


House Abo by Nico van der Meulen
http://inhabitat.com/6-great-green-designs-that-put-south-africa-on-the-map/

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Building an Energy Efficient Home

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, In : Green Building 
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/building-energy-efficient-home-marcus-pickett-claire-cardwell

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Top Tips for a Healthier Home

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, In : Green Building 
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-tips-healthier-home-claire-cardwell-claire-cardwell

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Energy Efficiency - How does it affect my new Build?

Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers on Tuesday, December 2, 2014, In : Energy Efficiency 

It is a reality that South Africa's coal reserves will probably run out by 2020.  The largest draw on the Electricity Grid is residential homes.  We are all used to turning off appliances that we are not using or lights in rooms that are uninhabited.  Most of us are now using low energy light bulbs and many of us are installing Solar Geysers and Heat Pumps. 

Fact 50% of all your hot water requirements in a new home must be generated from renewable Energy Sources. 

Fact :  Home Owners are be...


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