Innovative News

5April2011

Green Commercial Kitchen Certification

Posted by Cecilia under: Economy; Energy.

Katie at Food Service Warehouse alerted us to a new program they are offering to certify restaurants as having a Green Kitchen.

Their program covers five key areas:

•Energy Conservation
Using  ENERGY STAR® qualified equipment and learning how to save even more money by operating machines and appliances only when needed.

•Water Conservation
Implementing Energy-efficient dishwashers and low-flow pre-rinse sprayers are two examples of reducing water usage.

•Waste Reduction
Learning to reduce the amount of waste by composting food scraps, recycling whenever possible and investing in reusable products.

•Green Cleaning
Using green cleaning supplies will reduce the harmful chemicals that enter our air and water.

•Education
“Teaching the teacher”. Learn how to thoroughly train your staff and set positive examples of environmental stewardship.

While any restaurant can take part in the effort and achieve Green Certification, Foodwarehouse customers can get an added benefit of their rewards program, which includes:

•Energy Conservation - One year extended warranty on all equipment
•Water Conservation - Parts at wholesale for the life of the equipment.
•Waste Reduction - 10% permanent discount on eco-friendly disposables.
•Green Cleaning - 10% permanent discount on eco-friendly cleaning supplies.
•Education - Help marketing your organization as a Green Leader.

See Food Service Warehouse for more information and details of the program.

3March2011

A Day of Glass

Posted by Cecilia under: Energy; Home; Transportation.

Corning has produced a video showing the fictional day-in-the-life of a typical family at some point in our future.  The video predicts an ominpresent glass screen technology that is with us from the time we wake up until the time we go to bed.  Techno nirvana or techno nightmare?  Watch the video and decide for yourself.

10October2010

Self-organizing traffic lights save fuel

Posted by Cecilia under: Energy; Environment; Transportation.

A new patent may revolutionarize traffic control. It promises to save fuel, reduce travel times and emissions.  this truly “green” innovative idea will have drivers waiting less and help us preserve our environment. How does it work/

As Stefan Lämmer at the Institute of Transport & Economics of TU Dresden, Germany and Dirk Helbing of ETH Zurich, Switzerland have recently shown, we could reduce traffic congestion markedly by re-thinking the way we try to control how traffic flows.According to these researchers less orderly patterns of traffic lights could be far more efficient, reducing travel times for all, and making traffic jams far less frequent. they wondered if traffic lights might devise better solutions on their own, if given some simple traffic-responsive operating rules and left to organize their own on-off schedules.

They gave each set of lights sensors that feed information about the traffic conditions at a given moment into a computer chip, which then calculates the flow of vehicles expected in the near future. It also works out how long the lights should stay green in order to clear the road and thereby relieve the pressure. In this way, each set of lights can estimate for itself how best to adapt to the conditions expected at the next moment.

Computer simulations demonstrate that lights operating this way would achieve a significant reduction in overall travel times and keep no one waiting at a light too long even when the lights are going on and off in a seemingly chaotic way.

We consider this idea as really innovative and creative. We’ll keep an eye on its further development.

4October2010

500,000 roofs delivering power

Posted by Cecilia under: Economy; Energy.

The potential is gigantic: More than 500,000 roofs of Berlin, Germany could deliver approx. 3.2 million megawatt hour power per year if all suitable roof surfaces were strictly equipped with solar modules. The power generated from solar energy could cover theoretically about 77% of the private power consumption in Berlin.

These surprising data is delivered by the Berlin Digital Environmental Atlas, a presentation of work from the entire urban development and environmental administration in Berlin.

Currently there are only about 8,000 solar panel installations on the roofs of Berlin. Economic senator Harald Wolf explains: “The use of solar energy is worthwhile for everybody. The installation of solar panels can help house owners to supply themselves with energy regardless of the energy prices. It creates as well additional mandates for research, economy and the whole solar industry of Berlin.”

Berlin’s example highlights the huge potential for renewable energy in big cities.

1October2010

A wind turbine’s inner life

Posted by Cecilia under: Energy.

We drive by so many giant wind turbines watching their moves in the wind. Did you ever wonder how such a wind turbine looks assembled? On the website of Wind Power Siemens I found a great animated description of all important parts of a wind turbine such as

Blades: New aerodynamic profile helps with redistribution of loads. Flat back airfoil opens up the trailing edge of the blade giving increased lift.

Generator: Permanent magnet outer rotor, form winding and totally enclosed.

Nacelle: Simple bedplate structure, strongly reduced complexity with 50% less parts. Direct internal access to hub and totally enclosed.

Cooling systems: Top-mounted passive cooling radiators. Two-stage cooling as function of power.

Today, the increasing energy demand and the need for clean power generation leads everyone’s mind to the concept of renewable energy sources. With highly efficient, solid and reliable wind turbine Siemens Wind Power offers a solution to meet energy needs and environmental awareness.

16September2010

Prototype lunar greenhouse

Posted by Cecilia under: Economy; Energy; Environment.

Researchers at the University of Arizona Controlled Environment Agriculture Center, known as CEAC, have built a prototype lunar greenhouse demonstrating that plants from Earth could be grown hydroponically (without soil) on the moon or Mars.

The prototype represents the last 18 feet of one of several tubular structures that would be part of a proposed lunar base. The tubes would be buried beneath the moon’s surface to protect the plants and astronauts from deadly solar flares, micrometeorites and cosmic rays. The membrane-covered module can be collapsed to a 4-foot-wide disk for interplanetary travel. It contains water-cooled sodium vapor lamps and long envelopes that would be loaded with seeds, ready to sprout hydroponically. It includes sensors that gather data, algorithms to analyze that data and a control system to optimize performance. The researchers also trying to devise a remote decision-support system that would allow an operator on Earth to intervene.

But where is the CO2 and water coming from? The scientific answer is: Carbon dioxide is fed into the prototype greenhouse from pressurized tanks, but astronauts would provide CO2 at the lunar base just by breathing. Similarly, water for the plants would be extracted from astronaut urine, and the water-cooled electric lights might be replaced by fiber optic cable – essentially light pipes – which would channel sunlight from the surface to the plants underground.

“We turned the greenhouse on about eight months ago to see how it would operate and that test run will be completed on Sept. 30,” the researchers said.

The UA researchers are funded by NASA and collaborating with two Italian firms on this project: Thales Alenia Space, a company that builds hardware for the International Space Station, and Aero Sekur, which builds inflatable structures.

The research also could lead to plant colonization in another traditionally hostile environment – large urban centers. This is really an exciting research which we will observe in its development.

8September2010

News from an organic coffee farm

Posted by Cecilia under: Economy; Environment.

Proponents of organic farming often speak of nature’s balance in ways that sound almost spiritual provoking criticism that their views are unscientific. At the other end are those who see farms as battlefields where insect pests and plant diseases must be combatted with the technology of modern agriculture such as pesticides and fungicides.

Which position is more accurate?

A 10-year study of an organic coffee farm in Mexico suggests that keeping nature’s balance and harmony is more effective. Ecologists John Vandermeer and Ivette Perfecto of the University of Michigan and Stacy Philpott of the University of Toledo have uncovered a web of intricate interactions that buffers the farm against extreme outbreaks of pests and diseases.

The study shows that the collaboration of the Azteca ants (Azteca instabilis) with the lady beetles (Azya orbigera) protects the coffee plants of different coffee pests. As the research team continues to discover more species that are part of the web and more complex direct and indirect interactions among all the members, it’s increasingly clear that the “naïve” view of nature working in harmony closely matches the scientific facts.

“Our view is that interaction webs of this sort will prove common in agro-ecosystems in general,” said Perfecto, professor of ecology and natural resources.

1September2010

Extracting energy from winds at altitude

Posted by Cecilia under: Energy.

The Macani Power Inc. company in Alameda, CA is developing Airborne Wind Turbines (AWT) to extract energy from powerful, consistent winds at altitude. Makani AWTs will produce energy at an unsubsidized real cost competitive with coal-fired power plants, the current benchmark of the lowest cost source of power.The Macani wing and a conventional wind turbine operate on the same aerodynamic principles.

The Macani wing is transformed into a kite by tethering it to the ground. The aerodynamics remain the same but the wing can harness the energy in the wind by pulling against the tether. The onboard avionics computer navigates the wing in a circular path that mimics the tip of a wind turbine blade.

The advantage of the Macani wing lies in the effectivity. The tip of a wind turbine is the most effective part. In some cases the last 25% of the blade is responsible for 75% of the energy generated. The Macani wing captures all of the benefit of the blade tip using a fraction of the material. At a wingspan comparable in length to one wind turbine blade, the Macani wing can move higher in the sky and access 10x as much energy.

Energy is extracted from the Macani wing with small rotors driving high-speed generators. The electricity is transmitted to the ground via conductors in the tether. There it is converted to grid-quality power and connected to the grid.

On the website of Macani Power you can see the Macani wing in motion with all technical details. It is an interesting and innovative new idea around wind energy.

20August2010

Backpack water filter system

Posted by Cecilia under: Economy; Environment; Home.

Researchers of the University of Kassel, (website unfortunately only in German) Germany presented recently a very innovative water filter system of the size of a backpack. This water filter system is based on nano technology meaning that the membranes filtering the water are of nano size keeping out bacteries and other harmful particles.

In areas like Pakistan where the floods leave the people without drinkable water in villages which aren’t reachable this kind of water filter system can help. It can be used permanently filtering about 1,200 liters (317 gallons) per day. It weighs only 20 kilograms (44 pounds).

A very interesting new invention which hopefully can soon be available on the market.

19August2010

Ultrahigh-Power Energy Storage

Posted by Cecilia under: Energy.

Researchers from the U.S. and France report the development of a mirco-supercapacitor with remarkable properties.

Supercapacitors bridge the gap between batteries, which offer high energy densities but are slow, and “conventional” electrolytic capacitors, which are fast but have low energy densities.

The newly developed devices offer four times higher energy than batteries and three times faster than conventional supercapacitors which are used in backup power supplies, wind power generators and other machinery. These new devices are called “micro-supercapacitors” because they are only a few micrometers (0.000001 meters) thick.

This new device might be the goal on the research for a more capable battery for alternative energy devices.