Shipping container homes are catching on. When you step into a building with a low ceiling or one which is divided by many walls, it may feel small to you. This has led architects and even homeowners to pursue more “open” concepts which make buildings feel bigger. In these open concepts, walls are removed to…
Author Archives: Nicholas Brown
A new skylight design from the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) allows a reasonable amount of sunlight into buildings, but not too much like older designs do, and it adjusts the amount of light it allows in depending on the weather. A survey showed a high user satisfaction level of 90% with this skylight design compared to older designs.
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In the Arizona desert lies the world’s largest “net-zero energy” building. It is the Phoenix Regional Office of DPR Construction. It was given this certification by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI). Located on the corner of 44th and Van Buren, the energy efficiency transformation took 10 months to complete. It is the largest building in…
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Aug
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No, I’m not talking about letting sunlight into the room. These windows actually generate electricity! They are being installed in the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Saskatoon, Saskatechewan, and they are connected to the local electricity grid. Solar panels are usually connected to the local electricity grid to supply the grid with electricity using…
Bosch has decided to step up to the plate and construct an integrated solar power supply system called the BPT-S 5 Hybrid. Almost everything is integrated into it. The company integrated an inverter, Saft lithium-ion batteries, and an energy management system (charge controller) into a single unit which is certified and safety tested  for domestic installations….
Lithium-ion batteries are actually a good example of this. The smallest lithium-ion batteries on the market are the most expensive. Li-ion cellphone batteries, for example, tend to cost $3 per Wh (the equivalent of $3,000 per kWh), while on a large scale, lithium-ion batteries can cost as little as $400 per kWh.