General Energy
Can You Hear Me Now?
The smart grid can usher in a whole new way of interacting with the electricity system. When storms knock down wires, smart sensors can detect and isolate the problem without us noticing. Or, if we’re feeling especially ambitious, we can program our electric vehicle to automatically charge when electricity prices are low. To do this, the smart grid requires a robust communications network.
Discovering “Green Gold” in Indianapolis
Indianapolis, like cities across the nation, faces the challenge of reducing resource use and saving taxpayer dollars. The retrofit of the Indianapolis City-County Building provided the spark for the mayor and city staff to begin the process of comprehensively addressing energy use across the entire Indianapolis municipal building portfolio.
NSC Member Profile: David Burns
David Burns and his wife Tania set about embracing a rich sustainable lifestyle defined by no energy bills and a reduced dependence on other resources in their award winning green home located on the Northern beaches of Sydney. The 2007 sustainable home, designed around a large native garden, helps cool the house without the need for HVAC.
Cutting Red Tape to Make Solar Faster, Cheaper and Easier to Install
For the past few years, the costs of solar photovoltaic panels and hardware have seen significant declines, and that’s expected to continue. Great news for fans of solar!
RMI Alumnus Drives Change (Using Advanced Vehicles)
This is the third in a series of blogs about RMI alumni. Many Rocky Mountain Institute interns come here through their love and concern for the environment. David Anderson isn’t your typical greenie, though. He’s more engineer than environmentalist and was attracted to RMI because of his interest in energy, which stems from his love of racing cars.