them to change how they live and use energy.”
Energy Storage Tesla Motors does more than produce high-end electric cars and solar shingles. The company is also on the cutting edge of future energy storage. Tesla’s new, compact Powerwall 2 battery system, complete with inverter, can power an average two-bedroom home for 24 hours. Chiras says, “Utilities throughout
the nation are cracking down with special fees on solar-home owners that occasionally pull electricity from the grid. I think more people are going to opt to go off-grid or install a Tesla battery to provide nighttime power to preempt this. It’s easier to maintain than a standard lead-acid battery, and should last as long. When its useful life is over, the homeowner returns it to the company.” “Saltwater-based batteries for home-
owners are coming up,” observes Clay Sterling, assistant professor of electrical technology at Kankakee Community College, in Kankakee, Illinois. “The
It costs slightly more on a monthly mortgage to build a home that costs far less per month to operate.
~DAN CHIRAS
batteries from Aquion Energy are non- toxic, safe and recyclable.” Their Aspen series of aqueous hybrid ion batteries contain neither heavy metals nor toxic chemicals and are non-flammable and non-explosive, adding to their safety.
Home Plans Building green gets easier with green home plans. The prototype, super-in- sulated, 970-square-foot NewenHouse sustainable home in Viroqua, Wiscon- sin, is about 50 percent smaller and more than 80 percent more energy efficient than the average American home. The plans-and-services package for the Passive House-certified Newen- House home features double walls for
insulation and a super-efficient heat recovery ventilator. Four different home plans are available for houses under 1,000 square feet.
John D. Ivanko is co-author of ECOpre- neuring. Liam Kivirist captures the latest technology news on
TechSocket.net.
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HOME TECH UPDATE
NEST SMART THERMOSTAT: Google’s Nest Learning Ther- mostat replaces the old thermostat and immediately starts saving energy and money. Partnered with a smartphone, custom settings will lower the temperature at night, warm up the house upon waking and reduce heating or cooling swings when owners are away. On average, people save 10 to 12 per- cent on heating bills and 15 percent on cooling bills according to Energy Trust of Oregon reserach, with the device often paying for itself in less than two years.
BLUEAIR PURIFIER: Leveraging a mix of filters, ionizers and fans, the Blueair HEPASilent air purification system captures 99.97 percent of particles down to 0.1 micron. A range of sizes are available to suit different spaces.
HAIKU LIGHT: The Haiku Light fixture from Big Ass Solu- tions brightens when someone enters a room and turns off when it detects the absence of movement. The light-emit- ting diode (LED) fixture produces 50 percent more light than a typical 15-watt compact fluorescent light (CFL).
NATUFIA: The Natufia Kitchen Garden is a fully automated vertical garden that easily fits into a kitchen area. Natufia manages the non-GMO, certified organic seed germination, watering, nutrient needs, humidity control and light cycles, freeing the gardener to simply pick and savor year-round fresh produce. While pricey, it provides an option for urban- ites that both lack outside growing space and prioritize convenient healthy eating.
SMART ROBOT: This handy droid vacuums up dust mites, allergens, pet hair and dirt. iRobot’s Roomba 880 detects debris, maneuvers around most furniture and curtains, features a high-efficiency particulate air filter to suck up the small stuff, works on a variety of surfaces and automati- cally plugs itself in to recharge.
SELF-CLEANING TOILETS: The bowl of Toto’s MH wall-hung, high-efficiency toilet with powerful 3-D dual flushing is coated with a nanotechnology glaze that seals the porcelain with an ionized barrier; its non-porous surface repels visible and invisible waste. The company’s smart toilet model also cleans itself.
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