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Photoluminescent Nanofibers for High-Efficiency Solid-State Lighting
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Energy, Lighting, Briefs, GDM on Wednesday, May 18 2011
Polymer nanofibers are nanoscale materials whose properties can be adjusted to provide desirable light management performance for high efficiency solid-state lighting luminaires. The polymeric nanofibers at the core of this project have diameters on the order of 100 to 1000nm and a length of more than 1cm.
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Splitting Water to Create Renewable Energy: Simplified
Posted in Alternative Fuels, Green Design & Manufacturing, Renewable Energy, Energy, News, GDM on Monday, May 16 2011
An international team of scientists led by a team at Monash University of Melbourne, Australia has found that the key to the hydrogen economy could come from a very simple mineral - commonly seen as a black stain on rocks.
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Researchers Counteract Biofuel Toxicity in Microbes
Posted in Alternative Fuels, Green Design & Manufacturing, Biomass, Renewable Energy, Energy, Transportation, News, GDM on Thursday, May 12 2011
Advanced biofuels are highly touted as potential replacements for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels. Equally touted is the synthesis of these fuels through the use of microbes. However, many of the best candidate compounds for advanced biofuels are toxic to microbes, which presents a “production versus survival” conundrum.
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Cool and Green: Vehicle Thermal Management
Posted in Green Design & Manufacturing, Greenhouse Gases, Transportation, Features, GDM on Wednesday, May 11 2011
Air conditioning is a ‘must-have’ for most new cars. But the fluorocarbon refrigerant HFC-134a – the global standard – is one of the ozone-depleting greenhouse gases causing global warming. With these concerns, the European Union has passed regulations phasing out the compound beginning in 2011 and mandating the use of alternatives with less environmental impact.
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Improved, Low-Stress Economical Submerged Pipeline
Posted in Briefs, GDM on Tuesday, May 10 2011
A preliminary study has shown that the use of a high-strength composite fiber cloth material may greatly reduce fabrication and deployment costs of a subsea offshore pipeline. Above-water pipelines are often not feasible due to safety, cost, and environmental problems, and present, fixed-wall, submerged pipelines are often very expensive.
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Radiation-Resistant Hybrid Lotus Effect for Achieving Photoelectrocatalytic Self-Cleaning Anticontamination Coatings
Posted in Pollution, Briefs, GDM on Monday, May 02 2011
This innovation from Goddard Space Flight Center is an antibacterial, anti-contamination, and self-cleaning coating that uses nano-sized semiconductor semimetal oxides to neutralize biological pathogens and toxic chemicals, as well as to mitigate dust accumulation.
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Testing Smart Energy-Management Systems
Posted in Batteries, Electronics & Computers, Smart Grid, Green Design & Manufacturing, Energy Storage, Solar Power, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Energy, Transportation, News, GDM on Tuesday, April 19 2011
In the SmartEnergyLab, scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany are investigating how to network various electrical household appliances and operate them remotely. The researchers can analyze, assess, and develop almost any energy-management system for controlling power and heat.
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Green Engineering Grant
Posted in Smart Grid, Green Design & Manufacturing, Energy Storage, Energy Efficiency, Energy, Transportation, News, GDM on Monday, April 18 2011
Today, National Instruments announced its 2011 Green Engineering Grant program for the rapid design, prototyping, and commercialization of new green technology. The grant will provide access to up to $25,000 equivalent in NI LabVIEW graphical system design software tools and training to eligible startups.
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Multi-Core Voltage Regulator for Energy-Friendly Data Centers
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Energy, News, GDM on Friday, April 15 2011
Harvard graduate student Wonyoung Kim has developed and demonstrated a new device with the potential to reduce the power usage of modern processing chips. The advance could allow the creation of "smarter" smartphones, slimmer laptops, and more energy-friendly data centers.
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Self-Cooling Observed in Graphene Electronics
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Thermoelectrics, Energy, News, GDM on Wednesday, April 13 2011
With the first observation of thermoelectric effects at graphene contacts, University of Illinois researchers - led by mechanical science and engineering professor William King and electrical and computer engineering professor Eric Pop - found that graphene transistors have a nanoscale cooling effect that reduces their temperature.
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Replacement for Rare Material Used in Solar Cells
Posted in Solar Power, Renewable Energy, Energy, News, GDM on Monday, April 11 2011
Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands have developed a replacement for indium tin oxide (ITO), an important material used in displays for products such as TVs, telephones, and laptops, as well as in solar cells. Indium is a rare metal, and the available supplies are expected to be virtually exhausted within as little as ten years.
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Photovoltaic System ICs
Posted in Solar Power, Energy Efficiency, Energy, Products, GDM on Thursday, April 07 2011
National Semiconductor Corp. (Santa Clara, CA) introduced new SolarMagicTM integrated circuits (ICs) to reduce cost, improve reliability, and simplify design of photovoltaic (PV) systems. Ranging from a full-bridge gate driver to a micropower voltage regulator, the new ICs are well-suited for a variety of photovoltaic electronic applications, including those found in microinverters, power optimizers, charge controllers, and panel safety systems.
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Dual Ideal Diode
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Energy, Products, GDM on Wednesday, April 06 2011
Linear Technology Corporation (Milpitas, CA) introduces the LTC4227, a compact, dual ideal diode with Hot Swap™ controller that provides PowerPath™ and inrush current control for redundant supplies operating from 2.9V to 18V. The LTC4227 regulates the forward voltage drop across two external N-channel MOSFETs to ensure smooth current transfer between supplies in diode-OR applications.
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Grid-Tied Photovoltaic Power System
Posted in Solar Power, Renewable Energy, Energy, Briefs, GDM on Tuesday, April 05 2011
A grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) power system is connected directly to the utility distribution grid. Facility power can be obtained from the utility system as normal. The PV system is synchronized with the utility system to provide power for the facility, and excess power is provided to the utility.
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Power Factor Correction ICs
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Energy, Lighting, Products, GDM on Monday, April 04 2011
International Rectifier (El Segundo, CA) has introduced the IR115x family of µPFC™ power factor correction (PFC) ICs for a wide variety of AC-DC applications including lighting, LCD/PDP TV and game console Switch Mode Power Supplies (SMPS), fans, air conditioners, and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) ranging from 300 W to 8 kW.
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Spectroelectrochemical Instrument Measures TOC
Posted in Pollution, Environmental Monitoring, Green Design & Manufacturing, Greenhouse Gases, Briefs, GDM on Friday, April 01 2011
A spectroelectrochemical instrument has been developed for measuring the total organic carbon (TOC) content of an aqueous solution. Measurements of TOC are frequently performed in environmental, clinical, and industrial settings. Until now, techniques for performing such measurements have included, variously, the use of hazardous reagents, ultraviolet light, or ovens, to promote reactions in which the carbon contents are oxidized.
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Funding Opportunity for Applied R&D in Hydrogen Storage Technologies
Posted in Alternative Fuels, Green Design & Manufacturing, Energy Storage, Energy, Transportation, Government Initiatives, Government, News, GDM on Wednesday, March 30 2011
The DOE's Fuel Cell Technologies Program is offering up to $12 million to advance hydrogen storage technologies for use in fuel cell powered vehicles and other applications. The funding will be made available for applied research and development projects in two topic areas.
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From Aircraft Wings to Wind Turbine Blades: NASA Software Comes Back to Earth with Green Energy Applications
Posted in Wind Power, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Energy, Features, GDM on Tuesday, March 29 2011
You might think a wind turbine would have more in common with a plane’s propeller than an aircraft wing, but wind blades actually behave a lot more like wings than props. This fact has enabled a valuable spinoff from aerospace to wind energy involving the first software that NASA ever allowed to be commercialized as part of the Agency’s ongoing effort to transfer technology to U.S. business and industry.
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30V Power MOSFETs
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Energy, Products, GDM on Monday, March 28 2011
The NexFET™ power MOSFET from Texas Instruments (Dallas, TX) has been designed to minimize losses in power conversion applications. The MOSFET features ultralow Qg and Qgd, low thermal resistance, and Pb-free terminal plating. It is avalanche rated, RoHS-compliant, and halogen-free.
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High-Power Transformers
Posted in Batteries, Electronics & Computers, Energy Efficiency, Energy, Transportation, Products, GDM on Friday, March 25 2011
Payton Planar Magnetics (Deerfield Beach, FL) offers high-power transformers with 99%+ efficiencies. These types of transformers are used in battery charging stations for HV and can be connected in series to achieve 60-80KW. All Payton automotive magnetics are qualified to meet full automotive specs.
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Insight into Bacteria for Solar Energy
Posted in Solar Power, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Energy Harvesting, Energy, News, GDM on Thursday, March 24 2011
Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have used small-angle neutron scattering to analyze the structure of chlorosomes in green photosynthetic bacteria. Chlorosomes are efficient at collecting sunlight for conversion to energy, even in low-light and extreme environments.
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Advanced Diodes
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Energy, Products, GDM on Wednesday, March 23 2011
Power Integrations (San Jose, CA) announced the availability of the Qspeed family of advanced diodes. Qspeed diodes use a unique silicon-based process to combine an extremely low reverse recovery charge (QRR) with a very soft recovery waveform. Together, these features help designers optimize the efficiency and EMI performance of their power conversion circuits.
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Improving the Vanadium Redox Battery
Posted in Batteries, Electronics & Computers, Energy Storage, Solar Power, Wind Power, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Energy, News, GDM on Friday, March 18 2011
Though considered a promising large-scale energy storage device, the vanadium redox battery's use has been limited by its inability to work well in a wide range of temperatures and its high cost. New research indicates that modifying the battery's electrolyte solution significantly improves its performance - so much so that the upgraded battery could improve the electric grid's reliability and help connect more wind turbines and solar panels to the grid.
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View the March Issue of Solar & Wind Power
Posted in Solar Power, Wind Power, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Energy, News, GDM on Wednesday, March 16 2011
The latest issue of Solar & Wind Power is here. Inside the March issue are more feature articles, tech briefs, application stories, and technologies for license - all on the latest alternative energy solutions.
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Better Turbine Spacing for Large Wind Farms
Posted in Wind Power, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Energy, Videos, GDM on Wednesday, March 16 2011
Large wind farms are being built around the world, but operators are still searching for the most cost-effective and efficient way to arrange the massive turbines. To help steer wind farm owners in the right direction, Johns Hopkins University researchers devised a new formula through which the optimal spacing for a large array of turbines can be obtained.
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