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Highways As Windfarms?

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:26:36 +0000

The proposal is simple and logical. Use the displaced air (wind) of passing cars and trucks to generate electricity. While there are peaks and valleys in traffic volume its is no where near as drastic as that facing solar energy production – solar panels don’t work at night. The energy generated could be used to power local communities or the traffic lights along the highways. In my opinion this is a great out of the box thinking and could be used in other inventive ways, for example the wind generated by underground subways. Currently they use venting systems to expel the displaced air but to the best of my knowledge that air, and potential energy is not being used to generate electricity.

Thanks to Engadget for the report of this innovative idea.

Major breakthrough in LED Energy Efficiency

admin — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:26:01 +0000

LED Lighting Fixtures in North Carolina has announced a major breakthrough in LED lighting technology that they claim uses only 5.8 watts of power to produce the same amount of light as that of a comparable 60 watt light bulb.

If this claim is true it heralds a major advance in the technology which many feel has great promise as the next revolution in eco-friendly lighting. While CFC’s help a great deal in reducing our energy usage they also contain Mercury which is a toxic substance that is often released into the environment by careless consumers who don’t dispose of their used CFC light bulbs properly.

The Department of Energy has estimated that LEDs could reduce national energy consumption for lighting by 29% over the next decade and a half.