cell-charger / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

The idea behind the Epiphany onE Puck is simple: use a Stirling engine powered by heat disparities (a hot or cold drink, a candle, ice, etc.) to fully charge your cell phone. Invented in the early 1800s, Stirling engines are far from new. However, with new materials and modern electronics they are now being put to use ...

What is the difference between open-cell and closed-cell spray foam? Both open and closed cell spray foam are chemical-based insulation products that expands upon application when sprayed onto surfaces such as the sheathing between studs. The fundamental difference between open-cell and closed-cell spray foam lies in t...

Which is the best home EV charger? That depends... Here's a suprising fact for many new EV owners - the charger for a shiny new Electric Vehicle is actually inside it! The charger is not the box on the wall, but is the equipment installed inside the car that takes the AC Alternating Current electric sourced from your r...

Thermal drift in insulation: are insulation R Values accurate and why do they change? Thermal drift is the phenomenon where the initial, high R-value of certain foam insulation products decreases over time until it stabilizes at a lower, Long-Term Thermal Resistance (LTTR). For those that think in 'R-value per inch', w...

I apologize for missing that deletion. I have removed the heading for "Envelope-first approach" and ensure it is no longer in the code below. Integrating solar, storage, and heat pumps: a homeowner's & pro's guide Saving money on home energy consumption is a priority for everyone; I have yet to meet the person who ...

Enter the Scrooser. The Scrooser is a German engineered electric scooter / e-bike with a top speed of 24 km (15 mph) and a range of 35.5 km (22 miles). It works with an Impulse Drive that is literally kickstarted by it's rider as the engine engages when the scooter reaches speeds over 3 km per hour.  The Scrooser no...

We've seen portable charging devices for personal gadgets, we've seen vertical axis wind turbines and now we have seen a marriage of the two. That's right, appropriate technology enthusiasts, there is a portable wind turbine on the horizon and it's perfect for charging your electronic gizmos.  Skajaquoda is a research ...

Mitigating climate change at home, get on your bike! As we look for ways to mitigate climate change, improving home energy efficiency and decentralising power generation is something we can do to reduce our personal energy consumption and carbon footprint. Theoretically then moving towards home solar, wind power and ev...

As we transition away from fossil fuels towards cleaner energy, two of the more notable advances in the electrification of our lives and societies are electric vehicles and home batteries. The climate crisis seems to be in full-swing with disruptive weather events increasing in frequency and severity, making resilient ...

Buying an electric car (or EV) is on the increase For a lot of people though there's a nagging question in the back of everyone’s mind - When is the right time to buy an electric vehicle and which is the best EV? Over decades, and even more so over the last few years, the purchase prices of EV's continue to drop, gover...

2026 US green building tax incentives & grants: a homeowner's & pro's guide Government grants and tax incentives for energy efficiency home renovations and upgrades can change quickly. Here are the US green building grants are available in 2026. These programs are designed to offset the upfront costs of energy-...