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

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...

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 ...

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 Courant electric sourced from your r...

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 ...

One of the biggest drawbacks to renewable energies like wind and solar, is that it is unpredictable. This presents a challenge to grid operators, as they struggle to meet demand while compensating for calm winds or clouds. One method of balancing supply and demand that is garnering some attention lately, is pumped stor...

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 make the switch to an Electric Vehicle - & which is the best EV? Over decades, and even more so over the last few years, the purchase prices of EV's cont...

What is the best wall system for a home?  We're frequently asked which is the perfect wall system for high-performance LEED, Passive House or Zero Energy Homes, Well, a perfect Answer to that Is, first Ask the Right Questions! - After all, what is the best way to get from one place to another?  You have to choose betwe...

Updated: Aquion as a saltwater battery is no longer available in North America having moved to China after being bought out. But we've heard about a Dutch company who are starting to commercialize something similar - subscribe to the EcoHome newsletter here and be the first to find out when salt water batteries are ava...

  This article was inspired by a podcast I heard at Positive Energy, where I have yet to hear a podcast that I didn't want to listen to a second time, so check them out if you're like me and you think listening to building science  makes mundane tasks like folding laundry a joy. This particular episode was about phase ...

Any of us who've owned gas powered vehicles over the years know how convenient it is to be able to jump in, turn it on, make a quick assessment of the gas level and how far we're going and get on the road knowing that we have enough fuel for the journey, or that we can get what we need with a quick stop en-route. The t...