Energy Efficient Air Conditioning

Breakthrough:An energy-efficient room air conditioning system that uses water vapor as the refrigerant.


Inventor:
John Barrie and Dr Norbert Muller, United States

The Story:
Dr. Norbert Muller, Michigan State University Mechanical Engineering Professor, and John Barrie of John Barrie Associates Architects were awarded a cool $30,000 prize for answering an open innovation challenge to design a new era of room air conditioners with a significantly reduced carbon footprint.

The challenge was called the Boston Innovation Prize and was set by the Barr Foundation, a private foundation that aims to improve the quality of life of people in the Boston area, and the Cambridge Energy Alliance, an organization that aims to reduce the carbon footprint of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was submitted to the global open innovation marketplace via the InnoCentive website. The nature of the task in hand was this: “to radically improve efficiencies in space cooling and dehumidification” and to “identify breakthrough technologies and/or designs which will provide cooling and dehumidification with dramatically higher energy efficiency than current room or window air conditioning units, while maintaining affordability.”

Impressive Solution……




http://sustainabledesignupdate.com/2009/12/energy-efficient-air-conditioning/

Innovative Technology For Low Income

WITH 1.6 BILLION PEOPLE LIVING OFF THE GRID, the financial and environmental costs pile up quickly. Residents of the world’s poorest nations sometimes spend a third of their income on kerosene, a fuel that poisons lungs and poses a fire hazard; a kerosene lantern emits 550 pounds of carbon dioxide every year. Battery-powered lights are an option, but could result in mountains of tiny cylinders of toxic waste. Inexpensive devices that harness the sun and wind can supply small amounts of power, come from local materials, and create local jobs. The developing world’s population is expected to grow by 2.5 billion over the next 40 years, so these innovative energy savers can’t come soon enough.




Source: http://sustainabledesignupdate.com/

Go Green: Green Roofs????

Green roofs have many advantages. First among them is they replace green space taken up by cities. Some buildings now have more square feet of green space than the site did before construction!

Housing Development Board, Singapore

Rooftop Garden at the Housing Development Board Building near the Commonwealth MRT, Singapore.

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

This is the roof of the five-story School of Art, Design & Media at Nanyang Technological University, in Singapore. The roof insulates the building, cools the surrounding air and harvests rainwater for landscape irrigation.

Waldspirale, Germany

Called the Waldspirale (wooded spiral), it is a residential building complex in Darmstadt, Germany. The building contains 105 apartments, a parking garage, a café and a bar. The garden is planted with grass, shrubs, flowers and trees.

St. Luke's International Hospital, Japan

Acros Fukuoka Building, Japan

This Building has two very distinct sides. From one end and it looks like a regular office building with glass walls. On the other side, however, is a massive terraced roof that merges with a park. The garden terraces, which reach up to about 60 meters above the ground, contain some 35,000 plants representing 76 species.


Source: http://sustainabledesignupdate.com/

Edible School Yard

• The Edible Schoolyard in NewYork and Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Foundation
• Aims to educate school children about food:

1. where it comes from
2. what real fresh foods taste like.

• The Edible Schoolyard is designed to:

1. produce energy
2. collect rainwater
3. process compost
4. recycle.

• The school features:
  

1. a kitchen classroom
   
2. a greenhouse (where children learn about ecology, learn to take care of plants and to become stewards of their environment)

Source: http://sustainabledesignupdate.com/

Saving energy by using the solar panel

• Solar Panels do not contribute to global warming
• It does not contaminate the air by releasing carbon dioxide or other pollutants.
  
• The fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gases that are being used for our electricity emit substances that are dangerous for the environment
• It also brings danger to our health because the emissions are toxic.
  
• Fossil fuel electricity generation is responsible for 36% of the country's emissions of carbon dioxide and the single largest contributor to global warming.
  
• Solar Panels are the most cleanest source of alternative Energy.
  
• There is absolutely zero pollution to the environment

Source: http://blog.poolcenter.com/

Be Part of The Solution

One of the simplest thing that we can do to help is 'Be Part of The Solution NOT Part of The Pollution'...

Use your own plastic containerin order to preserve the nature

Eco-friendly biodegradable containers

• 

• Reduce waste pollution
• Environmental friendly
  
• Made from 100% natural oil palm fibre using the latest technology
• Biodegradable
• Non toxic
• Applicable for various type of foods
• Disposable
• Non waxed coated
• Micro-waveable

Stop using Polystyrene for the sake of our Mother Nature.

Pepquino - Mini melon

In a world where small is king, perhaps it was only a matter of time.

Prices start at £10 per 250g box, which contains around 50 melons.

• 
  
  It has distinctive appearance and slightly sour taste.
• 
  
  It is highly versatile and can be used in a variety of ways which is from salads to dessert.
• 
  
  Measuring about an inch from tip-to-tip, it is about 20 times smaller than its traditional cousin, but with an almost identical skin colouring.
• 
  
  It is not part of some vile Frankenstein Food experiment, but is 100% natural.

Source: http://www.fun-on.com/health_pepquino_micro_melon.php

Blue potato

Forget the greens, Irish parents are urging their children to eat their blues.

• The potatoes that are deep indigo blue and makes colourful mash and chips.
• It is aim to be appealing to children - which is by selling them something with a little novelty interest.
• The blue colour comes from the presence of anthocyanin, which is an antioxidant that bring to health benefits.  

Source: http://www.fun-on.com/health_blue_potato.php

Nissan Pivo 2

The most important features of the Nissan Pivo 2 concept car are: a robotic agent to share every trip, a 360 degree turning cabin and 90 degrees turning wheels.

Source: http://jalopnik.com/307465/tokyo-auto-show-preview-nissan-pivo-2-concept-car-now-with-video