Energy Innovations Across The Globe – 01.08.2012
Energy solutions could change the way we live – from one city’s bold smart grid experiment, to radical home-building redesigns, and cutting-edge technology that could surround us in solar power no matter where we live. This week energyNOW! looks at energy innovations across the globe. The Pecan Street Project The smart grid conjures up images of controlling home energy use with iPhones and utilities communicating with customers in real time like never before. But across most of the country, the smart grid is more fantasy than reality – except in the Lone Star State. Correspondent Josh Zepps reports from Austin, Texas on the Pecan Street Project, a smart grid experiment that could help prevent blackouts and change the way we all use electricity. The Round House Consumers don’t need to wait for smart grid technology to go mainstream in order to save energy and reduce their electricity bills. Measures like adding insulation or using efficient appliances are well known, but what about changing the way we build our homes? Correspondent Lee Patrick Sullivan tours a factory constructing prefabricated round homes that can help lower heating and cooling bills while reducing construction costs. Solar Power From Nanotechnology The solar cell, our main technology for capturing solar energy and turning it into electricity, has been steadily getting cheaper and much more efficient. What it hasn’t been doing, however, is becoming more flexible or thinner. Correspondent Josh Zepps checks <b>…</b>
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