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Networking the Smart Grid

“In many ways we see this scenario as analogous to the birth of the Internet”.  That is a quote from Cisco’s website where they are discussing their recent venture into smart grid architecture. Cisco is better known as a manufacturer of network equipment and seller of a variety of network-related software products. [...]

Human Power: A look at kinetic chargers

When we talk about alternate methods of getting energy, let us not fail to consider kinetic energy chargers.  A popular use of these is in hybrid vehicles where braking charges the electric battery.  The more popular term for this is “regenerative braking” and it is great example of how kinetic energy (the energy of motion) [...]

2010: The Year of the Electric Car?

A famous Muppet once said, “It’s not easy being green”.  Being environmentally friendly is so popular right now that companies are jumping at the chance to gain market share with their amazing “green” products, but don’t take the marketing hype at face value.  It takes more than buying a green product to be environmentally conscious.  [...]

Smart Grids: Where are we now?

Have you heard about smart grids? If you’ve been paying attention to the energy policy initiatives from President Obama, you might have noticed that these policies favor technology solutions like this one. The term smart grid generally means an electricity grid that’s been enhanced with digital technology to provide manageable, reliable service, supplied [...]

Shopping for a Green Computer

We all want to make the world a better place.  For many of us, the most effective way is to put our money where our mouths are.  So with that in mind, let’s tackle one item that we can all relate to.  Home computing.  The home PC (or mac) is something that we can’t live [...]