Scientists at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have developed a tool that uses the actual conditions of construction to determine the potential magnitude of the solar incidence – of an entire city, neighborhood, or a roof located. Scientists have taken the city of Gothenburg as a pilot project.

“The structures of the roof of a city can be more or less suitable for the installation of solar panels, depending on such factors as the amount of surface of a roof shaded by surrounding buildings (or vegetation), but also by the slope of the roof and the angle of incidence of sunlight. It is now possible for the first time to determine how many solar roofs in particular will receive during the year, “said Fredrik Lindberg, Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Gothenburg.

Scientists at the University of Gothenburg have been working with consultants WSP to develop a GIS system to calculate the real potential of solar energy roof. The system was named “SEES” – Solar Energy from Existing Structures [solar energy from the existing structures] – and will be distributed free of charge for companies and municipalities that request it.

The new tool is based on geographic information systems (GIS) that collect, store, analyze and display geographic data. This means that the tool models the roofs as they are in a trusted environment. The sun illuminates the model in the built environment in 3D and simulates the projection of the shadows of buildings, land and vegetation.

The effect of shadows can be calculated for each month or a full year, which means that parts of a roof may be unsuitable for collecting solar energy, although the roof appears to be both optimal in the direction and inclination. In this sense, it is possible to calculate the total solar radiation on each part of a roof structure in a given area calculated in kilowatt hours per square meter.

Thus, “SEES”, is able to provide a map of the most relevant, depending on the user’s needs for good, less good and bad implications solar year. Climate data (measured or calculated values) have a temporal resolution to the nearest hour.

“We used Göteborg as a city driver in the project, but the method can be implemented in all municipalities where data are available. Users can determine the relevance of a roof to install solar panels or heat through a wide range, “said Fredrik Lindberg.

The solar project was supported by the University of Gothenburg, in collaboration with the WSP Analys & Strategi. It was funded by the Solel, Research Foundation in Göteborg Energi, the administration of the planning of the city of Göteborg and the Västra Götaland Regional Council.

Mark Zuckerberg’s social network wants to help its users to control and save on the electricity bill. Therefore, they launch the application ‘Opower’ in collaboration with The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Opower company. With the application, users can compare the energy consumption of similar homes, using a national database, and compete against their friends in terms of use and energy efficiency.

Users will also be able to organize themselves into teams and compete against others. They may also share this information through the wall or ‘Timeline’. The key to this application is the ability to automatically import energy data in the application, but users can also enter data manually. So far, no date of the launch.

Other companies like Microsoft and Google also launched their own energy saving systems but have failed to succeed. Microsoft announced in July it was closing its energy management service, called Hohm, followed by a similar move by Google. Google said its own energy monitoring service, Google PowerMeter, would retire on September 16.

The company reports that this efficient bulb has a self-cooling system that maximizes LED light output using less. CalledSwitch100, the bulb was shown ​​in LIGHTFAIR 2011 lighting trade fair held in Philadelphia in March.

“So far no producing this type of bulb, comparable in quality to the incandescent light. The brightest bulb we could find on the shelves was equivalent to 60 W. Last month we announce an equivalent of 75 W and now present the equivalent of 100 W,” said Boris Lipkin, CEO of Lighting Switch.

Initially come out with a high price, like all LED bulbs. But they last 20 times. If we consider longer and saving electricity, which is capable of providing this bulb, things start to look different: spending becomes investment (which is a more appropriate term).

It is reported that “the key piece of this technology using less LED maximum brightness is in the cooling system that incorporates light bulb.” A system that utilizes principles of passive cooling (such as convection), to take all the heat outside.

Energy efficiency in lighting can be provided in several ways. The efficiency indicates how much light a bulb produces light per watt of electricity consumed. We call lumens per watt (lm / W). Another way to determine the energy efficiency of a bulb is to know the total wattage consumed (or consumed) during operation. The Switch100 has 1700 lumens and consumes 16 W.

The people who benefit from EDF First Rate Necessity receive 3 light bulbs in exchange for a used incandescent bulb. With the help of a coupon, they are invited by mail to visit their local town halls. On this occasion, they will receive energy saving tips, provided by trained counselors.

According to the City of Paris, ” it is nearly 100,000 light bulbs that will be distributed to 32,000 homes. In the end, ” This transaction will enable to gradually about 5 GWh / year energy saving nearly 500 tonnes of CO2 and each household will save about 15 euros per year.”

Remember that the end of 2012, Incandescent bulbs should be gradually replaced by low energy light bulbs.

Although these low energy light bulbs consume less energy and have a longer lifespan, they have to be purchased at a price between 3 and 7 times higher than incandescent bulbs. This last point for certain represents a blocking point.

When? bulbs are exchanged and advice on energy savings are given in each Borough Hall, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except on Thursdays until 19.30. For the first districts in the 9th included, the operation will run from Tuesday, May 4 to Wednesday, May 12th, and 10th districts in the 20th included (among their citizens a greater number of beneficiaries), Tuesday May 4 to Friday, May 21

If utilities were required to produce 20% and 25% of their energy from wind, solar and other renewable sources, between 191,000 and 274,000 jobs would be created, according to the study. The study also found that the U.S. would lose renewable energy jobs in the years ahead if such a renewable-energy standard would not be implemented.

The Navigant Consulting study confirms European success stories that show that governments can play an important role in speeding the transformation of the current economies based on polluting fossil fuels into sustainable renewable energy economies. Take the example of Germany. Germany is today the country with the most installed solar panels, whereas Germany is clearly not the country with the most sunshine. The success of the introduction of solar panels and other renewable energy instruments is a result of the German Renewable Energy Act.

The key point of this act is that all new renewable energies have absolute priority at a guaranteed price in the electric power market. Whatever renewable energy is produced must be taken by the grid and must be taken by the whole electric power service. The conventional energy companies have no possibility to block it.

Interestingly, the Germans did not set a minimum standard – as the Navigant Consulting study – is suggesting. They only dictated that whatever renewable energy would be produced, had to be bought by the utilities at an agreed price. This simple act has created a lot of new investment and jobs and has made Germany a leader in solar energy. The German approach has already inspired similar programs in Egypt, China, India, Brazil, Argentina and France.

The architect of this German success story was Hermann Scheer, member of the German parliament, a former minister in the German government and the president of Eurosolar, the European Association for Renewable Energy.

In a recent interview in Ode Magazine’s special Climate Change issue, Scheer argues that governments should also support the transformation to a clean energy economy through tax policies: “Renewables should be given tax exemptions. That would automatically change the investment decisions of energy producers and the behavior of consumers. It is a fact that conventional energy harms the climate and human health. Therefore it is ridiculous that these ‘poisoned’ energies are cheaper than clean energies. It must be exactly the contrary. Clean energies must be cheaper. And one instrument to accomplish this is to introduce tax exemptions and tax reductions for clean energies and increased taxes for conventional energies. This would provide incentives for producers and consumers to shift to renewable energies.”

The shift to renewable energy requires government intervention. That is not something that comes easily in the U.S. But as the German example shows, it is a healthy way to create jobs and a greener environment without wrongful distortion of the market mechanism. It is the way to go, not only for America but also for the whole world.

The EcoBulb (designed by Seokjae Rhee) does just that: shines where you would like it to, without using the entire bulb. Did we mention you control this function via a remote control? There are households that have many lightbulbs in each room (we’re one of them), and some argue that’s just wasteful.

The Ecobulb can be used to illuminate an entire room, or you can click that little remote control and use just a fraction of the bulb to focus on one portion of the room. This will allow for the bulb to outlast any other LED bulb on the market and lower your energy bills.