How Sustainable is Stored Sunlight?
High-tech ProblemsEnergy storage is often ignored when scientists investigate the sustainability of PV systems.
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Water Johads: A Low-Tech Alternative to Mega-Dams in India
Low-tech SolutionsBefore the British arrived, people on the subcontinent used traditional low-cost, low-tech engineering to collect rainwater for thousands of years.
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How Sustainable is PV solar power?
High-tech ProblemsAlmost all solar PV panels are now produced in China, where the electric grid is about twice as carbon-intensive and about 50% less energy efficient than in Europe.
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Radiant & Conductive Heating Systems
Low-tech SolutionsRadiant and conductive heating systems make energy use independent of the size of a room or building.
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Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, not Places
Obsolete TechnologyMost modern heating systems are primarily based on the heating of air. This seems an obvious choice, but there are far worthier alternatives.
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The Revenge of the Circulating Fan
Low-tech SolutionsCooling people by increasing local airflow is at least ten times more energy efficient than refrigerating the air in a given space.
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If We Insulate Our Houses, Why Not Our Cooking Pots?
Low-tech SolutionsA fireless cooker doubles the efficiency of any type of cooking device because it shortens the time on the fire and limits heat transfer losses
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Well-Tended Fires Outperform Modern Cooking Stoves
High-tech ProblemsDespite technological advancements since the Industrial Revolution, cooking remains a spectacularly inefficient process.
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Modular Cargo Cycles
Low-tech SolutionsModular cargo cycles are cheap to build and easy to customize.
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How Sustainable is Digital Fabrication?
High-tech ProblemsAutomation is more energy-intensive than mechanisation.
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High Speed Trains are Killing the European Railway Network
High-tech ProblemsHigh speed rail is destroying the most valuable alternative to the airplane; the “low speed” rail network that has been in service for decades.