The supply and use of climate-warming fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) rose slightly across the European Union and United Kingdom in 2020, according to the latest annual update on the EU’s progress of phasing down the use of F-gases published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) this week. EU remains on track to phase-down use … Continue reading New EEA report on EU’s progress of phasing down the use of F-gases
Category: appliances
Circular economy: no silver bullet but the benefits could be significant
Tim Schauenberg writes on the Deutsche Welle website about the issues relating to moving to a circular economy. What are your views? Circular economy: Could rethinking design transform the world? Some argue that switching to a "circular economy" is crucial when it comes to climate protection and sustainability. But what would it entail? And … Continue reading Circular economy: no silver bullet but the benefits could be significant
The future of air conditioning in a world marked by rising temperatures has come sharply into focus
A new study published on Wednesday in Nature provides valuable insights on the world's energy use as our weather gets more extreme. Molly Taft discusses the study in an article on the Gizmodo website. Rising Temperatures Will Change Air Conditioning Use—But Not How You Might Expect After a summer of deadly heat, the future … Continue reading The future of air conditioning in a world marked by rising temperatures has come sharply into focus
UK manufacturers legally required to make spare parts available for all electrical products
Right to repair rules will extend lifespan of products, the UK government says. Products such as washing machines, TVs and fridges should become easier to repair and cheaper to run under new rules coming into force. Lois Mackenzie discusses latest developments in an article on The Manufacturer website. New right to repair rules for … Continue reading UK manufacturers legally required to make spare parts available for all electrical products
It’s time for another generation of cooling equipment that is much gentler on the climate system
Scott Denning, Professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University writes on The Conversation website about efforts in the US to eliminate hydrofluorocarbons used as coolants in refrigerators, air conditioners and heat pumps. How cleaning up coolants can cool the climate – why HFCs are getting phased out from refrigerators and air conditioners The U.S. … Continue reading It’s time for another generation of cooling equipment that is much gentler on the climate system
Tackling “planned obsolescence” of electric goods
Britain is considering how it can tackle the number of products that end up in landfill. Ministers are also looking at laws to force manufacturers to make spare parts available for at least seven years and encourage repairs rather than replacement of broken products. Andrew Ellson discusses latest developments in an article on The Times … Continue reading Tackling “planned obsolescence” of electric goods
Europe’s energy transition: coalition calls for avoiding hydrogen for heating homes
Frédéric Simon writes on the EURACTIV website about efforts by a coalition of business and civil society groups to prioritise renewables and energy efficiency and not hydrogen when addressing the buildings sector. Avoid hydrogen for heating homes, urges energy efficiency coalition A coalition of 33 business and civil society groups have urged the European … Continue reading Europe’s energy transition: coalition calls for avoiding hydrogen for heating homes
Our laptops and smart phones have a terrible ecological footprint
Charli Shield discusses the environmental impact of our electronic equipment in an article on the Deutsche Welle website. Currently only 17.4 % of our electronic equipment is formally collected and recycled. Any good suggestions how we change this? The invisible waste behind our laptops and smartphones We tend to focus on household garbage as … Continue reading Our laptops and smart phones have a terrible ecological footprint
Paying for a service to accelerate deployment of energy-efficient technologies
Although energy-efficient technologies are available and their economic benefits are clear, there are several barriers that prevent these from being deployed, including high up-front costs, perception of greater performance risk, and other investment priorities. Dimitris Karamitsos writes on the weforum website about a way to overcome those barriers through servitisation. What is servitisation, and … Continue reading Paying for a service to accelerate deployment of energy-efficient technologies
A new type of air conditioning that uses much less energy
Chilled panels use less energy than conventional A/C and work in open spaces. The new technology is described in a news item on the University of British Columbia website. This ‘Cold Tube’ can beat the summer heat without relying on air conditioning Many people beat the summer heat by cranking the air conditioning. However, air … Continue reading A new type of air conditioning that uses much less energy
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 