Energy Efficient

Aptera's "never charge" solar EV gives you up to 45 miles of range a day without plugging in, and can be fitted with batteries allowing up to 1,000 miles between plug-ins on long trips

Automotive

Aptera opens orders on 1,000-mile solar EV that never needs charging

With three square meters of solar panel on the roof, and a body so ludicrously efficient that it can squeeze up to four times as much range out of a kilowatt-hour as other EVs, the new Aptera becomes the first EV you can drive daily and never charge.

Spanish auto maker SEAT and water management company Aquila are teaming up to develop treatment plants that can create sustainable biofuels from wastewater

Energy

Cars could soon be running on biofuels derived from wastewater

Aqualia and SEAT are teaming up to develop a sustainable fuel from wastewater. The project, known as Life Metha-morphosis, is aimed at creating a biofuel from treated organic waste, which can then be used to power CNG cars, whose CO2 emissions would be cut by up to 80 percent.

A ceramic sample created using the cold sintering process

Materials

Nature-inspired process takes the heat off of ceramics production

Ordinarily, when ceramic items are manufactured, the raw material has to be fired in a kiln at temperatures exceeding 1,000 ºC (1,832 ºF). Now, however, scientists have succeeded in doing away with the kiln, replacing it with a much more energy-efficient room-temperature technique.

While it's no Passive House, Flexhouse does feature some energy-efficient design

Architecture

Luxury glass home is tied with a ribbon

Evolution Design recently completed work on a unique glass home dubbed Flexhouse. It boasts a stunning design, energy-efficiency, and great views. All it really lacks is privacy – this is clearly a place both to see and be seen.

"The stacked beams become library, bookshelves, storage and resting and reading corners," says Studio Farris Architects

Architecture

Barn turned into attractive office with Jenga-like mezzanine

Belgium-based firm Studio Farris Architects offers a nice example of a barn conversion done right with this recently-completed project in West Flanders. The firm turned a dilapidated farm building into an attractive office space with a Jenga-like mezzanine made from stacked timber beams.

Architecture

Spanish cave house resembles a scaled dragon looking out to sea

House on the Cliff is a cave house like no other. The recently-completed Spanish home features a zinc tiled roof that lends the appearance of a dragon looking out to sea.

Pond House features a total floorspace of 1,250 sq ft (116 sq m), spread over three floors

Architecture

Luxurious and energy-efficient Pond House shoots for net zero

The recently-completed Pond House at Ten Oaks Farm is located on a large rural plot in Southeast Louisiana, USA. Created by Louisianan firm Holly & Smith Architects, the stunning home boasts an enviable blend of luxury and energy-efficient design in a bid to reach net zero energy consumption.

Building design of a floating house that provides its own heat and water

Architecture

Self-sufficient floating home to create its own water and energy

Two Fraunhofer Institutes and their partners are working on a self-sufficient floating home that creates its own water, electricity, and heat without looking like a works barge.

The overall goal of the Nelson Homero ESPE Prototype II is to be dismantled and transported to a number of different locations for energy efficiency testing in diverse weather conditions and climates

Tiny Houses

Tiny green-roofed home can be packed up and moved on with minimal ecological footprint

Ecuadorian architects Luis Velasco Roldan and Ángel Hevia Antuña have joined forces to develop a tiny green roofed home which boasts a minimal ecological footprint.

A jellyfish used in the propulsion experiments

Biology

Secret to jellyfish propulsion could be applied to human tech

Researchers at the University of South Florida believe they have found the answer to how jellyfish and eels propel themselves so efficiently. Rather pushing against the water, the animals actually suck water toward them.

Engineers at UC San Diego have created a device that will allow ultra-low-power wireless connectivity with monitors and wearables using the human body as the communication path

Science

Ultra low-power wireless communication through the human body using magnetic fields

Engineers have come up with a different type of wireless communication that sends ultra low-power magnetic fields through the human body. This makes it extraordinarily more energy efficient and secure from prying eyes than comparable wireless communication technologies.

Image of windows treated with a nanocrystal material that can selectively block light and/or heat to improve energy efficiency

Around The Home

New "smart window" material selectively blocks light and/or heat

Researchers at the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin has developed a "smart window" technology that allows the passage of visible light while blocking heat, or vice versa.