Energy Efficient

We've been following an automotive startup's journey to get its three-wheeled solar-electric vehicle on the road for more than 15 years, and now the latest teardrop-shaped Aptera prototype has made its public debut in San Diego.

Heating and cooling buildings is a major consumer of energy, especially older ones that weren’t built with modern energy efficiencies in mind. Now Fraunhofer engineers have developed a modular solar-powered facade that can heat or cool rooms.

As we increasingly move toward renewable energy sources like wind turbines, we're going to require the best means possible of relaying electricity from them to our cities. A new cable-insulating material may allow us to do so much more efficiently.

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.

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.

​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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.