Energy-saving

When it comes to keeping buildings energy efficient, windows certainly pose a challenge. It was with this quandary in mind that a British scientist has created a new type of window – one that's filled with water.

A couple of years ago we heard about the MOlecular Solar Thermal (MOST) system, in which solar energy is stored in a liquid medium, then later released as heat. Now, the technology has been applied to a clear film that could be applied to the inside of windows in energy-efficient buildings.

​Although wind turbines may seem like the epitome of "green" energy, scientists from Vanderbilt University are working on making them even greener. They're looking at a resin that could save energy when turbine blades are being created, and that might make those blades more recyclable.

Idling engines waste fuel, but some vehicles need secondary systems powered constantly and are unable to stop their engines when stationary. A research team has found a way around this, by harnessing wasted energy from a vehicle as it slows down to power secondary systems when at a stop.

Who wouldn't want to save up to 50 percent on their electricity bills? The makers of Ottobox claim their smart home automation device can do just that, and all by turning off appliances when they're left in standby.

A new aerodynamic device has the potential to reduce the energy consumption of supermarket refrigerators by up to 41.5 percent. The product can be clipped onto existing cabinets, making it easy for companies to upgrade their stores.

Researchers from Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology have created a light-blocking facade for plate glass windows that only kicks in when exposed to strong sunlight ... and it's powered by that sunlight, too.

It's a simple fact that the more fluid an oil is, the easier it is to pump. That's why Temple University's Prof. Rongjia Tao has developed a device that reduces the viscosity of crude oil by electrifying it.

If you're trying to save power, you generally don't leave your lights on all night. With a few exceptions, however, that's what cities do with their streetlights. A Spanish team is addressing that situation, with a stand-alone streetlight that runs off of both solar and wind power.

Although it may be handy to have sensors in your windows that remind you if you've left them open, running electrical wiring to all those sensors (or regularly changing their batteries) could be a hassle. A new window-monitoring radio sensor chip, however, gets all the power it needs from the sun.

We all know that you should boil only what you need in a kettle to avoid wasting energy, but overfilling is still very common. The Miito combats this problem by using induction heating to boil just the water you need.

Using MIT's new Chisel system, computers are saving power by delegating less-critical tasks to less-dependable lower-energy hardware. This means mistakes may be made on those tasks, but that's OK.