Energy-saving

There are already "smart" windows that can be electronically switched between either letting sunlight through or blocking it. A new multi-layered one, however, can be set to several energy-saving light filtration modes.

As sunlight passes through a building's windows it can cause indoor temperatures to rise, to the point that the structure's air conditioning system has to be used. A new window material, however, blocks incoming heat while staying mostly transparent.

While there are now many appliances that can be controlled via the internet, each one of those has to incorporate Internet of Things (IoT) electronics. Engineers have now created a system that moves those electronics to the home's wall outlets.

While double-glazed windows do help save energy, scientists have tweaked the concept to make it even more effective. Instead of leaving an air gap between the two panes of glass, the researchers have inserted a heat-absorbing, light-blocking liquid.

Researchers at Cornell University have been working on a one-size-fits-all solution for smart home energy tracking, developing a vibration-sensing device that can keep tabs on appliance usage through machine learning and lasers.

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.

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.

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.

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.