Housing

Throwing money out of the window

In this economy, I am sure you are careful about how you spend your money and really think about how you will make ends meet this month or the next as the economy might head toward another recession as oil prices go up. However, each time you are putting 50 euros in your gas tank, …

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European Union to tackle housing insulation

I have been advocating housing insulation back to 2006 when I was writing my Master’s thesis at Audencia Nantes Management School. Then I discovered the huge potential of insulating French buildings. Since then I have been dreaming that one day politicians, leaders, and other people in charge would finally understand that weatherizing the million of …

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Smart thermostat programs itself to save energy

You would think that the inventor of the iPod would rest and enjoy the money he made afterwards. Well, he isn’t and this is great news for all of us as Tony Fadell invented a smart thermostat, the Nest Learning Thermostat. Knowing that we adjust thermostats up to 1,500 per year and that over 10 …

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Heating buildings with data centers

The idea might seem a bit far-fetched but recovering the heat produced by data centers could heat buildings. However we have seen similar ideas are extremely cost efficient and environmentally friendly. To ExtremeTech : ” With a temperature of around 40-50°C, the exhaust from a rack of cloud servers could be a very cost-effective way …

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President Obama gets more serious on efficiency

CleanTechies often republishes blog posts from the Official White House blog. This enabled me to learn about a significant series of measures designed to help America cut its oil dependence and energy consumption. Indeed, new standards will enable future cars to cut their oil consumption (not by much though…). US households will also be able …

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Sustainability in action : helping my family

This weekend was the occasion for me to go and visit my family in Lorraine (Eastern France). This enabled me to help out my two uncles and their families cut their water and energy consumption. Indeed, I first helped one family install a rainwater harvesting system that will enable them to water their garden for …

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Why cities might be a good solution

According to the Canadian magazine Corporate Knights : ” If the concept of a sustainable city sounds like a paradox, that’s because it is, according to physicist Geoffrey West.” ” Ironically, because of their urban “metabolism,” cities require only 85 per cent of the resources necessary to double in size, and they’re more energy efficient …

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Book review : Factor five

We all know it : energy – and resource – efficiency is the panacea to all our energy and environmental woes. As I finished reading another excellent book on the very matter, I am sharing with you today the main findings. Factor Five is the sequel of the 1997-book Factor Four. It demonstrates how our …

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A staggering figure on energy efficiency

You know it if you have read this blog for some time : energy efficiency is the single best solution to solve all our energy and climate problems. It can be used literally everywhere and in anything and save huge amounts of money. Now, here comes Dr. Julian M Allwood from the University of Cambridge. …

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Why it’s time to increase electricity prices

One of the main facts of the latest World Energy Outlook is that energy efficiency “is the largest contributor in reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases , accounting for over half of total abatement by 2030.” This means that it has more impact than renewable energies, nuclear power and clean coal combined. But energy is …

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