HDTV: Batteries Not Included

One of the worst feelings as a kid was opening up my Christmas presents and seeing the phrase "batteries not included". To my young and fragile mind, this was a travesty for which there was no equal. Requiring me to wait before I played with my new loot? It was unthinkable! Interestingly enough, many are experiencing the same thing when it comes to HDTVs. Same problem, different packaging.

Last month, we posted on the blog about the fact that over 50 percent of households have HDTVs. The more curious part of that article is the notion that of the millions that now have a high definition television set of some sort, 69 percent of HDTV owners do not have HD service of any kind.

Perhaps people are fine with just having a bigger — though not necessarily better — picture? Maybe it's a money issue, though often times adding an HD package onto your existing TV service isn't much more than a few extra dollars a month. I think the largest contributing factor, though, is that most people don't realize that for HDTVs, the "batteries" are not included, and there's no information to let them know about this in the retail stores. After all, they just want you to get the TV. Why would they bother to educate people about what else is needed to enjoy it and fully utilize your entertainment investment?

So, I've decided to put together a few pieces of information that might prove helpful. Tips on where to find the "batteries" for your HDTV, so to speak. Listed below is what you need in order to start watching high definition programming. Hit the jump to read on!

Will Your Next Roof be Made of Solar Shingles?

Last week, Dow unveiled Powerhouse, a new solar shingle. Essentially, the product is a small, flat solar panel that can be used exactly like a regular roof shingle. Each shingle connects to the next, creating a massive solar array that looks just like a normal roof.

So, what are the benefits of solar shingles over traditional solar panels?

For one thing, they look a lot better than the cumbersome solar panels we’re used to. Unlike the giant panels, solar shingles seamlessly blend with regular roofing shingles to create a look that many people wouldn’t notice as out of the ordinary. That’s important, because there are many people out there that either don’t want to take the plunge into solar power, or aren’t allowed to by their homeowner’s association, because of the “eyesore factor” of traditional solar panels.

While the aesthetics of the system do matter, the real benefits here are cost and ease of installation. Instead of requiring a specialized installer, Powerhouse shingles can be installed by a regular roofer, slashing installation costs. And instead of the 20 to 30 hours a traditional solar array takes to install, a Powerhouse system can be installed in around 10 hours. Dow hasn’t released any firm numbers, but estimates put savings at about 30 to 40 percent.

Dow plans to start rolling Powerhouse shingles out on new homes mid 2010.

via Green Inc. | Photo credit: Dow Chemical Company.

Now You Can Use Google’s PowerMeter without a Smart Meter

Imagine if you could see, in real time, exactly how your household was using electricity. You could easily root out all of your energy hogs, allowing you to increase your energy efficiency and lower your bills. That’s the promise of smart meter technology.

A smart meter is basically a traditional power meter with a brain. Instead of just telling how much electricity you’ve used since the last time you looked at it, they also reveal precisely when you used it, and what you used it for. All of this data can then be interpreted online in a new crop of software tools, where people can dig into the data and really understand how their family uses electricity.

Google’s PowerMeter is one of the most popular of these tools, and is completely free of charge. The only downside is that until now, smart meters were the only way to get your data into the PowerMeter system. While smart meters are terrific, they are only available in certain places at the moment, leaving most people with no way to monitor their electricity use with the service.

This week though, Google announced its first device partner for the Power Meter platform, Energy Inc., makers of the TED (The Energy Detective) 5000 series of products. These devices offer all of the features of a traditional smart meter, but are available to everyone, not just those lucky enough to have access to a smart meter. All TED 5000 owners can now export their electricity data into PowerMeter and access it everywhere from their home PC their cell phone.

The TED 5000 series is available today right now at the official TED store starting at $199.95.

An Easy New Way to Recycle Your Old Phone

While cell phone recycling is certainly nothing new, a company named EcoATM is rolling out a device that’s making it simpler than ever, and in many cases even pays people for their old phones. An electronic kiosk similar to the machines that turn coins into cash, you can expect to see the EcoATM showing up in retailers near you in the coming months.

Here’s how the eco-friendly system works. You tell the machine what sort of phone you have and drop it in. The EcoATM then photographs the phone to assess its condition, and comes up with a value. If you like the price, you receive the value in store credit for the store where the kiosk is located. Phones with no monetary value can be recycled in exchange for a waterproof cell phone case. As a bonus, the company even plants a tree for every phone recycled.

It’s not all about phones though, as the company expects to the kiosks to be able to accept other gadgets like cameras and MP3 players soon.

Colorful New Solar Panels Work Even on Cloudy Days

While solar panels are a terrific way to harness clean energy, they do have their downsides. One of the biggest problems with traditional solar panels is their performance when clouds come out, as they require direct exposure to sunlight in order to produce electricity. Another major issue with the solar panels on the market today is their steep cost due to the amount of silicon they require.

An Israeli company named GreenSun Energy has been working to address these problems, and have developed a new type of solar panel that works without direct exposure to the sun. One key to the design is the colorful hues of the panels, which allow them to transform only some parts of the sun’s light sunlight into solar energy. This reduces heat and eliminates the need to cool the panels.

They work best on bright days, but as they are able to convert even dispersed light into electricity, can produce lots of power even when clouds roll in. And, since they don’t have to directly face the sun, they can be deployed anywhere on a building, not just on the roof. The clever design also cuts down the amount of silicon compared to traditional panels, keeping costs low.

While still quite far from production, GreenSun Energy is confident that these panels will revolutionize the green electricity market when they do go on sale. If they can keep increasing efficiency and reducing costs, we could soon see entire buildings covered with these panels.

For more details, check out National Geographic for a short video about the new panels.

Potential Geothermal Energy Projects

As more states turn towards renewable energy sources, the rise of large scale green energy projects has been underway for the last several years. Texas, for instance, just completed a $1 billion wind complex that covers 100,000 acres of land. Similar projects like this are going up all around the country, with varying scales in how much energy they can produce.

In fact, the Geothermal Energy Association reports that if all of these outstanding energy projects were completed, they could supply up to 7 gigawatts of geothermal power. Seeing as how the country currently has 3 gigawatts of geothermal output, that adds up to a whopping 10 gigawatts that the U.S. could supply from all of its geothermal projects. This is the equivalent to "the power needs of about 7.2 million people".

CNET has compiled a list of the states that are working on geothermal projects, and the amount of geothermal capacity that each one contributes to this overall total. To read more about the potential of these future geothermal projects, head on over to CNET.

Making a Greener Home

Moving into a house, I'm starting to take notice of the kinds of things that can be done to make it more energy efficient. There are many ways to enhance the efficiency of your home, some easy and some more complicated. With all of the options available, who knows what to choose?

Luckily, CNET has put together a comprehensive list for A Greener Home, Room by Room.The improvements listed range from getting smart power strips that shut off whenever the item that is plugged in turns off (getting rid of pesky vampires that suck electricity even when they're off) to adding more insulation to the attic. Other notable suggestions include a tankless water heater and caulking up air leaks around the house.

The list is organized in a way that separates projects into low, medium and high effort, making it easy to navigate and get an idea of what you can do for your own home. To read more about making a greener home, visit CNET.

California Unveils Energy Standards for Flat Screen Televisions

NPR is reporting that California is poised to become the first state to introduce energy efficiency standards for flat screen TVs. Believe it or not, flat screen televisions use more electricity than the old style tube models. In fact, flat screens can account for up to 10 percent of household energy use, making them a ripe target for energy savings.

The proposed standards, which are expected to pass in November, would start going into effect in 2011, with a second phase in 2013. They are expected to save Californians $8.1 billion dollars in electricity costs over 10 years, and reduce consumption enough to keep a whole gas-fired electric power plant from being built.

Only about a quarter of the sets currently available in the state would have to be modified to be compliant with the new rules. Those that do not meet the standards would have to cut electricity use by about 30 percent to meet the first round of regulations, and then an additional 20 percent to meet the second round.

California has already passed similar guidelines for air conditioners, refrigerators, and other appliances. Regulations like these have been credited with keeping California’s energy consumption stable since the 1970s.

As has been the case in the past, these more energy efficient flat screens will probably start making their way across the country soon after they hit California.

Global Broadband Keeps Gaining Momentum

While we know that broadband use continues to spread in the United States, it is also increasing dramatically around the planet. In 2008, it was estimated that somewhere around 382 million people around the world were connected to the Internet via fixed broadband connections. The number has grown 10.5 percent in 2009 to bring the total to 422 million. That is about 1 in 5 households. Interestingly enough, the projected growth for next year is even more than this past year's, putting the total to 580 million strong.

According to a report at CNET, there are many countries that have broadband connections in 50 percent of households, while in some Asian countries the number might be as high as 93 percent. When looking at the projected forecast for the immediate future, "Brazil, Russia, India, and China will account for nearly half, or 47 percent, of the increase in consumer broadband connections over the next several years."

To read more about the continued spread of broadband worldwide, visit CNET.

Smart Grid Test Yields 20 Percent Energy Savings

A smart grid is basically a power grid that’s aware of factors like weather, energy prices, and customer’s needs and can adapt to swings in power supply and demand. The promises of such a system include improved reliability, lower costs and a vast reduction in energy use. We’ve been hearing about eco-friendly smart grids for years now, but now it looks like widespread implementation may be just around the corner.

The New York Times’ Green Inc. recently reported about a smart grid experiment is being carried out on the Fayetteville Public Works Commission system in North Carolina, and the initial results seem to justify all of the hype. The trial includes 100 homes and features collaboration between technology companies IBM and Consert.

Controllers were attached to high-use electrical appliances such as air conditioners and pool pumps in participant’s homes. The participants then logged into the system, completed a detailed profile of their lifestyle (when they leave for work, what temperature they like to keep their house at, etc.) and set targets for their electricity bill. Based on a combination of that information, the customer’s billing history and local weather conditions, the grid’s software then started controlling their appliances.

The result? After the first month, a 20 percent decline in the amount of electricity used. The test has been so successful, that the Fayetteville Public Works Commission is now rethinking the scale of a proposed new power plant.