The Printed Website: Volume III & The Comments
The printed archives of Low-tech Magazine now amount to four volumes with a total of 2,398 pages and 709 images.
Energy storage
Interesting possibilities arise when you combine old technology with new knowledge and new materials, or when you apply old concepts and traditional knowledge to modern technology.
Technology has become the idol of our society, but technological progress is—more often than not—aimed at solving problems caused by earlier technical inventions.
There is a lot of potential in past and often forgotten knowledge and technologies when it comes to designing a sustainable society.
Thermoelectric Stoves: Ditch the Solar Panels?
Wood stoves equipped with thermoelectric generators can produce electricity that is more sustainable, more reliable, and less costly than power from solar PV panels.
How Sustainable is a Solar Powered Website?
We present our website's energy and uptime data, calculate the embodied energy of our configuration, consider the optimal balance between sustainability and server uptime, and outline possible improvements.
Heat your House with a Mechanical Windmill
Given the right conditions, a mechanical windmill with an oversized brake system is a cheap, effective, and sustainable heating system.
Ditch the Batteries: Off-Grid Compressed Air Energy Storage
Compressed air energy storage is the sustainable and resilient alternative to chemical batteries, with much longer life expectancy, lower life cycle costs, technical simplicity, and low maintenance.
History and Future of the Compressed Air Economy
Historical compressed air systems hold the key to the design of a low-tech, low-cost, robust, sustainable and relatively energy efficient energy storage medium.
How to Run the Economy on the Weather
Adjusting energy demand to supply would make switching to renewable energy much more realistic than it is today.
How (Not) to Run a Modern Society on Solar and Wind Power Alone
Matching supply to demand at all times makes renewable power production a complex, slow, expensive and unsustainable undertaking.
How to Get Your Apartment Off the Grid
Solar panels on window sills and balconies can supply more power than you would think.
How Sustainable is Stored Sunlight?
Energy storage is often ignored when scientists investigate the sustainability of PV systems.
Gas Bag Vehicles
The old-timers on these pictures are not moving furniture or an oversized load. What can be seen on the roof is the fuel tank of the vehicle - a balloon filled with uncompressed gas.