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Buildings

How to Escape From the Iron Age?

We cannot lower carbon emissions if we keep producing steel with fossil fuels.

Thematic Book Series: Heating People, not Spaces

We have launched the third volume in a new series of books opening up Low-tech Magazine’s archive by theme.

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 labels oblige frugal homeowners to make unsustainable investments

How energy-efficient a home is depends not only on the energy label but also on the lifestyle.

The Curse of the Modern Office

The information society promises to dematerialise society and make it more sustainable, but modern office and knowledge work has itself become a large and rapidly growing consumer of energy and other resources

How to Get Your Apartment Off the Grid

Solar panels on window sills and balconies can supply more power than you would think.

Slow Electricity: The Return of DC Power?

Directly coupling DC power sources with DC loads can result in a significantly cheaper and more sustainable solar system.

How to Keep Warm in a Cool House

If we are looking for quick and substantial energy savings for existing buildings, then local heating systems deserve our closest attention

Radiant & Conductive Heating Systems

Radiant and conductive heating systems make energy use independent of the size of a room or building.

Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, not Places

Most modern heating systems are primarily based on the heating of air. This seems an obvious choice, but there are far worthier alternatives.

The Revenge of the Circulating Fan

Cooling people by increasing local airflow is at least ten times more energy efficient than refrigerating the air in a given space.

Burning the Bones of the Earth: Lime Kilns

Lime burning is a now-forgotten industry that sustained many agrarian communities before energy became cheap.