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Energy Demand

If We Insulate Our Houses, Why Not Our Cooking Pots?

A fireless cooker doubles the efficiency of any type of cooking device because it shortens the time on the fire and limits heat transfer losses

Electric Velomobiles: as Fast and Comfortable as Automobiles, but 80 times more Efficient

About a quarter of the existent wind turbines would suffice to power as many electric velomobiles as there are people.

Medieval Smokestacks: Fossil Fuels in Pre-industrial Times

Almost all of the leading economies in Western Europe during the last millenium relied on a large-scale use of fossil fuels such as peat and coal.

The Velomobile: High-tech Bike or Low-tech Car?

The human power required to achieve a speed of 30 km/h in a velomobile is only 79 watts, compared to 271 watts on a normal bicycle.

Piston-powered aircraft from the 1950s were as fuel-efficient as the current average jet

Estimates about the fuel efficiency of aircraft ignore the record of the pre-jet era.

How (Not) To Resolve the Energy Crisis

Increasing the share of renewable energy will not make us any less dependent on fossil fuels as long as total energy consumption keeps rising.

Who Killed the Electric Grid? Fast-charging Electric Cars

Fast recharging times generate lots of excitement, but what seems to be forgotten is that they can lead to a fabulous amount of peak demand.

Viva Las Vegas: LEDs and the energy efficiency paradox

LEDs introduce lighting in places and situations where there was no lighting before.