May 8, 2012

Energy

In Berlin, an experiment in living “off-grid ready”

How different is life in a super-efficient home designed to generate more energy than it consumes? The Welke family in Berlin are guinea pigs in a social experiment.

For 42-year-old Jörg Welke, it’s a dream come true. Shaped like a cube and featuring a lot of glass, Welke’s temporary new home looks more like an oversized designer-stereo than a house. A black touchscreen on the wall is the first  thing a visitor notices when entering the “efficiency plus” home. The control center allows the family to regulate its energy needs including lights, shutters, appliances and heating.

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I dream of the Smart Grid

One man’s fantasy of what the so-called smart grid could mean for all our futures:

The further encroachment of government and bureaucracy on our private lives and personal liberties has taken it’s next big step. The so-called “Smart Grid” system for efficient management of our electrical usage has taken the next step with the installation of “Smart Meters” in the Burlington area, with the intention of installation proceeding state-wide over the next few years.

For those who don’t already know, “Smart Meters” are replacements for the standard mechanical dial-type electrical meters we already have on our homes and power poles.

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