SMART ENERGY APPS

UK customers can currently buy eight smart heating systems: Hive from British Gas, Nest (soon with Npower), Honeywell Evohome, Heat Genius, OWL Intuition, Tado, Salus iT500, Climote and - fresh out of Kickstarter - Cosy. Another system is in the pipeline from Lightwave RF this summer.
All of them work with the standard British Gas combi boiler, and some work with heating powered by LPG, biogas or oil, or underfloor heating, and even solar power. Many UK homes now have multi-zone systems so that bathrooms, bedrooms and different floors can be heated independently to save even more energy.
There’s also integration with other smart home devices to consider, like light switches and other power controls, monitoring your electricity usage, and even smoke detectors.Nest, Hive, Evohome, Heat Genius, Tado, Climote and OWL Intuition all have installation options, ranging from £40 for the relatively simple Hive, to approved installers who will quote each job separately. Climote is only available with an installation, whether you buy it through their energy partners or direct. Heat Genius currently has a free installation offer, with no end date set as yet.
The Salus iT500 is the cheapest of the hobby-install systems at £139 on Amazon, while Hive comes in at £159 for the system or £199 with installation.
Honeywell Evohome, Heat Genius and Tado all come in close to £250 for the basic kit alone, and each has its benefits, with Evohome and Heat Genius boasting multiroom control (at an extra cost), while Tado claims it’s smart and easy to use.
Multi-room systems like Evohome, Heat Genius, OWL Intuition and Salus iT500 have the greatest potential for cutting your spending by heating only the rooms you need, but you could easily end up spending four or five times the cost of Hive, Nest, Climote or Tado on a four-bedroom home.
Learning systems such as Nest, Heat Genius and Tado could easily outsmart manual scheduling, especially by switching off when the house is unexpectedly empty. Our experience with Hive suggests you won’t always remember to turn off your heating if you’re out having a good time.



 http://recombu.com/digital/news/smart-energy-systems-nest-hive-evohome-heat-genius-owl-tado-salus-it500-cosy_M13058.html

Elon Musk had finally introduced the world to his “D”, which happened to be the inclusion of a dual motor/all-wheel drive option to the Tesla Model S lineup. Included in this announcement was the high performance P85D, which features two electric motors, all-wheel drive and incredible performance numbers of 691 horsepower and 687lb-ft of torque. These figures make the Tesla P85D one of the most powerful sedans in the world. This led to the masses of general EVangelists and Muskers alike to hit the internet and proclaim yet another victory for the all-electric brand. - See more at: http://www.torquenews.com/106/elons-d-cant-hang-dodge-tesla-p85d-slower-hellcat-charger#sthash.4N59d5Gw.dpuf

10-year council tax discount for energy efficient homes

Households could save at least £100 a year by permanently cutting their energy bills in a bid to help with the cost of living while simultaneously meeting Britain's climate change targets.
Energy Secretary Ed Davey said his was the only party offering both lower energy and council tax bills, adding: "A 10-year council tax cut will make action to end your home's energy waste a no brainer.

Gtech Ram Air

The AirRam cordless vacuum cleaner has a host of unique design features, including PC software which counts how many calories users burn whilst cleaning.

It weighs 3.5kg and uses just 100W of power – often compared to a number of 2000W or more in traditional mains powered vacuum cleaners.

But the real design deviation in the AirRam is that it isn’t a traditional vacuum cleaner. It does away with bags, cyclones and the effects of poor suction - instead using a long, bristled brush bar to scour deep into carpets and pull up all dust, dirt and debris.

Rather than sucking dirt through long tubes into a bag, the AirRam immediately compresses dust into compact bales, which can then be emptied into a bin without mess or fuss.

This in itself makes the AirRam more energy efficient, as it requires less power to generate suction – whilst still delivering powerful cleaning results. Independent tests, to IEC 60312-1-5.3 specifications found the AirRam had cleaning performance efficiency of 60.4% - 50% more than a 2000W mains vacuum tested at the same time.

On top of that, the AirRam features a quality Lithium battery, which runs for up to 40 minutes on a single charge. Using the Gtech AirRAM for 20 minutes per day (at 14p per KWh of energy), would result in energy savings of around £252 over a 5 year period.

It has a unique Data Bridge which facilitates communication between you and your vacuum cleaner’s on-board computer using a USB. Your PC will inform you the amount of electricity you saved, verify the condition of the battery and even calculate the amount of calories you burnt out. The Data Bridge will also help you find cleaning and usage  details, customer support and feedback about your experience. Gtech is revolutionising the floorcare industry and taking it a step into the future.

And because it’s cordless, it’s easy to clean from room to room without plug sockets.

Taku Tanku

The structure is composed by two 3,000 liter water tanks connected by a ring of wood that frames the entrance.

The interior can sleep two to three people, though there are no cooking or bathroom facilities. There is, however, a small underfloor storage area beneath the cypress wood flooring, as well as solar-powered LED lighting and fans, and hatch windows for ventilation. Designed to be eco-friendly and easily constructed from off-the-shelf and recycled materials.

http://www.stereotank.com/Taku-Tanku