 Back when solar power had just become trendy, we got a back-stage tour at Energy Conversion Devices where we saw shingles with built-in amorphous solar cells being produced by the boat load. For a variety of reasons, solar-shingle-type devices never took off. But that may soon change thanks to new developments which you can read about here.
And as always, send your energy efficiency news to us at [email protected]. -- Leland Teschler, Editor
 What gets better MPG than a Prius and flies? The Taurus G4, of course. It is the recent winner of the CAFE Green Flight Challenge, sponsored by Google and administered by NASA. The first place prize of $1.35 million went to Taurus G4 creators Pipistrel-USA.com of State College, Pa. Their craft flew at an equivalent fuel efficiency of 403 passenger miles/gal. at a 107 mph. READ MORE
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The market research firm IDTechEx says EV motor makers are in an industry structured for the past headed toward a nasty surprise when the future comes. Most motor makers, they say, aren't talking to the vehicle manufacturers that will spend the most to buy traction motors in the years to come. IDTechEx also says it is a mistake to think easy money comes from pursuing the fearsomely competitive electric car market where 90% of vehicle makers are headed for insolvency. READ MORE ADVERTISEMENT Boker's Free 2011 Washer Catalog
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One of the competitions being run by the U.S. Dept. of Energy right now is that for a new generation of high-efficiency cost-effective air conditioners to go on commercial buildings. The rooftop a/c challenge just got its first entry: The Daikin McQuay Rebel rooftop unit. McQuay says the new unit is expected to hit almost double the ASHRAE 90.1 minimum standard for energy efficiency. READ MORE Incandescent bulbs still selling
Phase-dimmable LED lighting drivers
IGBTs target electric, hybrid vehicles
Power line comm. gear for smart grid
Smart meter reference platform
The Cold Canyon Material Recovery Facility in San Luis Obispo, Calif. recently got an upgrade to solid-state lighting that saves it more than $13,000 annually. The facility, run by Waste Connections, Inc., upgraded its lighting system with Cree-powered Xeralux LED high-bay fixtures. READ MORE ADVERTISEMENT TPS92001 LED Lighting PWM Controller, at Digi-Key
Texas Instruments' TPS92001 family of general LED lighting PWM controllers contains control and drive circuitry required for off-line isolated or non-isolated LED lighting applications. The controllers can support Phase Cut TRIAC dimming with minimal external components. The controllers can also be implemented for stage conversion where the power factor (PF) exceeds regulatory requirements for lighting. These controllers also have an accessible 5 V reference that could be used to power a microcontroller or other low power peripheral components.
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In Europe, this month marks the initiation of something called the Stage 3 ecodesign requirements. In plain English, it means that conventional 60-W incandescent bulbs no longer meet the energy efficiency standards for light sources in Europe and thus can no longer be sold. Now, clear bulbs rated at 60-W or above sold in Europe must have an energy-label class of C or above where A is the highest, G is the lowest. READ MORE  he VHB350 Series is a board-mounted, 350-W half-brick dc-dc converter designed to provide high levels of isolated power for applications with a limited amount of space.
The converter accepts a 2:1 input and supports either 18 to 36-Vdc or 36 to 75-Vdc inputs. It is available in regulated outputs of 3.3, 5, 12, 24, and 28 Vdc. The converter features tight regulations and efficiencies up to 92.5%.
Standard features include overtemperature, overcurrent, overvoltage, and short-circuit protection, remote on/off control, and output voltage trimming.
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 Tab washers, a type of round lockwasher, are often manufactured with a single tab or multiple tabs that can be formed to shape around bolts/nuts or designed to lay flat. They effectively lock a part into place in applications with extreme heat conditions or heavy vibrations. Tab washers come in a wide variety of sizes and materials. Tab washer sizes include outside diameters ranging from 0.080 to 6.000 in., in addition to multiple inside diameter and thickness options. This allows for compatibility with all types of nuts, bolts, and other fastening systems. Available configurations include internal tab, external tab, internal/external tab, multiple internal/external tab, and locking-tab washers.
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