Energy management in an emerging industry that helps you take full advantage of your solar or solar-plus-storage system. With an energy management system, you’re able to both monitor and control your energy consumption, allowing you to maximize the energy generated by your system and lower your electric bills. Lumin was one of the initial leaders in this industry with their Smart Panel that allows you to turn the ordinary circuits on your electrical panel into smart circuits. Building on that initial success, Lumin recently launched their newest energy management product that provides unique opportunity and flexibility for those who don’t want to rewire their entire electrical panel: the Lumin Edge.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Environment and Clean Technology
What you need to know about energy monitors
Electricity is expensive – and finding ways to cut your usage can save significant money down the line! One way homeowners are starting to take their energy management into their own hands is through energy monitors, devices that provide insight into how much energy you’re using, and when you’re using it. With this information, you can adjust your behavior and ultimately cut down on your electricity costs, all while helping the environment. In this article, we’ll explain some things to consider when evaluating energy monitors.
Continue readingHow does cryptocurrency contribute to fossil fuel emissions?
In February 2021, Tesla announced that it had purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and planned to accept the cryptocurrency as payment, causing the price of Bitcoin to soar to record high numbers. However, three months later, Elon Musk disrupted the cryptocurrency market when he tweeted, “Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin,” citing concerns about “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel.”
Overnight, the Bitcoin market dropped by almost 10 percent–so how founded are these environmental concerns in cryptocurrency mining, and could cryptocurrency have a clean energy future?
Continue readingWhat is electrification?
As more and more homeowners make the switch to both solar panels and electric vehicles in the US, the clean energy transition is now about more than just increasing clean energy. Increasingly, an important piece of the clean energy transition is electrification. Electrification is a vital piece of any carbon reduction plan, and could have some big implications for the appliances in your home–and your garage!
Continue readingWhat are smart thermostats and how do they facilitate energy management?
As we accelerate home electrification across the United States, the energy management industry continues to grow. More and more homeowners are looking for actionable insight into their energy usage so they can reduce their consumption – and save money! According to Energy Star, the average American household spends over $900 on heating and cooling each year. So, it’s no surprise that one of the first products to gain major traction in this space was the smart thermostat.
Continue readingHome batteries for renters: what are plug-in batteries?
Whether you’re looking to lower your electricity usage during peak electricity hours or have a backup power supply in the case of an outage, home batteries are becoming increasingly popular. However, most energy storage systems require installation and electrical wiring, making it difficult for people who rent or own a condo to take advantage of these benefits. Some companies have recently acknowledged this gap, launching plug-in battery solutions that don’t require installation by an electrician – this is making home batteries more accessible to everyone, regardless of whether you have access to your main electrical panel.
Continue readingWhat are some renewable resources? Examples of alternative energy
The era of renewable resources and alternative energy has arrived. It’s cheaper now than ever before to generate electricity from renewable resources, catapulting them from fringe options to the fastest-growing energy resources in the country. These renewable resources include alcohol, water, methane gas, natural oils, and thermal generation. In 2017, renewables set a record in the U.S. by generating 15% of all electricity, predominantly due to hydropower, solar and wind. What are some other examples of renewable energy? We’ll go down the list.
Continue readingThe white gold rush for green lithium: can lithium production be done responsibly?
Lithium has been hailed as ‘white gold’ for its versatility and value in today’s world. But what exactly is it? Well, lithium powers technology spanning from the computer you’re reading this on to lifesaving pacemakers. Basically, any portable electronic device contains lithium. Lightweight, powerful, and rechargeable, this metal’s value also lies in its role as an essential piece in the clean energy revolution. Lithium batteries’ high energy density and ability to be recharged make them uniquely suited to power the electric vehicles (EVs) and electric grids of the future. However, despite the metal’s importance in the clean energy revolution, it’s incredibly resource-intensive to extract and this process causes environmental distress, leading many to wonder: can we produce lithium responsibly?
Continue readingWhat you need to know about smart plugs and energy management
Solar and storage are just two components of a fully energized home. Energy management is the next most important piece of the puzzle: to truly understand and manage how your home uses electricity, you also need consumption monitors with built-in controls. Consumption monitors can tell you what is using electricity, how much each device in your home uses, and ultimately how it costs to run each device in your home; meanwhile, the controls allow you to act on that information, shutting off–or scheduling–certain devices at certain times.
Smart plugs are a great, easy and inexpensive first foray into energy management for your home: just plug them into any device in your home and start receiving actionable insights about how your home uses energy. In this article, we’ll explain what you need to know about smart plugs.
Continue readingIntroducing the Tigo Energy Intelligence Residential Solution
If you’re familiar with the residential solar market, you’re probably aware of the two main players providing inverters to residential solar installations in the US. But those two companies are far from the only companies providing inverter (and inverter-adjacent) products in the residential solar market in the US.
While their optimizers and rapid shutdown devices have been installed on many roofs throughout the country, one company you may not yet be familiar with is Tigo Energy. However, Tigo Energy is banking on that changing with their latest product launch: the Tigo Energy Intelligence (EI) Residential Solution, which brings Tigo-branded products to the forefront of a solar and solar-plus-storage installation.
Continue reading