Power Storage

Electric bikes and tricycles have become environmentally responsible hybrid commuter vehicles with excellent mileage and very low operating costs - 3 miles per penny!

Both ebikes and tricycles might transform urban mobility, as more and more people take to them. As a replacement for short car rides, they emit minimal carbon dioxide, compared to a car ride, and help residents reduce their total carbon footprint.

In addition to environmental benefits, ebike lovers indicate 5 more reasons to prefer electric bike or trike:

(Click here to read about electric bicycles environmental benefits)

1) Health benefits – Electric bikes enable people with temporary or long-term physical limitations to enjoy biking. Many ebike models offer simultaneous motor and pedal use for some degree of physical activity.2) Convenience – It’s always there for you and enables easy riding around town, running errands, and even shopping (it can fit a small load of grocery bags). Parking is never an issue. Some models fit child-seats or a trailer. For longer trips, most models are light and easily fit into an average car trunk.3) Money consideration - Cheaper than a car and you don’t need to pay for car insurance, taxes, and maintenance costs, even parking tickets. There are also considerations of rising gasoline prices.... read more

A Smart-Grid is defined as an interconnected network for delivering electricity from suppliers to consumers. It can be referred to at a city level, county, state, or national level, or even throughout a continent. The grid supports electricity generation, electric power transmission and distribution.

Other terms for Smart-Grid are smart electric grid, power grid, intelligent grid, FutureGrid, microgrid, intergrid and intragrid.Original photo from FreeFoto.com

Smart grids use digital technology to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability and transparency. Software is a critical component to successful Smart-Grid operations. Software standards, security and Open Source/Open Access methodologies have been gaining traction as the solution to Smart-Grid software applications: they are sustainable, cost effective and collaborative.

The Open Source initiative and Free Software methodology are two movements that focus on everyone’s right to use software.

products freely without paying the high costs required by the software companies. They also focus on the principle that the software source code must be available to everyone to modify, enhance, distribute or port to new environments.

Open Source is an architecturally driven approach that is not linked to a particular software company and can be applied at the strategic and enterprise levels as well as in tactical projects.

Using open source software enables the concept of FISDev, a Framework for Integrated Sustainable Development, which helps organizations move towards a software development approach focused on Sustainable Development.

Read more about Green software and sustainable software design.... read more

Upcoming SOLAR events in the San Francisco Bay Area - Week of October 19 - 24, 2009

Tapping into solar energy has many benefits: reduced burning of fossil fuels, independence from foreign energy producers, a lower electricity and gas usage bill -- and helping protect the planet's climate! ... read more

Are hybrid and electric vehicles batteries a Green alternative or add hazardous chemicals to our landfills?

Visiting the West-Coast Green conference in San Francisco this past week confirmed the feel-good and coolness of electric vehicles. Photo from hybridcars.com: Photo from hybridcars.com

I would definitely be a happy camper if I win the electric bike or electric tricycle raffle!... read more