Powerwall is a home battery that charges using electricity generated from solar panels, or when utility rates are low, and powers your home in the evening. It also fortifies your home against power outages by providing a backup electricity supply. Automated, compact and simple to install, Powerwall offers independence from the utility grid and the security of an emergency backup.
It aims to establish an environment which supports the creation and implementation of innovative care technologies. The program focuses on increased care efficiency, resulting in greater end-user independence. In Health-Lab care professionals, scientists and entrepreneurs work closely together with end-users in seeking solutions. The potential of ICT based technologies plays an important role.
The initiative is an urban and economic transformation project that will transform the northern part of Medellin into an innovation cluster of entrepreneurs, companies and institutions focused on the knowledge economy. Together, they will enhance the ecosystem and train the workforce of the future.
The performance of two demonstration houses, built and occupied throughout 2013, were measured through a combined quantitative and qualitative assessment. Two families occupied the houses over a 9- & 12-month period of assessment. The factors measured were temperature, relative humidity, CO2 concentration and daylight levels. A Building Management System monitored the readings at quarterhour intervals and the living experiences of the occupants were documented through bimonthly questionnaires, phone interviews and blog entries.
This year Grosvenor commissioned five ‘smart’ historic retrofit projects in London designed to achieve the EnerPHit standard, the world’s leading sustainability standard for refurbishment that employs passive house principles. All five buildings are typical London terraces with attractive brick frontage and traditional single glazed windows.
The raingarden is to provide a sustainable source of treated stormwater for the parks mature trees and sporting fields in a way that added to the existing landscape character of the park and added interest for users. Melbourne has experienced drought conditions for a number of years now and this project was to replace the existing need for potable water being used to irrigate our parks and gardens. This raingarden is designed to remove 16,000 kg of annual total suspended solids per year of operation.
Beginning in 2006, a new urban district, Qunli New Town, in the size of 2733 Hectares, was planned to be developed at the east outskirt of Haerbin City of North China. 32 million square meters of buildings will be constructed in 13-15 years. More than one third of a million population are expected to live here. While only about 16.4% of the developable land was zoned as permeable green space, the majority of the former flat plain will be covered with impermeable concrete.
Zollhallen Plaza is new counterpart for the historic customs hall which was restored in 2009. The plaza is a fine example of water sensitive urban design, as it is disconnected from the sewer system. Beautiful planters provide infiltration points, and subsurface gravel trenches with innovative in-built filter medium reduce the hydraulic overload on the sewer system. Indented plaza areas create a surface flood zone. No rain water is fed to the sewer system, instead the ground water table is recharged. The design plays with the historic past of the site which was a rail yard.
The iconic Potsdamer Platz bridges the scar left by the wall between East and West Berlin. A veil of shallow flow-steps create a rhythmic surface of shimmering waves, providing multiple opportunities for people to cross and interact with the water. This urban waterscape has contributed to making Potsdamer Platz one of the most visited places in Berlin. The idea behind this important urban waterscape is that the rainwater should be used where it falls. At Potsdamer Platz, a combination of green and non-green roofs harvest the annual rainfall.
Amsterdam Rainproof is a platform that activates and stimulates different stakeholders to improve watermanagement in Amsterdam. The main goal is to collect water out of rain and make better use of it. The still growing density of the city of Amsterdam in combination with the climate change makes the city vulnerable for the consequences of heavy rainfall. Citizens, companies, institutions and the municipality have to find an innovative way to deal with this natural water. Waternet took the initiative to start the program Amsterdam Rainproof.