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BRE, the world-leading building science centre, has today announced a new project with BEIS to improve and modernise the methodology used to measure the energy and environmental performance of UK homes.
BRE’s Innovation Park in Ravenscraig scooped a top accolade at yesterday’s Green Apple Awards in Edinburgh which recognise, reward and promotes environmental best practice around the world At BRE Ravenscraig Innovation Park, we aim to blend science and technology with innovation and entrepreneurship, to develop solutions for existing and future buildings not only in Scotland … Continue reading “BRE Scotland wins at Green Apple Awards”
Japanese technology company Ricoh in collaboration with the Tokyo University of Science have developed a breakthrough material in the field of piezoelectrics. Piezoelectric materials generate electricity from mechanical strain such as vibrations. Good examples in the built environment come from companies such as The Facility and Pavegen who have developed solutions that generate electricity … Continue reading “Energy-generating rubber”
Alongside chewing gum, used cigarette butts are the scourge of pavements everywhere. Globally over 4 billion are thrown away each year, but researchers in Korea have found a surprising application for this seemingly unusable material. They have turned used cigarette filters into a high performing material for energy storage. “Our study has shown that used … Continue reading “Cigarette butts: the future of energy storage”
Many glass-fronted office buildings are very energy intensive, requiring extensive heating in winter and cooling in summer to ensure comfortable temperatures for the building’s occupants. In response to this challenge researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU in Dresden teamed up with the Department of Textile and Surface Design at … Continue reading “Smart façades to save energy”
Using drones to monitor infrastructure damage Researchers at the University of New Mexico, San Diego State University, and BAE Systems are fitting drones with remote sensing systems and cameras to map damage to transportation infrastructure. Pens filled with high-tech inks for Do It Yourself sensors Researchers at the University of San Diego have developed … Continue reading “Latest tech news from across the web”
At Technology4Change we often feature examples of how technologies developed for other applications such as space, automotive and telecommunications are being applied in the built environment, but this time buildings are inspiring a ground-breaking physics innovation. Researchers at the Australian National University were inspired by the radical shape of a Canberra building to develop a … Continue reading “Irregular shaped building inspires new material”
Those of us who do battle with dandelions in our gardens every year will be pleased to know that the prolific weed can be used to create a sustainable natural rubber. Researchers at Fraunhofer in Germany have developed a new process for large-scale production of high quality rubber using Russian dandelions. Rubber is used in … Continue reading “Creating sustainable rubber from the humble dandelion”
