Net-Zero Energy House

Today, I had a wonderful opportunity to explore the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Net-Zero Energy House.

As its name implies the residential home makes as much energy as it uses. 

It is run by one of NIST’s 7 laboratories, the Engineering Lab’s Energy and Environment Division.

The 2,700 square foot home is super-insulated and hyper-energy efficient.

It runs on only 12,000-13,000 Kilowatt per year compared to a typical home that guzzles 40,000 KW. 

You can see the array of solar panels on the roof and there is a two-way exchange of energy to/from the grid as available/needed. 

There is also solar thermal water heater. 

The home simulates a family of 4 living there cooking, bathing, watching TV, etc. 

There are 600 sensors inside the house that monitor everything. 

The garage maintains the computers and controls for the research. 

Overall, I was very proud to see the wonderful scientific research being done here. 

It was truly impressive and good for the nation and the planet.  😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Magic Computer Displays

This is some awesome technology from Tactus Technology.

It is called a dynamic tactile touchscreen.

Here’s how it works:

When you want to type with a tablet or other touchscreen display, not only do you see a QWERTY keyboard, but also the buttons actually rise out of of the flatscreen display–for a tactile typing experience.

Using microfluidics, the fluids in the screen actually change shape–and form buttons.

When your done typing, the keyboard buttons melt away back down into the screen.

It all happens in a split second and has negligible impact on power consumption (i.e. less than 1%).

This type of tactile experience with computer displays can be used for tablets, smartphones, gaming devices, and I would imagine even SCADA devices (e.g. for turning a dial, pulling a level, etc. all virtually on a monitor).

Goodbye physical controls and hello magic touchscreen–presto chango. 😉