Reducing your electric bill with a predictive control heating system
NTNU has tested a system to predict the heating needs on the Gløshaugen campus. The results show that we can save even more where surplus heat is already in use.
Energy efficiency
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Energy crisis can help boost green energy investments in Europe
Can Europe use the energy crisis to help accelerate its efforts to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050? The EU’s Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change says yes.
Data-driven heating reduces energy consumption in buildings
Energy consumption in buildings can be reduced by predicting their actual heating needs.
A gamechanger for aluminium component production in the car industry
A new Norwegian technology is enabling the removal of an entire process stage from car component production lines. It makes the cars less expensive, more eco-friendly and faster to manufacture.
In search of a smarter grid
The Norwegian government is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent by 2030. This will involve dramatic changes to the electricity grid system.
New solar panels from solar panel waste
Solar energy is good news for planet Earth – but solar panels are not as climate-friendly as they should be. Researcher Martin Bellmann is using what he calls the ‘black gold’ waste materials from solar panel manufacture to make new panels.
Wax, wood and CO2 — tools that can combat climate change
How scientists and engineers across the globe — and at NTNU — are harnessing unlikely materials to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
A new high-rise lab for the development of super-efficient solar panels
Not only are they high above us – they also offer us great benefits. From SINTEF’s new solar panel laboratory, you can see all across the city of Trondheim. Here, conditions are optimal for research into solar panel performance at Nordic latitudes.
‘Bio-batteries’ enable us to store solar and wind energy
Up until now it has been a challenge to store the energy we generate when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. But researchers at a laboratory in Trondheim in Norway have succeeded in doing just this – and entirely without any form of advanced battery technology.
Never set your heat pump to Auto
Show us your heat pump, and we’ll tell you if you’re using it right. Researchers provide advice that can save you both energy and money.
Now construction projects can heat themselves
What if a concrete building could heat itself – while being built? Research scientists are about to make this dream a reality.
First ones out to buy and sell neighbourhood electricity
Many buildings with solar cells produce more electricity than they consume themselves, but current legislation prevents surplus power from being sold to neighbouring consumers. A pilot project in Trondheim will be the first in the world to test a system that makes this possible.
Want to save the planet? Cut coal use by 95 percent, oil by 60 percent by 2050, report says
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its third Working Group report on how humankind can mitigate the ecosystem and societal effects of climate change. Much can be done, but the challenges remain enormous, the report confirms.
A policy that can increase the windfall profit of energy producers — like Russia
While former Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg steered Norway according to the logic of economics, today’s politicians seem to lack a basic understanding of markets. The result is a policy that amplifies energy scarcity and drives up energy prices – without policymakers recognizing this unintended consequence.
Two Industrial Ecology professors named to international climate-related posts
Professor Edgar Hertwich has been named to the EU’s newly constituted European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change, while Professor Francesco Cherubini has been asked to serve as a Lead Author for an upcoming assessment by The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
Another climate summit that changes almost nothing – again?
World leaders have gathered in Glasgow to discuss climate change. But the most likely outcome is that actions won’t extend beyond the talk.
New ultra-high material efficient, low-cost solar cells — using nanowires
A new method using nanowires can make solar panels much more efficient and much cheaper than today.
A quick end to oil won’t save the climate
An abrupt halt to oil activities in the North Sea is not the solution to the climate crisis. The way forward is to establish alternatives to oil.
Rapid action can help prevent the worst consequences of global warming
A new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) describes with unnerving detail just what can happen if nations fail to limit greenhouse gas emissions. But rapid international action will keep the worst consequences at bay, the panel said.
Building with new thinking and old components
An old building at Tullinløkka in Oslo has set a new standard for reuse, consisting of components from other buildings – like concrete floor dividers from a government building. Building stock in Norway accounts for half of society’s total environmental impact. Thinking in new ways and reusing building components offers multiple gains.
Retrofitting dams for more renewable energy in the world
Many of the world’s dams are not used for hydropower, but a new study shows they could be easily altered to produce renewable energy. This would be the most sustainable solution for new energy production in the world, says NTNU Professor Tor Haakon Bakken.
Developing the world’s ‘hottest’ heat pump ever
Researchers working with industrial partners have developed the world’s first heat pump producing temperatures of up to 180 degrees celcius. Such record high temperatures will enable one fifth of European industry to reduce its energy consumption by up to 70 percent, and become entirely climate neutral.
London introduced car charge in city centre – and saw most harmful pollution increase
In 2003, the average traffic speed in central London was less than 14 km/h. The congestion charge improved the flow of traffic but also had unwanted effects.
Silicon for solar cells becoming more environmentally friendly
New discoveries are making silicon production cleaner, and solar cells of the future will become even more environmentally friendly.