Archive of entries posted by Sundong Kwong
Emerging Cleantech Products
I attended the Clean Tech Open Global Forum, November 8-9. The Cleantech Open runs the world’s largest cleantech accelerator. The mission is to find, fund and foster entrepreneurs with big ideas that address today’s most urgent energy, environmental and economic challenges. 144 startup companies completed the Cleantech Open United States competition in 2012, and many […]
Want A Warm Floor?
A friend of mine recently had some renovation done for her one-story house, including replacing the flooring. The energy-conscious contractor sealed the perimeter of the concrete slab to cut off any air from infiltrating. Next he placed a layer of water barrier over the concrete to stop moisture from rising. He then placed a layer […]
Healthy Building Ingredients – (Not) A Piece of Cake
If people cared as much about their buildings as they did their dinner – organic, gluten-free, and vegan shoppers would be demanding better buildings! There are many similarities between building a house and baking a cake. There’s a basic recipe, ingredients are purchased and sifted through, there’s a rising process, add some pretty finishes – […]
Are Your Clothes Really Clean After Laundry
You would expect that laundered clothes would be squeaky clean. Wait… Energy-wise people and many manufacturers often advocate using cold water to launder clothes. But this is an area where health and hygiene should dictate a more balanced look at energy savings. Clothing is carrying more germs than before for two main reasons. First, certain […]
From Sustainability To Creativity
On one beautiful day this summer, I was taking a leisurely walk with friends on Market Street in San Francisco. Music was coming from a group of people at the middle of the sidewalk and drawing quite a bit of attention. There were two guys playing some sort of instruments. One of them was having […]
Sun Drying Clothes – Beyond Saving Energy
I have often read or heard environmentalist or energy conscious individuals saying to dry their clothes naturally with the sun because it saves energy. This is indeed true. In fact, the sun’s benefit goes much beyond saving energy. The ultraviolet radiation from the sun kills germs very effectively and removes odor. No wonder people talk […]
Energy Efficiency Companies Keep Innovating
15 startup companies pitched their energy saving and management innovations at the PG&E hosted Emerging Technology Open Forum on July 24, 2012. I found three of them particularly interesting and useful to homeowners. Verdigris Technologies – Their product and service can tell you detail electric usage down to every single piece of appliance, including each […]
Solar PV Module Shading Problem Getting A Clearance
You may have heard that shading can reduce the electric production of solar electric modules (panels). The major cause of the lower output is because traditional solar PV systems use string inverters which convert the module output into usable house electric current. A string inverter is a separate unit that generally serves between 8 to […]