90-GWh thermal energy storage facility could heat a city for a year

An energy supplier in Finland has announced the upcoming construction of an underground seasonal thermal energy storage facility about the size of two Madison Square Gardens that could meet the heating demands of a medium-sized city for up to a year.Co… Continue reading 90-GWh thermal energy storage facility could heat a city for a year

Giant ‘sand battery’ holds a week’s heat for a whole town

A new industrial-scale ‘sand battery’ has been announced for Finland, which packs 1 MW of power and a capacity of up to 100 MWh of thermal energy for use during those cold polar winters. The new battery will be about 10 times bigger than a pilot plant … Continue reading Giant ‘sand battery’ holds a week’s heat for a whole town

New thermal scope lets snipers see bullets in flight without tracers

Defense contractor Teledyne FLIR has unveiled its new thermal sniper scope that can see its own bullets fly by day or night at ranges up to 2,200 m (1.3 miles). First seeing light at the annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas, the ThermoSight HISS-HD allows sni… Continue reading New thermal scope lets snipers see bullets in flight without tracers

Wax-actuated adaptive tiles radically cut heating and cooling energy

Using a temperature-driven “wax motor,” researchers have created an adaptive roof tile system that helps keep a room at a comfortable 18 °C (65 °F). It delivers an extraordinary 3.1X reduction in cooling energy consumption, and 2.6X for heating.Continu… Continue reading Wax-actuated adaptive tiles radically cut heating and cooling energy

First commercial-scale ocean thermal energy generator slated for 2025

In an average day, tropical oceans absorb about 278 petawatt-hours of solar energy. Harvesting just 1/4000th of that energy would supply the entire world’s daily electricity – and ocean thermal energy conversion provides a possible method.Continue Read… Continue reading First commercial-scale ocean thermal energy generator slated for 2025

Thermochromic Treatment Keeps Solderless Breadboards Smokeless

There’s a point in a component’s thermal regime that’s between normal operation and overloaded to the point of obvious failure. That’s a dangerous region, because the component isn’t quite hot …read more Continue reading Thermochromic Treatment Keeps Solderless Breadboards Smokeless

Thermal Camera Plus Machine Learning Reads Passwords Off Keyboard Keys

An age-old vulnerability of physical keypads is visibly worn keys. For example, a number pad with digits clearly worn from repeated use provides an attacker with a clear starting point. …read more Continue reading Thermal Camera Plus Machine Learning Reads Passwords Off Keyboard Keys

Building material made with lemons and coconut could help heat a home

Energy prices around the world have been rising alarmingly since 2021, with many of us now really starting to feel the pinch. Some have shared advice on how to heat the person rather than the home, but researchers at KTH are working on a building mater… Continue reading Building material made with lemons and coconut could help heat a home