Frying an egg on the sidewalk.

The ‘City of Klamath Falls Geothermal Utility’ is located in a known geothermal activity area  in Oregon, and provides a renewable, non- polluting ‘green’ resource to heat Commercial and Government buildings throughout the downtown core area in addition to geothermal sidewalk and bridge snow melt systems.

Initial construction on the geothermal systems began in 1981.

The snow melt system is designed to provide safety and convenience throughout winter months for sidewalks and bridges. This would be difficult and expensive using other heating methods.

While other heat sources rise in cost, geothermal energy remains low, and has better overall heating efficiency.

City of Klamath Falls Link:

Additional information:

Central Reykjavik (ocean in the distance)

Central Reykjavik

Large natural lake in central Reykjavik

I visited Iceland recently and was amazed at how they really use their natural renewable resources. Their Hydro electricity is on a grid that provides for over 80% of electricity on this huge island. They have a lot of rivers and glaciers melting, waterfalls etc. The Geothermal plants provide for a very large amount of heating & hot water to houses as well as providing hot water for municipal pools. 

I also was fortunate to meet a very nice couple that have a couple of apartments they rent out that are more comfortable than most places that you would normally rent. The apartments are very well equipped, and they also have excursion services. 

They speak English very well, as do many Islanders. Their website for tours is: Iceland Luxury Tours, Apartments: Cosy Reykjavik - Sveinn and Stella are guaranteed to enhance the quality of your visit! 

Link to Geothermal Video

Looking for something a bit more decorative for your windows?  Check out our Artscape brand of window films at www.Artscape-Inc.com.

Artscape Window Films create the look of Stained Glass.  These translucent films have an image that is visible from both sides of the window, providing privacy and style, while allowing natural light to enter the room.  Easy to apply and remove, these films are an inexpensive and simple alternative to traditional window coverings like blinds or drapes.

Before installing Energy Film, make sure your windows are well cleaned.  This will help with visual clarity as well as helping with the adhesion of the product. We recommend using a typical household glass cleaner and the provided squeegee.  Using the squeegee prevents any materials from a cloth or paper towel from staying on a window.  A razor blade may also be required to completely clean the glass if you have paint drops or other material stuck to the window.

Energy Film was recently featured in the June addition of Architectural Record.   Special thanks to Jen Renzi for including us in her article.   Here is an excerpt from the article…

“Luckily, the current generation of window films offers enhanced clarity and visible-light penetration while
better mitigating heat and glare. films that utilize metal nanoparticles to block the sun are among the most effective. “Measured in a billionth of a meter, nanoparticles are small enough to see through, but large enough to absorb wavelengths of energy from the sun,” explains Thomas Hicks, president of Portland-based Energy film. In addition to selling view-control films, the company markets an energy-saving product that boasts year-round benefits. Energy film has been certified to block 97 percent of uV rays and 70 percent of thermal infrared light, thwarting heat gain in the summer and retaining warmth in the winter. The product affixes to glass via cohesion and atmospheric pressure rather than traditional adhesives; once attached, the film sticks indefinitely until removed, and leaves behind no residue. such user-friendliness makes for a more forgiving installation.”

Türanor-Planet Solar

Weighing in at 85 tons, the Türanor-Planet Solar was launched in Germany March 31^st 2010. Following will be a promotional tour of Europe featuring a visit to Hamburg’s birthday celebration.

It is touted as being the largest solar driven catamaran (multi hull) on the planet. It is 31 meters (34.1 yards or 102.3 feet) long and 15 meters wide (16.5 yards or 49.5 feet). It is scheduled for a world circumnavigation in April 2011. A two man crew will attempt to chase the sun in order to capture as much available solar power as possible and navigate her at an average speed of 7.5 knots.

It is topped by scores of photovoltaic panels with a total area of 600 meters or 2160 square feet that cover most of the catamaran’s surface! Additional panels are attached to outriggers on its starboard, port and stern sections that can be retracted in stormy weather. The solar energy, which will be stored in the largest lithium ion battery in the world, will power the vessel’s silent, pollution-free electric motor.

This international trade show features building improvements, materials, green construction and innovative products and services related to commercial buildings. Energy Film will be featuring its performance and privacy window films.

Our performance film uses Nanoparticle technology to reduce solar heat gain in summer, retain warmth in winter, reduce harmful UV rays and balance interior room temperatures. It is easily applied and removed without damaging windows.

Privacy films are an elegant solution to giving windows a colorless etched or textured glass look at a fraction of the cost. They apply without adhesives and can be quickly removed and replaced with alternative designs. The films can be trimmed to create any design your imagination can come up with.

We would love to have you stop by and say “Hi”! We will be in booth # 856 in the Green Pavillion- June 28th~ 29th, 2010.

Hope to see you there!

Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center

300 East Ocean Boulevard
Long Beach, CA 90802-4825
(562) 436-3636

MAP HERE

Cornell University has installed a very innovative, yet very basic concept for cooling Ithaca High School and Cornell University. It is a closed loop system that exchanges the cool water from the depths of nearby Cayuga Lake, and expels the warm water into the shallow waters of the same lake. The water is drawn through an intake that comes from water about 2 miles out in water that is 250 feet deep, and the intake sits about 10 feet from the bottom of the lake where the temperature is about 39ºF year round.

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If I rent a Hybrid car for one roadtrip, I will save enough energy to surf the web for 585 hours. If 1,000 people joined me we could, for a year, take 24 cars off the road!

Construction for Hoover Dam started in 1931 (some sources say it began in 1930), and was completed in less than 5 years- 2 years ahead of schedule, and well under budget. It is listed as one of the top 10 construction achievements in the 20^th century. A national historic landmark, it stands 725 feet above the Colorado River. With 17 generators it produces 4 billion kilowatts of electricity a year.

It attracts more than a million visitors a year and is located in Black Canyon, 35 miles outside of Las Vegas. They have two tour options that both sound quite interesting. They have some age and mobility restrictions, so it is good to call ahead and make sure which tour will work best for your group.

Due to all of the traffic crossing the current bridge, they are building a new bridge to help alleviate the current bottleneck. The bridge looks quite impressive, and is an amazing construction feat by itself.