Smart grid

Your window might be an unlikely place to plug-in your smartphone, but a team of designers has made that possible with a novel take on the portable charger.

1 | April 29, 2013 7:31pm | By David Worthington

The big glass panels that are built into skyscrapers could soon produce solar power.

2 | May 12, 2013 7:44pm | By David Worthington

BARCELONA -- Part 1 in a two-part series: France and Spain are set to lead the world's biggest, 18-billion-euro physics experiment. What could go wrong?

13 | March 28, 2013 1:44am | By Jennifer Riggins

Honeywell is going high end with its new Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat and is tapping its formidable sales and distribution channels to turn up the heat on its competition.

1 | April 24, 2013 8:37pm | By David Worthington

Has the photovoltaic industry's agonizing four-year run of squeezed profits and bankruptcies ended? And will people still buy as the cost climbs?

45 | April 24, 2013 3:41am | By Mark Halper

The Spanish city of Santander is blanketing streets with wireless sensors to track its every move. But the CEO of a sensor manufacturer says success depends on open data and citizen involvement.

1 | May 9, 2013 3:00am | By Mary Catherine O'Connor

The bloom is sliding off the rose of renewables. Electric and hybrid vehicles losing favor too. What about nuclear?

28 | May 16, 2013 4:51am | By Mark Halper

Internet giant, aerospace firm and renowned venture capitalists pop up together in the quest for energy's Holy Grail.

18 | February 15, 2013 5:25am | By Mark Halper

A small New Jersey company has reported a big step toward cracking nuclear fusion, the elusive energy source that many people regard as the Holy Grail of power.

48 | March 28, 2012 6:22am | By Mark Halper

Home thermostats have undergone a serious makeover, but they're only as good at curbing energy consumption as humans are -- for now.

9 | April 11, 2013 3:00am | By Mary Catherine O'Connor

Energy columnist Chris Nelder explains why baseload power generation from nuclear and coal plants will be phased out in favor of renewables.

108 | March 28, 2012 5:00am | By Chris Nelder

Boeing's concept SUGAR Volt plane features foldable wings and uses a combination of electric and traditional fuel power.

20 | December 30, 2012 1:52pm | By Sarah Korones

Solar power added twice as much to the grid in the first quarter of 2013 as it did in all of 2012.

7 | April 22, 2013 3:10am | By Channtal Fleischfresser

Nest Labs has partnered with several utilities to take the intelligence embedded in its learning thermostat beyond the home and onto the grid.

1 | April 23, 2013 2:29pm | By Kirsten Korosec

Air-conditioned clothing with built-in battery-powered electric fans are selling like hotcakes.

5 | July 25, 2011 2:46am | By Tuan C. Nguyen

From cell phones to televisions to hospital equipment, there's energy in the air all around us. Now, researchers have discovered how to harness this ambient energy and use it to power other devices.

37 | July 12, 2011 4:00am | By Christina Hernandez

Smart elevators know where you're going and the quickest way to get there, eliminating endless waits and crowded cars that stop at every floor.

3 | July 17, 2012 1:00am | By Melanie D.G. Kaplan

If anyone asks where the spirit of invention has gone in the United States, look no further than its green technology start-ups. New businesses are cropping up in places like Allentown and...

April 19, 2012 9:05pm | By David Worthington

After seven years and more than $50 million, Seattle shuts down its free Wi-Fi network. Why is municipal broadband so hard?

6 | May 8, 2012 7:21am | By Mari Silbey

Are 3D printers worth the price? C.C. Sullivan of SmartPlanet asks architects at the AIA convention and hears that the future of design is fully three-dimensional.

2 | May 17, 2012 3:45am | By C.C. Sullivan