conditions

Surprises can be fun, but not when it comes to bills. Electronic Housekeeper, a CES newbie, has made it possible for homeowners to monitor their water, gas, and electricity. Knowing which devices are draining the most energy and who's taking the long showers might be the first step toward lower energy bills.

After selling its products in Europe and the Middle East, Denmark-based Electronic Housekeeper will bring its innovations to North America. The company has created a wall-mountable console that communicates wirelessly with electronics, appliances, heating, air conditioning, as well as water and electricity meters.

Monitoring household appliances and … Read more

Fledgling company Chromasun plans to put the sun's heat to work cooling commercial buildings.

Founder Peter Le Lievre established the company to apply concentrating solar power techniques used in utility-scale power plants on a small scale, he said on Wednesday.

The potential of applying this technology in dry, sunny areas, such as the southwest U.S. or southern Europe, to cut peak electricity usage is vast, says Le Lievre. If used widely, solar-powered cooling could cut peak electricity usage by about 15 percent, he said.

Le Lievre is scheduled to discuss the solar cooling device, now still in development, … Read more

Look, I understand wanting comfort. I am a glutton for comfort. That doesn't mean I'm going to buy up every Snuggie-like thing I see to achieve my version of comfy nirvana. I don't let it force me to cross the line from having class.

That would include these air-conditioned coffins, currently all the rage in part of Serbia. After I die I figure I'll have more on my mind, like explaining that night in Reno with the Montgomery twins to Saint Peter. If my body gets a little toasty in the cold crypt six feet under, … Read more

WeatherCal is a system preference pane that displays up-to-date weather conditions and forecasts in iCal, using data from the Weather Underground Web site.

Once installed, you just open WeatherCal in your system preferences, type in the city or ZIP code for as many areas as you'd like to follow, and then current conditions and multiday forecasts (updated hourly) will appear as all-day events in iCal, within individual calendars. You can also click on each event to see a link to the Weather Underground Web site for more information, and you can sync calendars with your iPhone or iPod Touch. … Read more

The next time you feel your boss is driving you like a heartless task master, you might want to ponder the alleged plight of some poor lads in England.

Temporary workers at Amazon.com's U.K. fulfillment centers risk being terminated if they call in sick and are required to work seven days a week, according to a report published Sunday in The Times of London. Employees reportedly get only two short breaks for an eight-hour shift and must request permission to use the toilet. The temporary employees hired to handle the seasonal increase in business earn the equivalent … Read more

Do you want your air-conditioner but are too eco-minded to turn it on? The Japanese may have the perfect solution: the Air-Conditioned Bed, or Kuchofuku. This really is just a soft bed covering with two dual fans at the foot of the bed that pull and circulate air through the membrane. Japan Trend Shop sells it for $399, which is a lot pricier than the Bed Fan. But it's a whole lot kinder to your electricity bill since the low-power fans apparently guzzle just a mere 24 cents a month, based on 8-hour days. Not to mention that you'… Read more

MENLO PARK, Calif.--Solid, meet liquid.

Acvio, a company out of Finland showcasing its technology at the Nordic Green conference this week at SRI International in Menlo Park, says it has come up with an air conditioning system that consumes 60 percent to 70 percent less power than conventional systems.

The energy savings comes because Acvio's system doesn't require a compressor to make cool air, the traditional engine inside air conditioners. It works like this: Warm air from the outside is collected and funneled toward a solid. The heat melts the solid and the melting process takes heat … Read more

The days of manually checking your oil with a dipstick may soon be over. Debuting at this year's SEMA show, Intellistick's Oil Condition Monitor uses a series of sensors to constantly monitor the electrical properties--and therefore the condition--of your car's oil.

This information is then sent to the driver's PDA using (what else?) Bluetooth, meaning that, without even popping the hood, drivers can know exactly when to change their oil. Check out Brian Cooley's video of the device, complete with a lesson in petrochemical decomposition.