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Florida State University guys get to play with 24,000-vdc power test system

Posted in: Report on January 24th, 2015

CAPS Power Systems Research Group. Photo credit: Bill Lax/Florida State University.

Florida State University’s Center for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS) has unveiled a new 24,000-volt direct current power test system, claiming it is the most powerful of its kind available at a university research centre in the world.

With a capacity of 5MW, the new system will give CAPS the ability to test electrical equipment in real-world conditions, says FSU, and companies looking to build next-generation power equipment will be able to […]

BC scientists debunk a myth within the theory of superconductivity — the phenomenon of electricity flowing with no resistance

Posted in: Report on January 17th, 2015

University of British Columbia physicists have detected ‘charge ordering’ in electron-doped cuprate superconductors for the first time, according to research published today in Science.

Charge ordering is a ripple-like instability at the electron level that competes with superconductivity and likely suppresses the temperature at which materials demonstrate superconducting properties. Until now, researchers had only observed the phenomenon in other forms of cuprate materials.

This image depicts Eduardo H. da Silva Neto and Andrea Damascelli at UBC’s Quantum Matter Institute.
Credit: University of British […]

A future of power outages; what happens when the lights go out?

Posted in: Commercial/Industrial Green Residential Solar on November 4th, 2014

It is impossible to imagine the modern world without electricity. We are dependent on an uninterrupted source of power and when it fails the consequences are devastating.

Over the past decade there have been 50 significant power-outage events occurring in 26 countries, and the demand for electricity continues to grow stronger with rapid population growth, compact urban areas and an ‘addiction’ to electric appliances. In their article “Exergy and the City: The Technology and Sociology of Power (Failure),” Hugh Byrd and […]

Fast Charging Electric-Car Batteries Could be Less Damaging Than Previously Thought

Posted in: Green on September 24th, 2014

Image: BMW

DC fast charging makes electric cars considerably more practical, allowing drivers to recharge a car’s battery to 80 percent of capacity in half an hour or less.

But quick charging was widely thought to come with a major drawback: While it lowers recharging times, research so far has indicated that fast charging shortens the lifespan of lithium-ion cells.

Now a new study published in the journal Nature Materials (via Green Car Congress) claims quick charging is less damaging than originally thought.

Fast […]

Why Electric-Car Charging At Work Matters

Posted in: Green on September 2nd, 2014

For many electric car owners, charging at work is a nice bonus, but not a necessity.

For others, it’s the difference between choosing an electric vehicle, and not doing so–the extra charge at work makes all the difference.

But there’s another reason charging at work is important, and it’s all to do with the electricity grid and the “duck curve”.

Chargepoint founder and CTO CEO Richard Lowenthal explains the duck curve–and the benefits of charging in the “duck’s belly” on Greentech Media.

As we […]

How quick charging may or may-not be hurting your electric car’s battery life

Posted in: Green on July 24th, 2014

 

Some electric car makers, notably Nissan with its Leaf, make recommendations that owners don’t charge too frequently using quick-charging stations. The belief is that the chemical processes involved in rapidly charging a battery can lead it to degrade faster than regular charges, reducing range.

But is that really the case? One ongoing experiment in Phoenix, Arizona, suggests it might not be–and that overall mileage could be more important. The Idaho National Laboratory (via Simanaitis Says) is currently evaluating four Nissan Leaf […]

Announcing Our Solar Installation Services: Sub-contract or Turnkey

Posted in: Solar on July 11th, 2014

SRP Electric is an experienced Commercial Solar rooftop installer having over 5 megawatts (MW) of investment grade installations completed to date, with capacity ready to deploy immediately!

Essential components of what makes a good off-grid Solar Inverter

Posted in: Residential on May 10th, 2014

This off-grid Solar system is completely cut off from the traditional grid. It best suits locations such as cabins in the woods, mountains or remote areas of the developing world with no electric grid.

This system also incorporates the battery and the power generator in its design. Instead of using a battery or generator as a simple back-up, it is used as a necessary component. The battery is used to save electricity for rainy days – literally – while a generator […]

…And the winner is: Plug-in Electric Car Sales In Canada For March

Posted in: Green on April 14th, 2014

The vehicle industry has been in a lot of turmoil the past few months with recalls here and there. Main while on the plugin vehicle side of things, we have been noticing a gradual but steady increase in sales. This; demonstrated by the Nissan Leaf which has been gaining some noticeable momentum, and the Chevrolet Volt leading for March in plug-in electric-car sales for Canada.

Battery 101: Myths vs Facts

Posted in: Green on April 2nd, 2014

Do rechargeable batteries have a lower capacity than disposable alkaline batteries?

This is really a huge challenge for all of us because you can see companies everywhere advertising their “battery fact” as rated capacity and what they are really doing is perpetuating the “battery myth” that disposable batteries have a greater actual or available capacity than rechargeable batteries.

The actual or available capacity for a battery is way more important to actual usage but is also more complex to determine, because it […]