While the news may be dominated by headlines detailing how severe the world's global warming crisis is, what tends to fly under the radar a little are the stories about the technological developments being put in place to combat it.
There are plenty of examples of different devices, components and creations that you might not be aware of that are currently being used and rolled out in homes and businesses across the globe to make them more efficient. Here are a few examples.
1] Smart Sensors
Wasted energy is one of the biggest drains on our resources , and along with being vigilant about turning off devices, smart sensors are now helping to tackle this. These essentially turn lights or devices off when they're not in use and on when they sense someone is near and wants to use them.
2] Automated Homes
In a similar vein to this, today's homes can now be controlled remotely or automatically to do everything from lowering the thermostat to opening windows and even adjusting light shades. These can be effective at heating or cooling a property, reducing the need for turning up the heating or using air conditioning.
More and more homes and businesses are having solar panels fitted to make the most of this abundant, sustainable resource. In addition, solar farms are now increasing in size and scale in nations like Australia to harvest and store the sun's energy in solar batteries that can be used at a later date.
4] More Efficient Processes
In the business world you can also find such technologies being used, but the efficiency measures now run deeper. Everything from the smallest industrial components to large-scale machinery and production lines are now run with more effective systems and devices that are overall more efficient and energy-saving.
Beyond the more common renewables like wind, solar and tidal energy, there are also many studies and indeed the production of new, eco-friendly fuels.
Many of these are still in the testing stages but it's hoped that soon they will be more readily available as our main - and more importantly, green - energy supplies. Some of these are available now though, including and even hydrogen fuel cells.
The above technologies aren't necessarily a quick fix to global warming, but they're certainly a step in the right direction. The other positive is that this tech is also ever-changing and becoming more sophisticated, giving us hope of a greener and brighter future.
