Tri R Lighting leaps into social networking.  Thank you for everyone who helped bring induction lighting to Facebook.

facebook.com/AmericanInductionLighting

Have you had trouble keeping track of smart metering projects? So have we, which is why we’re glad to see the Smart Metering Projects Map run by the Energy Retail Association in the UK.
The map essentially pinpoints smart metering projects across Europe, North America, Oceania and Asia on a zoom-able Google map. If you click on one of the flags, a few paragraphs pop up explaining the scope and purpose of the project. Distrigaz Sud, for instance, is installing 1.1 gas meters in southern Romania to offset gas network balancing concerns. The meters in the trial utilize snap-on Zigbee devices to permit communication.
In Kyrgyzstan, a utility will test out pre-paid gas meters. (Pre-paid gas meters used to be a common fixture in the U.K. after World War II and are going to be trialed in parts of the U.S. for lower-income housing developments.)
And my personal favorite, Bosnia Herzegovina’s Elektroprivreda HZ HB Mostar is installing meters that communicate through power-line networking provided by Echelon. Echelon has also landed deals, and installed, power line-enabled meters and street lights in Italy, Norway and Texas. Italy already has 30 million smart meters, according to the map, which makes the country one of the more popular nations for smart meters. Elektroprivreda will initially only put in 200 meters but wants to boost the number to 200,000.
There are no projects yet, according to the map, in South America or Africa, but there are proposals in the works for South Africa.
At the risk of sounding redundant, smart metering will be one of the major issues and market for greentech in 2009 and beyond. Proponents say that smart meters and demand response programs can substantially curb greenhouse gases and energy consumption by more finely controlling the distribution and consumption of electricity, water and natural gas. Electrical grids, water utilities and gas pipelines, however, weren’t designed with two-way communication and control in mind so bringing intelligence to these systems will require investments in networking, hardware and software.

Reports are circulating today that Toyota is secretly working on a completely solar powered car, citing The Nikkei. Here’s the take from the Associated Press.
“According to The Nikkei, Toyota is working on an electric vehicle that will get some of its power from solar cells equipped on the vehicle, and that can be recharged with […]

This week the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition released the findings of our Bay Area Nano Survey. Of the 129 companies that we surveyed, we received seven responses that were complete. Although we didn’t find out all the information that we requested in the survey, we did find out one thing — many companies are not […]

Serious Materials is a Silicon Valley company that makes sustainable building materials. Its new EcoRock drywall is one of the most green building materials on the market.
The EcoRock manufacturing process requires 80 percent less energy than production of traditional gypsum drywall and results in substantially reduced carbon dioxide emissions.  These reductions are due to a streamlined process that omits […]

C-Lock Technology Inc., says it’s got a better breed of software to measure, analyze and report green-house gas emissions, and they’ve gone to Poland to prove it.
C-Lock announced Thursday that it has a $12.5 million deal to deploy its GreenCert software in a pilot project at 14 coal-fired power plants in Poland. The deal […]

The grid can accommodate a lot more solar and wind power than many experts believe, according to a new study. If it’s correct, it could cut the cost of trying to deploy renewable power.
Stanford doctoral student Elaine Hart has been running simulations which try to maximize the amount of solar and wind power going over […]

I am currently working on my new Induction Lighting website and brand.  Tri R Lighting will continue to operate strictly for online sales with a shopping cart and order fulfillment.  My new project, American Induction Lighting will focus strictly on office induction lighting for commercial properties.  In addition to fixture and bulb sales we will specialize in retrofits of existing fluorescent fixtures.  Stay tuned for more.