Incorporating solar power onto airships is not an entirely new idea, but we continue to find interesting developments of the concept. The latest is the Solar Ship,a hybrid aircraft that merges buoyant lifting and aerodynamics as well as thin-film solar panels. The combination makes for a long-range vessel that is able to take-off and land on very short airfields.

Earlier studies have been critical of the efficiency of airships, finding that trucks offer a lower overall cost in time and energy. But that presupposes the existence of a network of available roads. While developed areas may be more readily served by trucks, they are less than ideal for many other parts of the world.

The Solar Ship concept was specifically developed for use in areas without a network of roads available. The two areas being focused on at present are to provide medical services in remote areas and to provide cargo transport alternatives to the "ice roads" presently used to move supplies in the high Arctic.

"Solar Ship blends the technologies of aerodynamic lift, aerostatic lift, and solar cells to create a cost efficient, long range, energy efficient cargo carrier for areas with minimal or unreliable infrastructure."

As a heavier-than-air craft, the Solar Ship does not need to have a ground crew to help support the craft at each destination point. The buoyant assitance of helium gives the craft enough help that it is able to use a soccer field as its airstrip. A solar powered Solar Ship will have unlimited effective range, while the hybrid version increases the cargo capacity while still providing great range.

A couple of high-tech programmable thermostats are starting to draw a lot of attention for raising the bar for both style and user friendliness. Proper use of a programmable thermostat is one of the best ways to control your home energy usage and reduce energy costs, and these new thermostats can make it easier than ever to accomplish this.

Both the ecobee and the Nest thermostats come in stylish packages that offer wireless connectivity, user-friendly interfaces, and online access and mobile apps to let you control your system remotely.

The Nest thermostat is designed to learn and adapt itself over time, so that your house is at the temperature you want when you want it without having to fuss with reprogramming it. The ecobee web interface also gives you energy reports so you can see when you are using energy.

Both thermostats are priced in the range of a few hundred dollars, which is more than the average programmable thermostat, but they offer more features and easier accessability, which presumably should translate into greater energy savings. If using one of these thermostats helps save as much energy as they claim, either one would be well worth the investment, and should pay back its cost with energy savings within a couple of years.

via: p s proefrock architecture