Cleantech Notes - Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems

With Programmable Thermostats, User-Friendliness Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Energy Savings

Olga Sachs — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:12:55 +0000

This week, Fraunhofer CSE presented preliminary results of a field study at the Garrison Institute’s “Climate, Buildings and Behavior Symposium”. In this project, partially funded by the US Department of Energy’s Building America...

With Crowdfunding Legal, Incubators Are the New VCs

Jeff McAulay — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:34:52 +0000

Let the speculation begin! With HR 3606, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) act, officially signed into law, innovative start-ups can now leverage crowdfunding to bring their ideas to market. So what does...

Fraunhofer Examines Facts and Future Trends in German PV Solar Deployment

Martin Sachs — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:22:42 +0000

Deployment of renewable energies technologies —especially solar PV —is advancing rapidly. As the world leader in installed solar PV capacity, Germany continues to offer an interesting role model to clean energy advocates and...

Through the Eyes of an Intern: Data Acquisition, Building Technology and Field Deployments

Angela Qin — Tue, 01 May 2012 22:34:23 +0000

[Editor’s Note: Today we've got a guest post from former CSE intern Angela Qin, who reflects on her time at Fraunhofer and explains how her research into thermostat usability helped pave the way...

The 2012 Siemens Sustainable Community Awards

Gerrit Strack — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:53:44 +0000

Yesterday, the Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) and Siemens announced the winners of the fifth Siemens Sustainable Community Awards, a program aimed at recognizing cities for their outstanding sustainability efforts....

Industry Collaboration in Troubling Times Strengthens the Solar Supply Chain

Bettina Weiss — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:59:10 +0000

I’ve experienced an interesting combination of conversations, events, and “aha” moments related to the solar PV sector in the past few weeks, starting with the PV Rollout Conference in Boston in early February...

Partnerships for Sustainable Energy R&D, Commercialization, and Adoption: Fraunhofer CSE’s “Living Laboratory”

Nolan Browne — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:51:23 +0000

This week marks an important milestone in the development of Fraunhofer CSE’s future “living laboratory” and headquarters in Boston’s Innovation District. As the Boston Globe reported, we have announced the names of nearly...

How Presentation Medium and Design Influences Energy-Saving Technology Adoption

Janelle LaMarche — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:08:57 +0000

Over the last few years many display technologies have come onto the home energy management (HEM) market that aim to provide feedback on residential energy consumption. You may have heard of some of...

The Future of Business Plan Competitions: Online Video

Jeff McAulay — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:40:41 +0000

In the startup world we talk a lot about “the Pitch”—either to investors, team members, or potential customers about why your business/product is awesome. I’d like to propose a startup pitch competition that...

Dynamo Micropower’s Portable Generator: Road to Commercialization

Jason Ethier — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:47:43 +0000

[Editor's Note: Here, Dynamo Micropower co-founder Jason Ethier shares his vision for his company's micro-turbine and its role in the market, the factors that have contributed to his success to date, and advice...