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Nov 5, 2024 | 
motherearthnews.com | Kris De Decker |Martin Wright
Unlock the sun’s full potential with passive solar greenhouse designs for an energy-efficient Chinese greenhouse design to grow warm-season plants year-round with little to no extra heating. Typical glass greenhouses require massive inputs of energy to grow crops out of season. That’s because glass, even if it’s triple-glazed, loses much more heat than an insulated wall.
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Oct 22, 2024 | 
resilience.org | Kris De Decker
For people in industrial societies, few activities demand more privacy than washing and grooming the body. We usually do it alone, in our private bathrooms, with locked doors. Seen in a historical context, that is unusual. Bathing in the presence of others has been the rule rather than the exception. As late as the first half of the twentieth century, many households, even in the most advanced industrial societies, did not have running water at home, let alone a private bathroom.
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Jun 18, 2024 | 
solar.lowtechmagazine.com | Kris De Decker
Last update: April 22, 2022Low-tech Magazine questions the belief in technological progress, and highlights the potential of past knowledge and technologies for designing a sustainable society. Because a web redesign was long overdue – and because we try to practice what we preach – we decided to build a low-tech website that meets our needs and abides by our principles.
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May 12, 2024 | 
solar.lowtechmagazine.com | Kris De Decker
Cycling is sustainable, but how sustainable is the bicycle? Cycling is one of the most sustainable modes of transportation. Increased ridership reduces fossil fuel consumption and pollution, saves space, and improves public health and safety. However, the bicycle itself has managed to elude environmental critique. 12 Studies that calculate the environmental impact of cycling almost always compare it to driving, with predictable results: the bicycle is more sustainable than the car.
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Apr 9, 2024 | 
newsbreak.com | Kris De Decker
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments.
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Apr 9, 2024 | 
resilience.org | Kris De Decker
In 1836, Danish antiquarian and curator Christian Jürgensen Thomsen distinguished three prehistorical eras based on the dominant materials used for weapons and cutting implements: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age.1 Thomsen’s classification refers to the past, but according to his criteria, we have never evolved beyond the Iron Age. Even in the 21st century, iron remains the dominant material, not just for weapons and cutting implements but for about every modern technology.
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Mar 18, 2024 | 
solar.lowtechmagazine.com | Kris De Decker
Trapped in the Iron AgeIn 1836, Danish antiquarian and curator Christian Jürgensen Thomsen distinguished three prehistorical eras based on the dominant materials used for weapons and cutting implements: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age.1 Thomsen’s classification refers to the past, but according to his criteria, we have never evolved beyond the Iron Age.
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Jan 14, 2024 | 
solar.lowtechmagazine.com | Kris De Decker
From wood gas to plastic wasteDuring the Second World War, many motorized vehicles in continental Europe were converted to drive on firewood. 1 That happened as a consequence of the rationing of fossil fuels. Wood gas vehicles were a not-so-elegant alternative to their petrol cousins, but their range was comparable to today’s electric vehicles. In Germany alone, around 500,000 wood gas cars, buses, and trucks were operated by the end of WWII.
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Jan 1, 2024 | 
solar.lowtechmagazine.com | Kris De Decker
In today’s solar photovoltaic systems, direct current power coming from solar panels is converted to alternating current power, making it compatible with a building’s electrical distribution. Because many modern devices operate internally on direct current (DC), alternating current (AC) electricity is then converted back to DC electricity by the adapter of each device.
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Dec 26, 2023 | 
solar.lowtechmagazine.com | Kris De Decker
Readers have told me they like to build small-scale photovoltaic installations like those that power Low-tech Magazine’s website and office. However, they don’t know where to start and what components to buy. This guide brings all the information together: what you need, how to wire everything, what your design choices are, where to put solar panels, how to fix them in place (or not), how to split power and install measuring instruments.
