Battery used Battery charging
Written by

Kris De Decker

How to Build a Low-tech Website?

Our new website is designed to radically reduce the energy use associated with accessing our content.

Could We Dredge the Netherlands Without Fossil Fuels?

For centuries, the Netherlands were mainly dredged by hand, supplemented by animal power, wind power and tidal power. Could it be done again?

We Can't Do It Ourselves

How to live a more sustainable life? By placing responsibility squarely on the individual, attention is deflected away from the many institutions involved in structuring possible courses of action.

Ditch the Batteries: Off-Grid Compressed Air Energy Storage

Compressed air energy storage is a sustainable and resilient alternative to chemical batteries, with much longer life expectancy, lower life cycle costs, technical simplicity, and low maintenance.

History and Future of the Compressed Air Economy

Historical compressed air systems hold the key to the design of a low-tech, low-cost, robust, sustainable and relatively energy efficient energy storage medium.

How Much Energy Do We Need?

Researchers have calculated minimum levels of energy use needed to live a decent life, but what about maximum levels?

Energy labels oblige frugal homeowners to make unsustainable investments

How energy-efficient a home is depends not only on the energy label but also on the lifestyle.

Bedazzled by Energy Efficiency

To focus on energy efficiency is to make present ways of life non-negotiable.

How to Run the Economy on the Weather

Adjusting energy demand to supply would make switching to renewable energy much more realistic than it is today.

How (Not) to Run a Modern Society on Solar and Wind Power Alone

Matching supply to demand at all times makes renewable power production a complex, slow, expensive and unsustainable undertaking.

Non-Electric Hearing Aids Outperform Modern Devices

Those who can overcome their vanity can revert to technology that has proven to work.

Could We Run Modern Society on Human Power Alone?

Unlike solar and wind energy, human power is always available, no matter the season or time of day.