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The latest device to be the subject of the European Union's Eco-design regulations are circulators -small pumps that are mainly used to circulate water in heating systems.

Conventional geothermal power taps hot water rising naturally to the surface from shallow beds of volcanic rock. By contrast, hot rock, or engineered geothermal systems, depend on heating water by circulating it through rock as far down as 5 kilometres,

Deeya Energy, which makes large flow batteries to provide backup power to industrial plants, raised $15 million in a second round of financing, according to Venture Wire. The company earlier raised $7.5 million and is building manufacturing facilities in India. What is a flow battery? It's a battery with tanks of electrolytes that effectively let the battery store more energy than normal batteries. The electrolytes flow or circulate through the system. The larger the tanks, the more electricity it can store.

What is a flow battery? It's a battery with tanks of electrolytes that effectively lets the battery store more energy than normal batteries. The electrolyte flows or circulates through the system. The larger the tanks, the more electricity it can store. "They are cheaply made out of plastic. They are low maintenance," said Rick Winter, an executive at Deeya Energy, which makes flow batteries. The company has been busy this summer setting up manufacturing facilities in India

Capturing energy from the earth's heat is pretty easy pickin's for geologically-active areas of the world like Iceland, Indonesia, and Chile. In some locations, hot fluids are so near the earth's surface that heat from naturally-occurring hot fluids can be directly circulated through buildings for heating. Iceland, in particular, takes advantage of this low-hanging energy fruit. However, in most areas of the world where geothermal energy is captured, the heat is used to generate electricity. Conventional Geothermal Energy Unlike some of the more common alternative energies - hydro, solar, and wind - geothermal is impervious to weather conditions. This independence means it provides excellent base load electricity. Currently all commercial geothermal electricity is generated by so-called conventional systems, whereby naturally- occurring hot water or steam is accessed at comparatively shallow depths in areas of very high geothermal gradient. Wells are commonly drilled to depths on the order of 2 km. The water or steam they produce is used to spin turbines that in turn generate electricity.

The molecules, known as fluorocarbons, are found in plastics, clothing and refrigerants. At their heart is a union of carbon and fluorine -- a union that, thanks to their atomic configurations, is one of the strongest molecular unions known in nature. Under standard conditions, fluorocarbons are impervious to acids and bases. They don't give or receive electrons, the very currency of molecular reconfiguration. Breaking them down is possible only at temperatures approaching 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. In some situations, that stability is a blessing: Teflon is made from fluorocarbons. But so are the hydrofluorocarbon coolants in refrigerators and air conditioners -- and when released, those become greenhouse gases that can circulate for thousands of years.