Energy Extras
Which Story Should Inside Energy Investigate Next?
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Inside Energy needs your help: We want you to pick our next story. Read the reasoning behind each of our staff picks, and vote for the one that most tickles your own fancy.
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IE Questions: Is A Petroleum Engineering Degree A Good Idea?
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There’s a question that we get a lot: “Is a petroleum engineering degree a good idea?” Between fluctuating oil prices and a national push toward renewable energy, what’s a potential petroleum engineering major to do?
Nikola Tesla
IE Questions: Why don’t we have wireless electricity?
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Why don’t we have wireless electricity? To find out, we went back a hundred years to a man named Nikola Tesla and his dream to send electricity around the world without wires.
Turning Wasted Heat into Power
IE Questions: Can We Turn Power Plants’ Wasted Heat Into Power?
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Answering an energy question from Wellington Middle School, our Inside Energy team shines a light on power wasted in electricity generation. Can it be reused? Recycled? Turned into energy?
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How Much Should You Spend On Energy? Answering Your Questions
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We’re taking a close look at the energy assistance programs that help low-income families pay their utility bills, keep warm in the winter and keep cool in the summer. We answer your questions about these programs, and tell you how much of your income you spend on energy.
Data
IE Questions: What Size Wind Generator Does An Average House Need?
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What size wind generator does an average house need? To answer the question, you have to figure out: Are you a good candidate for a home wind turbine?
A Watched Pot
A Watched Pot: What Is The Most Energy Efficient Way To Boil Water?
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What is the most energy efficient way to boil water? And which method has the smallest carbon footprint? The familiar act of boiling water lets us examine how the choices we make daily roll up to global energy consumption.
Educator Resources
Electricity Losses State By State: Interactive
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As part of our IE Questions project, Inside Energy investigated how much energy is lost as electricity travels from a power plant to the plug in your home. In the U.S., five to six percent of the energy in electricity is lost during transmission and distribution, but that varies widely state-to-state and year-to-year. See how your home state measures up.
Lost in Transmission
Lost In Transmission: How Much Electricity Disappears Between A Power Plant And Your Plug?
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How much energy is lost along the way as electricity travels from a power plant to the plug in your home? This question comes from Jim Barlow, a Wyoming architect, through our IE Questions project. To find the answer, we need to break it out step by step: first turning raw materials into electricity, next moving that electricity to your neighborhood, and finally sending that electricity through the walls of your home to your outlet.
