- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Bosnia floods kill 14 people
- Tennis world number one Swiatek splits with coach Wiktorowski
- Liverpool share responsibility for Nunez goal drought, says Slot
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Top seed Sabalenka stunned by Muchova in Beijing last eight
- Tsitsipas gets revenge against Nishikori at Shanghai Masters
Berlin tech show facing up to era of energy scarcity
From portable solar panels to smart thermostats and "intelligent" radiators, exhibitors at the IFA tech show in Berlin are touting smart solutions for an energy-starved world.
But the clever gadgets sometimes belie their hefty carbon footprint.
The motto for the 2022 edition of the German fair for cutting-edge technology -- the first since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic -- is "energy efficiency", a timely mission with prices for electricity soaring.
One such exhibitor which believes it has the answer is Busch-Jaeger, whose stand is carpeted in switches and small blank screens.
The German company, owned by the Swiss group ABB, has become a specialist in "smart home" technologies.
Their idea: to regulate energy consumption at home on the basis of a stream of data, including the current ambient temperature, the light in the room and the quality of the air.
Such devices are "more and more sought after" as the cost of energy skyrockets in Europe, says Ulf Ehling, who is tasked with presenting the company's technology at IFA.
- 'Crazy' -
A few hundred metres away, the Norwegian company Mill is offering black and white "intelligent" radiators.
Thanks to a smartphone app, users can control the temperature in their homes over the course of the day.
According to Bashir Naimy, Mill's technical director, the device can help save "37 percent of a household's energy".
IFA also boasts regular displays of eccentric gadgets, among them a fridge that cools a drink in "two minutes" or an odour generator for buying perfume online.
The French company Y-Brush has descended on IFA to tout a "sonic" toothbrush that looks like dentures, which is "capable of brushing all teeth at once in 5, 10, or 15 seconds".
Visitors to the fair, which closes on Tuesday, are, however, preoccupied by the question of energy usage.
"When you see how much all these devices consume it is crazy," says Justin, 23, a tech enthusiast, who came to Berlin specifically for the show.
"We're always thinking about that," says Christoph Boettger, 39, who has come with his partner.
European energy prices have soared over recent months in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent throttling of gas supplies to Germany from Moscow.
The German government has launched an energy-saving campaign and tried to lead by example by reducing the temperature in public buildings, among other moves.
The energy conundrum worsened last week, as Russian energy giant Gazprom said it would not restart gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline after a planned three-day maintenance, pinning the blame on Western sanctions.
- 'Internet of things' -
"Smart home technologies can help save energy," Sara Warneke, the director of IFA's organisers, said Friday.
But what is the real toll of these new energy technologies?
According to a 2020 report by the French Senate the "growth in greenhouse gas emissions" from digital technologies is driven by "the internet of things" -- household electronics connected to the web -- and the "storage of data".
The two together could lead to a 60 percent leap "in the carbon impact of digital technologies by 2040".
Despite the individual energy saving potential, the total impact of these technologies may be bigger than they first appear.
The Chinese company Ecoflow, which has offices across Europe, hopes to resolve the contradiction with mini solar panels.
The long, foldable rectangles that are carried around in a special case can be used to charge a lithium battery.
Their portability means users "do not need administrative authorisation to install them", says Franko Fischer, Ecoflow's spokesman.
The panels can generate 2,700 Wh, enough to charge a computer, a mobile phone or a hairdryer.
"We expect consumers in Europe to have high demand for solutions like ours, because people want to be independent, especially in a crisis," says Fischer.
In Germany, the cost of electricity has risen on average by 31 percent in the year to August, according to price comparison site Check24.
J.Pereira--PC