- Bayern hit nine, Real Madrid and Liverpool win as new Champions League kicks off
- Author John Grisham joins bid to save Texas death row inmate
- Venezuela arrests fourth American over alleged 'plot' against Maduro
- 'Happy' Mbappe strikes on Madrid Champions League debut win over Stuttgart
- Man Utd hit Barnsley for seven in League Cup rout
- Dolphins quarterback Tagovailoa facing concussion layoff
- Stylish Liverpool strut past Milan in confident Champions league opener
- Kane scores four as Bayern put nine past Zagreb in the Champions League
- Mbappe strikes on Madrid Champions League debut win over Stuttgart
- More than 3,600 food packaging chemicals found in human bodies
- Harris calls Trump as assassination scare sparks tensions
- Dow edges down from record as some eye a smaller Fed rate cut
- Sommer vows Inter will 'defend with all we have' to stop Haaland
- Report links meatpacking companies to 'war on nature' in Brazil
- Bolivian ex-leader Morales, backers set out on weeklong protest march
- Smith grateful to McCullum for launching his England career
- Arizona to ask court to rule on voting rights
- Villa make perfect start on Champions League return after 41-year absence
- Israeli supply chain infiltration likely behind Hezbollah pager blasts: analysts
- Rodgers backs Celtic to be 'really competitive' in Champions League
- Spacewalk an 'emotional experience' for private astronauts
- Storm Boris toll rises to 22 in central Europe
- Nine dead, 2,800 wounded as Lebanon's Hezbollah hit by pager blasts
- Boeing, union resume talks as strike empties Seattle plants
- Over 3,600 food packaging chemicals found in human bodies
- Australia's Zampa accepts Ashes chances remote as 100th ODI looms
- UN General Assembly debates call for end to Israeli occupation
- Marseille complete signing of French international Rabiot
- Easterby to fill in as Ireland coach while Farrell is with the Lions
- Hezbollah in Lebanon hit by wave of deadly pager blasts
- Postecoglou taken aback by criticism of his second season success claim
- US, European stocks rise on retail sales, rate cut expectations
- Fendi sees Roaring 20s at Milan Fashion Week in challenging times
- Ronaldo's Al Nassr part ways with coach Castro
- Scottish government backs Glasgow to stage troubled 2026 Commonwealth Games
- Storm Boris toll rises to 21 in central Europe
- Instagram, under pressure, tightens protection for teens
- Inflation slows again in Canada to 2%
- US, European stocks rise on eve of Fed rate decision
- EU bans Algerian spread toasted on social media
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs charged with racketeering, sex trafficking
- Trump returns to campaign trail after assassination scare
- Activist urges repatriation of Native Americans dead in Paris 'human zoo'
- US retail sales see slight rise, beating expectations
- US Fed begins two-day meeting set to end with rate cut
- Exploding Hezbollah pagers wound hundreds across Lebanon
- Runners-up Yokohama thrashed 7-3 in AFC Champions League goal fest
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs to plead not guilty to racketeering, sex trafficking
- Jihadist group claims rare attack on Mali capital
- 'I am a rapist,' Frenchman tells trial over mass rape of wife
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.
G.Stevens--AMWN