THE BYTE

Welcome to the BYTE, where we serve up the latest home and tech news from the last week for you to sink your teeth into.
This week we’re taking a BYTE out of the future of transportation, 3D homes, home work, selling out, and big batteries. Dig in!

Generally

Shocking
Who knew one week could bring so much electric news? Beginning in 2019 each and every new Volvo will run on an electric motor. Then, France announced that they are going to ban all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.

Ride The (Electric) Current
Volvo is one of the first major companies to announce this big of a switch. However with Tesla now being the most valuable car company, it may not be long before we see more companies start to jump on this band wagon. With electric battery costs plunging and electric car sales rising 37% last year it seems that France took note. France will begin to offer premiums to poorer households to switch out their old gas powered cars. This is part of France’s five-year-plan to encourage green energy and fulfill its commitments to the Paris Agreement.

2.0

The Swiss Are Coming!
You have probably seen various videos of 3D printing robots spitting out circular homes, or robots laying bricks, but Switzerland’s ETH Zurich University wants to build the next generation of home building robots. The project is trying to incorporate 3D printing, modular design, and new construction methods to build a 200 sq. ft. home. The project, DFAB HOUSE, is built by a robot that is waterproof, dustproof, and can fabricate mesh sections as the framework for the home. The home is projected to be done next summer.

Take Notes

Tick Tock
Southern Australia is tired of messing around when it comes to their power outages. They signed a deal with Tesla to create a 100 MW/129 MWh Powerpack to prevent rolling blackouts during storms or heat. The real kicker here is that Tesla only has 100 days to deliver. That’s right 100 days to create “the largest lithium-ion battery storage project in the world.” If Tesla can pull this off it could change how cities store energy.

Amazon Does It Again
Amazon is introducing their own version of what is basically BestBuy’s Geek Squad. Amazon is now slowly starting to offer in home installation of smart home devices. They will help get everything set up and connect for a relatively cheap price, starting at $99. The service is only available in LA, Portland, San Diego, San Jose, and Orange County, but don’t be surprised to see this expanding out quickly as smart homes/smart products become more popular.

Might As Well Sell
Game, set, match on housing sentiment. June matched the all-time high of housing sentiment with 88.3 percentage points. The previous high was set in February of this year so 2017 is looking like quite a confident year so far. Americans thinking now was a good time to sell their home hit a record high with 39%.

Totally Unrelated

The Best Time Waster
Sitting at your desk can feel so disconnected from nature, but that doesn’t have to be the case anymore with these live nature cameras, showing Bears in Alaska, Ospreys in Maine, Puffins, Tigers and more!