Smart tech and climate change

Question 1

dig something up

Answer 1

excavate; remove something from the ground.

But while they can help with the little tasks at home, some people are wondering whether they can help fight climate change. Yes, smart homes, regulating things like the temperature, are a step in the right direction. Using AI to learn when the house is occupied and the optimal time to fire up the heating, is one way to limit wasteful use of resources.

The problem comes from the origin of the energy which powers these home systems. If it’s fossil fuels, then digging them up – an informal way of saying removing something from the earth - and burning them creates carbon emissions.

Question 2

intermittent

Answer 2

irregular; not continuous.

Renewable energy is intermittent by its nature because it’s dependant and relying on the weather. When the Sun shines and when the wind blows, and these by nature are not 24-hour 7 reliable constant.
She said the renewable energy is intermittent, which means that something is not continuous and has many breaks.

Question 3

blackouts

Answer 3

periods of time without electricity or energy.

And that means that demand doesn’t always meet supply of renewables – it can mean that we get blackouts, but on the other hand, when the Sun is up and we are producing all that power or when the wind is blowing and were producing that power, we might not be able to use that energy - There’s no demand for it and so it’s wasted.
She also said that because there isn’t always a steady stream of energy, we can get blackouts – periods of time without energy.

Question 4

in real time

Answer 4

no delay; live.

Some engineers use something called a digital twin. This is really interesting, actually. This is where lots of sensors are attached to the wind turbine, so it can be modelled on a computer in real time. And then, using machine learning, you can then simulate what’s happening to the wind turbine in specific weather conditions.
He used the expression in real time, which means without delay or live.

Question 5

machine learning

Answer 5

way computers learn and adapt based on collated data.

Some engineers use something called a digital twin. This is really interesting, actually. This is where lots of sensors are attached to the wind turbine, so it can be modelled on a computer in real time. And then, using machine learning, you can then simulate what’s happening to the wind turbine in specific weather conditions. And this is important because it means they can make sure they’re performing their best.

Question 6

simulate

Answer 6

produce a computer model.

Some engineers use something called a digital twin. This is really interesting, actually. This is where lots of sensors are attached to the wind turbine, so it can be modelled on a computer in real time. And then, using machine learning, you can then simulate what’s happening to the wind turbine in specific weather conditions. And this is important because it means they can make sure they’re performing their best.