Kris De Decker

Kris De Decker is the creator and author of "Low-tech Magazine", a blog that is published in English, Dutch and Spanish. Low-tech Magazine refuses to assume that every problem has a high-tech solution. (Since 2007).
Creator and author of "No Tech Magazine". Short posts related to the same topics. In English. (Since 2009).
Articles and columns for "Energy Bulletin" (English) (now Resilience.org), "The Oil Drum" (English), "Scilogs" (Dutch), "nrc.next" (Dutch), "EOS" (Dutch), "Scientific American" (Dutch), "De Koevoet" (Dutch) and "Down To Earth" (Dutch). (Since 2009).
Co-author of the book "Energie in 2030" ("Energy in 2030"), a project of the "Rathenau Instituut", an organisation that advises the Dutch government on challenges related to science and technology. (2009 - 2011).
Freelance journalist for (among others) "Knack", "De Tijd" and "De Standaard", all newspapers and magazines in Belgium. In-depth articles on science, technology, energy and environment. Dutch language. (1996 - 2007).

Ditch the Batteries: Off-Grid Compressed Air Energy Storage

By Kris De Decker, Low-tech Magazine

Going off-grid? Think twice before you invest in a battery system. Compressed air energy storage is the sustainable and resilient alternative to batteries, with much longer life expectancy, lower life cycle costs, technical simplicity, and low maintenance.

May 18, 2018

History and Future of the Compressed Air Economy

By Kris De Decker, Low-tech Magazine

Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is considered to be an important component of a renewable power grid, because it could store surplus power from wind turbines and solar panels on a large scale. However, in its present form, the technology suffers from large energy losses and depends on natural gas to operate.

May 16, 2018

Kris De Decker: Enough Is Enough

By Alex Wise, Kris De Decker, Sea Change Radio

Our guest this week on Sea Change Radio, Low Tech Magazine founder, Kris De Decker, makes a compelling case for the abandonment of efficiency as the barometer for planetary stewardship. He proposes we use the simpler, but perhaps more painful objective of sufficiency.

February 12, 2018

How Much Energy Do We Need?

By Kris De Decker, Low-tech Magazine

Because energy fuels both human development and environmental damage, policies that encourage energy demand reduction can run counter to policies for alleviating poverty, and the other way around. Achieving both objectives can only happen if energy use is spread more equally across societies.

January 29, 2018

Bedazzled by Energy Efficiency

By Kris De Decker, Low-tech Magazine

To focus on energy efficiency is to make present ways of life non-negotiable. However, transforming present ways of life is key to mitigating climate change and decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels.

January 10, 2018

How to Run the Economy on the Weather

By Kris De Decker, Low-tech Magazine

Before the Industrial Revolution, people adjusted their energy demand to a variable energy supply. Our global trade and transport system -- which relied on sail boats -- operated only when the wind blew, as did the mills that supplied our food and powered many manufacturing processes. The same approach could be very useful today, especially when improved by modern technology.

September 25, 2017

How (Not) to Run a Modern Society on Solar and Wind Power Alone

By Kris De Decker, Low-tech Magazine

While the potential of wind and solar energy is more than sufficient to supply the electricity demand of industrial societies, these resources are only available intermittently. To ensure that supply always meets demand, a renewable power grid needs an oversized power generation and transmission capacity of up to ten times the peak demand. It also requires a balancing capacity of fossil fuel power plants, or its equivalent in energy storage.

September 14, 2017

Could We Run Modern Society on Human Power Alone?

By Kris De Decker, Low-tech Magazine

Unlike solar and wind energy, human power is always available, no matter the season or time of day. Unlike fossil fuels, human power can be a clean energy source, and its potential increases as the human population grows. In the Human Power Plant, Low-tech Magazine and artist Melle Smets investigate the feasibility of human energy production in the 21st century.

May 31, 2017