Techknow Ireland

A home battery that doesn't care whether you have solar panels or not? EcoFlow's Stream AC 5000 sounds made for renters and apartments, but can you actually use one in Ireland yet? Can't get solar panels, but still fancy the benefits of a home battery? Maybe you're renting, or you live in an apartment where panels on the roof just aren't happening. Or maybe you've got panels already, and on a good day some of what they make heads out to the grid because the house isn't using

Five kilowatt-hours of storage, room for twelve solar panels and a socket that can keep a heater going in a power cut. Anker's latest Solarbank has reviewers talking, but is it one for Irish homes? Solar panels and a battery sound like a natural pairing. Catch the power when the sun does show up, then use it later instead of buying it in. One kind of home battery tries to make that simpler. The battery and the electronics to connect your panels and your home all live in one b

Fill it up on cheap night-rate electricity, use it in the evening when power is dear, and all you need is a socket. That's the pitch for plug-in home batteries. But can you actually use one that way in Ireland? Short answer: not the plug-in way. Not yet. As of the time of writing, we couldn't find an approved way in Ireland to plug a battery into an ordinary socket and have it power your house. A battery hardwired by a Registered Electrical Contractor is a different story, an

A couple of solar panels on the balcony railing, a lead into an ordinary socket, and the house takes a little less from the grid while the sun's out. Germany allows it under set conditions, and the UK joined in at the end of August. So can you do it in Ireland? The answer comes in two halves. When going to press with this article, Irish officials still say plugging a solar kit into a socket yourself isn't compliant. The route they describe as compliant today is having it hard

Another big name has joined the home battery race. Jackery, which also makes portable power stations, now has the SolarVault 3 range. It's well reviewed in Germany, but whether it's good value depends on where, and when, you look, and there's no Irish price yet. A home battery does a simple job. It stores electricity, from solar panels or from the grid on a cheap rate, and hands it back when you need it. Many of the newer ones are all-in-one boxes: battery, inverter (the bit

No solar panels. No sunshine required. A battery that might still help with the electricity bill. In a country where "sunny spells" counts as a good forecast, you'd have to admit that has a certain appeal. In Ireland we don't have as many sunny days as other countries, many of us are either renting our homes or live in apartments where we can't even think about put up solar panels. Across the water in the UK, there is a great excitement about plug-in Solar panels and power ge

Just in time for the Girls in Green making their debut on the largest stage in international soccer, the World Cup, FIFA 23, is adding the Women's World Cup mode for the first time in its history. The mode will be available as a free update in late June 2023. The Women's World Cup mode will include all 32 qualified nations, authentic stadium dressings, match presentations, dedicated commentary, and the official trophy. Players will be able to choose from three different ways

WhatsApp, the popular messaging app owned by Meta, has announced a new feature called Channels: a simple and private way to receive updates from people and organizations important to you, right within WhatsApp. With Channels, admins can send text, photos, videos, stickers, and polls to their followers in a one-way broadcast mode. Similar to Stories in Instagram, or Spotlight on Snapchat, followers will be able to subscribe and view the latest from their Channels in a new tab

eir has seen a huge surge in data usage on its mobile network in the first quarter of 2023. According to its mobile data report, eir’s mobile customers used 41% more data in Q1 2023 compared to the same time last year, with each county experiencing substantial growth. The report, which was shared with Techknow Ireland, reveals some interesting insights into how and where Irish consumers are using their data connection on eir’s mobile network. County Leitrim saw the highest gr

Sony has announced that it is testing cloud streaming for PS5 games, which will be included in the PlayStation Plus Premium subscription. This new feature will enable users to play PS5 games without downloading them to their console, and stream them to other devices such as PCs, Macs, mobile phones. What games are supported? According to Sony, the cloud streaming feature will support PS5 games from the PlayStation Plus Game Catalogue and Game Trials, as well as digital PS5 ti

Google's new AI chatbot, Bard, which can generate natural and engaging conversations on any topic, has been postponed in its European launch due to privacy concerns raised by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC). The DPC, which oversees Google's data practices in the EU, asked Google to provide a data protection impact assessment for Bard, as required by the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). However, Google failed to do so, and the DPC requested more infor

Beatles legend, Paul McCartney, uses AI to create final 'New' music from unused John Lennon demo

A week after taking the helm of Twitter, Linda Yaccarino has revealed her plans for the future of the social media giant. In a series of tweets and an email to employees, the new CEO said she was on a mission to make Twitter the world’s most accurate real-time information source. She also outlined her vision of transforming Twitter into a “global town square” that would “drive civilisation forward through the unfiltered exchange of information and open dialogue about the thin

ServiceNow, a digital workflow company, has announced plans to create 400 new jobs in Ireland over the next three years. The new roles will be across digital sales, engineering, research and development, and will double the company's current staff numbers in Dublin to more than 800. The company offers a cloud-based platform for automating workflows, using technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotic process automation. It recently partnered with

If you've ever dreamed of exploring the galaxy as a rogue with a heart of gold, you're in luck. Ubisoft has just announced Star Wars Outlaws, the first-ever open-world Star Wars game, coming in 2024 to Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Star Wars Outlaws is set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, a time when the Galactic Empire is hunting down the Rebel Alliance and the criminal underworld is thriving. Cleverly sidestepping the moral bla

Somehow [Rey] Palpatine Returned... After more than four years of a hiatus from our cinema screens, Lucasfilm announced today a trio of new Star Wars movies will (probably) be coming to our screens in the coming years. Making the headline announcements at Star Wars Celebration Europe, in London, today the movies were announced with directors James Mangold (Jurassic World, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), Dave Filoni (The Mandolorian, The Clone Wars) and Sharmeen Obaid

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, to quote The Who. EA Sport will begin the big push for brand awareness and recognition to ensure that everyone knows that after almost three decades, FIFA 23 was the last iteration of the football juggernaut from EA Sports that will feature the FIFA branding and there is a new kid in town. Every September, the newest FIFA game was anticipated with great hope of new ball physics and realistic player animations to make the game signific

FIFA 23 is the latest instalment of the popular soccer video game series from EA Sports, the last to feature the FIFA Moniker, and it features some exciting new additions for fans of women's club football. For the first time in the history of the seies, you can play as women's club teams from four different leagues: the Barclays Women’s Super League (England), Division 1 Arkema (France), National Women's Soccer League (USA), and UEFA Women's Champions League (Europe) . Each l

The new gaming range developed by IKEA in collaboration with Republic of Gamers (ROG) will launch in IKEA Ireland from 1st October, 2021....

The experts have spoken, now the debate begins. EA SPORTS build up to the release of FIFA 22 kicks in to over by revealing the highest...