Watt’s up, doc? Huddig hybrid loader gets a big battery boost [video]

This one's for homeowners curious about construction equipment rather than something that touches your own house directly. Swedish manufacturer HUDDIG has upgraded its 1370 TIGON hybrid wheel loader (a piece of heavy equipment used in construction and excavation work) with a much bigger battery for its next model year, jumping from 44 kWh to 61 kWh, a 40 percent increase. The new "G2" version also adds regenerative braking, which recovers electricity while the machine brakes, drives downhill, or lowers its boom, similar to how hybrid and electric cars work.

The loader can run as a fully electric machine thanks to its battery, in addition to handling standard wheel-loader tasks, and can be fitted with attachments like a crane or an insulated lift basket, or even operated by remote control. HUDDIG says its first-generation machines already ran on pure electric power nearly 60 percent of the time, with a fleet of 41 units logging over 96,000 hours of use and saving an estimated 140,000 gallons of diesel. The company expects the bigger battery to push electric runtime even higher and improve those fuel-savings numbers further.

For homeowners, this is mostly a sign of where heavy equipment technology is heading: less noise and fewer emissions on job sites, which could matter if you're watching construction or utility work happen near your property, but it has no direct bearing on home energy upgrades or rebates.