Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Demand note payable and convertible debentures - related party (Details)

Demand note payable and convertible debentures - related party (Details) (USD $)			0 Months Ended					12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended				12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended			12 Months Ended				0 Months Ended		0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	May 11, 2009 Ilios	May 11, 2009 Director and Chief Executive Officer	May 11, 2009 Director and Chief Executive Officer Ilios	Dec. 31, 2012 Chief Executive Officer (John N. Hatsopoulos)	Dec. 31, 2011 Chief Executive Officer (John N. Hatsopoulos)	Dec. 31, 2012 Demand notes Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Demand notes Maximum	May 11, 2009 Demand notes Director and Chief Executive Officer	Nov. 30, 2012 Demand notes Chief Executive Officer (John N. Hatsopoulos)	Sep. 07, 2011 Demand notes Chief Executive Officer (John N. Hatsopoulos)	Sep. 10, 2008 Demand notes Chief Executive Officer (John N. Hatsopoulos)	Dec. 31, 2011 Convertible debentures	Sep. 30, 2012 Convertible debentures Common stock	Dec. 31, 2012 Convertible debentures Common stock	Dec. 31, 2011 Convertible debentures Common stock	Sep. 30, 2012 Convertible debentures Conversion of principal amount	Sep. 30, 2012 Convertible debentures Conversion of accrued interest	May 11, 2009 Convertible debentures Director and Chief Executive Officer	Dec. 31, 2012 Convertible debentures Director and Chief Executive Officer	Sep. 24, 2001 Convertible debentures Director and Chief Executive Officer	Dec. 31, 2012 Convertible debentures Director and Chief Executive Officer Common stock	Sep. 24, 2011 Convertible debentures Director and Chief Executive Officer Common stock	Sep. 24, 2011 Convertible debentures Director and Chief Executive Officer Conversion of accrued interest	Sep. 24, 2001 Convertible debentures Member of board of directors	May 11, 2009 Convertible debentures Member of board of directors Conversion of principal amount	May 11, 2009 Convertible debentures Member of board of directors Conversion of accrued interest	Sep. 24, 2001 Convertible debentures Chief Executive Officer (John N. Hatsopoulos)	May 11, 2009 Convertible debentures Chief Executive Officer (John N. Hatsopoulos) Common stock	May 11, 2009 Convertible debentures Chief Executive Officer (John N. Hatsopoulos) Conversion of principal amount	May 11, 2009 Convertible debentures Chief Executive Officer (John N. Hatsopoulos) Conversion of accrued interest
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Demand notes payable, related party, current	$ 1,337,500	$ 1,037,500				$ 1,300,000	$ 1,000,000
Principal amount											300,000	750,000	250,000									330,000				200,000			100,000
Related party debt, stated interest rate								5.00%	6.00%		6.00%	6.00%	5.00%								6.00%
Debentures accrued interest, first payment from issuance date																					6 years
Conversion price in usd per share																					$ 0.30		$ 0.30	$ 0.50						$ 0.50
Number of shares of subsidiary common stock sold by the Company			1,400,000		1,400,000.00
Subsidiary common stock sold by the Company, price in usd per share			$ 0.50		$ 0.50
Extinguishment of debt, principal amount										427,432										109,033
Extinguishment of debt, accrued interest				163,535
Debt conversion, amount converted																		100,000	6,100						72,959		109,033	90,967			427,432	72,567
Debt conversion, number of shares issued															340,960															1,000,000
Common stock issuable upon conversion														303,223		303,223	636,557
Convertible debentures, related party, current	90,967	0
Convertible debentures, related party, noncurrent	$ 0	$ 190,967