Energy Newsbriefs
Articles for January 31, 2011
ENERGY NEWSBRIEFS is a weekly current awareness service provided by the WSU Extension Energy Program Library and written by Angela Santamaria, WSU Energy Library Manager, to assist users in tracking developments in the energy field. To view past issues or to subscribe to receive an email notification of the publication of a new issue, go to the Energy Newsbriefs home.
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NOTE TO ALL:
For the seventh consecutive year, the WSU Energy Program Library's Energy-Related Bill Tracking Tool for the 2011 Legislative session of Washington State is now available.
BEHAVIOR and CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Both the following articles address the issue of behavioral changes that may take some period of time to develop, but once they have taken hold are relatively permanent; they are not the result of short-term "carrots and sticks" such as rebate programs or temporary fees, but more likely they reflect the attitudinal shifts of individuals and entire groups that result from continual education, permanent cost increases, and the like:
1. "Behavior Frontiers: Can Social Science Combat Climate Change?" was written by Lisa Palmer and posted on December 28, 2010, on the Scientific American website. It reports on some of the work of scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). They are sure that understanding behavioral changes that have already taken place will point to how the energy use and the carbon footprints of individuals can be decreased in the future. The past behaviors that are used as examples of change include the large numbers of people who have stopped smoking since the 1960s and who have taken up wearing seatbelts since the 1980s.
2. Visible and Concrete Savings: Case Studies of Effective Behavioral Approaches to Improving Customer Energy Efficiency, by Katherine Friedrich et al., is 64-page report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy; it was published in October 2010. This valuable report cites ten specific programs that were in place in the last ten years, that were designed to develop energy-efficient behaviors, and that have proven successful.
BUILDINGS
"Synergy Spells Success" – scroll to page 38 to see this article –by Luc Boily, appeared in the November-December issue of HPAC (Heating, Plumbing, Air Conditioning) Magazine. It is a case study of a Montreal micro-brewery where environmental and energy concerns were made priorities as it physically expanded to increase the production of its micro-brews. In the end, it uses 42% less energy than before the expansion.
COLLEGES
"Educational Facilities Campuses" is a two-part article by Randhir Sahni; it was published in the December 2010 issue of Building Operating Management. Part 2 of the article, Tactical Steps for Retrofitting College Campuses, concerns energy-related issues and includes a sidebar, "Houston Community College Case Study."
HVAC/R (HEATING, VENTILATION, AIR CONDITIONING, AND REFRIGERATION)
"A Whole New Venting World" – scroll to page 16 for this article – by Ian McTeer, was published in the November-December issue of HPAC (Heating, Plumbing, Air Conditioning) Magazine. It is a discussion of the proper (and challenging) installation of plastic horizontal venting systems in the residential sector.
The following two articles were published in the December 2010 issue of Engineered Systems (ES):
1. "Urban Outfitted" was jointly authored by Orn P. Gupta, PE, Senior Mechanical Engineer, and Ronald Cohen, P.E., President; both of Melvin Cohen and Associates. It describes an extensive HVAC retrofit for a 21-storey, Illinois State, office building in Chicago. The retrofit has eased maintenance, increased reliability, and reduces energy use by 15%.
2. "Geothermal Success in the Midwest" was co-authored by Kevin Pope, PE, Associate Vice-President, and Dave Thiel, PE, LEED AP, Senior Associate; both of HGA Architects and Engineers. It interweaves the case studies of two facilities, one in Minnesota and the other in Wisconsin, which share basic ground-source heat-pump design but differ in specific applications.
MALLS
"Out with the Old and in with the New," by Michelle Ray, AIA, LEED AP, was published in the December 2010 issue of Sustainable Facility. The article describes the re-design of a 1980s mall into an open-air facility that, it is hoped, will receive LEED certification. Part of the old mall was demolished to make way for a smaller, largely roofless, solar-paneled – where there is a roof – facility.
POLICY – WORKFORCE
Washington State Clean Energy Leadership Plan Report: Accelerating Washington Clean Energy Job Growth is a 92-page final report, dated October 2010, and delivered on January 19, 2011, to the Washington State Governor and Legislature. It was mandated by the Legislature and developed (under contract) by Navigant Consulting, Inc., for the Washington [State] Clean Energy Leadership Council. The report describes two paths for the State to follow simultaneously in order to increase clean-energy jobs. The first is targeted cash infusions to start activities resulting in job growth, with no need for continued funding. The second involves regulatory changes.
SOLAR
"Shine On," by Janelle Penny, Associate Editor, Buildings, was published in the December 2010 issue of that journal. It describes a new use for solar roof panels – providing the power needed for wireless and battery-less controls in commercial buildings.
"Solar Hot Water Systems for Urban Multifamily Buildings" was written by Larsen Plano, Member of the Green Building Technical Services team, Community Environmental Center (CEC); it was published in the December 2010 issue of ED+C (Environmental Design + Construction). This is a case study of the design and installation of 42 rooftop solar panels on two adjacent, low-rise buildings in the Upper West Side of New York City. The expected payback is ten years.
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