Energy Newsbriefs
Articles for September 5, 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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APPLIANCES
The following two articles appeared in the July 2011 issue of Appliance Design:
1. "HVAC Moves toward Higher Efficiency ECM Motors" was written by Dan Jones, President, Incremotion Associates/Motion Media Group. The ECM (electronically controlled or electronically commutated motor) – aka the brushless PM motor – is becoming more commonplace in HVAC machines and equipment. The author gives a bit of history about the evolution of the ECM, discusses several products now on the market, and devotes the rest of the article to in-depth technical descriptions of products from two companies that yield significantly higher performance.
2. "Microcapsule-Based Electrophoretic Displays for Appliance Designers," by Sriram K. Peruvemba, Chief Marketing Officer, E Ink Holdings, is a full discussion of electrophoretic displays which, along with other advantageous characteristics, are low power consumers.
BIOFUELS
The following two articles were published in the August 2011 issue of Biodiesel Magazine; both were written by Erin Voegele, Associate Editor, Biodiesel Magazine:
1. "Converting Waste to Value" describes the effort at the University of Idaho to convert crude glycerin, a low-value bi-product of biofuel production, to a feedstock for bio-based products.
2. "Streamlining a Community-Scale Solution" is about several aspects of community-scale biodiesel. It discusses the countries that are seeing higher rates of increase and why, some of the machinery used in biodiesel plants, and the biodiesel market which accommodates both vertical integration and community-scale processing.
BIOMASS
Near-Term Opportunities for Integrating Biomass into the U.S. Electricity Supply: Technical Considerations, by David S. Ortiz, et al., is a 185-PDF-page report from the RAND Corporation developed for the National Energy Technology Laboratory. Cofiring biomass in coal-fired power plants reduces greenhouse-gas emissions and increases the percentage of renewables in the energy mix. The authors conclude that it is difficult to maintain a consistent supply of biomass for the cofiring, that there are technical and regulatory difficulties to overcome, that the plant-site costs of cofiring are high, that biomass supply and power demand are not in the same places, and more. The authors suggest some solutions to the challenges they found as a result of their research.
ENERGY STORAGE
"Thermal Energy Storage Benefits and Sensible Systems" was jointly written by Shaw Gentry, EIT, Assistant Engineer, and Lucas B. Hyman P.E., LEED® AP, President; both of Goss Engineering, Inc. It was published in the July 2011 issue of Engineered Systems (ES). This article shows the many ways in which thermal energy storage (TES) can be of benefit and explains the two basic types of TES, sensible and latent. Sensible TES may use a solid such as gravel or the mass of a building or some other human construction, or, more commonly, it may employ a liquid such as a natural lake. A case study of a university hospital is included.
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
The following three articles were published in the July 2011 issue of Building Operating Management:
1. "An FM's Guide to Picking the Right Roof" is a two-part article authored by Karen Warseck, Contributing Editor, Building Operating Management.
Part 1 is Picking the Right Roofing Product Has Several Considerations. The author suggests steps to take before soliciting proposals from roofers. They include reviewing applicable ordinances and codes, understanding how aesthetics will and should influence roof design, considering all relevant building particulars, and an evaluation and analysis of the current roof to help determine what will or will not work in a new roof and what parts of the supporting structure will need repair or replacement before a new roof can be installed. The author includes a construction checklist and a contractor checklist.
Part 2 is Climate Plays Big Role In Selecting the Right Roofing Products. This article includes some ideas about how climate may affect roofing choices that may not be obvious to the reader, and roofing costs are, also, considered. The article, also, links to Roof Savings Calculator, which was developed by the Oak Ridge National Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy. Finally, the author has included a climate checklist.
2. "Partners in Efficiency" was written by Susan Bloom.
Part 1 is For Facility Managers Looking to Save Energy and Money, Four Projects with ESCOs Offer Useful Lessons. Energy service companies (ESCOs) can provide more than the initial capital needed to embark on a project to upgrade lighting, heating and cooling, and other building systems. ESCOs can, also, offer project planning and other kinds of assistance. The author points out how important it is to have good communication between those responsible for the building(s), in this case the city of Tallahassee, and the ESCO, which was Honeywell Building Solutions.
Part 2 is Building Occupants' Requirements Make Every Energy Project Different. The Virginia Department of Corrections has been working with ESCO Johnson Controls on water conservation and solar power generation projects. In another case, the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency of Nashville has been using ESCO Siemens Industry Inc. on several projects including lighting upgrades, water conservation efforts, better heating and cooling, and renewables. Part 2, also, includes a sidebar by the author, "Steps to Lower Energy Bills."
3. "Showcase: Controls" was written by James Piper, Ph.D., PE, Contributing Editor, Building Operating Management.
Part 1 is Beyond 'Wow': Real Gains from an EMS Upgrade. An energy management system (EMS) will need to be checked and recalibrated from time to time for it to continue to save energy and maintenance costs as well as deliver comfort and building reliability. Eventually, any installed EMS will need to be evaluated to determine whether it is time for it to be upgraded or replaced.
Part 2 is Upgrading or Replacing EMS System - A Big Decision. Costs have to be compared and, much more difficult, benefits have to be determined and compared as well. Part 2 offers a number of suggestions to help the facilities manager make the decision.
Part 3 is Product Showcase. Thirteen related products are listed and linked to further information about them.
WASTE-TO-ENERGY
"What Happened to the WTE Renaissance?" is a six-Web-page article published in the July/August issue of Distributed Energy; it was written by Paul J. Stoller, an engineer who has consulted with various governments on solid waste management for 37 years. He provides a very thoughtful review of the disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the U.S. beginning with the earliest organized effort to collect and dispose of it in the mid-1800s. For well over 100 years, that was accomplished mainly with local incineration and landfilling. Waste-to-energy (WTE), mass-burn facilities began being built in the mid-1070s. On the whole, the concept of WTE has not prospered, and the author has much to say about why. He does not expect to see the situation to change much for the "foreseeable future."
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