Articles for January 26, 2009
ENERGY NEWSBRIEFS is a
weekly current awareness service provided by the Washington State University
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 Energy Newsbriefs archives at http://www.energy.wsu.edu/library/newsbriefs.cfm.
Please be aware that
although every URL is checked for accuracy prior to the publication of Energy Newsbriefs, URLs are, for various reasons, subject to
change. Further, servers sometimes fail to connect to working URLs.
BIOMASS and CHP (COMBINED HEAT and POWER)
"CHP
with Biomass in Eskilstuna, Sweden: Experience with a BFB [bubbling fluidized
bed] Steam Boiler" was written by Anders Bjorklund
and Rolf Gustavsson, both of Eskilstuna Energi & Miljö, Eskilstuna,
Sweden, and Lennart Helmersson,
Metso Power, Sweden. The article describes the
biomass-fueled CHP system for the district heating of a town about 60 miles
from Stockholm.
See this case study in Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production,
November-December 2008, at http://www.cospp.com/display_article/346788/122/CRTIS/none/none/1/CHP-with-biomass-in-Eskilstuna,-Sweden-—-experience-with-a-BFB-steam-boiler/.
GEOTHERMAL
"Oregon
College Drilling for 1st Geothermal Plant," by Jeff Barnard, Associated
Press, describes the shift the college is making from part of its energy
supplied by geothermal to all of it. This is to be accomplished by
drilling down far enough to reach a hotter source than previously tapped.
The new plant will be located on campus. See this article carried on
MSNBC, posted January 15, 2009, at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28674996/.
HOSPITALS
"Prentice
Hospital Shares Lessons Learned During New
Construction," was co-authored by Michael T. Stark, Vice President, and
Larry Wilson, Senior Vice President, both of Environmental Systems
Design. The article includes two major lessons learned involving
flexibility and sustainability, each one spelled out in useful detail.
View this article in Buildings, January 2009, at http://www.buildings.com/articles/detail.aspx?contentID=6825.
HVAC (HEATING,
VENTILATION, and AIR CONDITIONING)
"Energy
Adviser: Ductless Heat Pump Program to Gauge Savings," by staff, details
the pilot program to install residential ductless heat pumps to evaluate their
efficiencies compared to electric wall heaters or ceiling cable heat
systems. Read this article in Lifestyles, January 21, 2009, at http://www.columbian.com/article/20090122/LIVING/701229998.
"A
Green Approach to Air Conditioning Systems," by Eugene 'Smitty' L. Smithart, PE, Trane, focuses on low-flow/low-temperature,
high-efficiency chilled water systems (LLH) in a number of applications, with
attention to technical details, and to efficiency and environmental
benefits. See the full text of this article in
Consulting-Specifying
Engineer
, December 2008, at http://www.csemag.com/article/CA6623699.html
. To see the full article, including its illustrations, go to http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/reed/cse1208/index.php
and select the article title in the Table of Contents on page 3, under the
heading, Features.
The
following two articles appeared in the December 15, 2008 issue of
Air
Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News
and were written by Barb Checket-Hanks who is on staff at that trade journal:
1.
"Demands for Super High Efficiency"
discusses the renovation of a 1,800 square foot home that focused on extreme
efficiency measures to transform the building. See this case study at http://www.achrnews.com/CDA/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000488307.
2.
"New Life for ASHRAE's
[American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers] Headquarters Building"
describes the energy-conscious renovation of the HVAC system in the
organization's home facility in Atlanta,
Georgia.
The case study is available at http://www.achrnews.com/CDA/Articles/Article_Rotation/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000488385.
LIGHTING
"Turning Down the Lights," by Donald R. Monahan, PE, Walker
Parking Consultants, describes changes to the lighting in parking facilities
that will result in energy savings. LEDs are an
efficient lighting alternative to some traditional lighting sources and have
the benefit of not being sensitive to low temperatures during cold
spells. Also, lighting sensors and controls conserve significant amounts
of energy. See the full text of this article in
Consulting-Specifying
Engineer
, December 2008, at http://www.csemag.com/article/CA6623703.html
. To see the
full article, with its illustrations, go to http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/reed/cse1208/index.php
and select the article title in the Table of Contents on page 3, under the
heading, Features.
MOTORS
"How Green Is Your
Motor? Consider Lifecycle Costs When Selecting a Motor for Your Facility,"
by John Malinowski, Product Manager, AC & DC Motors, Baldor
Electric Co., describes how to do precisely that: consider the lifecycle cost
of various motors for transportation, industry, and other applications.
See the complete text of this article in Consulting-Specifying Engineer,
December 2008, at http://www.csemag.com/article/CA6623697.html
. To see the
complete article, and its illustrations, go to http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/reed/cse1208/index.php
and select the article title in the Table of Contents on page 3, under the
heading, Equipment Lifecycles.
POLICY
"Recommendations
for Economic Recovery and a Clean Energy Future" is a five-page, December
15, 2008, report from the 25x'25 National Steering Committee. The group
offers 12 suggestions for the new Administration and Congress to
consider. See the complete report at http://www.25x25.org/storage/25x25/documents/EconomicRecovery/economic_recovery_recommendations-12_15_08.pdf.
THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES
"Thermal-Energy
Transfer for Commercial Buildings," by John Vastyan,
Common Ground, describes, in valuable detail, thermal-energy transfer systems,
also known as water-source heat pump systems. The author includes the
sidebars, "System Configurations" and "Typical Applications."
See this article in
HPAC Heating/Piping/AirConditioning
Engineering
, December 2008, at http://hpac.com/fastrack/Thermal-Energy-Transfer-for-Commercial-Buildings/.
WIND
"Seattle
Inventor Hopes Google Contest Will Help Rooftop Wind Turbine Fly," by
Michelle Ma, staff reporter, Seattle Times, highlights a new design for
a residential turbine. There are difficulties with using residential
rooftop wind and some of them are stated by an energy professional interviewed
by the author. See the article in Seattle Times, January 26, 2009,
at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008670567_googlewind26m.html.
Past issues of Energy Newsbriefs are available at http://www.energy.wsu.edu/library/newsbriefs.cfm.
Generally, subscription
information for the journals cited above can be found at the home page of their
web sites.
© 2009 Washington State University Extension Energy
Program. This publication contains material written and produced
for public distribution. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of
this material is granted, provided that the copies are not made or distributed
for commercial advantage, and that each is referenced by title with credit to
the Washington State University Extension Energy Program. Copying,
reprinting or dissemination, electronic or otherwise, for any other use
requires prior written permission from the Washington State University
Extension Energy Program.
