Articles for November 3, 2008
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.
BUILDING SCIENCE
"New Light in Crawlspaces," by staff, is an
in-depth explanation of what crawl spaces are, how they are designed now in
comparison to the past; how a common, modern crawl-space design encourages rot
and heat loss from a home; and how to build, or re-build, a proper crawl
space. See this article in BuildingScience, October 16, 2008, at http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-009-new-light-in-crawlspaces?full_view=1.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY and
BEHAVIORS (RESIDENTIAL SECTOR)
"EcoAlign Releases Report, 'Cultural Stumbling Blocks
to Greater Household Energy Efficiency'," is an October 16, 2008, press release from EcoAlign
that describes the report, authored by Pippa Chenevix Trench, Ph.D. Freely
available on the Web, the report is the first issued by EcoAlign under its new
Project Energy Code, an ambitious effort to discover and report on the sociological
reasons for the apparent disconnect between consumers' genuine concern about
energy consumption and their virtually unchanged energy use behaviors. See the
press release at http://www.ecoalign.com/node/264
; it includes a link to a web page where the full report can be downloaded and
other links to the EcoAlign organization and to a PDF describing Project Energy
Code.
GEOTHERMAL and UTILITIES
"Utilities Putting New
Energy into Geothermal Sources," by Marla Dickerson, reports on the
heightened interest of utilities in pursuing geothermal to help supply
much-needed renewable sources of energy. It discusses the potential for EGS
(enhanced geothermal systems, a.k.a. hot rocks geothermal) technology. See
this article in Los Angeles Times, November 3, 2008, at http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-geothermal3-2008nov03,0,3620633.story.
HVAC (HEATING, VENTILATION,
and AIR CONDITIONING)
The following two articles
appeared in the October 6, 2008, issue
of Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News:
1.
"Contractor Solves
Efficiency Problem with Boiler-Based System," by John R. Hall, Air
Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News, describes the replacement of a large, old boiler
system with a highly-efficient one while taking into consideration new interest
in comfort along with energy efficiency. View this article at http://www.achrnews.com/CDA/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000435776.
2.
"Stricter Installation
Standards," by Joanna Turpin, discusses the efficiencies lost due to various
installation errors and reports on how EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency) is working to improve the situation with its new HVAC Quality Installation
(QI) program. Two case studies from that program are included in the article.
See the article at http://www.achrnews.com/CDA/Articles/Cover_Story/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000441357.
LIGHTING
The following two new technical
briefs were published in September 2008 by PIER, the California Energy
Commission's Public Interest Energy Research program:
1.
"Daylight Harvesting Made
Simple" is a two-page technical brief that explains why this new automated
system for daylight harvesting is needed and what it does that other systems
cannot. The system was developed by scientists at the CLTC (the California Lighting Technology Center) at UC Davis. Read this technical brief at http://www.esource.com/esource/getpub/public/pdf/cec/CEC-TB-36_Daylighting.pdf.
2.
"LED Hybrid Porch Light Cuts
Energy, Maintains Costs," is a two-page technical brief that describes a
new product that combines an extremely low-power LED (light emitting diode)
light with a motion-sensitive CFL (compact fluorescent) or incandescent bulb.
See this technical brief at http://www.esource.com/esource/getpub/public/pdf/cec/CEC-TB-37_PorchLight.pdf.
MOTORS
"Industry's Wasteful Ways" was written by Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor, Motion Control &
Automation. Energy efficient motors have not been embraced by purchasing
departments because of the higher initial cost. These departments do not
consider the extremely high rate of return these motors offer in terms of
energy and operations savings over the course of the life of the motors. See
this article in
Design News, October 6, 2008, at http://www.designnews.com/article/48383-Industry_s_Wasteful_Ways.php.
POLICY
"EU
pumps €1bn into fuel cell research," by James Murray, reports on the European Union's (EU) effort to push market
interest in fuel cell technology with a financial infusion into research that
may result in marketable products by 2020. Review this article in Business
Green, October 16, 2008, at http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2228435/eu-pumps-1bn-fuel-cell-research.
"Managing
with Wind and Water" is an October 12, 2008, interview with Elliot
Mainzer, the first Executive Vice President
of Strategic Planning at BPA (Bonneville Power Administration). This is a
policy position involving climate change, resource planning, and renewables
integration. Mainzer notes and addresses the need for more communication
between BPA's transmission and generation sides, and other pressing issues.
The interview is reported in The Oregonian, posted October 13, 2008, at http://ip-pbx.tmcnet.com/news/2008/10/13/3699874.htm.
"Oregon Case Highlights the Trouble with RECs"
was written by Amy Westervelt. An
apparent shortage of qualified professionals may make it difficult for RECs
(renewable energy credits) - and, possibly, also carbon offsets - to succeed.
It may not be possible for utilities to meet Oregon State's renewable energy
portfolio standards (RPS). These and other problems facing the Oregon Public
Utilities Commission are discussed. See this article in Earth2Tech,
possibly October 21, 2008 but undated, at http://earth2tech.com/2008/10/21/oregon-case-highlights-the-trouble-with-recs/.
TRANSPORTATION
In the October 27, 2008,
issue of this publication, an article about Tesla Motors and its planned
electric-car plant was summarized and cited:
"San Jose Lands Electric-Car Plant," by Alan Ohnsman,
Bloomberg News, describes Tesla Motors' plans for the plant which is to receive
assistance from the state of California in the form of state-bought assembly
machinery that will be leased to the company. This article was carried by NWA.com,
September 22, 2008, at http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Business/238135/.
The summary and
citation of a more recent article on the motor company's serious financial and
other difficulties has been brought to our attention and merits the review of
any reader interested in how the proposed plant, discussed in the article cited
above, might be affected by those difficulties:
"Musk Unplugged: Tesla C.E.O.
Discusses Car Troubles," by Claire Cain Miller, is an interview with Elon
Musk, Tesla's fourth chief executive officer in five years. He and the company's
first CEO, Martin Eberhard, blame one another for Tesla's inability to produce
proposed cars on schedule. See this article in The New York Times,
October 24, 2008, at http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/musk-unplugged-tesla-ceo-discusses-car-troubles/#more-1713;
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© 2008
Washington State University Extension Energy Program. This publication
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