Articles for November 17 and November 24, 2008
Following
is another edition of Energy Newsbriefs, a double issue for the
weeks
of November 17 and November 24, 2008
, based on material that arrived
in the Library and was reviewed primarily during the week previous to November
17.
There will be no separate Energy Newsbriefs published during Thanksgiving
week
.
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
The following two items
appeared in the October 2008 issue of
Engineered
Systems
(ES):
1.
"Building Automation:
Selecting the BAS or Systems Integration Contractor" was co-authored by
Paul Ehrlich, P.E., and Ira Goldschmidt P.E., both of Building Intelligence
Group. In any large and complex building automation project, Building
Intelligence Group relies on the RFP (request for proposals) to "pre-qualify"
potential contractors, that is, to identify which contractors have the
requisite understanding and expertise to do the job right. Those contractors
who best respond to the RFP are then further vetted through an interview
process, checked references, etc. The authors provide guidance for the
development of an RFP. See this article at http://www.esmagazine.com/Articles/Column/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000432480.
2.
"Commissioning: Why Design-Phase
Commissioning?" by Rebecca Thatcher Ellis, P.E., gives clear reasons for
the value of building commissioning and why it is essential to bring it into
the earliest part of the design phase to realize that value. View this article
at http://www.esmagazine.com/Articles/Column/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000432466.
DATA CENTERS
"Uninterruptible Power Supplies [UPS]: A Data Center
Efficiency Opportunity" is a September 2008, publication from PIER (Public
Interest Energy Research, a program of the California Energy Commission). It
reports on the energy consumption of the UPS devices that are necessary to guarantee
reliable power in data centers. The aim is to attach efficiency labels on
these appliances and develop efficiency standards for them, as well. View this
two-page document at http://www.esource.com/esource/getpub/public/pdf/cec/CEC-TB-45_UPSDataCenter.pdf
.
Data
centers have enormous energy requirements. The Fall 2008 issue of
Energy
Matters
includes several valuable articles that report on some verified
solutions to this problem:
1.
"Applying Energy Solutions to
Real-World Data Centers" is a valuable article in http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/industry/bestpractices/energymatters/articles.cfm/article_id=288.
It describes and links to two publications that offer workable ways to
reduce energy consumption without compromising high reliability:
a.
The Data Center Energy
Forecast Report
gives possible energy
savings based on the energy savings actually achieved as reflected in case
studies. For access to the nine-page Executive Summary and the full text of
this 27-page report, go to https://microsite.accenture.com/svlgreport/Pages/Home.aspx.
b.
Report to Congress on Server
and Data Center Energy Efficiency
(Public Law 109-431) was submitted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
Energy Star Program. It is a 133-page report which includes an Executive
Summary on document-pages four through sixteen. See this report, published
August 2, 2008, at http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/prod_development/downloads/EPA_Datacenter_Report_Congress_Final1.pdf.
2.
"Data Center Energy
Efficiency: Turning Challenges into Opportunities" shows how, through DOE's
Save Energy Now program, softwares, assessments, and other available tools can
be applied now in data centers to reduce both their energy use and their
environmental footprints. Read it at http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/industry/bestpractices/energymatters/articles.cfm/article_id=287.
3. "Five Ways to Reduce Data Center Server Power
Consumption" was reprinted from
The
Green Grid
. It focuses on what strategies can be employed now, at the
server level, to save significant amounts of energy. See it at http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/industry/bestpractices/energymatters/articles.cfm/article_id=289.
4.
"Lucasfilm Data Center
Assessment Reveals Energy Savings" shows how, at a specific site that does
not run 24/7, downtime can be used to save energy. Read it at http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/industry/bestpractices/energymatters/articles.cfm/article_id=291.
DEMAND RESPONSE
"Manage
Energy Costs and Generate Revenue with Demand Response," by staff, is a
paragraph that alerts readers about, and links to, a webcast from DOE (the U.S.
Department of Energy). According to the paragraph, the webcast includes
discussion of how demand response may lower energy prices, generate profits,
and help ensure grid reliability. To see the short article with the link, go
to ITP E-Bulletin, October 2008 and scroll about one-third of the way
down to the article title at http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/industry/resources/ebulletin/issue.cfm/volume=87#headlines.
To go directly to the webcast select this link: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/resources/videos.html.
GREEN ELECTRONICS
INDUSTRY
"Shrinking Products, Energy Sipping and Reusing
Anything: Electronics Industry Makes Green Progress," by staff, gives an
outline of what consumer-electronics companies are doing to lower the energy
use and environmental impact of their products. It discusses this in the
context of the new, 33-page report
Environmental Sustainability and
Innovation in the Consumer Electronics Industry
, which can be viewed
directly at http://www.ce.org/PDF/Sustainability_Final.pdf.
See the article in GreenBiz, October
22, 2008, at http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/10/22/consumer-electronics-industry-progress.
HVAC (HEATING,
VENTILATION, and AIR CONDITIONING)
"Chilled Beams in Chicago" was authored by Thomas C. Posco, P.E. An induction HVAC system is replaced
by a chilled-beam system, the first in the United States, as part of a
renovation of a Chicago office high-rise. The article describes how the highly
energy-efficient, new system works. See this article in
Engineered
Systems
(ES), October
2008, at http://www.esmagazine.com/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000435432.
LIGHTING
"Improve HID Lamp Efficiency by 40% with
Energy-Saving Controls," by staff, describes the effort of Electronic
Energy Solutions (EES), under a U.S. Department of Energy program, to develop a
PowerSaver technology that saves energy in large outdoor lighting
applications. See this informative article in ITP E-Bulletin, October
2008, at http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/industry/resources/ebulletin/issue.cfm/volume=87#tech.
"Thanks to LEDs, Downtown's White Holiday Lights
Will Be Green," by Shelby Wood,
The
Oregonian
, showcases how a combination of the business, non-profit, and
municipal sectors of Portland, Oregon, have brought LED (light-emitting diode)
technology and its high energy-efficiency to the city's downtown. See this
article in The Oregonian, November 13, 2008, at http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/thanks_to_leds_downtowns_white.html.
POLICY
"Climate
Change Policy and Agriculture in Washington State," was written by Chad
Kruger, WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources. The
author describes the governor-initiated Washington State Climate Action Team
(CAT) and its recommendations and includes other related information. See this
article in Sustaining the Pacific Northwest - Food, Farm, & Natural Resource Systems, Fall 2008, at
http://csanr.wsu.edu/whatsnew/SPNW-v6-n2.pdf#page=9.
" 'Global Green New Deal' - Environmentally-Focused
Investment Historic Opportunity for 21st Century Prosperity and Job Generation"
is an October 22, 2008, press release from the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP). It describes the Green Economy Initiative as a "Global
New Deal", developed by UNEP - with financial support from the European
Commission, Germany, and Norway - in response to its own perception of need
and, specifically, to requests from the G8+5 international governments group.
The press release spells out the three major planks of the Green Economy
Initiative and the five sectors on which this New Deal is to focus. In
addition to the content of the press release, what may be of special interest
is the fact that the term "new deal" (used four times in the release,
including once in the title) is normally associated with the President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt administration of the 1930s and '40s in the United States. Its use, decades later, by the United Nations to describe a world-wide effort to develop
green economies that respond both to natural limits and to the needs of the
general global population is, perhaps, unexpected. See this press release at http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=548&ArticleID=5957&l=en.
PRISONS
"McNeil Island Prison Saves Waste - and Money," by staff, is an article that shows how
a sustainability program saves $630,000 per year because of savings from power,
fuel, and hauling services reductions. The program includes recycling,
lighting and heating retrofits, and other efforts. See this article in
The
News Tribune
, October 23, 2008, at http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/516121.html.
ROOFING
"Cool
Roofing: What About a Green Roof?" by Robert Kravitz, is a short but
useful article about the advantages of green roofs either alone or in combination
with cool roofs. The fact that modular green roofs are now available makes
them even more attractive to potential buyers. Environmental Design + Construction, September 2008, at http://www.edcmag.com/CDA/Articles/Featured_Special_Sections/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000431289.
"Green Roofs Differ in Building Cooling, Water
Handling Capabilities," by staff, reports on a University of Texas comparison of different types of vegetated roofs. It seems that not all green roofs are
created equal, but their differences cannot, yet, be used to recommend one over
another. To understand why, see this news article on the University of Texas website, posted July 28, 2008, at http://www.utexas.edu/news/2008/07/28/green_roofs/.
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.
© 2008
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
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for any other use requires prior written permission from the Washington State
University Extension Energy Program.
