Posts Tagged ‘engineering’
Florida’s New Energy Code
Well, the 2010 Florida Building Code becomes active this March. Here is a look at the energy conservation requirements as they relate to architects. This first blog will address the Residential Code, the second will address the Energy Code for Commercial Buildings, the third blog will feature suggested drawing notes architectural drawings regarding the residential energy code, and last but not least, the fourth blog will include suggested drawing notes for commercial buildings. You can access the new Florida Energy Code at: www.ecodes.biz/ecodes_support/free_resources/2010Florida/Energy/10FL_Energy.html The general intent of the new code is to require Florida residential buildings to be 20% more energy efficient than previous dwellings. I suspect future codes will push for even more energy efficient homes from here on out until we can’t possibly offer better buildings (zero energy buildings are actually getting built in the US now and technology will likely make such things more affordable in the coming years). Once again, air handlers are not allowed in attics (402.1.2.2). If you look at the definition of attic, spray foam ” attics” are not counted as attics since they are within the air barrier and thermal barrier of the building. While there are exceptions, the basics ...
Reasons to let an engineer select your geothermal pump
I have seen well pumps get selected for geothermal for some pretty strange reasons. On one occasion, the well driller reportedly insisted that he had ample commercial well experience to select the pump. The commercial experience he was referring to turned out to be agriculture. The geothermal heating/cooling system did not work right. Sometimes well pumps get selected because the same exact pump got used successfully on another project. It would be a coincidence if the same pump conditions existed on two different projects. Since flow measurement is not always provided for on systems that aren't engineered, it is difficult to say if "working right" means doing the job without wasting energy. Once an owner asked me to use a pump he found on the internet and liked. The pump wasn't capable of sucking water high enough out of the ground to work in the Florida aquifer application. The owner reported that the well flowed artesian so it didn't matter. Conferring with the well driller confirmed that the artesian effect of the well was only seasonal. This meant the pump would only be able to draw water out of the well during rainy season. Well pumps are the heart of the system. Oversizing ...
Why hire an engineering consultant?
Lawyers, and doctors advertise to the general public. In turn people learn more about them as professions. For some reason, consulting engineers remain obscure in society. So here is my own advertisement for our profession: Engineers solve specific problems for people by combining science, business, and economics. Dictionaries don't even know this. Many college graduates with engineering degrees are left to figure this out for themselves. Now you know it! Building engineers work with architects and contractors in order to help create the environments that life takes place in. As much as people love the outdoors; most of life takes place indoors. Children are conceived indoors (for the most part), children are born indoors, children are schooled indoors, we eat and sleep indoors, etc, etc. You are probably indoors right now reading this. So, creating the environment that life takes place in is a pretty big deal. I consider it an honorable, rewarding, and valuble endeavor. What do consulting engineers do for you? We sell our time to you. It takes time to prepare blueprints, specifications etc. Something that comes packaged with our time is experience. Someone who has spent 4 or 5 years studying ...
How Geothermal is Different in Florida
As geothermal air conditioning and heating gains popularity; a large and sometimes confusing amount of data is surfacing regarding geothermal techniques. I get asked a fair amount about what types of geothermal systems and I also hear a few reports of geothermal-gone-bad. To help clarify why Florida has a unique geothermal system compared to other parts of the US-- let's start above ground. Climate-wise, Florida has far more cooling demand than heating demand. This has a double impact. First, geothermal systems during a Florida summer pump more heat into the ground than they take out in winter (for space-heating purposes). This tends to make geothermal systems relying on surface temperatures unstable through time. Second, the winters in Florida are short and mild to the point that they are not able to "recharge" the ground temperatures. This is not to say that there aren't a few buildings in Florida with relatively matched heating and cooling loads though. I am referring here to buildings that use a lot of hot water for industrial processes or domestic purposes (such as factories, heavily used kitchens, and laundrymats). Cases like this warrant special consideration. Now, let's look below ground and see what else makes Florida different geothermally. The second thing that makes Florida unique geo-thermally ...
What is an Engineer?
This was the first thing I learned in Engineering School and it is worth repeating. "Engineering is the simultaneous combination of science, business, and economics towards solving a particular problem." Since our industry doesn't advertise itself the way lawyers and dairy farmers do... most people don't even know what we do or why we exist. An engineer works for you in a professional sense, with no financial bias. Salesmen and contractors necessarily have vested financial interests. Good engineering pays for itself.
Commerical Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency and Geothermal
As one of the residential rebate program ends, the commercial energy efficiency rebate is still in effect for new construciton and renovations. Basically, if your building achieves 50% less energy consumption than conventional buildings (which is a realistic target by the way), then the building owner can take up to $1.80 per square foot off of their taxes. Don't forget, you get to keep the other half of all your energy bills from here on out too! For Florida buildngs, Geo-thermal and a professional energy efficient lighting design may be all you need to reach this target. If only one aspect of your building meets the criteria, partial rebates may still be available. Here is a link to learn more about this. http://energytaxincentives.org/uploaded_files/commercialflyer.pdf I can't tell for sure if the exciting new 30% geo-thermal rebate applies to commercial buildings. Write if you have any info on this. If you are thinking of building or renovating in Hillsborough County, Polk County, or Orlando area (Florida)-contact us to get started! We not only provide energy efficient HVAC designs, but help you get three competitive qualified contractor bids and are able to assemble teams of engineers and architects to suit your project needs.
2011 Tax Credits
Many have heard about the federal tax credit for energy efficiency expiring last week (December 31, 2010). For people able to take advantage of the tax break-thanks for helping make America stronger and lowering your energy bills at the same time! A wide variety of home energy improvements netted federal rebates for homeowners everywhere. There are new and larger tax incentives out there that are far more rewarding, although they are much more restricted in what they apply to. These new tax incentives apply to new and existing and pay back up to 30% of the cost of the system with no upper limit. The new tax rebates apply to geo-thermal, solar, and wind energy only. I believe this particular tax rebate is intended for residential buildings. Visit the official website to learn more. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index
Kudo’s to Guy Van Meulebrouck PE
A building owner recently emailed to say about his geothermal conversion project: "The drawings look great and well engineered and easy to understand..... I must tell you it is truly a pleasure to deal with professionals who know their business. I thank all of you who have helped me with this goal." Walter Kresieder
Guy Van Meulebrouck-Technical Illustrator
load sharing---After years of providing illustrations for his own studies and reports, Guy Van Meulebrouck PE stepped out into professional techanical illustration this month. A new book was published this month by McGraw Hill featuring one of Guy Van Meulebrouck's technical illustrations. The book is called "Geothermal HAVC-Green Heating and Cooling" by Jay Egg and Brian Clark Howard. The book features a detailed non-technical explanation of various types of geothermal. Guy's illustraton shows load sharing as geothermal's "thermal advantage".
Dual Flush Toilets-revisited
About a year ago now, I installed a dual flush conversion to our toilet at home. The local hardware store (Lowe's) was selling them for $17 so a scooped it up and installed it right away. It was easy to install and works well. I was glad to see that there was no longer any flapper valve involved or chains to hang up in the water flush action. I want to thank all the people who replied to the original blog about the dual flush toilet. I was surprised how many people like the blog. I did have one response begging me to never blog about toilets again. I am sorry to disappoint that person, but I am updating the original blog since it has been in use reliably for one year now and so many people did like the blog. I did not inform the wife I was doing this to see first hand the reaction of people in general to dual flush toilets. Even though she is not a green type of individual, she figured it out right away and didn't mind it too much at first. She did mention that the lower button was a little hard to push ...
