Posts Tagged ‘Energy Efficiency’
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 ...
Advanced Energy Efficiency for Buildings
ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating and Refrigeration Engineers) is in the process of releasing booklets free to all interested people with practical step by step information that makes a building design save a projected 50% of the energy bills of conventional buildings being designed. To keep things simple, ASHRAE dedicates each booklet to a specific type of building: small offices/retail/warehouses/motels/educational/smaller healthcare facilities. These booklets are part of a long term commitment by ASHRAE to help create a world where buildings use dramatically less energy. The first stage was to release booklets that describe step by step information on how to save 30% on energy buildings being designed. I had mentioned these booklets on my home page. The new stage is 50% energy reductions. So far one free booklet is available in this category (for small offices). By the time you read this, there will probably more types of buildings available. In the future, expect guidelines for even higher energy targets. By the time 100% energy savings is a reality-buildings will likely need to be linked together with surrounding buildings in terms of energy features (like co-generation, waste heat recovery etc). ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating and Refrigeration Engineers) is in the ...
Questionaire for architects, contractors, and building owners
1. How many engineers have you hired? 2. What influenced your decision to hire them? 3. How do you feel about engineers? 4. Are there any services you wish engineers offered? 5. Are you a building owner? 6. Are you an architect? 7. Are you a contractor? Thank you for participating in this survey. This survey has been a worthwhile experience so far. I was fascinated how the survey results I have gotten so far were different that I would have guessed.
A History of New HVAC Technologies
I have had the good fortune of disussing the HVAC industry with old timers when I was right out of college. Back then, computers were rare commodities and only existed as main frames. One main frame per office with shared computer time. Software was all DOS. Drafting was done with ink pens. Old timers were people who were around when slide rules were the only computing instruments and drafting was sometimes done on coated linen sheets (these produced drawings with dark blue backgrounds that gave forth the name "blueprints"). These old timers had a mastery of steam engineering. Unfortunately, I don't think all of that body of steam and drafting knowledge got documented for future generations of engineers. Before anyone knew it, steam became less common than hot water hydronics and old timers were retiring. Originally, the old timers explained to me, HVAC engineering originally consisted of steam systems for heating and ventilation ductwork. Plumbing was done by the HVAC engineer or the architect. When Carrier invented air conditioning, HVAC consulting engineers were spectaters at first since the only people with mastery over air conditioning were the inventers. Back ...
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 ...
reducing energy bills through long range planning
For commercial buildings, it is not uncommon for some buildings to consume twice as much as other comparable buildings. New buildings, for example, are typically designed to consume about 30% less energy that comparable buildings of old, wether the building owners request it or not. New buildings in the future will be, across the board, even more energy efficient. But what about buildings that are already built? Often times building owners hire their utility provider to produce free energy studies on how to save money on their electric bills. Common results from such efforts are expensive replacements of light fixtures, and in the end, nothing much happens. Large foreign owned energy firms typically produce expensive studies that offer expensive solutions (with attractive paybacks). Expensive and complicated plans often don't always get followed through. This article is about other alternatives to saving on energy bills. For example, a less expensive study which produces a long range plan to replace aging equipment (when it needs replacement) with more cost effective solutions in terms of energy bills. Often, comfort increases in the process. Additionally, there are low cost ways to reduce your ...
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.
Energy Options conference feedback
Kay Tracy (interim director) writes: Dear Guy; On behalf of the Charlotte County Economical Development Office, thank you for your valuable participation as a speaker at the 2nd Annual Energy Options Conference. We sincerely appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to prepar and plan for the event. We received many compliments regarding the conference. The feedback resulted in a great number of people coming away with increased knowledge, awareness and resources....your hard work was evident and appreciated. We hope to see you again next year at the 3rd Annual Energy Options Conference. Best wishes for your future success.
How Does Geo-thermal Work?
In Florida, geothermal heat pumps work similarly to common air conditioning heat pump equipment except that during cooling heat is rejected into the aquifer (75°F) instead of the air (90°F) and during heating, heat is drawn out of the water (75°F) in the aquifer instead of the air (40°F). It turns out that air conditioning equipment can operate as much as 23% more efficiently under these improved conditions. Guy Van Meulebrouck PE consulting engineerguy@guyvanmconsulting.com10947 US Highway 98 NorthLakeland, Florida 33809-1087Would you like permission to reprint/link this article? Please send a request and be sure to include your name, title, company, contact info, the name of the publication/website, and the parts you wish to reprint. Thanks!
Photovoltaic performance
I had a chance to experiment with a photovoltaic cell to see how the performance varied with sun position. I found it easy to decrease the performance of the photo cell by 10% by pointing the cell slightly off a direct angle of incidence with the sun. It was a lot harder to cut the performance below 50% by changing the orientation of the photo cell. The 2V cell I used was normally matched with a 1.5V battery. There was a nominal voltage produced no matter what (clouds, pointing way off from the sun etc.)
