Posts Tagged ‘energy’
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 ...
Using the ground for Geothermal in Florida
When the ground gets used for storing and discharging temperature, the whole energy transfer becomes pretty complex. Below is a great schematic I found on a NASA website describing global warming. Among other things, this illustration shows all the energy transfers that effect the upper surface of the ground. With respect to geothermal air conditioning, we would add to this energy diagram with our piping system of course. [caption id="attachment_150" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Energy Transfer at earth's surface (from NASA)"][/caption] This illustration was produced to help explain global warming. Notice anything strange? As a mechanical engineer, we were taught in engineering school to define boundaries of whatever we are studying and include all energy within the boundary and crossing the boundary. So I am calling attention to energy transfer from the center of the earth the the earth's crust. It is not represented in the above illustration. I have not found any information on this subject that a non-astro-geophysicist type like me could understand, but that doesn't mean it isn't important. If any readers out there can enlighten us on the core of the earth's exact contribution to soil temperatures, please do. Anyway, ...
An interesting perspective on Green lifestyles
I recieved this on the internet and thought it was worth sharing. HOW WASTEFUL WAS OUR OLDER GENERATION? In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained: "We didn't have the green thing back in my day." The clerk responded: "That's our problem today. The former generation did not care enough to save our environment." He was right, that generation didn't have the green thing in its day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilised and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But they didn't have the green thing back in that customer's day. In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks. But she was right. They didn't have the green thing in her day. Back then, they washed the baby's nappies because ...
My Green Office
It occurred to me recently that the office which I have now is the greenest office that I have ever had. This means my ambitions of having a green office have become a reality. My home office now features: 1. double pane windows and insulation conforming to Florida Energy Codes's more rigorous new standard. 2. Gas instantaneous water heater. 3. Heat pump. 4. 60% of my printer paper is 100% recycled. 5. Solar powered attic ventilation. 6. 2+ acre nature preserve on the premises. 7. By focusing my efforts from a home office, commuting by car is eliminated. My carbon footprint is greatly reduced. 8. Dual flush water closet (saves about 5,000 gallons per year). 9. Two rain barrels for watering garden and lawn. 10. Air conditioning system has now been tested and balanced for correct airflow-correcting several comfort problems in the process. 11. I am able to rely on daylighting for most of the day. 12. semi pourous driveway made of recycled materials. I don't have any exact costs but suspect to certify my office with Green Globe would be around $3,500 and to certify through LEEDS maybe $9,000? Does anyone have some better cost data?
