Habitat for Humanity gains recognition for its homes Hickory Record, June 4, 2016 Two Habitat for Humanity homes in Catawba County have been recognized for their energy efficiency by the U.S. Department of Energy. The two homes in the Northstone community off Falling Creek Road were certified as Zero Energy Ready Homes in May, the … Read more
Ryan Pollin, ERS, for Zondits Something has gone terribly horribly wrong in your campus’s steam plant, and all of the steam has condensed to a superheated liquid! The pump impellers are strained, and the steam traps are blowing every second – somebody, wake up the plant engineer! Okay, that would never happen, but some systems … Read more
Smart buildings monitor energy efficiency, but what are they really tracking? The Guardian, June 13, 2016 Most commercial buildings in Australia already have building management systems in place to monitor and adjust energy and water usage for maximum efficiency. Take the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, for example. The Adelaide research building uses … Read more
Mathew Gard, ERS, for Zondits In March, Arizona-based solar panel manufacturer First Solar set a new efficiency record for cadmium telluride solar cells at 22.1%. What makes this such an achievement is that until recently silicon-based cells have been more efficient at converting light into electricity. But that’s not all. First Solar thinks that within … Read more
Intelligent Flow Control Supports Clean, Low Cost Energy Engineering, June 7, 2016 Major urban areas have markets for both products of a cogeneration operation: electricity and heating/cooling energy, and “district heating and cooling” is commonly used worldwide to serve commercial and residential customers. As an example, NRG Energy Center Omaha has delivered reliable and affordable … Read more
Amber Plante, ERS, for Zondits Researchers at the University of Maryland and, in a separate study, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm have created an innovative and highly insulating material that could one day revolutionize the way buildings are made. It’s wood – but not your typical lumber, of course: the team has … Read more
Divyanshu Kamboj, ERS, for Zondits The first wave for Internet of Things (IoT) has provided consumers with myriad services that were largely based on domain-specific vertical applications. As the IoT landscape consolidates further across various industry verticals, one emerging trend is to use an ecosystem lens to identify opportunities for collaboration and value creation. The … Read more
Condenser Units: When to Repair and When to Replace ACHR News, June 6, 2016. Image credits: stevepb CAUSE OF FAILURE Many things can cause an outdoor condensing unit to stop working, the most common of which are compressor and coil failures. Scott Merritt, owner of Fire & Ice Heating & Air Conditioning in Columbus, Ohio, also … Read more
Levon Whyte, ERS, for Zondits Construction projects cost a lot of money to develop. The last thing any construction firm wants to do is budget additional costs for developing a building energy model. Energy modeling, however, may prove to be more cost-effective than one might initially assume. Energy models simulate how much energy a designed … Read more
The world is about to install 700 million air conditioners. Here’s what that means for the climate The Washington Post, May 31, 2016 In just 15 years, urban areas of China went from just a few percentage points of air conditioning penetration to exceeding 100 percent — “i.e. more than one room air conditioner (AC) … Read more