Energy Newsbriefs
Articles for August 6, 2012
ENERGY NEWSBRIEFS is a weekly current awareness service provided by the WSU 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 the Energy Newsbriefs home.
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.
BUILDINGS
"Signed,
Sealed, Delivered," by Dan Rather, is a
four-Web-page article published in the
June 2012 issue of Distributed Energy.
The new headquarters of Delta Dental of Michigan is a
LEED-Gold building. It is one example of
many office buildings around the U.S. whose owners or managers have taken the
lead in tightening the envelopes of their facilities to ensure energy
efficiencies that result in very reasonable payback periods.
Following are five, in-depth case studies from the Summer 2012 issue of
High Performing Buildings:
-
"Better
with Age" describes the Wilfred Uytengsu Sr. Center; it was
jointly authored by Michael Lubbehusen, PE, Principal at Primary Engineering,
and Terry Thornsbury, AIA, President of Veridian Architectural Design. This pre-Civil War (1857) academic
building earned LEED-Gold certification with envelope improvements, connection
to a campus-wide geothermal loop for its eight geothermal heat pumps, rainwater
collection for its drought-tolerant landscaping, and more.
-
"Currents
of the Past" is a case study of the Northwest Maritime Center in
Port Townsend, Washington; it was co-authored by Jonathan Heller, PE, Principle
and Lead Mechanical Engineer, Ecotope, Inc.; and Adin Dunning, AIA, LEED AP,
Associate, The Miller Hull Partnership.
The LEED-Gold Center is in a National Historic Landmark district; it
consists of two buildings that feature natural ventilation (most of the time),
thermal energy from Puget Sound, and daylighting.
-
"Stronger,
Better, Greener" describes Kiowa County
Schools; it was written by Charles S, Cassias Jr., FAIA, Principal and Director
of Practice at BNIM. The Greensburg,
Kansas, response to a devastating tornado in 2007 was to re-build green. The Unified School District combines
three districts; one location for the county serves the entire county's K-12
school needs with community meeting spaces as well. Energy efficiency is high for this
LEED-Platinum project.
-
"Teaching
for the Future" is a case study of High Tech
High Chula Vista; it was authored by Christopher Gerber, AIA, Director of
Facilities for High Tech High, and Eric Naslund, FAIA, Partner at Studio E
Architects. This LEED-Gold facility
just south of San Diego features daylighting, solar power, and shading walls and
windows.
-
"Tropical
NZEB" describes ENERPOS, a building of classrooms and
offices on the French island of La Reunion, near Madagascar. It was jointly authored by Aurélie Lenoir,
Engineer, Ph.D. student, and François Garde, Ph.D., PE, Professor and
Researcher; both at the University of La Reunion.
The conclusion of this case study reports that the project, using
currently available technologies, cost only nine percent more to gain so much in
energy efficiencies that the building produces seven times more energy than
needed.
LABORATORIES
"Energy
Recovery in Laboratory Facilities" is an 18-page, June 2012,
brochure authored by Otto VanGeet of NREL (National Renewable Energy
Laboratory), from the Labs 21 joint program of the U.S. Department of Energy and
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; it is part of a series,
Laboratories for the 21st Century: Best Practices. So much ventilation is needed to
protect workers from the toxic substances that are invariably released in a lab
that codes and standards particular to labs are in place. Meeting these codes and standards
requires additional energy. Labs,
however, can still cut their energy consumption without compromising on proper
ventilation by employing energy recovery systems.
MILITARY
"Navy's
Great Green Fleet Proves Abilities of Advanced Biofuels,"
by Luke Geiver, appeared in the July 2012 issue of
Biomass Magazine. A two-day demonstration held recently
demonstrated that "zero modification to existing infrastructure" is needed to
use advanced biofuels in the U.S. Navy's air and sea operations. An article
cited in an earlier Energy Newsbriefs,
when the demonstration had just begun, may, also, be of interest:
"US
Navy's Great Green Fleet Demonstration Is Underway,"
by the U.S. Navy, was posted July 17, 2012, on the
Biodiesel Magazine website.
It describes the demonstration taking place in the Navy's Pacific Rim
area whereby a number of different Navy vehicles will be powered by a variety of
fuels that are not petroleum based.
The fuels are either nuclear or bio-based.
For the Navy, security is the driver for eliminating its dependence of
foreign oil.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has a Web page "DOD
Sustainability" which gives a view of how
deeply involved the military is in changing its practices to accommodate
activities and policies which serve security needs and, also, reduce pollution
and save energy.
POLICY
"BPA
Earns Highest Award for Sustainability" (scroll to the middle of page two), by staff, is a short article that
appeared in the August 2012 edition of the Journal. The Bonneville Power
Administration has earned the highest (platinum level) award from the EPA (U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency) under its Federal Electronic Challenge. The Challenge offers rewards for
sustainability in the electronics that federal bodies employ in the course of
their work.
RESIDENTIAL EFFICIENCY
STRATEGIES
EnergySavers.gov:
Stay Cool, Save Money is a website, revised (and re-named) seasonally, from the
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office of the U.S. Department of Energy. The site is now offering many tips for
energy savings for the warmer months.
RECYCLING
"Symbol
of Change: A Look at the How2Recycle Labeling System,"
by staff, was published in the June 2012 issue of
Waste Age. Modeled on the
UK's On Pack Recycling Label, GreenBlue has developed on-package labeling that
aims to make it easier for U.S. consumers to recycle their used products.
Past issues of Energy Newsbriefs are available here.
Generally, subscription information for the journals cited above can be found at the home page of their web sites.
© 2012 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 Energy Program. Copying, reprinting or dissemination, electronic or otherwise, for any other use requires prior written permission from the Washington State University Extension Energy Program.
|