You might want to read the first two parts of Mark Lamendola’s exclusive-to-the-EleBlog series:
Part Two (here).
Part One posted earlier.
Astounding!
The headline above summarizes a report on a study by a US DOE lab into how energy used in HVAC could be saved in commercial buildings:
The device is capable of customizing the level of ventilation by sensing the number of people in different areas or zones of a building and then adjusting fan speed and air movement accordingly.That’s a big change from the way most sensor-based ventilation systems operate now: Currently, if there is even a single person in a room, ventilation runs full blast, as if the room is full.But a room with just a few people doesn’t need nearly as much ventilation as a crowded room. Why have a fan pushing around air for ventilation for 100 people if there’s only one individual in the room? It’s like airing out your house completely because there’s one small whiff of bacon still in the kitchen.
OK — what’s “the device” in question? An occupancy sensor!
. . . in a project involving The Smart Grid . . .
Central to the initiative, which is a part of the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project, was PGE’s partnership with Eaton and EnerDel Inc. PGE worked with EnerDel to outfit the center with a 5 MW lithium-ion battery system, and Eaton provided engineering support and two-way power inverters to manage and operate the energy storage system.
With the new technology, PGE will be able to test energy storage, dispatchable standby generation, remotely operated power-line switches, demand response, renewable energy integration and transactive control.
The investment, which would occur over three years and be paid for by customers, is about half of what PSE&G had initially proposed.
PSE&G, the state’s largest utility, would spend $247 million on 42 megawatts of solar farms atop landfills and brownfields and another 3 megawatts for smaller projects. One megawatt of energy can power about 1,000 homes.
It would also invest as much as $199 million on 97.5 megawatts of new sun-powered systems through a separate loan program.
That’s the possibility raised by a regular contributor to the ZeroHedge.com website (which is oriented more toward the political, economic, and financial than electrical).
But it might not be. The price war that Chinese manufacturers waged was a suicide mission. Now even they’re going bankrupt, including their erstwhile number one, Wuxi Suntech, when the banks pulled the ripcord in March. Existentially threatened, they cut costs … and corners.
Defective solar panels can be costly. The New York Times described what happened to the PV installation on a warehouse roof in Southern California whose promise of a 25-year life span disintegrated along with the protective coatings on the panels after only two years, and part of it went up in smoke when defects caused two fires.
The US DOE used the word “protocols” in the headline on this release. I’m pretty sure they’re talking about having everybody use the same methods to measure energy savings — and not the movie “Protocol,” which starred Goldie Hawn.
Release from Eaton Corp. — includes
“The leadership role Eaton is taking to educate all facets of the electrical industry about the dangers of counterfeit electrical products is helping reduce health, safety and economic dangers,” said Thayer Long, executive vice president and chief executive officer, IEC National. “As we help our members face the challenges posed by the ever-changing world of the electrical industry, the importance of electrical safety and avoiding counterfeit electrical products is a message that can save lives and prevent injuries and property damage.”In May, Eaton and IEC will collaborate on a survey to IEC members aimed at studying the current awareness of counterfeit electrical products in the electrical contracting industry. Results of the survey will help build future awareness campaigns aimed at combating electrical counterfeiting.Eaton will also share insights into the prevalence and dangers of electrical counterfeit products from the viewpoint of an Eaton Certified Contractor Network instructor with an article in IEC’s Insights magazine and a concurrent session at the IEC National Convention & Electric Expo in Portland, Oregon this September.
According to VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the lighting systems of the future could be multi-purpose devices not dissimilar to smart phones.
In the future, lighting will not just allow us to see but could also be used to survey surroundings, transmit information, reflect moods and make our lives more comfortable.
Smart lighting could also save as much as 80 per cent of energy compared to traditional lighting solutions. As more applications become available, the smart lighting industry will also be revolutionised.
In addition to lighting, businesses could soon begin to offer their customers smart applications and comprehensive service concepts.
A few weeks ago, the American Institute of Architects reported that it’s monthly “work on the boards” index for April was 48.6. Just yesterday, the May number came out — 52.9.
Perhaps it doesn’t seem like a big move. But the 48.6 was below the magic “50″ level that differentiates between an expanding world of nonresidential construction under design, and LESS work. The April number was the first “negative” number in a while, so it made headlines.
May’s number is VERY positive. Does this mean the April number was a blip?
Remember: The Architecture Billing Index is thought to foreshadow the direction of nonresidential construction in 9 to 15 months.
EleBlog verdict: Taken in context, this is a continuation of the positive trend that seemed to be broken by April.
. . . to $7 billion, according to Forbes. The story includes:
So how to make LEDs mimic incandescents? The key was in redesigning the structure in the middle of the bulb called the filament tower, where 10 or 20 LEDs of varying colors are arranged. Cree’s configuration let the individual light sources overlap, creating an omnidirectional glow.
For now Home Depot is the only place you can buy the Cree, part of an exclusive deal to roll out the bulb in more than 2,000 stores. “The exclusivity is to be negotiated. We will look at other partnerships at some point,” says Swoboda.
And — to the magazine’s credit — the article included this:
But bulbs are just the start. Because they seldom need to be replaced, LED lights can be built into fixtures and furniture. Professor Michael Siminovitch, head of the California Lighting Technology Center at UC Davis, envisions a world of LEDs programmed to change color and intensity throughout the day, matching light from the sun.
Since humans’ circadian rhythms take cues from sunlight, Siminovitch thinks smart LED lighting will improve moods and reduce seasonal depression. Cree and its rivals are making “really, really good first steps” toward this future, he says.
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