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Stock up on eco-gadget gifts
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| Looking for gifts with an energy-saving or eco-friendly flavour? There are hats with solar-powered fans, AA batteries with built-in USB chargers, remote-control power sockets and more at Nigel's Eco Store. Ten percent of the purchase price comes back to us to help fund the Energy Management Register web site. | |||
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Nothing new under the sun...
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Retired energy engineer Doug Willis from Gloucestershire has donated some fascinating memorabilia
(left) in the form of fifty Fuel Efficiency Bulletins issued by the Ministry of
Fuel and Power between 1943 and 1951. Top of the pictured pile is one one combined power and heating
(since rebranded and combined heat and power) from 1945. But that isn't the oldest document in my
possession on the subject: some years ago I acquired a commemorative booklet with the unpromising
title The main drainage of West Middlesex, published by Middlesex County Council to
mark the opening of a massive sewage treatment works at Mogden in West London in 1936. Inside is
a diagram of the works's powerhouse, whose generators were powered by engines running on methane
from sewage sludge digesters, with process heat recovered from the engine.
V.V. 21 Sep 06 |
NHS degree-day reports 1986 to 1992
Thanks to Carl Daniels of Clifford Talbot Partnership for sending me ancient printouts of UK monthly heating degree day results to base 18.5°C. We needed them for calculating 20-year averages for the Department of Health, who have not kept a record of the results from that period. Thanks also to Martin Milburn of Trafford General Hospital for spreadsheet version of the West Pennine series.
Do magnetic combustion enhancers work?
No. See also my longer answer. (V.V. 14 May 2006)
Material for your in-house energy newsletter
Short of material for your energy and environmental newsletter? This new section provides an assortment of generic paragraphs that you are welcome to copy and paste. We call it "reditorial".(V.V. 10 May 06)
News on hand-held data capture for meter readings
We have had some answers - see the Help please page (V.V. 7 May 06)
Free UK degree-day figures
Free data (on the Tools and reference page) are monthly, for heating only, to a base temperature of 15.5°C, and only for 18 UK centres. For more places (including outside UK), alternative base temperatures, cooling figures, or weekly data see how to subscribe to Degree Days Direct.Download Energy management leaflet 7 (PDF format) for basic information about degree-day data and how to use them, or view frequently-asked questions.
Attitude surveysEmployee attitude surveys are an essential first step towards engaging people in low-cost and no-cost energy-saving measures. The diagram on the right, taken from a recent project, shows that staff at the factory in question were overwhelmingly concerned with health and safety while energy enjoyed a very low priority. The case history explains how this diagram suggested ways of raising its profile.It also illustrates how a survey can provide surprising insights, in this case not just into what would motivate people, but also what would have been a waste of money. 21 Apr 2006 |
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Are we nearly there yet?
In the chemicals, food, drink, and other process industries there are often "batch" operations like mixing, blending, plant sterilisation, and so on which need to run for a set period to ensure that they have run to completion. In every case, energy will be saved (and throughput increased) if the process time is reduced. Often, the batch running time is arbitrary. The problem is this: how do we reliably detect that the "end point" has been reached, so that we can avoid excessive processing without compromising quality? For drying it is relatively easy: we can measure the residual moisture content. For some mixing processes, the viscosity may give us the cue we need. But what about other situations?We would like readers' input on this one: please email us if you have any experience, however specific and limited - thanks V.V., 18 Apr 06
Energy vacancies
To avoid the risk of this page getting out of date, we are only posting job adverts on the jobs and events page.Compressed air systems
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We don't have our own expert advice on this but recommend you look for example at the compressed air fact sheet published by the government of Victoria under its 'Sustainable Manufacturing' programme (6 August 2006) |
UK: 2006 Building Regulations
Ministerial statement Wednesday 22nd Feb seems to say broadly:- New build and major works are to comply with 2006 Approved Documents (ADL2A for non-domestic) unless you have full plans approval before April 6th 2006 and start on site within one year.;
- Smaller works are to comply with 2006 Approved Documents unless contracts signed before April 6th 2006 and work starts within 6 months.
Thanks to John Field for keeping us informed on this topic. He has also contributed an article. V.V. 1 Mar 06
Energy use in tanks and vats
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Tanks and vats are used in a huge number of industrial applications, and they often present
opportunities to save some of the energy used for heating and/or stirring. See
article
5 Feb 06 |
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Electrical energy saving exercises
Sequencing fans with VSD
What's the best strategy for part-load operation of a bank of fans with variable-speed drives? Try this simulation. (V.V. 7 Jan 06)True or false?
If you are leaving the room for less than ten minutes, it's cheaper to leave the fluorescent lights on... find out, feeding in your own assumptions about the size and duration of the startup surge. (V.V. 6 Jan 06)Why poor power factor is a problem
If an electrical circuit suffers from poor "power factor", a higher current than necessary will need to be drawn in order to deliver the required power. This can increase power charges, or stress the supply infrastructure: see a simulation of the effect. (V.V. 6 Jan 06)
Own-goal by HE motor manufacturers
I hear that some makers of high-efficiency electric motors have changed the frame design so the terminal boxes are now on top, rather than on the side. A minor change but one which snookers many works engineers wanting to replace existing motors: if the supply cables run from below, they won't reach, and for the larger and most worthwhile replacements, the time and cost of running new cables will knock the idea on the head. Thanks to G.A. and P.P. for this item. (V.V., 7 Dec 2005) [Send a comment by email]
Sankey diagram softwareThe product recommended by one of our readers in October has been upgraded: click here for feedback from the user and news from the supplier.(V.V. 2 Dec 05) |
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What does "carbon neutral" mean?"
T.E. asked me to provide a "watertight definition". Here goes:A carbon-neutral process, building, or vehicle operates on energy sources which are not derived from fossil fuels. Alternatively, if fossil-derived fuels are used, their carbon emissions can be offset by deliberate activities that permanently absorb an equivalent amount of carbon; the combination can be claimed to be carbon-neutral.This is rarely quite the whole story because the production of biofuels or uranium (for example) will entail using some fossil fuel. Interestingly, using electricity generated from landfill, mine offgas, and other 'fugitive' methane sources, is better than carbon-neutral because for each molecule of carbon dioxide the power station emits, it removes a molecule of methane which would have been over 20 times as damaging as a greenhouse gas. (V.V. 2 Dec 05)
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Excel tip: self-extending tabulations. If you have a table to which you add new rows of data from time to time, you will probably have to remember to copy down any formulae in other columns of the table. This macro does it for you automatically. Whenever you enter a new row of data to a table, all formula columns will immediately extend themselves down to the row you just added. Read article which includes working example to download. V.V. 25/11/05
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Automatic controlsControls can have a part to play saving energy for all users from the largest to the smallest. As well as the well-rehearsed topic of controlling heating lighting and other building services, there are often opportunities in industrial situations as well: see article. (V.V. 20/11/05) |
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Energy targeting for humidity-control systems
: if you manage energy consumption in a building with full air conditioning, you might need to take ambient humidity into account when monitoring for excess electricity consumption. This article describes a novel targeting method that has been successfully applied in two large sites of this kind. V.V. 10/11/05Energy targeting tricks for industrial processes:
this article describes four scenarios in which it was not possible to use the simple straight-line activity-based targeting methods that would be used in some industries like papermaking and bread-baking. V.V. 31 Oct 05Reference data
Physical constants, calorific values, units of measurement and other authoritative reference data are available free in the on-line version of Kaye & Laby 16th edition. (V.V. 27 Oct 05)Back to basics: combustion
Optimising combustion efficiency is a low-cost way to ensure energy savings, and it something that every organisation needs to attend to. Read article (includes spreadsheet to download).Mineral wool insulation:
The trade association Eurisol offers a number of useful publications for free download. I have also added them to my useful links page (V.V. 15/10/05)
Units conversionI noticed this rather neat units-conversion program on a someone's PC; download free from joshmadison.com (V.V. 14/10/05) |
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Readers' enquiries
A good question from a county council energy manager with some biomass heating boilers in schools. They are burning wood-chip and she wanted to know how best to estimate stock levels, so that she can calculate the weekly or monthly consumption. As the fuel is transferred to the boiler by a screw feeder, my suggestion was to forget about stock levels and instead to install a counter to tally up the screw-feeder revolutions. This would give a volumetric measure, which is probably more consistent than weighing, given the possibility of varying water contents. Has anyone got any better ideas? (20/10/05)R.J. asks how degree days are used to normalise the energy consumption of buildings so that their performance can be compared. Click here for a brief explanation. (11 Oct 05)
Estimated bills:
Ideally, energy managers should not rely on energy and water bills as a source of consumption data: they should read their own meters. But bill data may be the only practical source for a large multi-site organisation, and according to Paul Martin of TEAM Energy, time spent chasing suppliers over estimated incorrect and missing bills is a major distraction (for users of all types and sizes) from the task of saving energy. View his article from this month's Energy in Buildings and Industry. (22/9/05).Confusing terminology
Some terms like "target", "benchmark", and "energy audit" either have two legitimate meanings, or are widely misused read more. (V.V., 18/9/05)Energy metering
I found this page on the Switch2 Energy Solutions web site rather useful: it summarises the attributes of various meters for electricity, gas, steam, compressed air, water, and oil. The Spirax Sarco Learning Centre has an extremely good module on flow metering. I've added both companies to my contacts page as well. As for electricity, Northern Design Electronics, a highly reputable supplier, have a downloadable PDF document on selecting and installing secondary kWh meters (V.V. 9/9/05)
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What the...?I have been rummaging in the cellar and found some historical curiosities relating to degree-day measurement - V.V., 6/9/05 |
"Cutting greenhouse gas emissions – a pragmatic view"
This article by Alastair Fells, Ian Fells and John Horlock cuts through the spin and lays bare what cuts are realistically feasible. From tce, July 2005. Reproduced by kind permission of Prof. Ian Fells (11 July 2005)Climate-change guide:
Interactive learning tool dealing with myths and realities of climate change. Produced by University of Oxford Begbroke Science Park (thanks to Energy Systems Trade Association for the tip-off). 6 July 2005Accounting for the weather
Energy management leaflet 7 (PDF format) for readers who would like basic information about degree-day data to print out and file for reference. V.V., 3rd July 2005Energy training:
NIFES Consulting Group has published its forward plan for the coming year's training events (View their web site).A to Z of M&T
Just a bit of fun... (click here to view) inspired by the brilliant "A to Z of HVAC energy savings" on the web site of Efficient Air LimitedIt's not just the money
Saving energy can obviate capital expenditure, extend service life of equipment, and improve service quality (more...). 27 May 05Could carbon supply constraints be the answer?
Comments please: this discussion paper suggests that we can only be sure of meeting our Kyoto obligations if we constrain total carbon supply to the UK economy, rather than just a proportion of CO2 output as at present. 14 May, 2005
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