It’s fall, so I must ask the question. What Position does a Project Developer Play?
BY: DOMENIC K. ARMANO, P.E.
It’s football season and I can hardly think of anything else lately, so when my mind ambled back to reality I thought of developing energy projects and the role of the Project Developer. How important is it to be a leader? Is the Developer the quarterback or the running back? or maybe he plays defense?
I think the Developer is most like the quarterback, he’s the on-field leader who controls whether or not we pass or run down the field to the goal line. He’s always scanning ahead, watching for defenders coming at him while simultaneously scanning the field for open position. When the need arises, he chips in and runs for the 1st down. Most critical, he’s setting the tempo of play and leading by example.
What kind of developer are you?
Got an opinion? Let me hear it…put your thoughts out there for discussion.
Upgrading Software to Save Energy
BY: DOMENIC K. ARMANO, P.E.
Implementing energy savings measures on computer hardware just got a little easier; Thanks to Microsoft Windows 7. Among other improvements, Windows 7 just got a little leg up from the energy efficiency perspective. The new version of Windows features some cool software features that conserve processing power, automatically dim the screen and power off unused ports. I’m not sure if the new Windows 7 operating system has the ability to be controlled globally from a corporate network. However, once upgraded, IT professionals could control the power settings during the initial set-up of the computer.
To learn more about Windows 7 and the new power management features follow this link.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/features/power-management.aspx
Google SketchUp Plus Energy Data = Open Source Green Building (Cool!)
http://earth2tech.com/2009/10/14/google-sketchup-plus-energy-data-open-source-green-building-cool/
Link courtesy of Earth2Tech Blog.
What’s more important? The Financial or Technical Solution…
BY: DOMENIC K. ARMANO, P.E.
I often ask myself…What’s more important? The Financial, Legal or Technical Solution. During the development of energy performance contracts (PC), many project developers often focus on the technical solution. Perhaps it’s because the solutions are more interesting to them or maybe there’s a lack of understanding of how a PC deal is put together.
If there was a hierarchy to the importance of many “deal” factors what would they be? I propose that the following is the order of operations for a successful PC deal.
Financial | Legal | Technical
Many would propose that the development of an energy deal requires a certain synergy among these parameters. However, I truly believe that there is a rank order. I will grant you this; having one without the other does not lead to a successful deal but they should be weighted in terms of importance.
Without a means to finance a project all the legal jargon and gold plated equipment is useless and more often than not there is always a technical solution to any engineering problem one may encounter. Successful project developers should have a firm grasp on not only the technical solution, but also the financial and legal solutions. They should be adept at analyzing a project income statement and determining the projects net cash flow to the customer. The calculation of simple payback may be useful initially, but it doesn’t take the time value of money into account. An NPV calculation must be used. Since these deals are self funding through the energy savings that they realize, having an NPV at or near zero may be the right decision for the owner as it serves to maximize the use of energy savings to fund the project.
Legal compromises can always be found and technical solutions can be found around every corner, but in the financial world… “The buck stops here!”
Just a little something to think about.
A Solar Hybrid: Crystalline Silicon and Thin Film in One Cell
Saw this article and thought it would be interesting.
http://earth2tech.com/2009/09/28/a-solar-hybrid-crystalline-silicon-and-thin-film-in-one-cell/
How Many Solar Panels Would It Take to Power The Entire World?
By: Gizomodo (Blog)
Pretty interesting way to look at the solar potential…
http://gizmodo.com/5350191/how-many-solar-panels-would-it-take-to-power-the-entire-world
McKinsey and Company Article
See link below for a great McKinsey Study on “Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy”
It’s a long report, so if you read the Executive Summary you’ll get the gist.
http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/electricpowernaturalgas/us_energy_efficiency/
Link to: Greenbiz Blog Article
Americans Waste $130 Billion a Year on Energy
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/07/29/americans-waste-130-billion-a-year-energy
“Follow the Energy”
Heating and Cooling Penalties – An Alternative Perspective
BY: RAYMOND P. MARTUCCI
Most energy engineers are aware of the heating and cooling penalties that should be accounted for when performing a lighting retrofit project. There is an intuitive and correct understanding that lights give off heat which partially offsets heating loads and adds to cooling loads. Therefore, any lighting efficiency project that reduces kWh consumption will, as a result, increase the facility’s heating requirement in the heating season, and decrease cooling requirements in the cooling season for buildings with cooling. This results in a financial benefit in cooling costs, and a financial penalty which should be accounted for in heating costs. The net financial impact varies with energy rates, heating and cooling loads, and equipment efficiencies.
But how do you quantify the heat generation that occurs with lighting equipment? An incandescent light bulb is basically an electric heater that gives off a little light as a by-product – about 90%-95% of the electrical energy that is fed to the light bulb is radiated off as heat, the rest is given off as useful light. Fluorescent lights do a little better, radiating off only about 75% of the incoming electrical energy as heat. LED lighting is even more efficient. But what about the light that is emitted off of lighting fixtures? Where does that light, and its energy content, eventually go? Some of it is radiated out of windows but the majority is reflected off of surfaces within a building (walls, floors, ceilings, furniture). When the light energy is reflected off of a surface some of it is absorbed and converted into heat. Eventually, all of the light energy that does not escape from the building is eventually absorbed into surfaces and turned into heat energy. Therefore, even though efficient fluorescent lighting may only radiate 70% of its input electrical energy as heat from the bulb, the majority of the 30% light energy that radiates eventually turns into heat as well, and therefore should be, theoretically, accounted for in a heating penalty or cooling benefit calculation.
The 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics are the governing principles that dictate these energy flows – and it doesn’t stop with lighting. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy is neither created or destroyed, it simply changes state. In the case of lighting, electrical energy is converted to heat energy and visible light energy at the bulb, and the visible light energy is eventually converted to heat through absorption on surfaces. Nearly all of the electrical energy is converted to heat at some point. The second law of thermodynamics basically dictates that energy forms tend to degrade into heat, and not the other way around without the input of additional energy. Electrical energy is an organized, orderly form of energy that, according to the laws of thermodynamics, is eventually degraded and converted to heat energy when applied in mechanical systems.
Let’s look at an air handling unit fan motor, and let’s say you calculate that over the course of a year the motor uses 100,000 kWh of electrical energy. Therefore, 100,000 kWh of electrical energy in the form of moving electrons are fed to the motor. But where does that electrical energy eventually go? If the motor is 90% efficient, then 10% is bled off as heat at the motor. If the motor is in a basement mechanical room, then a good portion of that heat energy is re-absorbed back into the building through the mechanical room ceiling. The rest of the 90% of the input electrical energy is converted to mechanical (kinetic) energy at the fan. A few % is lost as friction in the fan and bled off as heat in the mechanical room. The rest is used to accelerate the air stream in the ductwork. But where does that kinetic energy eventually go? Since the air stream eventually comes to rest where it is being delivered, we know that ALL of its kinetic energy is eventually converted to heat through friction somewhere in the system. You can reason that some of this heat is eventually carried out of the facility through the exhaust air, but clearly much is absorbed into the building itself. This heat, as in the case of the heat produced by lighting, necessarily must offset heating loads and add to cooling loads as well. Therefore, much of the 100,000 kWh of electrical energy being fed to the AHU fan motor is contributing to cooling loads and offsetting heating loads. Assume 50% and you get a heat generation of approximately 1,700 therms over the full year. Therefore, the variable speed drive measure that saves 40,000 kWh on this fan has a considerable heating penalty and cooling benefit associated with it.
When it comes to heating and cooling penalties, there’s nothing unique about lighting retrofit projects. The same concept applies to energy savings measures on hot and chilled water pump motors, glycol/brine pump motors at ice rinks, plug loads, and other electrical equipment as well. Just follow the energy. I suspect that heating penalties are not traditionally accounted for with other measures since the heat generation is not as noticeable or apparent as it is with lighting. Particularly in warmer climates where cooling loads are high and heating loads are low, this impact can have a significant positive effect on the bottom line of an energy project. Even if a facility is not mechanically cooled, most electricity savings measures would help keep a facility cool and improve interior comfort conditions in warmer weather.
Laboratory Fume Hood Energy Model
BY: DOMENIC K. ARMANO, P.E.
Looking for a quick and easy way to model the energy usage in a Fume Hood? Berkeley Labs has developed this great tool to help with quantifying various energy retrofit options. Although not the “end-all-be-all” calculation, this tool can put you in the ball park rather quickly and prevent you from exhausting all your resources auditing something that doesn’t meet your clients requirements.
