With help from James River Air Conditioning, the Children’s Museum of Richmond has substantially reduced its utility usage implementing the contractor’s Practical Green® solutions - a combination of preventive maintenance and retro-commissioning - designed to reduce operating costs and extend HVAC equipment useful life.
Seeing the large increase in heat pump shipments in July gives us all a glimmer of hope as the economy continues to recover. I also find this to be an encouraging sign because many of us have heard that heat pump technology can often be very confusing as consumers determine whether it’s a good option for their homes.
While many contractors are still hesitant to try refrigerant sealants, Brothers Air, Heat & Plumbing trained its service techs not only in proper application, but also how to market sealants to customers with leaking equipment. When the recession hit hard, Brothers policy of using sealants positioned them to not only retain customers, but add to profitability.
The Frito-Lay plant in Killingly, Conn., has installed a combined heat and power (CHP) system designed to help remove it from the Northeast power grid. Located in a region with severe electrical transmission constraints, Frito-Lay saw CHP as a potential opportunity for achieving near-term energy efficiency improvements and reducing emissions.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) notes that industrial buildings employ energy-intensive systems to heat, ventilate, air condition, light, and otherwise support processes and personnel. These industrial facilities present a unique opportunity to save energy by recovering energy and/or water from industrial processes.
The convenience of rooftop packaged units has driven a demand for increasingly larger units. With these larger units, many factors need to be considered in the design of the building, such as increased structural support. Unfortunately, the increased sound levels produced by these units are sometimes overlooked.
Barix AG, a supplier of IP-based control and
monitoring solutions, is providing Lake and Peninsula School District in
southwest Alaska with its Barix Barionet IP control and automation devices to
remotely monitor the HVAC, electrical, and other critical building systems at
14 schools across a remote, 400-square-mile section of the state.
Where should you look for the best examples of large-scale, energy-efficient green building today? Not the United States. Instead the greenest new buildings on the planet are located in Europe. “The Europeans are now the leaders,” stated American green building consultant Jerry Yudelson.
Imagine a lightweight, flexible material that effectively insulates pipes in steam distribution systems. You don’t have to imagine anymore. With DOE assistance, Aspen Aerogels developed insulation that provides the same insulating capabilities as conventional products, but with up to five times less material.
Space heating and lighting consume most of the energy in non-refrigerated warehouses. Installing more efficient lighting to save energy has been well documented by computer modeling. But what about space heating? This article summarizes an energy modeling analysis showing energy performance for six types of gas-fired heating systems commonly used in warehouses.