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Advances in pellet combustion and control automation have recently positioned wood-pellet-fired biomass boilers as economical alternatives to traditional boilers. Their targeted use promises distinct benefits to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).

In every industry, companies are looking for ways to save on energy costs. This article provides a quick guide that examines several low-cost ways you can find energy savings for any facility. Among the savings areas, we’ll take a look at heating, lighting, electric motors, power factor correction, and more.

Only two out of ten (22 percent) of United States homeowners protect their major appliances, including air conditioners, from brownouts and other power quality issues despite the fact that nearly nine in ten (87 percent) understand that a brownout can damage these same major appliances, according to a new study.

The campus of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) played host to 28 teams of university students and building industry experts who converged at the lab for the Challenge Home Student Design Competition.

This analysis shows how a water-cooled 500-ton chiller system when compared to a 500-ton air-cooled chiller system results in approximately $45,000 in annual operating costs savings. Additionally, the water-cooled system reduces peak energy demand by 45 percent.

The challenge presented by Neema Hospitality, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, was that the company wanted to maximize energy efficiency while maintaining guest comfort and loyalty, improve profitability without increasing room rates, and augment operational efficiency with remote monitoring capability.

Among the more stressful challenges facing HVAC service providers is meeting customer demands for rapid diagnosis and repair of their systems. For many HVAC contractors the solution can be found in a compact electronic measurement system that can monitor and log the status of all HVAC functions.

Modifying an off-the-shelf control knob used in avionic systems stopped repeated service calls for a major maker of commercial rooftop units. Electronic Hardware Corp. (EHC) was able to change its standard PT70 control knob to fit on a small circuit board inside the different HVAC models.

Keeping large buildings well ventilated has always been a challenge. In health care buildings especially, supplying clean fresh air is of utmost importance to prevent CO2 and other contaminants from accumulating. The answer to energy efficient, healthily ventilated ambient environments? Natural ventilation.

There has been a deluge of recent technological advancements that are creating new air curtain applications that were barely imaginable 10 years ago. Advancements have ranged from more efficient electric heaters to manufacturing improvements that now extend lengths up to 16 feet.