Transcript Improving Energy Efficiency

Improving Energy Efficiency
Carly Mackay
Morgan Stewart
Haley Soelberg
Lauren Young
Textbook Information Summary
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Energy efficiency is the percentage of total energy
input into an energy conversion device or system that
does useful work and is not converted to low quality
essentially useless heat. Improving the energy efficient
of car motor, home heating system of other energy
conversion devices involves using less energy to do
more work.
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84% of all commercial energy used in the Unites
States is wasted. About 41% of this energy is waster
automatically because of the degradation of energy
quality imposed by the second law of thermo
dynamics. 43% is wasted unnecessarily, mostly by
using fuel wasting motor vehicles, furnaces, and other
devices and by living and working in leaky poor
insulated, poorly designed buildings.
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Life cycle cost: initial cost plus lifetime operating
costs.
Advantages of reducing energy waste
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Prolongs fossil fuel supplies
Reduces oil imports
Very high net energy low cost
Reduces pollution and environmental
degradation
Buys time to phase in renewable energy
Less need for military protection of middle east
oil resources
Improves locals economy by reducing flow of
money out to pay for energy
Creates local jobs.
How can we use wasted heat?
• The second law of energy tells us that we
cannot recycle energy.
• The best way to slow the rate at which
heat flows into the environment when
high-quality energy is degraded is– Insulate it thoroughly
– Eliminate air leaks
– Equip it with an air-to air heat exchanger to
prevent buildup of indoor air pollutants.
How can we save energy in the Industry?
Three important ways to save energy and money
in industry are:
– Cogeneration, or combined heat and power systems,
in which two useful forms of energy are produced
from the same fuel source.
– Replacing energy-easting electric motors. Running
electric motors consumes about half of all electricity
produced in the United States. Most of these motors
are inefficient because they run only at full speed with
their output throttled to math the task.
– Switching to high-efficient lighting.
How can we save energy in transportation?
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The best way to save energy and money in transportation is to increase the
fuel efficiency of motor vehicles.
Are electric cars the answer?
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Conventional battery powered electric cars are extremely quiet, need little
maintenance and can accelerate rapidly. They produce no air pollution, but
using coal and nuclear power plants to produce the electricity needed to
recharge their batteries produces air pollution and nuclear waste. Oh the
negative side, electric cars can travel only 81-161 kilometers before needing a
3 to 8 hour recharge and batteries must be replaced about every 48000
kilometers at a cost of at least 2000. Because of high cost and a lack of
consumer interest, in 1999 major car companies abandoned their production of
electric cars.
Are hybrid and fuel cell cars the answer?
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One type of highly efficient car uses a small hybrid electric internal combustion
engine that runs on gasoline or some other liquid fuel and a small battery to
provide the energy needed for acceleration and hill climbing. Another type of
super efficient car is an electric vehicle that uses fuel cells. Fuel cells consist of
two electrodes immersed in a solution that conducts electricity.
Improving Energy Efficiency in Buildings
Urban Options
On a smaller scale, Urban Options, in Lansing Michigan, renovated a house
built in the 1920’s with modern energy conservation and renewable
energy equipment. Foam insulation was added to the walls and attic,
better windows were put in to capture the sun’s heat, and high
efficiency heating and lighting were installed. They also used special
photovoltaic shingles on the roof that convert sunlight directly into
electricity. Compared to a typical home in the area, the Urban Options
house keeps warm with only one quarter the natural gas used in a
typical home. In other words, over three quarters of their heating bill has
disappeared! In addition, the solar shingles supply more than half the
home’s electricity.10 You can visit Urban Options and see its
educational displays in person or via the Internet
(www.urbanoptions.org).
There are numerous examples of energy efficiency breakthroughs right here
in Michigan. For example, in downtown Detroit, General Motors
overhauled the Renaissance Center office complex of 5.5 million square
feet. They installed more efficient heating and cooling equipment, lights,
and office equipment. They installed window-shading devices to reduce
the amount of air conditioning the building needs each year. They
redesigned the offices located near the outside of the building to let the
light from the outside further into the building, reducing the need for
electric lights. They also started using waste heat from a Detroit Edison
power plant to heat the building in the winter. As a result, they save
$500,000 per year in energy bills.
The money they save on electric and gas bills will pay for the energy
efficiency improvements in less than 5 years. It will also prevent the
release of 12,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), 157 tons of sulfur
dioxide (SO2), and 53 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) each year.9
http://www.urbanoptions.org/RenewableEnergy/E
nergyEfficiencySuccessStories.htm
Diagram for Improving Energy
Efficiency in Processing
Energy Efficient
Vehicles
5 Test Questions
1. How much commercial energy
used in the United States is
wasted?
2. How much energy is wasted
automatically because of
degradation of energy quality
imposed by the second law of
thermodynamics?
3. What is DEO?
4. What is the life cycle cost?
5. The net energy efficiency of the
entire energy delivered process
for a space heater, water heater,
or car is determined by?
1.
2.
3.
4.
84%
41%
Department of Energy
Initial cost plus lifetime
operating costs
5. The efficiency of each step in
the energy
conversion
process.
U.S. Energy Secretary: Change Can Happen Fast
Michelle Nijhuis for National Geographic Magazine
March 2, 2009
Steven Chu, the nation’s new Secretary of Energy, sat down with National Geographic
to outline his plans for greater energy efficiency. Secretary Chu expressed the need to
develop an inexpensive way to capture and store the carbon dioxide emissions from
coal-fired power plants. He suggests that the United States should be taking a
leadership position in developing technologies for all types of carbon capture and that
there are new technologies that need to be looked at. When asked whether the U.S.
should focus on building nuclear reactors or more coal-fired power plants, Secretary
Chu responded, “I think nuclear power has its problems… But the safety is better and
will continue to get better, and nuclear power is far better for climate than coal.”
Regarding the need for greater efficiency now to counteract some of the impending
environmental repercussions, Secretary Chu cited that energy efficiency can be
improved very quickly. Appliance standards and using fuels made from gases and
biowaste would yield almost instant results, but capturing carbon will take some time.
In the next four years the Department of Energy hopes to garner research that will
lead to really new ideas about sources of energy and ways of using our energy more
efficiently.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/03/090302-steven-chu-interview.html
By Haley Soelberg
The Energy Challenge: Turing Glare Into Watts
Matthew L. Wald for The New York Times
March 2, 2009
In this article Matthew Wald reports on a source of energy that is gaining
popularity: solar power. But this isn’t the standard shiny panels bolted to the
roofs of houses. This kind of solar power involves covering acres of desert
with mirrors that focus intense sunlight on a fluid, heating it enough to make
steam which turns a turbine and generates electricity.This idea isn’t new, but
due to increasing worry for the environmental repercussions of fossil fuels,
it’s being looked at as the energy alternative with the most promise.
According to Wald, “solar plants do tend to produce peak power during the
hottest part of the day, when demand is highest and electricity is costly, so
at certain times they are already competitive with plants using natural gas.
And they have an advantage over the other widely available form of
renewable power, wind turbines: they are more predictable.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/business/06solar.html?_r=1
By Haley Soelberg
China, US Look to Energy
Efficiency
The United States and China are both prioritizing the issue of climate change.
They are looking to energy efficiency as a primary means to reduce carbon
emissions and as an area for new jobs and economic growth. President
Obama promised government investment in three areas that he called
"absolutely critical" to America's economic future. The first one on his list
was energy. However, President Obama went on to praise China, and not
the United States, for making the greatest strides towards the goal of
energy efficiency. Some scientists say the two countries also contribute the
most to climate change. They are the top two emitters of greenhouse
gases, producing one half of the world's carbon-dioxide emissions from
fossil fuel use. Liu Qi, a vice administrator at China's National Energy
Administration, says China will continue to push energy conservation to
reduce emissions and fight climate change. Both the United States and
China are promising big spending on economic stimulus packages in the
coming years. Their commitment to addressing climate change will in part
be tested by how much money they are willing to allocate to the
development, implementation and monitoring of energy-efficient programs.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-03-05-voa11.cfm
By Morgan Stewart
San Antonio is a leader in energyefficient buildings
San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan market for energy-efficient
buildings. San Antonio has 53 Energy Star-rated buildings, according
to the EPA. H-E-B, has the single most number of Energy Star
facilities in San Antonio with 38 properties. Houston has the most
number of Energy Star buildings in the state with 168 properties. The
Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has the second-highest number of
buildings with 81 properties. Austin has the fourth-highest number of
buildings with 51 properties. These four metropolitan areas had a total
of 404 Energy Star-qualified buildings in 2008, which collectively
resulted in $130.7 million in energy cost savings.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2009/03/02/daily31.html
By Morgan Stewart
Project Aims To Improve Energy
Efficiency Of Computing
Surprisingly, the information technology energy has the same carbon
footprint as the airline industry. This article discusses how scientists
are teaming together to redesign computers to be more efficient.
This project is called the Green Light Project and “its plan [is] to
connect scientists and their labs to more energy-efficient ‘green’
computer processing and storage systems using photonics - light
over optical fiber.” This project is much needed and will likely reduce
the technology industry’s carbon footprint drastically.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080728193231.htm
By Carly Mackay
Energy efficiency must be major
part of US energy policy
This article discusses how improving energy efficiency is
vital and how it is critical for it to be part of the U.S.’s
energy policy for any progress to be made. It also talks
about how improving energy efficiency will allow the U.S.
to stop importing so much oil from foreign nations and
develop our own methods and ultimately help our
economy. We are behind the time and need to
desperately pick up with greener technologies and be
more eco-friendly in our daily lives since the U.S. is the
number one emitter of CO2 in the atmosphere.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/apseem091608.php
By Carly Mackay
In today's computers, energy
efficiency trumps speed
Today consumers are more worried about energy efficiency over speed of the
item. Because technology has come such a long way, people aren't
concerned with speed when it comes to phones, computers, and video
games. They are more worried about the quality of the picture and how
much can the processor do using a certain amount of watts. A typical PC
sold today has two or four processing cores, but Intel is now working on a
new architecture for graphics processing units (GPU), a lightning-fast
processor used to deliver sharp graphics. The architecture, dubbed "
Larrabee,” will be based on more cores than any processor they have ever
released. Products made using this architecture are expected to hit the
market later this year or early in 2010.
http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=in-todayscomputers-energy-efficien-2009-02-25
By Lauren Young
Obama orders new energy
standards for household products
By Jordan Lite
Obama ordered the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to set standards
to improve the energy efficiency of bulbs and other power-sucking
household appliances, including air conditioners, ovens and
dishwashers. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975
(EPCA) required DOE to establish efficiency standards for household
appliances by a series of dates in 1988, 1989 and 1992. The agency
missed the deadline for 22 categories of products. Obama's order
requires the agency to set tougher rules by this summer on
fluorescent and reflector lamps, microwaves, gas ovens and stoves,
drink vending machines and commercial boilers and air conditioners.
http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=obamaorders-new-energy-standards-f-2009-02-06
By Lauren Young