Energy Star tax creditsBuilding Performance
The latest numbers are that US buildings consume $320 billion/year in energy. 2/5 of all the energy used in the US. And about 40% of the energy (costing $120 billion/year) is used in buildings for HVAC. Some of the 2009 stats HVAC designs that I have incorporated recently into my office building projects are expected [...]
Continue reading about Better HVAC can save $48 billion/year in the USA
Trends: Read the chart on your buildings energy usage. Monthly charts can usually be found on the monthly utility bills. Usually, your utility company can provide a history of usage. The hourly or daily usage charts can reveal patterns of usage which can be reveal whether your building is running at its best. What does [...]
Continue reading about Getting a View of Energy Consumption in your building
The guys over at Autodesk made this cute animation to drive the point home The Buildings Sector accounts for about 40% of U.S. Energy, 72% of Electricity, and 34% of Natural Gas use. Building energy costs totaled $390 billion in 2006. The Buildings Sector accounts for about 40% of U.S. Energy, 72% of Electricity, and [...]
I want to clear the air about something that has been problematic for years. I do not have the standard degree in my field. Recently I have been in close contact with many engineering, architecture, and construction hiring managers. The communication has revealed much and disappointed me on a number of occasions as I seek [...]
Continue reading about 30 years versus a certain curriculum.
I have a BS ED, which is a science that encompasses the junction between engineering and architecture. My expertise is in buildings and how they work. I focused all my career on design of the built environment and building systems. I was educated in energy conservation, neighborhood preservation, and solar energy in the 1970s. I [...]
Continue reading about THE LAST ENERGY CRISIS- 1970s and a B.S. Environmental Design
I would like to share this 2006 excerpt from the Building Design and Construction magazine white paper on the bottom line of building commissioning. To put some solid numbers on benefits of commissioning, Evan Mills, PhD, and colleagues at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Portland Energy Conservation, and Texas A&M University (Energy Systems Laboratory) reviewed published [...]
Continue reading about The bottom line! Building commissioning today
A recent article in ASHRAE Journal, “An Updated Look at DCV Approaches“, October 2009, page 82-84, covers an important component of building energy: HVAC ventilation control, also called “Demand Controlled Ventilation“. It is an overview of the reasons and logic behind one of the more cost-effective methods for controlling air quality while reducing energy usage. [...]
Corporate geothermal or (ground-coupled or pond-coupled ) HVAC systems are eligible for tax credits under the same law as renewable energy measures tax credits. Renewable energies (wind and solar) and combined heat-power systems get a 30% tax credit. A new geothermal /geocoupled heat pump investment will garner a 10% tax refund, which improves an already [...]
Continue reading about Corporate Geothermal is a Renewable Energy tax credit…
I just love this subject. Do you know whether your building is sucking or blowing? Did you know that even a new building, built to the usual building methods, will leak air? In a new project, the key is to make allowance for that, and design, build and validate accordingly. On an existing building, it [...]
HVAC DATA model from LBNL
BetterBricks.com
Database of Energy and $ Incentives
From Horsepower to Hearpower, Part 1: The Foundations of Power and Energy
Oil Industry started (Drake's well in PA)
The Energy Collective
Architecture 2030
Jerry Yudelson
