Posts Tagged ‘HVAC’

Tune in on June 9th, 2010 to hear me present on how UNC is slashing up to 50% of a building’s yearly energy consumption.

You may never hear about the field of psychrometry, but believe me, you are intimately familiar with its effects. It’s with you in the shower, it’s the reason you sweat, and if you ignore it at home, it will make you very, very sorry.

I received a letter yesterday from my friendly local Duke-Energy office, letting me know that they’re re-branding a load shedding program they’ve had around for ages.  The “Air Conditioning Load Control” program (major snore) is now “Power Manager” (merely a yawn). Here’s how it works: Duke Energy installs a remote control device on your air [...]

Those ancient Egyptians were really on to something when the built the pyramids.  The broad base and pointy top really helps us understand that there are some things common and fundamental, and others that are a little more rare.  Brilliant! Today’s pyramidal subject is energy conservation. Have you ever wondered whether you’re better off insulating [...]

It’s an age old dilemma for efficiency advocates: how do you calculate how much energy you didn’t use or how much money you didn’t spend? You can’t put a yardstick up against something that doesn’t exist. We tend to rely on models and predictions of what might have happened, and calculate the savings based on [...]

The Consumer Electronics Show is a yearly excuse for just about everyone to geek out.  It’s no surprise that the focus on energy efficiency and home management caught my eye. First up,  Home Energy Manager promises to put your bloated house on an energy diet.  By linking to a series of smart monitors in each [...]

After receiving my new Globe Enersaver thermostat last weekend, I was anxious to get it installed and ener-saving.  I already described why I needed a new way of controlling my heat pump, but the installation didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. Luckily, in the battle of man versus machine, I had the help [...]

As a scientist-turned-efficiency nut, I have railed against people who believe the conventional wisdom when it comes to environmental conservation, often ignoring the data.  I’ve talked at length about corn-to-ethanol, cash-for-clunkers, and other programs that are supposed to save the earth, but do the opposite when you really take a look under the hood. Thus, [...]

A new air conditioner designed by Mitsubishi will try to take the guess-work out of home energy efficiency.  It uses an array of sensors to identify weather and room conditions, and then suggest some ideas for trimming energy use. The unit can measure indoor and outdoor temperature and room humidity to suggest control changes.  For [...]

I’m reading a historical mystery novel based in ancient Rome, and I’m surprised by the parallels between that society and ours.  Aside from the madness of power hungry politicians (some things truly never change) I was intrigued by the description of Roman Augurs, a class of priests who interpreted the the will of the gods [...]