Thursday, June 28, 2001
Energy
The lit-up New York skyline has always been a charming and reassuring sight. Today, though, in view of the energy crises that have affectred California and may also affect us in the Northeast, it becomes a witness to the huge wastage of energy resources and the atmospheric pollution that we , citizens of the richest country in the world, have indulged in since the energy crisis of the 1970s. Even President Bush speaks of (or at least did speak, as recently as April) "the privilegexxxx>"
We are about to get our comeuppance, the short-term one for not building more energy plants to cope with increasing population and technology needs, and the long-term one, when the earth’s oil resources run out in 38 years (my conclusion based on US government statistics), and we have not developed alternative sources and will have to rush into building atomic energy plants.
First, though, about those lit-up buildings, store windows, 24/7 climate control HVACs in business environments. Huge waste, controllable by simple flick of the switch. An architect friend tells me that many commercial buildings turn off the lights, and maybe air-conditioning, at 11 PM, and put them bac on at 6 AM or thereabouts, with the same schedule on weekends. To save money, many buildings are directly tied to breakers (panels) with 277 volt 3-phase lines, and cannot be interrupted with ease.
Security - need to ease access for the periodic night visits by guards - is another reason for the lit-up premises. Need for security on streets accounts for street-lights, controlled by timers or "electric eyes.".
NYS (Fed govt??) does do energy audits and provides some tax benefits for energy savings.Ther is no code, though, that punishes abuse of electric current. Federal government encourages employment af alternate sources.
What are they? First of all, photovoltaic panels, that convert solar energy into electricity, heat or air conditioning. Fuel cells or batteries save some of this perishable stuff. Fox and Fowle, a "green architecture" proponent firm, built the Conde Nast 48-story tower at 4 Times Square with PV panels in the walls, two fuel cells, gas-fired absorption panels, a network of recycling chutes throughout the building. Imagine, if all the future tall buildings could have PV panels in their walls? A small F&F structure, 9K sq ft Black Rock Forest consortium office, by use of the above, plus a heat pump system (which????), projects 45 percent less energy costs than a traditional building. They exemplify a new standard.
This standard is being legislated. In Massachusetts the use of glass walls may be history. Glass surfaces, even with double panes, are wasteful of energy, since they provide very limited insulation. Pre-cast PV panels may become the standard for curtain-wall buildings, lightweight, energy-generating and good insulants. There will be a complete revolution in architectute.
The US Department of Energy office of energy efficiency is promoting a Million Solar Roofs, with the expectation that such roofs by the year 2010 will reduce emissions equivalent to those of 850,000 cars, not to speak of energy savings. Installing PV cells, solar hot water and related systems will also generate 70,000 new jobs. Tax incentives exist already, 10 percent for home installations, 35 percent for businesses.
With all these efforts on hand in burbing energy waste in the business world, let us not forget the things that we the individuals can do. If President Johnson could walk through the White House turning off lights, whe could easily do the same in our smaller home environments. We can also install less electricity consuming light fixtures, such as ????. We can turn off our computers when not in use. We can lower thermostats and wear sweaters in cool periods - the Brits have been doint it for centuries
We are about to get our comeuppance, the short-term one for not building more energy plants to cope with increasing population and technology needs, and the long-term one, when the earth’s oil resources run out in 38 years (my conclusion based on US government statistics), and we have not developed alternative sources and will have to rush into building atomic energy plants.
First, though, about those lit-up buildings, store windows, 24/7 climate control HVACs in business environments. Huge waste, controllable by simple flick of the switch. An architect friend tells me that many commercial buildings turn off the lights, and maybe air-conditioning, at 11 PM, and put them bac on at 6 AM or thereabouts, with the same schedule on weekends. To save money, many buildings are directly tied to breakers (panels) with 277 volt 3-phase lines, and cannot be interrupted with ease.
Security - need to ease access for the periodic night visits by guards - is another reason for the lit-up premises. Need for security on streets accounts for street-lights, controlled by timers or "electric eyes.".
NYS (Fed govt??) does do energy audits and provides some tax benefits for energy savings.Ther is no code, though, that punishes abuse of electric current. Federal government encourages employment af alternate sources.
What are they? First of all, photovoltaic panels, that convert solar energy into electricity, heat or air conditioning. Fuel cells or batteries save some of this perishable stuff. Fox and Fowle, a "green architecture" proponent firm, built the Conde Nast 48-story tower at 4 Times Square with PV panels in the walls, two fuel cells, gas-fired absorption panels, a network of recycling chutes throughout the building. Imagine, if all the future tall buildings could have PV panels in their walls? A small F&F structure, 9K sq ft Black Rock Forest consortium office, by use of the above, plus a heat pump system (which????), projects 45 percent less energy costs than a traditional building. They exemplify a new standard.
This standard is being legislated. In Massachusetts the use of glass walls may be history. Glass surfaces, even with double panes, are wasteful of energy, since they provide very limited insulation. Pre-cast PV panels may become the standard for curtain-wall buildings, lightweight, energy-generating and good insulants. There will be a complete revolution in architectute.
The US Department of Energy office of energy efficiency is promoting a Million Solar Roofs, with the expectation that such roofs by the year 2010 will reduce emissions equivalent to those of 850,000 cars, not to speak of energy savings. Installing PV cells, solar hot water and related systems will also generate 70,000 new jobs. Tax incentives exist already, 10 percent for home installations, 35 percent for businesses.
With all these efforts on hand in burbing energy waste in the business world, let us not forget the things that we the individuals can do. If President Johnson could walk through the White House turning off lights, whe could easily do the same in our smaller home environments. We can also install less electricity consuming light fixtures, such as ????. We can turn off our computers when not in use. We can lower thermostats and wear sweaters in cool periods - the Brits have been doint it for centuries
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 3:56 AM 
