Cooling with our solar attic fan!

The summer solstice brought hot temperatures to our house as usual. This year it was much more bearable. Why? We recently installed a solar attic fan instead of air conditioning and we are staying cool.

A solar attic fan is a simple and environmentally sensible solution that can save you money. Powered completely by free solar energy, this sleek and efficient vent is both compact and quiet. Fully operational right from the box, it installs easily, with no electrical wiring, no expensive electrician and city permits.

A single 10 watt unit can fully vent up to 1,200 square feet. Place it wherever you need improved circulation; attics, lofts, workshops, storage sheds, garages, etc. Attic venting is an important aspect in maintaining a healthy energy efficient home.

Proper venting cools your roof extending the material life and reduces the load on your air conditioning system if you have one.

In Hawaii we have great state tax credits to go along with federal tax credits. How "cool" is that?

Second Annual Dump the Pumps Day - June 21, 2007

The day is dedicated to raising awareness that public transportation helps improve the environment and conserve fuel. It also offers the opportunity for people to beat the high price of gasoline and support public transportation as an important travel option that helps reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

On June 21, public transportation agencies from coast to coast will join together to ask the public to park their cars and ride public transportation instead.

So get on board and dump the pump!

Each year, public transportation use in the U.S. saves 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline. This represents almost 4 million gallons of gasoline per day.

Public transportation use saves the equivalent of 300,000 fewer automobile fill-ups every day - 108 million fewer cars filling up annually.

The typical public transit rider consumes, on average, one half of the oil consumed by an automobile rider.

Public transportation produces 95 percent less carbon monoxide (CO), 90 percent less in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and nearly 50 percent less carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx), per passenger mile than private vehicles.

Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions represent 82 percent of total U.S. man-made greenhouse emissions.

By reducing smog-producing pollutants and greenhouse gases and by conserving ecologically sensitive lands and open spaces -- public transportation is helping to meet national air quality standards.

For more information on public transportation in your city, visit http://www.publictransportation.org/contact/stories/

Stairwell Lighting Represents A Tremendous Efficiency Opportunity

Anyone with a large commercial building should check out this article I recently authored for Green Lodging News.

Folks are putting their energy into slowing global warming in Hawai'i

Four panels featuring over 16 different speakers addressed how to mitigate carbon emissions and address climate change in Hawaii. Discussions ranged from sequestration to biofuels. You can download my presentation here. Article recapping the event from the Honolulu Advertiser is below:

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer

People get global warming. Now, they're asking: "What can I do about it?"

Actually, quite a lot, according to speakers at an all-day public conference on the topic at the state Capitol yesterday.

From light bulbs to photovoltaic cells, the technology to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions is rapidly becoming more cost-effective and widely available, speakers said. And more alternative-fuel sources are waiting to take off, including wave, wind and even algae power.

"There's a flood of interest in this now and things are changing very quickly," said Jeff Mikulina, director of the Sierra Club's Hawai'i chapter. "We just need to get the word out so people can know what they can do to help."

But statewide strategies for reducing greenhouse gases, which are causing the climate to warm, will take a combination of regulatory action, financial incentives and increasing education, several participants said.

Yesterday's conference, organized by Hawaiian Electric Co., was designed to bring local experts together to discuss ways utility companies and others can help meet a new mandate passed by the state Legislature to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The Public Utilities Commission also has ordered a year-long review of ways Hawai'i will meet its power needs in coming years as oil supplies decline.

"We must act expeditiously and we must act with skill in terms of how the greenhouse gas law will impact our way of life," said HECO Vice President Robbie Alm. The bill passed by the Legislature, which has not yet been signed by Gov. Linda Lingle, does not spell out how the state should meet the new mandate.

Many alternative fuel technologies will become more cost-effective in the coming decade, said Dave Rezachek, head of the Hawai'i Renewable Energy Association. They include ocean thermal energy conversion, seawater air-conditioning, biofuels, winds, wave power and photovoltaic cells, he said.

"If we produce just once 100 tons (about 1.2 million BTUs per hour) of seawater air conditioning, that's the equivalent of taking 50,000 SUVs off the road or buying 115,000 Toyota Priuses or installing 123,000 solar water heaters in Hawai'i," he said.

In the meantime, people who want to help can best do it by reducing energy in their own homes, said Brian Kealoha, senior vice president of Energy Industries, a company focusing on efficiency, generation and renewable energy.

"Energy efficiency is the low-hanging fruit. All the other alternative fuels don't add up together now to equal the potential for energy savings," Kealoha said. The biggest savings come from switching over to compact fluorescent lamps, installing solar water heaters and buying energy-efficient appliances, he said.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070609/NEWS11/706090330/1021/NEWS

Improving efficiency through VFD's

Just over a decade ago VFD may as well have stood for Very Foolish Decision. Their cost could not justify their installation and were often viewed as an afterthought to oversized equipment. The 21st century welcomed vast improvements in the reliability, pricing and understanding of the technology turning VFDs into a leading weapon in the arsenal of energy cost reduction.

Many of the first and second generation VFDs still lurk in your mechanical rooms taking up wall space. Our experience has been that most are either disconnected or in permanent by-pass mode. This is not a surprise considering the early versions had no protection against power strikes or brown outs which caused routine failures. Failures cost money and embarrassment and so goes the equipment back into full output mode never to be returned to VFD control.

The next generation of VFDs is here. They cost half of what they did a decade ago and are produced by more than 10 major manufacturers. However, price is irrelevant if we’re buying the same ineffective product. Fortunately, the increased competition has created demand for built in features such as power transient protection, harmonic reduction and built in control sequences.

VFDs have become one of the standard features in our design and implementation of HVAC systems today. Old school ideas commonly called for back up or redundant equipment to ensure continuous operation. We have seen that it is frequently more economical to operate both pumps at reduced flow. Data shows that the power requirement can be reduced by over 30%.

Why limit VFDs to pumps? They are also big savers on cooling towers, chillers, air handling units, all types of centrifugal pumping, air and refrigerant compressors and exhaust fans. If the energy saving isn’t enough incentive to add VFDs to your facility, consider the reduction in wear on the motors, gears and belts from reduced speed and torque.

With reduced costs, utility rebates, and significant energy savings, VFD’s offer a quick payback on your investment.

Blending Hospitality with Sustainability

Energy costs are once again on the rise and businesses are rapidly depleting their annual energy budgets. Hotels are especially susceptible to rising utility expenses because of 24-hour operations that simultaneously need power for heating, cooling and lighting. While there are many technologies to help reduce energy consumption, the real wins come from applying a “mixed plate” of solutions customized to the facility.

For the hospitality industry the guest experience is paramount. However, budgets for furnishings to enhance the guest experience might have to compete with the necessity of replacing mechanical equipment. The beauty of energy-efficiency projects is that, unlike other capital improvements, they can actually pay for themselves, preserving capital budget for other essential improvements. Using financial leverage, some projects might even generate positive cash flow.

The largest energy costs savings will involve replacing large equipment like chillers and boilers. But, the biggest bang for the buck might come from more modest projects like lighting, controls, and retro-commissioning. By focusing on these, you will achieve the maximum savings for your efforts. Here are five of the top energy efficiency measures hotels and condos should be pursuing:

1. Retrofit your lighting -- Replace 40-watt T-12 and 32-watt T-8 fluorescent lighting with 28 and 25 watt “Super T-8” lamps. Replace high wattage incandescent lights with compact fluorescent lamps, and low wattage incandescent lamps with dimmable cold-cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL). These CCFLs also fit a candelabra stem for use in chandeliers for ballrooms. Utility rebates have never been higher for lighting retrofits.

2. Sensors and controls-- Sensors in administrative offices, bathrooms, and conference rooms can significantly reduce lighting usage. In addition, there are dimmable stairwell lighting fixtures that reduce light levels to minimal fire code levels when the stairwell is vacant and provide full brightness when occupied. These have battery back-up, something we all found to be important after the October 2006 earthquake. In addition to utility rebates, federal tax deductions are often available for lighting control projects.

3. Variable frequency drives (VFDs) on domestic water booster pumps. Many facilities already have VFDs on their chillers and chilled water pumps. One area often overlooked is the domestic water booster pumps which can reduce power consumption by 25-50% on the pumps.

4. Programmable digital thermostats in guestrooms. There is no greater waste than cooling a space that is unoccupied. Guestrooms are occupied less than half the day, yet most hotels allow guests to cool the rooms the entire day and night. Programmable thermostats available today have passive infrared occupancy sensors that can set back the A/C in the rooms until the guest returns and the climate automatically resets to the guest’s desired temperature. This minimizes waste without sacrificing guest comfort.

5. Retro-commissioning of HVAC and system controls. Resetting the building systems to optimal energy-efficiency specifications can significantly improve operations and cost saving, without invasive procedures. Make sure that VFD’s are functioning and that control systems are set properly. It is sometimes surprising what you will uncover through an inspection of your central plant.

This list is not all-inclusive but it does provide some insight into where the largest opportunities lie. The best way to get started is to have an expert take a look at the facility and determine what energy conservation measures exist and what the return on investment would be for these measures. Utilities often subsidize energy feasibility studies to encourage conservation.

Ideally, a hotel that uses this approach will improve its building systems, reduce risk of equipment failure, and reduce its carbon footprint without incurring additional costs. In some cases, the program will actually add to a hotel’s net income, instead of adding costs. Blending hospitality and sustainability is achievable, without ever sacrificing the guest experience.