Renewable Energy

Improving Energy Efficiency

• Efficiency is a measure of the useful energy
produced by an energy conversion device
compared to the energy that ends up being
converted to low-quality (useless) heat.
• First Law of thermodynamics: In all physical
and chemical changes, energy is neither
created nor destroyed, but it may be
converted from one form to another.
• Second Law of thermodynamics: When
energy is changed from one form to another,
some of the useful energy is always
degraded to lower, quality, more dispersed,
less useful energy.
• The cheapest and quickest way for us to
get more energy is to improve energy
efficiency.
Fluorescent light
22% efficient

Incandescent light
5% efficient
• The U.S. Department of Energy
estimates that the U.S. wastes
approximately 84% of all commercial
energy.
• While some energy efficient models
may cost more initially, they often have
lower life cycle costs.
• Keep the number of steps in an energy
conversion process as low as possible.
 Cogeneration
• Combined heat and power systems: two
useful forms of energy are produced from
the same fuel source.
• Usually heat and electricity.
 Hidden Costs of Gasoline
• Government subsidies and tax breaks for
oil companies and road builders
• Pollution clean up
• Military protection of oil supplies in the
Middle East
• Environmental, health, and social costs
 Energy Efficient Buildings
Georgia Power Company Building(Atlanta)
-The south facade progressively
cantilevers 15 inches per floor,
to minimize solar gain and
maximize usable floor area.

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Multimedia.jsp?id=m-8275
 Green Roofs
• In addition to the spatial and aesthetic benefits,
the environmental impacts are lovable... "green
roofs reduce stormwater runoff, insulate
buildings leading to lower energy use, clean the
air, and control local climate, lessening the
formation of smog." According to a Chicago city
official, "the city expects to save $4,000 per year
in cooling and heating the building due to the
insulating capability of a green roof." In addition,
"Green roofs can last fifty to a hundred years as
opposed to a fifteen-year roof."
Chicago City Hall

http://science.howstuffworks.com/green-rooftop.htm
http://www.usemenow.com/web-log/archives/2005/02/
• Two types of green roof exist: intensive and
extensive.
• Intensive green roofs are essentially elevated parks.
They can sustain shrubs, trees, walkways and
benches with their complex structural support,
irrigation, drainage and root protection layers. The
foot or more of growing medium needed for an
intensive green roof creates a load of 80-150 pounds
(36-68 kilograms) per square foot.
• Extensive green roofs are relatively light at 15-50
pounds (7-23 kilograms) per square foot. They
support hearty native ground cover that requires
little maintenance. Extensive green roofs usually
exist solely for their environmental benefits and
don't function as accessible rooftop gardens.
Green roofs like those on the Faroe Islands can
last twice as long as conventional rooftops
http://www.walshlandscape.com/1008_full.htm
Ballard library in Seattle

http://www.aiatopten.org/hpb/images.cfm?ProjectID=655
 Improving Energy Efficiency in the Home
• You can save energy and money by installing
insulation, maintaining and upgrading the
equipment, and practicing energy-efficient
behaviors. A two-degree adjustment to your
thermostat setting (lower in winter, higher in
summer) can lower
heating bills by 4% and
prevent 500 pounds of
CO2 from entering the
atmosphere each year.
 Windows
• R value describes the window’s
resistance to transferring heat in or
out.
• If a window's R-value is high, it will lose
less heat than one with a lower R-value.

•The type of glazing material

(e.g., glass, plastic, treated glass)
•The number of layers of glass
•The size of the air space between the layers of glass
•The thermal resistance / conductance of the frame
and spacer materials
•The "tightness" of the installation (air leaks)
http://www.vinyl-replacement-windows.com/rating-window-efficiency-systems.html
Home Insulation & Sealing of Ducts
Hot Water Heaters
Turn Off Electrical Devices when
not in use.
 Energy star appliances
• When you shop for a new appliance, look for the
EnergyStar® label—your assurance that the
product saves energy. EnergyStar® appliances
have been identified by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and Department of Energy as
the most energy-efficient products in their
classes.
• If the average American were to equip their
home only with products that have the
EnergyStar® label, they would cut their energy
bills, as well as greenhouse gas emissions, by
about 30%.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/saving/efficiency/savingenergy.html
 U.S. Green Building Council
• Nationally accepted benchmark for the design,
construction, and operation of high-performance
green buildings.
•LEED-certified buildings:
•Lower operating costs and
increased asset value.
•Reduce waste sent to landfills.
•Conserve energy and water.
•Healthier and safer for occupants.
•Reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
•Qualify for tax rebates, zoning allowances and other
incentives in hundreds of cities.
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=64
 Solar
Methods of solar energy :
• -The Passive method:
this is quite basic and is implemented by designing residences in such a
way as to trap heat, typically by using glassed areas just as a greenhouse
does. (page 409)
• -The Active method:
uses specially designed heat collectors where, the storage medium is water,
then the heat can be transported by low-power electric pumps to a main
storage tank to supply the hot water or circulated to radiators for space
heating.
• -Photo-voltaic (PVs)(solar cells)
• this is perhaps the most applicable because it is capable of supplying
large amounts of energy both on a local and central scale. It is also
interesting because the devices (the cells, modules or arrays) are constantly
being improved by research and development, and production costs are
being reduced. Modern cells are capable of operating at relatively low
lighting intensities providing energy when it is most needed. (page 414)
 Availability
• Solar power is unavailable at night and is reduced when
there is cloud cover. Reliable performance requires a
means of energy storage or standby power source.
• Locations at high latitudes or with substantial cloud cover
offer reduced potential for solar power use.
• Like electricity from nuclear or fossil fuel plants, it can
only realistically be used to power transport vehicles by
converting light energy into another form of energy (e.g.
battery stored electricity or by electrolyzing water to
produce hydrogen) suitable for transport.
Solar panels absorb energy to produce hydrogen at SunLine Transit Agency.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/solar-cell.htm
Wind Power

http://www.inhabitat.com/2006/08/23/green-building-101-eco-power/
Wind power is the
conversion of wind
energy into more
useful forms, usually
electricity using
wind turbines.
• According to the Earth Policy Institute, “Wind is the
world’s fastest-growing energy source with an average
annual growth rate of 29 percent over the last ten
years.” Most people are familiar with the
pinwheel-like design of a wind turbine; in rural areas,
you’ll often see wind farms lined with giant, slow-
spinning blades. The idea is simple: rotating turbine
blades gather kinetic energy from the wind, spinning an
internal shaft that generates power. This process is
incredibly clean, producing zero emissions
 Advantages & Disadvantages
• Birds killed
• Visually intrusive
• Shadow flicker
• Noise
•Clean: low emissions
•High net energy efficiency
•Moderate costs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_farm
Geothermal

http://www.inhabitat.com/2006/08/23/green-building-101-eco-power/
Geothermal power is
based on using steam
(212oF) coming from the
earth. There are limited
locations where this is
viable.

Geothermal heat pumps use heat

pumps to extract heat energy from the
ground at normal ground temperatures
(30oF-60oF). The geothermal heat
pumps have long vertical or horizontal
pipes in the ground to assist the
collection of heat from the ground in
heating mode, or the rejection of heat
to the ground in cooling mode.
 Biomass
• Refers to the living and recently living
biological material which can be used as
fuel or for industrial production.
• Biomass can be produced from crops,
grassy and woody plants, residues from
agriculture or forestry, and the organic
component of municipal and industrial
waste.
Water: Hydroelectric

Provided 7% of US electricity in 2000

 Advantages
• Provides large amount of cheap power
• Operates without pollution
• Low maintenance & operating costs
• Provides flood control & irrigation water
• Reservoirs provide recreational sites
 Disadvantages
• Large dams are expensive to build
• Limited number of appropriate sites
• Stream flows vary from year to year
• Dams disrupt land and water ecosystems
• Long transmission lines usually needed
• A river habitat is replaced by a lake/reservoir. This can
cause many environmental problems for fish and other
species living in the river.
• Creation of large reservoirs can destroy Wildlife habitats.
• Rivers & lakes can be filled with sediments from erosion,
that can kill fish and other species living in the river.
Run-of-the-river dams
• Water flows continuously
• Limited reservoir storage
• Bonneville Dam on Columbia River

Storage dams
• Water released as needed
• Have large reservoirs
• Hoover Dam on Colorado River
Run-of-the-River Dam
Storage Dam
 Three Gorges Dam
Sandouping, Hubei Province
China
Hydrogen (Fuel Cells)