WorldWideScience

Sample records for significantly improved energy

  1. Regional and global significance of nuclear energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schilling, H.D.

    1995-01-01

    Measures to combat poverty and improve the standard of living in countries of the Third World will inevitably boost global demand for energy, and energy conservation measures will not be able to offset this increase. Nuclear energy will regain significance in the framework of approaches adopted to resolve the energy problem, which primarily is an ecologic problem created by an extremely large flow of materials. The extraordinarily high energy density of nuclear fuels can contribute to markedly reduce the flow of materials; and at that, electric energy is an efficient substitute for primary energy forms. Thus nuclear electricity generation is of double benefit to the ecology. Engineering goals in nuclear technology thus gain a service aspect, with progress in power plant engineering and design aiming not only at enhanced engineered safety, but also at regaining public acceptance of and confidence in nuclear power plant technology. (orig./UA) [de

  2. Heat storage in forest biomass significantly improves energy balance closure particularly during stable conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindroth, A.; Mölder, M.; Lagergren, F.

    2009-08-01

    Temperature measurements in trunks and branches in a mature ca. 100 years-old mixed pine and spruce forest in central Sweden were used to estimate the heat storage in the tree biomass. The estimated heat flux in the sample trees and data on biomass distributions were used to scale up to stand level biomass heat fluxes. The rate of change of sensible and latent heat storage in the air layer below the level of the flux measurements was estimated from air temperature and humidity profile measurements and soil heat flux was estimated from heat flux plates and soil temperature measurements. The fluxes of sensible and latent heat from the forest were measured with an eddy covariance system in a tower. The analysis was made for a two-month period in summer of 1995. The tree biomass heat flux was the largest of the estimated storage components and varied between 40 and -35 W m-2 on summer days with nice weather. Averaged over two months the diurnal maximum of total heat storage was 45 W m-2 and the minimum was -35 W m-2. The soil heat flux and the sensible heat storage in air were out of phase with the biomass flux and they reached maximum values that were about 75% of the maximum of the tree biomass heat storage. The energy balance closure improved significantly when the total heat storage was added to the turbulent fluxes. The slope of a regression line with sum of fluxes and storage as independent and net radiation as dependent variable, increased from 0.86 to 0.95 for half-hourly data and the scatter was also reduced. The most significant finding was, however, that during nights with strongly stable conditions when the sensible heat flux dropped to nearly zero, the total storage matched the net radiation nearly perfectly. Another interesting result was that the mean energy imbalance started to increase when the Richardson number became more negative than ca. -0.1. In fact, the largest energy deficit occurred at maximum instability. Our conclusion is that eddy

  3. MO-FG-204-03: Using Edge-Preserving Algorithm for Significantly Improved Image-Domain Material Decomposition in Dual Energy CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, W; Niu, T; Xing, L; Xiong, G; Elmore, K; Min, J; Zhu, J; Wang, L

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To significantly improve dual energy CT (DECT) imaging by establishing a new theoretical framework of image-domain material decomposition with incorporation of edge-preserving techniques. Methods: The proposed algorithm, HYPR-NLM, combines the edge-preserving non-local mean filter (NLM) with the HYPR-LR (Local HighlY constrained backPRojection Reconstruction) framework. Image denoising using HYPR-LR framework depends on the noise level of the composite image which is the average of the different energy images. For DECT, the composite image is the average of high- and low-energy images. To further reduce noise, one may want to increase the window size of the filter of the HYPR-LR, leading resolution degradation. By incorporating the NLM filtering and the HYPR-LR framework, HYPR-NLM reduces the boost material decomposition noise using energy information redundancies as well as the non-local mean. We demonstrate the noise reduction and resolution preservation of the algorithm with both iodine concentration numerical phantom and clinical patient data by comparing the HYPR-NLM algorithm to the direct matrix inversion, HYPR-LR and iterative image-domain material decomposition (Iter-DECT). Results: The results show iterative material decomposition method reduces noise to the lowest level and provides improved DECT images. HYPR-NLM significantly reduces noise while preserving the accuracy of quantitative measurement and resolution. For the iodine concentration numerical phantom, the averaged noise levels are about 2.0, 0.7, 0.2 and 0.4 for direct inversion, HYPR-LR, Iter- DECT and HYPR-NLM, respectively. For the patient data, the noise levels of the water images are about 0.36, 0.16, 0.12 and 0.13 for direct inversion, HYPR-LR, Iter-DECT and HYPR-NLM, respectively. Difference images of both HYPR-LR and Iter-DECT show edge effect, while no significant edge effect is shown for HYPR-NLM, suggesting spatial resolution is well preserved for HYPR-NLM. Conclusion: HYPR

  4. Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for Cement Making An ENERGY STAR® Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Worrell, E.; Kermeli, Katerina; Galitsky, Christina

    The cost of energy as part of the total production costs in the cement industry is significant, typically at 20 to 40% of operational costs, warranting attention for energy efficiency to improve the bottom line. Historically, energy intensity has declined, although more recently energy intensity

  5. Lipid Replacement Therapy Drink Containing a Glycophospholipid Formulation Rapidly and Significantly Reduces Fatigue While Improving Energy and Mental Clarity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Settineri

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Fatigue is the most common complaint of patients seeking general medical care and is often treated with stimulants. It is also important in various physical activities of relatively healthy men and women, such as sports performance. Recent clinical trials using patients with chronic fatigue have shown the benefit of Lipid Replacement Therapy in restoring mitochondrial electron transport function and reducing moderate to severe chronic fatigue. Methods: Lipid Replacement Therapy was administered for the first time as an all-natural functional food drink (60 ml containing polyunsaturated glycophospholipids but devoid of stimulants or herbs to reduce fatigue. This preliminary study used the Piper Fatigue Survey instrument as well as a supplemental questionnaire to assess the effects of the glycophospholipid drink on fatigue and the acceptability of the test drink in adult men and women. A volunteer group of 29 subjects of mean age 56.2±4.5 years with various fatigue levels were randomly recruited in a clinical health fair setting to participate in an afternoon open label trial on the effects of the test drink. Results: Using the Piper Fatigue instrument overall fatigue among participants was reduced within the 3-hour seminar by a mean of 39.6% (p<0.0001. All of the subcategories of fatigue showed significant reductions. Some subjects responded within 15 minutes, and the majority responded within one hour with increased energy and activity and perceived improvements in cognitive function, mental clarity and focus. The test drink was determined to be quite acceptable in terms of taste and appearance. There were no adverse events from the energy drink during the study.Functional Foods in Health and Disease 2011; 8:245-254Conclusions: The Lipid Replacement Therapy functional food drink appeared to be a safe, acceptable and potentially useful new method to reduce fatigue, sustain energy and improve perceptions of mental function.

  6. Energy conservation assessment of fixed-asset investment projects: An attempt to improve energy efficiency in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu Yuan

    2012-01-01

    Fast economic growth in China has generated energy and environmental problems. Fixed-asset investments have contributed significantly to energy consumption. In China, an energy conservation assessment (ECA), a mechanism similar to the existing environmental impact assessment (EIA), has been applied to improve the energy efficiency of new fixed-asset investment projects. In this paper the origin and development of the ECA system is analyzed and the major features of ECA are discussed. To identify the success and failure of the ECA system, case studies are analyzed and comparison between ECA and EIA, which has been used in China for over 30 years, is made. Based on the analysis, recommendations are provided for the improvement of the ECA system in China. Despite the ECA system only being established for a relatively short time, it has clearly achieved significant success. With further efforts it could play an important role in achieving the goals of improving China’s energy efficiency and reducing green house gas emissions. - Highlights: ► We examine origin and development of energy conservation assessment (ECA) in China. ► ECA has great potential in energy efficiency improvement and GHGs reduction. ► Compared with EIA, ECA is still in its early stages. More efforts are needed. ► Improvements of legal system, assessment procedure, etc. are essential for next step.

  7. Options to improve energy efficiency for educational building

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahan, Mafruha

    The cost of energy is a major factor that must be considered for educational facility budget planning purpose. The analysis of energy related issues and options can be complex and requires significant time and detailed effort. One way to facilitate the inclusion of energy option planning in facility planning efforts is to utilize a tool that allows for quick appraisal of the facility energy profile. Once such an appraisal is accomplished, it is then possible to rank energy improvement options consistently with other facility needs and requirements. After an energy efficiency option has been determined to have meaningful value in comparison with other facility planning options, it is then possible to utilize the initial appraisal as the basis for an expanded consideration of additional facility and energy use detail using the same analytic system used for the initial appraisal. This thesis has developed a methodology and an associated analytic model to assist in these tasks and thereby improve the energy efficiency of educational facilities. A detailed energy efficiency and analysis tool is described that utilizes specific university building characteristics such as size, architecture, envelop, lighting, occupancy, thermal design which allows reducing the annual energy consumption. Improving the energy efficiency of various aspects of an educational building's energy performance can be complex and can require significant time and experience to make decisions. The approach developed in this thesis initially assesses the energy design for a university building. This initial appraisal is intended to assist administrators in assessing the potential value of energy efficiency options for their particular facility. Subsequently this scoping design can then be extended as another stage of the model by local facility or planning personnel to add more details and engineering aspects to the initial screening model. This approach can assist university planning efforts to

  8. Energy efficiency improvement potentials for the cement industry in Ethiopia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tesema, Gudise; Worrell, Ernst

    2015-01-01

    The cement sector is one of the fast growing economic sectors in Ethiopia. In 2010, it consumed 7 PJ of primary energy. We evaluate the potential for energy savings and CO_2 emission reductions. We start by benchmarking the energy performance of 8 operating plants in 2010, and 12 plants under construction. The benchmarking shows that the energy intensity of local cement facilities is high, when compared to the international best practice, indicating a significant potential for energy efficiency improvement. The average electricity intensity and fuel intensity of the operating plants is 34% and 36% higher. For plants under construction, electricity use is 36% and fuel use 27% higher. We identified 26 energy efficiency measures. By constructing energy conservation supply curves, the energy-efficiency improvement potential is assessed. For the 8 operating plants in 2010, the cost-effective energy savings equal 11 GWh electricity and 1.2 PJ fuel, resulting in 0.1 Mt CO_2 emissions reduction. For the 20 cement plants expected to be in operation by 2020, the cost-effective energy saving potentials is 159 GWh for electricity and 7.2 PJ for fuel, reducing CO_2 emissions by about 0.6 Mt. We discuss key barriers and recommendations to realize energy savings. - Highlights: • The cement sector in Ethiopia is growing rapidly, using mainly imported fuels. • Benchmarking demonstrates a significant potential for energy efficiency improvement. • A large part of the energy efficiency potential can be achieved cost-effectively. • Ethiopia should ban the construction of obsolete vertical shaft kilns.

  9. Windows with improved energy performances

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laustsen, Jacob Birck; Svendsen, Svend

    2003-01-01

    Heat loss through windows represents a considerable part of the total heat loss from houses. However, apart from providing daylight access and view, windows offer a unique potential for solar gain to be exploited during the heating season. Until now valuation of the energy performance of windows...... has primary focused on the heat loss coefficient, U-value. However, as the U-value, especially for the glazing part, has improved considerably during the last years, the total solar energy transmittance, g-value, has become equally important to the total energy performance of windows. Improved energy...... resulted in a window with a positive net energy gain (in short the Net Gain Window), which means that it contributes to the space heating of the building. All improvements are based on existing technology and manufacturing methods. The results from this work show that the energy performances of windows can...

  10. Effective energy planning for improving the enterprise’s energy performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Păunescu Carmen

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The global pressing need to protect the environment, save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide has prompted the enterprises to implementing both individual energy saving measures and a more systematic approach to improve the overall enterprise’s energy performance. Energy management is becoming a priority as enterprises strive to reduce energy costs, conform to regulatory requirements, and improve their corporate image. As such, enterprises are encouraged to manage their energy related matters in a systematic manner and a more harmonized way, to ensure continual improvement on their energy efficiency. Despite the increasing interest in energy management standards, a gap persists between energy management literature and current implementation practices. The release of the ISO 50001 international standard was meant to help the organizations develop sound energy management systems and effective process-based energy management structures that could be recognized through third-party certification. Building on the energy management literature and energy management standards, the current paper presents the essential steps the enterprises should take to practically design a sustainable energy management system. Also, by using multiple case studies of enterprises that have implemented an ISO 50001 energy management system, it introduces a structured approach that companies can use to effectively develop their energy planning and improve energy performance. The key components of the enterprise’s energy planning are discussed, as well as practical examples of energy objectives and performance indicators from various industries are offered. The paper shows that by establishing an effective energy planning system, this will efficiently meet demands for achieving energy performance indicators and international certification.

  11. The Multiple Benefits of Measures to Improve Energy Efficiency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Puig, Daniel; Farrell, Timothy Clifford

    Understanding the barriers to, and enablers for, energy efficiency requires targeted information and analysis. This report is a summary of four detailed studies providing new insights on how to promote efficiency in selected priority areas. It complements initiatives such as the so-called energy...... efficiency accelerators, which seek to increase the uptake of selected technologies, as well as the work of many other institutions committed to improving energy efficiency. The modelling estimates and the case studies presented in this report illustrate that, while significant progress has already been...... achieved, the case for accelerating energy efficiency action is strong. Key highlights include: • At the global level, energy efficiency improvements would account for between 2.6 and 3.3 Gt CO2e of the reductions in 2030, equivalent to between 23 and 26 percent of the overall reductions achieved...

  12. Spreading The Net: The Multiple Benefits Of Energy Efficiency Improvements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-07-01

    Improving energy efficiency can deliver a range of benefits to the economy and society. However energy efficiency programmes are often evaluated only on the basis of the energy savings they deliver. As a result, the full value of energy efficiency improvements in both national and global economies may be significantly underestimated. This also means that energy efficiency policy may not be optimised to target the potential of the full range of outcomes possible. Moreover, when the merit of energy efficiency programmes is judged solely on reductions in energy demand, programmes are susceptible to criticisms related to the rebound effect when the energy savings are less than expected due to other welfare gains. There are several reasons why the full range of outcomes from energy efficiency policy is not generally evaluated. First, it is due to the non-market, somewhat intangible, nature of the socioeconomic benefits, which makes them difficult to quantify. Second, the effects due to energy efficiency alone can be complex to isolate and to determine causality. Third, evaluators and policy makers working in the energy efficiency sphere are usually energy professionals, working for an energy agency or ministry, with little experience of how energy efficiency might impact other non-energy sectors. The result is an under-appreciation – and related underinvestment – in energy efficiency, and as a consequence, missed opportunities and benefits. These foregone benefits represent the ‘opportunity cost’ of failing to adequately evaluate and prioritize energy efficiency investments. The objective of this report is to fully outline the array of different benefits from improved energy efficiency and investigate their implications for policy design. By better understanding the different benefits arising from energy efficiency it should be easier for policy makers to prioritise the most significant outcomes, in addition to energy savings, in optimising energy efficiency

  13. Peak power reduction and energy efficiency improvement with the superconducting flywheel energy storage in electric railway system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hansang; Jung, Seungmin; Cho, Yoonsung; Yoon, Donghee; Jang, Gilsoo

    2013-11-01

    This paper proposes an application of the 100 kWh superconducting flywheel energy storage systems to reduce the peak power of the electric railway system. The electric railway systems have high-power characteristics and large amount of regenerative energy during vehicles’ braking. The high-power characteristic makes operating cost high as the system should guarantee the secure capacity of electrical equipment and the low utilization rate of regenerative energy limits the significant energy efficiency improvement. In this paper, it had been proved that the peak power reduction and energy efficiency improvement can be achieved by using 100 kWh superconducting flywheel energy storage systems with the optimally controlled charging or discharging operations. Also, economic benefits had been assessed.

  14. Rebound effect of improved energy efficiency for different energy types: A general equilibrium analysis for China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, Yingying; Liu, Yu; Zhou, Meifang

    2017-01-01

    This paper explores the rebound effect of different energy types in China based on a static computable general equilibrium model. A one-off 5% energy efficiency improvement is imposed on five different types of energy, respectively, in all the 135 production sectors in China. The rebound effect is measured both on the production level and on the economy-wide level for each type of energy. The results show that improving energy efficiency of using electricity has the largest positive impact on GDP among the five energy types. Inter-fuel substitutability does not affect the macroeconomic results significantly, but long-run impact is usually greater than the short-run impact. For the exports-oriented sectors, those that are capital-intensive get big negative shock in the short run while those that are labour-intensive get hurt in the long run. There is no “backfire” effect; however, improving efficiency of using electricity can cause negative rebound, which implies that improving the energy efficiency of using electricity might be a good policy choice under China's current energy structure. In general, macro-level rebound is larger than production-level rebound. Primary energy goods show larger rebound effect than secondary energy goods. In addition, the paper points out that the policy makers in China should look at the rebound effect in the long term rather than in the short term. The energy efficiency policy would be a good and effective policy choice for energy conservation in China when it still has small inter-fuel substitution. - Highlights: • Primary energy goods show larger rebound effect than secondary energy goods. • Improving efficiency of using electricity can cause negative rebound. • The energy efficiency policy would be an effective policy choice for China. • Policy-makers should consider the rebound effect in the longer term.

  15. Energy upgrades as financial or strategic investment? Energy Star property owners and managers improving building energy performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gliedt, Travis; Hoicka, Christina E.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Energy Star property owners/managers view energy as strategic or financial investments. • Energy performance improvements and motivations differ by property type. • Energy projects are most often funded by internal cash reserves. • Motivations and funding sources differ by type of energy project. • Environmental sustainability is an important criterion in many energy projects. - Abstract: Due to its significant carbon footprint and cost-effectiveness for upgrades, the commercial property sector is important for climate change mitigation. Although barriers to energy system changes, such as funding, financing and information, are well recognized, Energy Star property owners and managers are successfully overcoming these barriers and instigating energy efficiency upgrades, renewable energy installations, and behavior and management programs. To examine the decision-making process that leads to energy performance improvements, a national survey of property owners and management organizations of buildings that earned an Energy Star score of 75 or higher was conducted. The extent to which energy upgrades were considered strategic investments motivated by environmental sustainability or corporate social responsibility, or financial investments motivated by payback period or return-on-investment criteria, was contingent upon the property type and type of energy project. Environmental sustainability was found to be an important motivation for energy projects in office spaces in general, but in the case of smaller office spaces was often combined with motivations for corporate social responsibility. Energy projects on education properties were motivated by financial investment. Building envelope and mechanical efficiency upgrades were considered financial investments, while renewable energy, green roofs, and water conservation technologies were considered environmental sustainability initiatives

  16. Improving wind power quality with energy storage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Claus Nygaard

    2009-01-01

    The results of simulation of the influence of energy storage on wind power quality are presented. Simulations are done using a mathematical model of energy storage. Results show the relation between storage power and energy, and the obtained increase in minimum available power from the combination...... of wind and storage. The introduction of storage enables smoothening of wind power on a timescale proportional to the storage energy. Storage does not provide availability of wind power at all times, but allows for a certain fraction of average power in a given timeframe to be available with high...... probability. The amount of storage capacity necessary for significant wind power quality improvement in a given period is found to be 20 to 40% of the energy produced in that period. The necessary power is found to be 80 to 100% of the average power of the period....

  17. DTU International Energy Report 2012: Energy efficiency improvements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Increased energy efficiency can reduce global CO2 emissions over the period to 2050 with up to 25%. On the top of that large profits can be gained for very little investment. Energy efficiency improvements can save investment in new energy infrastructure, cut fuel costs, increase competitiveness...... and increase consumer welfare. Thus, it is natural for DTU International Energy Report 2012 to take up this issue and analyze the global, regional and national challenges in exploiting energy efficiency and promote research and development in energy efficiency....

  18. Innovative Phase Change Approach for Significant Energy Savings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-09-01

    related to the production, use, transmission , storage, control, or conservation of energy that will – (A) reduce the need for additional energy supplies...Conditions set for operation were: a. The computer with the broadband wireless card is to be used for data collection, transmission and...FINAL REPORT Innovative Phase Change Approach for Significant Energy Savings ESTCP Project EW-201138 SEPTEMBER 2016 Dr. Aly H Shaaban Applied

  19. Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for Cement Making. An ENERGY STAR Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galitsky, Christina; Worrell, Ernst; Galitsky, Christina

    2008-01-01

    The cost of energy as part of the total production costs in the cement industry is significant, warranting attention for energy efficiency to improve the bottom line. Historically, energy intensity has declined, although more recently energy intensity seems to have stabilized with the gains. Coal and coke are currently the primary fuels for the sector, supplanting the dominance of natural gas in the 1970s. Most recently, there is a slight increase in the use of waste fuels, including tires. Between 1970 and 1999, primary physical energy intensity for cement production dropped 1 percent/year from 7.3 MBtu/short ton to 5.3 MBtu/short ton. Carbon dioxide intensity due to fuel consumption and raw material calcination dropped 16 percent, from 609 lb. C/ton of cement (0.31 tC/tonne) to 510 lb. C/ton cement (0.26 tC/tonne). Despite the historic progress, there is ample room for energy efficiency improvement. The relatively high share of wet-process plants (25 percent of clinker production in 1999 in the U.S.) suggests the existence of a considerable potential, when compared to other industrialized countries. We examined over 40 energy efficient technologies and measures and estimated energy savings, carbon dioxide savings, investment costs, and operation and maintenance costs for each of the measures. The report describes the measures and experiences of cement plants around the wold with these practices and technologies. Substantial potential for energy efficiency improvement exists in the cement industry and in individual plants. A portion of this potential will be achieved as part of (natural) modernization and expansion of existing facilities, as well as construction of new plants in particular regions. Still, a relatively large potential for improved energy management practices exists.

  20. Importance of organized energy efficiency introduction and improvement in PE EPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolić Aleksandar

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The energy management system (EnMS introduction into companies that are significant energy consumers has been initiated after adoption of the Law of efficient energy usage. Due to the fact that sectors for production, transmission and distribution of electrical and heat energy are also implied by this law, it is clear that PE EPS is also obligated to implement EnMS and to carry out the requirements defined by legislation. In this paper, the results of first-phase introduction of the system for supervision and improvement of energy efficiency in PE EPS in production of coal, and production and distribution of electrical and heat energy, are given. Recommended measures for energy efficiency improvement with stress on larger energy, financial savings and a lower rate of investment return are emphasised. Such systematic measures should also serve as a good basis for further stages of energy management introduction and implementation.

  1. Improving Energy Efficiency and Enabling Water Recycle in Biorefineries Using Bioelectrochemical Cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borole, Abhijeet P.

    2010-01-01

    Improving biofuel yield and water reuse are two important issues in further development of biorefineries. The total energy content of liquid fuels (including ethanol and hydrocarbon) produced from cellulosic biomass via biochemical or hybrid bio-thermochemical routes can vary from 49% to 70% of the biomass entering the biorefinery, on an energy basis. Use of boiler for combustion of residual organics and lignin results in significant energy and water losses. An alternate process to improve energy recovery from the residual organic streams is via use of bioelectrochemical systems such as microbial fuel cells (MFCs) microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). The potential advantages of this alternative scheme in a biorefinery include minimization of heat loss and generation of a higher value product, hydrogen. The need for 5-15 gallons of water per gallon of ethanol can be reduced significantly via recycle of water after MEC treatment. Removal of inhibitory byproducts such as furans, phenolics and acetate in MFC/MECs to generate energy, thus, has dual advantages including improvements in energy efficiency and ability to recycle water. Conversion of the sugar- and lignin- degradation products to hydrogen is synergistic with biorefinery hydrogen requirements for upgrading F-T liquids and other byproducts to high-octane fuels and/or high value products. Some of these products include sorbitol, succinic acid, furan and levulinate derivatives, glycols, polyols, 1,4-butenadiol, phenolics polymers, etc. Potential process alternatives utilizing MECs in biorefineries capable of improving energy efficiency by up to 30% are discussed.

  2. Improving the energy efficiency of mine fan assemblages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Souza, Euler

    2015-01-01

    Energy associated with ventilating an underground operation comprises a significant portion of a mine operation's base energy demand and is consequently responsible for a large percentage of the total operating costs. Ventilation systems may account from 25 to 40% of the total energy costs and 40–50% of the energy consumption of a mine operation. Fans are the most important mechanical devices used to ventilate underground mines and the total fan power installed in a single mine operation can easily exceed 10,000 kW. Investigations of a number of mine main fan installations have determined their assemblage to be, in general, very energy inefficient. The author has found that 40–80% of the energy consumed by a main fan is used to overcome the resistance of fan assemblage components. This paper presents how engineering design principles can be applied to improve the performance and efficiency of fan installations, resulting in substantial reductions in power consumption, operating cost and greenhouse gas emissions. A detailed case study is presented to demonstrate that, by designing fan assemblages using proper engineering concepts of fluid physics and industrial ventilation design, main fan systems will operate at efficiencies well above 80–90% (compared to common operating efficiencies of between 20 and 65%), resulting in a drastic reduction in a mine's overall costs and base electrical and energy loads. - Highlights: • Increases in fan assemblage efficiencies with minimum capital investment. • Improved designs for substantial fan power and operating cost savings. • General solutions and tactics for improving existing main fan installations. • Case study presented to demonstrate proper design of fan assemblages.

  3. Peak power reduction and energy efficiency improvement with the superconducting flywheel energy storage in electric railway system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Hansang, E-mail: hslee80@kiu.ac.kr [School of Railway and Electrical Engineering, Kyungil University, Hayang-eup, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 712-701 (Korea, Republic of); Jung, Seungmin [School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 136-712 (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Yoonsung [Department of Electric and Energy Engineering, Catholic University of Daegu, Hayang-eup, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 712-702 (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Donghee [Department of New and Renewable Energy, Kyungil University, Hayang-eup, Gyeongsangbuk-do 712-701 (Korea, Republic of); Jang, Gilsoo, E-mail: gjang@korea.ac.kr [School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 136-712 (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-11-15

    Highlights: •It is important to develop power and energy management system to save operating cost. •An 100 kWh of SFES is effective to decrease peak power and energy consumption. •Operation cost saving can be achieved using superconducting flywheel energy storage. -- Abstract: This paper proposes an application of the 100 kWh superconducting flywheel energy storage systems to reduce the peak power of the electric railway system. The electric railway systems have high-power characteristics and large amount of regenerative energy during vehicles’ braking. The high-power characteristic makes operating cost high as the system should guarantee the secure capacity of electrical equipment and the low utilization rate of regenerative energy limits the significant energy efficiency improvement. In this paper, it had been proved that the peak power reduction and energy efficiency improvement can be achieved by using 100 kWh superconducting flywheel energy storage systems with the optimally controlled charging or discharging operations. Also, economic benefits had been assessed.

  4. Peak power reduction and energy efficiency improvement with the superconducting flywheel energy storage in electric railway system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Hansang; Jung, Seungmin; Cho, Yoonsung; Yoon, Donghee; Jang, Gilsoo

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •It is important to develop power and energy management system to save operating cost. •An 100 kWh of SFES is effective to decrease peak power and energy consumption. •Operation cost saving can be achieved using superconducting flywheel energy storage. -- Abstract: This paper proposes an application of the 100 kWh superconducting flywheel energy storage systems to reduce the peak power of the electric railway system. The electric railway systems have high-power characteristics and large amount of regenerative energy during vehicles’ braking. The high-power characteristic makes operating cost high as the system should guarantee the secure capacity of electrical equipment and the low utilization rate of regenerative energy limits the significant energy efficiency improvement. In this paper, it had been proved that the peak power reduction and energy efficiency improvement can be achieved by using 100 kWh superconducting flywheel energy storage systems with the optimally controlled charging or discharging operations. Also, economic benefits had been assessed

  5. Energy Audit as a Tool for Improving System Efficiency in Industrial Sector

    OpenAIRE

    Gopi Srinath,; N. Uday Kumar

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents the characteristics of energy consumption in industrial sector, the methodology and results of energy audits (EA) performed in industrial sites and potentials for energy efficiency (EE) improvements. The present state of industrial energy in India could be characterized by significant technological out-of–date, low energy efficiency and low level of environmental protection. Presented analysis of the results of conducted energy audits in selected industrial...

  6. Renewable energy: An efficient mechanism to improve GDP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chien Taichen; Hu Jinli

    2008-01-01

    This article analyzes the effects of renewable energy on GDP for 116 economies in 2003 through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. In order to decipher the mechanism of how the use of renewables improves macroeconomic efficiency, we decompose GDP by the 'expenditure approach'. Although previous theory predicts positive effects of renewables on capital formation and trade balance, the SEM results show that renewables have a significant positive influence on capital formation only. The result that renewables do not have a significant impact on trade balance implies that renewables do not have an import substitution effect. Thus, we confirm the positive relationship between renewable energy and GDP through the path of increasing capital formation, but not for the path of increasing trade balance

  7. From free energy to expected energy: Improving energy-based value function approximation in reinforcement learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elfwing, Stefan; Uchibe, Eiji; Doya, Kenji

    2016-12-01

    Free-energy based reinforcement learning (FERL) was proposed for learning in high-dimensional state and action spaces. However, the FERL method does only really work well with binary, or close to binary, state input, where the number of active states is fewer than the number of non-active states. In the FERL method, the value function is approximated by the negative free energy of a restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM). In our earlier study, we demonstrated that the performance and the robustness of the FERL method can be improved by scaling the free energy by a constant that is related to the size of network. In this study, we propose that RBM function approximation can be further improved by approximating the value function by the negative expected energy (EERL), instead of the negative free energy, as well as being able to handle continuous state input. We validate our proposed method by demonstrating that EERL: (1) outperforms FERL, as well as standard neural network and linear function approximation, for three versions of a gridworld task with high-dimensional image state input; (2) achieves new state-of-the-art results in stochastic SZ-Tetris in both model-free and model-based learning settings; and (3) significantly outperforms FERL and standard neural network function approximation for a robot navigation task with raw and noisy RGB images as state input and a large number of actions. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  8. Design recommendation to improve the energy efficiency in Hotel Moka, Las Terrazas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baldoquin, Natalí Collado; Rueda Guzmán, Luis Alberto; Pérez Vallina, Javier

    2017-01-01

    Tourist facilities are now major energy consumers, which leads to the well-known economic and environmental consequences. The Hotel Moka, in the community Las Terrazas, from its conception have stood out for trying to integrate to the nature and to avoid a high environmental impact. However, after more than two decades of creation, potentialities are identified to improve energy performance from architectural design, as well as technological changes and use of renewable sources of photovoltaic solar energy. In this paper, the main design factors that influence energy consumption are evaluated. It presents recommendations and design strategies that could improve the energy performance of the building from an integral approach achieving significant energy savings and cover about 20% from photovoltaic solar panels. (author)

  9. Improving energy efficiency in handheld biometric applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoyle, David C.; Gale, John W.; Schultz, Robert C.; Rakvic, Ryan N.; Ives, Robert W.

    2012-06-01

    With improved smartphone and tablet technology, it is becoming increasingly feasible to implement powerful biometric recognition algorithms on portable devices. Typical iris recognition algorithms, such as Ridge Energy Direction (RED), utilize two-dimensional convolution in their implementation. This paper explores the energy consumption implications of 12 different methods of implementing two-dimensional convolution on a portable device. Typically, convolution is implemented using floating point operations. If a given algorithm implemented integer convolution vice floating point convolution, it could drastically reduce the energy consumed by the processor. The 12 methods compared include 4 major categories: Integer C, Integer Java, Floating Point C, and Floating Point Java. Each major category is further divided into 3 implementations: variable size looped convolution, static size looped convolution, and unrolled looped convolution. All testing was performed using the HTC Thunderbolt with energy measured directly using a Tektronix TDS5104B Digital Phosphor oscilloscope. Results indicate that energy savings as high as 75% are possible by using Integer C versus Floating Point C. Considering the relative proportion of processing time that convolution is responsible for in a typical algorithm, the savings in energy would likely result in significantly greater time between battery charges.

  10. Improved production operating efficiencies through automation: Wascana Energy`s SCADA system implementation in southeast Saskatchewan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knudsen, R; Foord, T; Bartle, A

    1996-12-31

    Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems covering Wascana Energy`s whole southeast Saskatchewan operating area were implemented in 1994-95. The benefits of this automation were described. Operations practices were reviewed and a brief description of the system was provided. Main features of the system described included data storage/retrieval, data display, alarm group organization, alarm call out monitoring, dynagraph display, and the Microsoft SQL server computer. Automation was found to significantly change the operator`s traditional role and altered operation practices in general. SCADA systems were found to improve operating efficiencies and production performance significantly, when properly implemented and utilized. 6 refs., 3 figs.

  11. Leanergy(TM): how lean manufacturing can improve energy efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riche, Jean-Pierre

    2013-01-01

    Energy efficiency has become a competitive issue for industrial companies. The evolution of energy prices and regulation will make this issue even more important in the future. For several years, the energy-intensive chemical industry has been implementing corrective actions. Helped by the absorption of base load energy consumption by larger production volumes, specific energy consumption (KWh per production unit) has been significantly reduced in recent years. However, most plants have reached the end of their first action plan based on improving the utilities performance. The Leanergy(TM) method developed by the consultancy company Okavango-energy, is a structured approach based on lean manufacturing which widens the scope of saving sources to process and operations. Starting from the analysis of actual production requirements, Okavango is able to adjust consumption to minimum requirements and so remove any energy consumption that does not contribute to the added value creation.

  12. Improving health and energy efficiency through community-based housing interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howden-Chapman, Philippa; Crane, Julian; Chapman, Ralph; Fougere, Geoff

    2011-12-01

    Houses designed for one climate and cultural group may not be appropriate for other places and people. Our aim is to find cost-effective ways to improve the characteristics of older homes, ill-fitted for New Zealand's climate, in order to improve the occupants' health. We have carried out two community randomised trials, in partnership with local communities, which have focused on retrofitted insulation and more effective heating and have two other studies under way, one which focuses on electricity vouchers and the other on housing hazard remediation. The Housing, Insulation and Health Study showed that insulating 1,350 houses, built before insulation was required, improved the occupants' health and well being as well as household energy efficiency. In the Housing, Heating and Health Study we investigated the impact of installing more effective heating in insulated houses for 409 households, where there was a child with doctor-diagnosed asthma. Again, the study showed significant results in the intervention group; indoor temperatures increased and levels of NO(2) were halved. Children reported less poor health, lower levels of asthma symptoms and sleep disturbances by wheeze and dry cough. Children also had fewer days off school. Improving the energy efficiency of older housing leads to health improvements and energy efficiency improvements. Multidisciplinary studies of housing interventions can create compelling evidence to support policies for sustainable housing developments which improve health.

  13. Measures for energy efficiency improvement of buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vukadinović Ana V.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The increase in energy consumption in buildings causes the need to propose energy efficiency improvement measures. Urban planning in accordance with micro location conditions can lead to energy consumption reduction in buildings through the passive solar design. While satisfying the thermal comfort to the user space purpose, energy efficiency can be achieved by optimizing the architectural and construction parameters such as shape of the building, envelope structure and the percentage of glazing. The improvement of the proposed measures, including the use of renewable energy sources, can meet requirements of Directive 2010/31 / EU of 'nearly zero energy buildings'.

  14. Energy Efficiency Performance Improvements for Ant-Based Routing Algorithm in Wireless Sensor Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adamu Murtala Zungeru

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The main problem for event gathering in wireless sensor networks (WSNs is the restricted communication range for each node. Due to the restricted communication range and high network density, event forwarding in WSNs is very challenging and requires multihop data forwarding. Currently, the energy-efficient ant based routing (EEABR algorithm, based on the ant colony optimization (ACO metaheuristic, is one of the state-of-the-art energy-aware routing protocols. In this paper, we propose three improvements to the EEABR algorithm to further improve its energy efficiency. The improvements to the original EEABR are based on the following: (1 a new scheme to intelligently initialize the routing tables giving priority to neighboring nodes that simultaneously could be the destination, (2 intelligent update of routing tables in case of a node or link failure, and (3 reducing the flooding ability of ants for congestion control. The energy efficiency improvements are significant particularly for dynamic routing environments. Experimental results using the RMASE simulation environment show that the proposed method increases the energy efficiency by up to 9% and 64% in converge-cast and target-tracking scenarios, respectively, over the original EEABR without incurring a significant increase in complexity. The method is also compared and found to also outperform other swarm-based routing protocols such as sensor-driven and cost-aware ant routing (SC and Beesensor.

  15. Prioritization of manufacturing sectors in Serbia for energy management improvement – AHP method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jovanović, Bojana; Filipović, Jovan; Bakić, Vukman

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • We used AHP method to prioritize manufacturing sectors in Serbia. • Priorities for energy management improvement according to five criteria. • Rank 1 – “Manufacture of food products”. • Rank 2 – “Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers”. • Rank 3 – “Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products”. - Abstract: Manufacturing, which is destined to play the most significant role in the reindustrialization of Serbia is also one of the largest energy consumers and environmental polluters. In accordance with this, a large number of energy and environment management initiatives have been implemented over the years. In developed countries, these initiatives are at an advanced level, but not in Serbia. A group of manufacturers in Serbia has recognized the significance of the environmental initiatives implementation, but the interest in energy management improvement has remained low. Although these initiatives can be used to achieve cost reduction in industry, not all the manufacturing sectors equally value the importance of energy management improvement. Among all the manufacturing sectors, it is necessary to prioritize those with the potentials for energy management improvement, which can be done using different methods. In this paper, the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method was used to prioritize manufacturing sectors in Serbia in the area of energy management improvement. Using a created AHP questionnaires criteria weights were selected. These questionnaires were completed by the experts from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, providing us with the opportunity to evaluate the Serbian manufacturing sectors based on the real life data. The results of the AHP method, which was used as the prioritization instrument, and their analysis are presented in the paper. As a part of a wider study, aimed at the improvement of the energy management in Serbia, the three manufacturing sectors with the highest

  16. Windows with an improved energy balance of 30%

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schultz, Jørgen Munthe

    means that both energy losses and transmittance of solar radiation is considered.The final goal of the project was to improve the energy balance of a window with at least 30%. As reference is chosen a common low energy glazing mounted in a wooden frame construction measuring 1188 × 1188 mm2...... the main emphasis has been put on improvement of the frame construction and the interaction between frame and glazing. Several theoretical analyses have been carried out and a prototype construction has been made, that meets the goal of a 30% improvement of the energy balance.The prototype has been tested....... A 30% improvement of the energy balance then corresponds to an reduction in net energy loss of 17 kWh/m2 window area.The frame costruction and the joint between glazing and frame is the thermally weak part of modern windows compared to centre values of the new super insulating glazings. As a result...

  17. Improved Scheduling Mechanisms for Synchronous Information and Energy Transmission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Danyang; Yang, Songxiang; Zhang, Yan; Ma, Jingya; Ding, Qun

    2017-06-09

    Wireless energy collecting technology can effectively reduce the network time overhead and prolong the wireless sensor network (WSN) lifetime. However, the traditional energy collecting technology cannot achieve the balance between ergodic channel capacity and average collected energy. In order to solve the problem of the network transmission efficiency and the limited energy of wireless devices, three improved scheduling mechanisms are proposed: improved signal noise ratio (SNR) scheduling mechanism (IS2M), improved N-SNR scheduling mechanism (INS2M) and an improved Equal Throughput scheduling mechanism (IETSM) for different channel conditions to improve the whole network performance. Meanwhile, the average collected energy of single users and the ergodic channel capacity of three scheduling mechanisms can be obtained through the order statistical theory in Rayleig, Ricean, Nakagami- m and Weibull fading channels. It is concluded that the proposed scheduling mechanisms can achieve better balance between energy collection and data transmission, so as to provide a new solution to realize synchronous information and energy transmission for WSNs.

  18. Windows with improved energy performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Noyé, Peter Anders; Laustsen, Jacob Birck; Svendsen, Svend

    2002-01-01

    According to the Danish energy protocol, Energy 21, one of the goals with highest priority is to reduce the CO2-emission. Energy consumption for domestic heating is a major contributor to the CO2-emission; hence one of the primary efforts to reach the goal is by saving energy in the households...... performances. During the last 20 years the U-value of the glazing part of windows has been improved considerably, but the frame part has not followed the same development with respect to energy performance. Therefore an increasingly large part of the total heat loss through windows is relating to the frame...... part, for which reason, as far as energy efficiency and total economy are concerned, it has become more interesting to further develop frame structures. Traditionally, the energy performance of windows has primarily been characterised by the heat loss coefficient, U-value. However as the heat loss has...

  19. Spectroscopic probes of vibrationally excited molecules at chemically significant energies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rizzo, T.R. [Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)

    1993-12-01

    This project involves the application of multiple-resonance spectroscopic techniques for investigating energy transfer and dissociation dynamics of highly vibrationally excited molecules. Two major goals of this work are: (1) to provide information on potential energy surfaces of combustion related molecules at chemically significant energies, and (2) to test theoretical modes of unimolecular dissociation rates critically via quantum-state resolved measurements.

  20. Energy upgrading measures improve also indoor climate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Foldbjerg, Peter; Knudsen, Henrik Nellemose

    2014-01-01

    A new survey shows that the economy is what motivates Danish owners of single-family houses the most to start energy upgrading, and that improved indoor climate is also an important factor. After the upgrading, homeowners experience both improved economy and indoor climate. In a strategy...... to increase the number of homeowners who venture into a major energy upgrading of their house, the demonstrated positive side effects, more than energy savings, should be included in the communication to motivate homeowners. The barriers should be reduced by “taking the homeowners by the hand” and helping...... them to choose relevant energy-saving solutions as well as clarifying the financial consequences and opportunities....

  1. Improvements to the nuclear model code GNASH for cross section calculations at higher energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young, P.G.; Chadwick, M.B.

    1994-01-01

    The nuclear model code GNASH, which in the past has been used predominantly for incident particle energies below 20 MeV, has been modified extensively for calculations at higher energies. The model extensions and improvements are described in this paper, and their significance is illustrated by comparing calculations with experimental data for incident energies up to 160 MeV

  2. Targeting utility customers to improve energy savings from conservation and efficiency programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, Nicholas W.; Jones, Pierce H.; Kipp, M. Jennison

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Improving DSM program impacts by targeting high energy users. • DSM energy savings potential hinges on pre-participation performance. • Targeting can benefit different utilities and energy efficiency programs. • Overall performance can be improved by up to 250% via targeting strategies. - Abstract: Electric utilities, government agencies, and private interests in the US have committed and continue to invest substantial resources – including billions of dollars of financial capital – in the pursuit of energy efficiency and conservation through demand-side management (DSM) programs. While most of these programs are deemed to be cost effective, and therefore in the public interest, opportunities exist to improve cost effectiveness by targeting programs to those customers with the greatest potential for energy savings. This article details an analysis of three DSM programs offered by three Florida municipal electric utilities to explore such opportunities. First, we estimate programs’ energy savings impacts; second, we measure and compare energy savings across subgroups of program participants as determined by their pre-intervention energy performance, and third, we explore potential changes in program impacts that might be realized by targeting specific customers for participation in the DSM programs. All three programs resulted in statistically significant average (per-participant) energy savings, yet average savings varied widely, with the customers who performed best (i.e., most efficient) before the intervention saving the least energy and those who performed worst (i.e., least efficient) before the intervention saving the most. Assessment of alternative program participation scenarios with varying levels of customer targeting suggests that program impacts could be increased by as much as 80% for a professional energy audit program, just over 100% for a high-efficiency heat pump upgrade program, and nearly 250% for an attic insulation

  3. Parameter definition using vibration prediction software leads to significant drilling performance improvements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amorim, Dalmo; Hanley, Chris Hanley; Fonseca, Isaac; Santos, Juliana [National Oilwell Varco, Houston TX (United States); Leite, Daltro J.; Borella, Augusto; Gozzi, Danilo [Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (PETROBRAS), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2012-07-01

    The understanding and mitigation of downhole vibration has been a heavily researched subject in the oil industry as it results in more expensive drilling operations, as vibrations significantly diminish the amount of effective drilling energy available to the bit and generate forces that can push the bit or the Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA) off its concentric axis of rotation, producing high magnitude impacts with the borehole wall. In order to drill ahead, a sufficient amount of energy must be supplied by the rig to overcome the resistance of the drilling system, including the reactive torque of the system, drag forces, fluid pressure losses and energy dissipated by downhole vibrations, then providing the bit with the energy required to fail the rock. If the drill string enters resonant modes of vibration, not only does it decreases the amount of available energy to drill, but increases the potential for catastrophic downhole equipment and drilling bit failures. In this sense, the mitigation of downhole vibrations will result in faster, smoother, and cheaper drilling operations. A software tool using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) has been developed to provide better understanding of downhole vibration phenomena in drilling environments. The software tool calculates the response of the drilling system at various input conditions, based on the design of the wellbore along with the geometry of the Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA) and the drill string. It identifies where undesired levels of resonant vibration will be driven by certain combinations of specific drilling parameters, and also which combinations of drilling parameters will result in lower levels of vibration, so the least shocks, the highest penetration rate and the lowest cost per foot can be achieved. With the growing performance of personal computers, complex software systems modeling the drilling vibrations using FEA has been accessible to a wider audience of field users, further complimenting with real time

  4. Complete Au@ZnO core-shell nanoparticles with enhanced plasmonic absorption enabling significantly improved photocatalysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yiqiang; Sun, Yugang; Zhang, Tao; Chen, Guozhu; Zhang, Fengshou; Liu, Dilong; Cai, Weiping; Li, Yue; Yang, Xianfeng; Li, Cuncheng

    2016-05-01

    Nanostructured ZnO exhibits high chemical stability and unique optical properties, representing a promising candidate among photocatalysts in the field of environmental remediation and solar energy conversion. However, ZnO only absorbs the UV light, which accounts for less than 5% of total solar irradiation, significantly limiting its applications. In this article, we report a facile and efficient approach to overcome the poor wettability between ZnO and Au by carefully modulating the surface charge density on Au nanoparticles (NPs), enabling rapid synthesis of Au@ZnO core-shell NPs at room temperature. The resulting Au@ZnO core-shell NPs exhibit a significantly enhanced plasmonic absorption in the visible range due to the Au NP cores. They also show a significantly improved photocatalytic performance in comparison with their single-component counterparts, i.e., the Au NPs and ZnO NPs. Moreover, the high catalytic activity of the as-synthesized Au@ZnO core-shell NPs can be maintained even after many cycles of photocatalytic reaction. Our results shed light on the fact that the Au@ZnO core-shell NPs represent a promising class of candidates for applications in plasmonics, surface-enhanced spectroscopy, light harvest devices, solar energy conversion, and degradation of organic pollutants.Nanostructured ZnO exhibits high chemical stability and unique optical properties, representing a promising candidate among photocatalysts in the field of environmental remediation and solar energy conversion. However, ZnO only absorbs the UV light, which accounts for less than 5% of total solar irradiation, significantly limiting its applications. In this article, we report a facile and efficient approach to overcome the poor wettability between ZnO and Au by carefully modulating the surface charge density on Au nanoparticles (NPs), enabling rapid synthesis of Au@ZnO core-shell NPs at room temperature. The resulting Au@ZnO core-shell NPs exhibit a significantly enhanced plasmonic

  5. Significant decimal digits for energy representation on short-word computers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sartori, E.

    1989-01-01

    The general belief that single precision floating point numbers have always at least seven significant decimal digits on short word computers such as IBM is erroneous. Seven significant digits are required however for representing the energy variable in nuclear cross-section data sets containing sharp p-wave resonances at 0 Kelvin. It is suggested that either the energy variable is stored in double precision or that cross-section resonances are reconstructed to room temperature or higher on short word computers

  6. Improvement of Energy Efficiency and Environmental Safety of Thermal Energy Through the Implementation of Contact Energy Exchange Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varlamov, Gennadii Borysovich; Romanova, Kateryna Alexandrovna; Nazarova, Iryna; Daschenko, Olga; Kapustiansky, Andry

    2017-12-01

    Energy efficiency improvement and ecological safety of heat power plants are urgent problems, which require scientifically grounded approaches and solutions. These problems can be solved partly within the presented heat-and-power cycles by including contact energy exchange equipment in the circuits of existing installations. A significant positive effect is obtained in the contact energy exchange installations, such as gas-steam installation `Aquarius' and the contact hydrogen heat generator that also can use hydrogen as a fuel. In these plants, the efficiency increases approximately by 10-12% in comparison with traditional installations, and the concentration of toxic substances, such as nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide in flue gas can be reduced to 30 mg/m3 and to 5 mg/m3, respectively. Moreover, the plants additionally `generate' the clean water, which can be used for technical purposes.

  7. A two-factor method for appraising building renovation and energy efficiency improvement projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinaitis, Vytautas; Kazakevicius, Eduardas; Vitkauskas, Aloyzas

    2007-01-01

    The renovation of residential buildings usually involves a variety of measures aiming at reducing energy and building maintenance bills, increasing safety and market value, and improving comfort and aesthetics. A significant number of project appraisal methods in current use-such as calculations of payback time, net present value, internal rate of return or cost of conserved energy (CCE)-only quantify energy efficiency gains. These approaches are relatively easy to use, but offer a distorted view of complex modernization projects. On the other hand, various methods using multiple criteria take a much wider perspective but are usually time-consuming, based on sometimes uncertain assumptions and require sophisticated tools. A 'two-factor' appraisal method offers a compromise between these two approaches. The main idea of the method is to separate investments into those related to energy efficiency improvements, and those related to building renovation. Costs and benefits of complex measures, which both influence energy consumption and improve building constructions, are separated by using a building rehabilitation coefficient. The CCE is used for the appraisal of energy efficiency investments, while investments in building renovation are appraised using standard tools for the assessment of investments in maintenance, repair and rehabilitation

  8. Finding of no significant impact for the State Energy Conservation Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    The Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA), DOE/EA 1068, to assess the environmental impacts associated with the State Energy Conservation Program (SECP). DOE previously funded SECP projects under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA). The State Energy Efficiency Programs Improvements Act of 1990 (SEEPIA) and the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT) amended EPCA to broaden the range of state initiatives qualifying for Federal assistance under the SECP. The PEA presents a general analysis of the potential environmental effects associated with broad types of projects that can be funded under the SECP. It does not analyze specific environmental effects or alternatives associated with individual energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy projects. Individual actions are to be evaluated in detail on a project-by-project basis to determine whether their impacts fall within the bounding analysis of the impacts analyzed in the SECP PEA

  9. What can industry do to improve acceptance of nuclear energy?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Panossian, J.

    1990-01-01

    Even though nuclear energy covers approximately a third of the energy needs of Western Europe without having injured anyone or damaging the environment, its development is considerably hindered in many countries by the opposition of a significant part of the public. The majority of those responsible for the energy supply though, is of the opinion that nuclear energy should continue to play at least as great a role in coming years. In order to lead the public to a positive stand towards nuclear energy, the industry must perfect its product and improve the quality of its communication. One cannot afford to be afraid of admitting that the product, nuclear energy, can be even further improved, even if it is currently at a very high level. Experienced suppliers in the field of nuclear energy have great sums of money with which to work, and should continue to invest in development. It is especially important that the existing nuclear power plants demonstrate exemplary company behavior in respect to safety, availability and economy: this is the best proof of the advantages of nuclear energy and that it is harmless. In regards to communication, it is important to remember that resistance disappears if the public can be directly acquainted with the object of its fears. This explains the special interest in tours of nuclear power plants. The manner in which risk is understood also needs our attention. Risk is not easily understood. It is more easily grasped if it is identified with a highest unsurmountable limit value which corresponds with acceptable consequences. Finally, the public must be informed that nuclear energy is the most environmentally safe means of energy production. (author)

  10. Barriers to improvements in energy efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reddy, A.K.N.

    1991-10-01

    To promote energy-efficiency improvements, actions may be required at one or more levels -- from the lowest level of the consumer (residential, commercial, industrial, etc.) through the highest level of the global agencies. But barriers to the implementation of energy-efficiency improvements exist or can arise at all these levels. Taking up each one of these barriers in turn, the paper discusses specific measures that can contribute to overcoming the barriers. However, a one-barrier-one-measure approach must be avoided. Single barriers may in fact involve several sub-barriers. Also, combinations of measures are much more effective in overcoming barriers. In particular, combinations of measures that simultaneously overcome several barriers are most successful. The paper discusses the typology of barriers, explores their origin and suggests measures that by themselves or in combination with other measures, will overcome these barriers. Since most of the barriers dealt with can be found in the barriers'' literature, any originality in the paper lies in its systematic organization, synoptic view and holistic treatment of this issue. This paper is intended to initiate a comprehensive treatment of barriers, their origins and the measures that contribute to overcoming them. Hopefully, such a treatment will facilitate the implementation of energy-efficiency improvements involving a wide diversity of ever-changing energy end uses and consumer preferences.

  11. Barriers to improvements in energy efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reddy, A.K.N.

    1991-10-01

    To promote energy-efficiency improvements, actions may be required at one or more levels -- from the lowest level of the consumer (residential, commercial, industrial, etc.) through the highest level of the global agencies. But barriers to the implementation of energy-efficiency improvements exist or can arise at all these levels. Taking up each one of these barriers in turn, the paper discusses specific measures that can contribute to overcoming the barriers. However, a one-barrier-one-measure approach must be avoided. Single barriers may in fact involve several sub-barriers. Also, combinations of measures are much more effective in overcoming barriers. In particular, combinations of measures that simultaneously overcome several barriers are most successful. The paper discusses the typology of barriers, explores their origin and suggests measures that by themselves or in combination with other measures, will overcome these barriers. Since most of the barriers dealt with can be found in the ``barriers`` literature, any originality in the paper lies in its systematic organization, synoptic view and holistic treatment of this issue. This paper is intended to initiate a comprehensive treatment of barriers, their origins and the measures that contribute to overcoming them. Hopefully, such a treatment will facilitate the implementation of energy-efficiency improvements involving a wide diversity of ever-changing energy end uses and consumer preferences.

  12. Wastewater treatment facilities: Energy efficient improvements and cogeneration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kunkle, R.; Gray, R.; Delzel, D.

    1992-10-01

    The Washington State Energy Office (WSEO) has worked with both the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the US Department of Energy to provide technical and financial assistance to local governments. Based on a recent study conducted by Ecotope for WSEO, local governments spend an estimated $45 million on utility bills statewide. Water and wastewater facilities account for almost a third of this cost. As a result, WSEO decided to focus its efforts on the energy intensive water and wastewater sector. The ultimate goal of this project was to develop mechanisms to incorporate energy efficiency improvements into wastewater treatment facilities in retrofits and during upgrades, remodels, and new construction. Project activities included the following: The review of the existing regulatory environment for treatment system construction, A summary of financing options for efficiency improvements in treatment facilities, A literature review of energy efficiency opportunities in treatment plants, Survey and site visits to characterize existing facilities in Washington State, Estimates of the energy efficiency and cogeneration potential in the sector, and A case study to illustrate the implementation of an efficiency improvement in a treatment facility

  13. Mechanical confinement for improved energy storage density in BNT-BT-KNN lead-free ceramic capacitors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aditya Chauhan

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available With the advent of modern power electronics, embedded circuits and non-conventional energy harvesting, the need for high performance capacitors is bound to become indispensible. The current state-of-art employs ferroelectric ceramics and linear dielectrics for solid state capacitance. However, lead-free ferroelectric ceramics propose to offer significant improvement in the field of electrical energy storage owing to their high discharge efficiency and energy storage density. In this regards, the authors have investigated the effects of compressive stress as a means of improving the energy storage density of lead-free ferroelectric ceramics. The energy storage density of 0.91(Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-0.07BaTiO3-0.02(K0.5Na0.5NbO3 ferroelectric bulk ceramic was analyzed as a function of varying levels of compressive stress and operational temperature .It was observed that a peak energy density of 387 mJ.cm-3 was obtained at 100 MPa applied stress (25oC. While a maximum energy density of 568 mJ.cm-3 was obtained for the same stress at 80oC. These values are indicative of a significant, 25% and 84%, improvement in the value of stored energy compared to an unloaded material. Additionally, material's discharge efficiency has also been discussed as a function of operational parameters. The observed phenomenon has been explained on the basis of field induced structural transition and competitive domain switching theory.

  14. Analyzing Residential End-Use Energy Consumption Data to Inform Residential Consumer Decisions and Enable Energy Efficiency Improvements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlson, Derrick R.

    While renewable energy is in the process of maturing, energy efficiency improvements may provide an opportunity to reduce energy consumption and consequent greenhouse gas emissions to bridge the gap between current emissions and the reductions necessary to prevent serious effects of climate change and will continue to be an integral part of greenhouse gas emissions policy moving forward. Residential energy is a largely untapped source of energy reductions as consumers, who wish to reduce energy consumption for monetary, environmental, and other reasons, face barriers. One such barrier is a lack of knowledge or understanding of how energy is consumed in a home and how to reduce this consumption effectively through behavioral and technological changes. One way to improve understanding of residential energy consumption is through the creation of a model to predict which appliances and electronics will be present and significantly contribute to the electricity consumption of a home on the basis of various characteristics of that home. The basis of this model is publically available survey data from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). By predicting how households are likely to consume energy, homeowners, policy makers, and other stakeholders have access to valuable data that enables reductions in energy consumption in the residential sector. This model can be used to select homes that may be ripe for energy reductions and to predict the appliances that are the basis of these potential reductions. This work suggests that most homes in the U.S. have about eight appliances that are responsible for about 80% of the electricity consumption in that home. Characteristics such as census region, floor space, income, and total electricity consumption affect which appliances are likely to be in a home, however the number of appliances is generally around 8. Generally it takes around 4 appliances to reach the 50% threshold and 12 appliances to reach 90% of electricity

  15. Incentives to improve energy efficiency in EU Grids

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Papaefthymiou, G.; Beestermoeller, C.; Gardiner, A.

    2013-04-15

    The Energy Efficiency Directive (2012/27/EU) includes provisions related to network tariffs and regulation. It is timely therefore to revisit the potential options for energy efficiency in grids, the treatment of energy efficiency in network tariffs and alternative policies for improving energy efficiency. This project builds on work done previously for the European Copper Institute in this area. In this paper, we concentrate on energy efficiency in electricity network design and operation. Other articles in the Directive relate to the role of the network tariffs and regulations in enabling or incentivising the provision of energy efficiency to end users. In section 2, we describe technical efficiency measures to reduce losses (improve energy efficiency) in the grid. Section 3 reviews grid tariffs in three countries to identify whether they provide incentives or disincentives for energy efficiency in the grid. Section 4 discusses and evaluates alternative regulations for energy efficiency in grids. Section 5 concludes and discusses the main components of the optimal policy framework.

  16. Optimal production scheduling for energy efficiency improvement in biofuel feedstock preprocessing considering work-in-process particle separation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Lin; Sun, Zeyi; Yao, Xufeng; Wang, Donghai

    2016-01-01

    Biofuel is considered a promising alternative to traditional liquid transportation fuels. The large-scale substitution of biofuel can greatly enhance global energy security and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. One major concern of the broad adoption of biofuel is the intensive energy consumption in biofuel manufacturing. This paper focuses on the energy efficiency improvement of biofuel feedstock preprocessing, a major process of cellulosic biofuel manufacturing. An improved scheme of the feedstock preprocessing considering work-in-process particle separation is introduced to reduce energy waste and improve energy efficiency. A scheduling model based on the improved scheme is also developed to identify an optimal production schedule that can minimize the energy consumption of the feedstock preprocessing under production target constraint. A numerical case study is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The research outcome is expected to improve the energy efficiency and enhance the environmental sustainability of biomass feedstock preprocessing. - Highlights: • A novel method to schedule production in biofuel feedstock preprocessing process. • Systems modeling approach is used. • Capable of optimize preprocessing to reduce energy waste and improve energy efficiency. • A numerical case is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the method. • Energy consumption per unit production can be significantly reduced.

  17. Energy efficiency improvement and environment in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rouhier, Stephane

    2010-01-01

    Massive reliance on polluting sources of energy (coal, traditional biomass and oil) has damaged the environment in China over years. Now, China is the world's first carbon dioxide emitter and air pollution represents between 2 and 7 percent of loss of Gross Domestic Product per year, depending on the studies chosen. In order to reduce the level of pollution, one can either enhance the technology in use or reduce the share of polluting fuels in the energy mix. Indeed, current Chinese technologies are far less efficient than those of developed countries and the energy mix is massively composed of polluting sources of energy. So, they both represent huge potential savings. This article enquires the link between diversification, efficiency in the power sector and the per capita emissions and shows that emissions are negatively correlated to a diversification of the energy mix as well as an improvement of power generating technologies. Hence, it justifies the diversification of the energy mix and technology improvement as viable strategies to tackle pollution

  18. Improvement of energy performances of existing buildings by application of solar thermal systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krstić-Furundžić Aleksandra

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Improvement of energy performances of the existing buildings in the suburban settlement Konjarnik in Belgrade, by the application of solar thermal systems is the topic presented in this paper. Hypothetical models of building improvements are created to allow the benefits of applying solar thermal collectors to residential buildings in Belgrade climate conditions to be estimated. This case study presents different design variants of solar thermal collectors integrated into a multifamily building envelope. The following aspects of solar thermal systems integration are analyzed in the paper: energy, architectural, ecological and economic. The results show that in Belgrade climatic conditions significant energy savings and reduction of CO2 emissions can be obtained with the application of solar thermal collectors.

  19. Improving energy consumption structure: A comprehensive assessment of fossil energy subsidies reform in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Wei; Li Hong

    2011-01-01

    Fossil energy subsidies reform would be an effective way to improve the energy consumption structure; however, the reform needs to be assessed comprehensively beforehand as it would exert uncertain impacts on economy, society and environment. In this paper, we use price-gap approach to estimate the fossil energy subsidies of China, then establish CGE model that contains pollutant emissions accounts and CO 2 emissions account to stimulate the fossil energy subsidies reform under different scenarios, and the environmental economic analysis concept is introduced to monetize the pollutant reduction benefits. Furthermore, we analyze the possibility and scope of improving the energy consumption structure from the perspective of technical and economic analysis. Analytical results show that the energy consumption structure could be improved by different extent by removing coal or oil subsidies, while the economic and social indexes will be influenced distinctively. Meanwhile, the effects of cutting coal subsidies are more feasible than that of cutting oil subsidies overall. It is recommended to implement fossil energy subsidies gradually, cut the coal first and then cut oil subsidies successively. - Research highlights: → This paper estimates the scale of fossil energy subsidies of China in 2007 with price-gap approach. → We establish a Social Accounting Matrix and a CGE model extended with pollutant accounts. → We simulate the impacts of removing or cutting subsidies under three different scenarios. → We discuss the possibility and potential of improving energy consumption structure.

  20. Improving energy efficiency in industrial energy systems an interdisciplinary perspective on barriers, energy audits, energy management, policies, and programs

    CERN Document Server

    Thollander, Patrik

    2012-01-01

    Industrial energy efficiency is one of the most important means of reducing the threat of increased global warming. Research however states that despite the existence of numerous technical energy efficiency measures, its deployment is hindered by the existence of various barriers to energy efficiency. The complexity of increasing energy efficiency in manufacturing industry calls for an interdisciplinary approach to the issue. Improving energy efficiency in industrial energy systems applies an interdisciplinary perspective in examining energy efficiency in industrial energy systems, and discuss

  1. PROSPECTS OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES IN PROVINCE OF VOJVODINA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gvozdenac, D.; Ciric, R.; Tesic, M.

    2007-07-01

    The paper presents the outcome of the research in the field of energy efficiency improvement and development of the renewable energy sources in province of Vojvodina (Serbia). The summarized results of the paper are: - Potentials for energy efficiency improvement in Vojvodina, - Potentials for development of renewable energy sources in Vojvodina, - Proposal of measures of the energy policy for the promotion of research and development (R and D) which will use local scientific and technical potentials in the field of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency and improve the sustainability on the long run. - Proposal of measures for the energy policy in the domain of renewable energy sources development and energy efficiency and estimation of potentials for improvements by applying proposed measures in order to accomplish established tasks. - Synthesizing findings and proposals in the Action Plan of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina for the realization of the medium term program as well as the establishment of the monitoring plan for the assessment of program objectives progress. (auth)

  2. Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Oportunities for the Concrete Industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kermeli, Katerina; Worrell, Ernst; Masanet, Eric

    2011-12-01

    The U.S. concrete industry is the main consumer of U.S.-produced cement. The manufacturing of ready mixed concrete accounts for more than 75% of the U.S. concrete production following the manufacturing of precast concrete and masonry units. The most significant expenditure is the cost of materials accounting for more than 50% of total concrete production costs - cement only accounts for nearly 24%. In 2009, energy costs of the U.S. concrete industry were over $610 million. Hence, energy efficiency improvements along with efficient use of materials without negatively affecting product quality and yield, especially in times of increased fuel and material costs, can significantly reduce production costs and increase competitiveness. The Energy Guide starts with an overview of the U.S. concrete industry’s structure and energy use, a description of the various manufacturing processes, and identification of the major energy consuming areas in the different industry segments. This is followed by a description of general and process related energy- and cost-efficiency measures applicable to the concrete industry. Specific energy and cost savings and a typical payback period are included based on literature and case studies, when available. The Energy Guide intends to provide information on cost reduction opportunities to energy and plant managers in the U.S. concrete industry. Every cost saving opportunity should be assessed carefully prior to implementation in individual plants, as the economics and the potential energy and material savings may differ.

  3. Energy intensity, target level of energy intensity, and room for improvement in energy intensity: An application to the study of regions in the EU

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Ming-Chung

    2014-01-01

    While the previous literature shows that a decline in energy intensity represents an improvement in energy use efficiency, it does not provide a target level of energy intensity, nor what room for improvement in terms of energy intensity could entail. This study establishes an indicator of such room for improvement in terms of energy intensity by measuring the difference between the target level of energy intensity and the actual energy intensity and thereby monitors energy use efficiency. The traditional indicator of energy intensity, defined as energy use over GDP, mainly estimates energy use efficiency, but is a partial effect between the energy input and GDP output. However, our proposed indicator of the room for improvement in terms of energy intensity is the total-factor effects based on the multiple-inputs model. By taking the 27 EU members to investigate their energy use efficiency using the indicator of the room for improvement in terms of energy intensity, this study concludes that an improvement in energy intensity does not fully depend on a decline in energy intensity, and we instead need to confirm whether the room for improvement in terms of energy intensity decreases. This finding is particularly relevant for energy policy-makers. - Highlights: • This paper establishes an indicator for the room for improvement in terms of energy intensity. • This study takes the 27 EU members to investigate their energy use efficiency. • A different result appears by using our proposed indicator

  4. Improving Energy Efficiency in Idle Listening of IEEE 802.11 WLANs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Adnan

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to improve energy efficiency of IEEE 802.11 wireless local area networks (WLANs by effectively dealing with idle listening (IL, which is required for channel sensing and is unavoidable in a contention-based channel access mechanism. Firstly, we show that IL is a dominant source of energy drain in WLANs and it cannot be effectively alleviated by the power saving mechanism proposed in the IEEE 802.11 standard. To solve this problem, we propose an energy-efficient mechanism that combines three schemes in a systematic way: downclocking, frame aggregation, and contention window adjustment. The downclocking scheme lets a station remain in a semisleep state when overhearing frames destined to neighbor stations, whereby the station consumes the minimal energy without impairing channel access capability. As well as decreasing the channel access overhead, the frame aggregation scheme prolongs the period of semisleep time. Moreover, by controlling the size of contention window based on the number of stations, the proposed mechanism decreases unnecessary IL time due to collision and retransmission. By deriving an analysis model and performing extensive simulations, we confirm that the proposed mechanism significantly improves the energy efficiency and throughput, by up to 2.8 and 1.8 times, respectively, compared to the conventional power saving mechanisms.

  5. Energy management information systems : achieving improved energy efficiency : a handbook for managers, engineers and operational staff

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hooke, J.H.; Landry, B.J.; Hart, D. [Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada). Office of Energy Efficiency

    2004-07-01

    There are many opportunities for industrial and commercial facilities to improve energy efficiency by minimizing waste through process optimization. Large energy users can effectively reduce energy costs, improve profits and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using computing and control equipment. This book covers all aspects of an Energy Management Information System (EMIS) including metering, data collection, data analysis, reporting and cost benefit analyses. EMIS provides relevant information to businesses that enables them to improve energy performance. EMIS deliverables include early detection of poor performance, support for decision making and effective energy reporting. EMIS also features data storage, calculation of effective targets for energy use and comparative energy consumption. Computer systems can be used to improve business performance in terms of finance, personnel, sales, resource planning, maintenance, process control, design and training. In the 1980s, the Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation (CIPEC) developed 2 versions of an energy accounting manual to help industrial, commercial and institutional sectors implement energy-accounting systems. The manual was revised in 1989 and is a useful energy management tool for business and other organizations. The EMIS examples described in this booklet reflect that energy is a variable operating cost, not a fixed overhead charge. 8 tabs., 38 figs.

  6. Mechanical confinement for improved energy storage density in BNT-BT-KNN lead-free ceramic capacitors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chauhan, Aditya; Patel, Satyanarayan; Vaish, Rahul, E-mail: rahul@iitmandi.ac.in [School of Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, 175 001 (India)

    2014-08-15

    With the advent of modern power electronics, embedded circuits and non-conventional energy harvesting, the need for high performance capacitors is bound to become indispensible. The current state-of-art employs ferroelectric ceramics and linear dielectrics for solid state capacitance. However, lead-free ferroelectric ceramics propose to offer significant improvement in the field of electrical energy storage owing to their high discharge efficiency and energy storage density. In this regards, the authors have investigated the effects of compressive stress as a means of improving the energy storage density of lead-free ferroelectric ceramics. The energy storage density of 0.91(Bi{sub 0.5}Na{sub 0.5})TiO{sub 3}-0.07BaTiO{sub 3}-0.02(K{sub 0.5}Na{sub 0.5})NbO{sub 3} ferroelectric bulk ceramic was analyzed as a function of varying levels of compressive stress and operational temperature .It was observed that a peak energy density of 387 mJ.cm{sup -3} was obtained at 100 MPa applied stress (25{sup o}C). While a maximum energy density of 568 mJ.cm{sup -3} was obtained for the same stress at 80{sup o}C. These values are indicative of a significant, 25% and 84%, improvement in the value of stored energy compared to an unloaded material. Additionally, material's discharge efficiency has also been discussed as a function of operational parameters. The observed phenomenon has been explained on the basis of field induced structural transition and competitive domain switching theory.

  7. Measuring improvement in energy efficiency of the US cement industry with the ENERGY STAR Energy Performance Indicator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boyd, G.; Zhang, G. [Department of Economics, Duke University, Box 90097, Durham, NC 27708 (United States)

    2013-02-15

    The lack of a system for benchmarking industrial plant energy efficiency represents a major obstacle to improving efficiency. While estimates are sometimes available for specific technologies, the efficiency of one plant versus another could only be captured by benchmarking the energy efficiency of the whole plant and not by looking at its components. This paper presents an approach used by ENERGY STAR to implement manufacturing plant energy benchmarking for the cement industry. Using plant-level data and statistical analysis, we control for factors that influence energy use that are not efficiency, per se. What remains is an estimate of the distribution of energy use that is not accounted for by these factors, i.e., intra-plant energy efficiency. By comparing two separate analyses conducted at different points in time, we can see how this distribution has changed. While aggregate data can be used to estimate an average rate of improvement in terms of total industry energy use and production, such an estimate would be misleading as it may give the impression that all plants have made the same improvements. The picture that emerges from our plant-level statistical analysis is more subtle; the most energy-intensive plants have closed or been completely replaced and poor performing plants have made efficiency gains, reducing the gap between themselves and the top performers, whom have changed only slightly. Our estimate is a 13 % change in total source energy, equivalent to an annual reduction of 5.4 billion/kg of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.

  8. Single-source dual-energy spectral multidetector CT of pancreatic adenocarcinoma: Optimization of energy level viewing significantly increases lesion contrast

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patel, B.N.; Thomas, J.V.; Lockhart, M.E.; Berland, L.L.; Morgan, D.E.

    2013-01-01

    V was 31 ± 25 HU (p = 0.007). Conclusion: Significantly increased pancreatic lesion contrast was noted at lower viewing energies using spectral MDCT. Individual patient CNR-optimized energy level images have the potential to improve lesion conspicuity.

  9. A comprehensive framework to quantify energy savings potential from improved operations of commercial building stocks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azar, Elie; Menassa, Carol C.

    2014-01-01

    While studies highlight the significant impact of actions performed by occupants and facility managers on building energy performance, current policies ignore the importance of human actions and the potential energy savings from a more efficient operation of building systems. This is mainly attributed to the lack of methods that evaluate non-technological drivers of energy use for large stocks of commercial buildings to support policy making efforts. Therefore, this study proposes a scientific approach to quantifying the energy savings potential due to improved operations of any stock of commercial buildings. The proposed framework combines energy modeling techniques, studies on human actions in buildings, and surveying and sampling methods. The contributions of this study to energy policy are significant as they reinforce the role of human actions in energy conservation, and support efforts to integrate operation-focused solutions in energy conservation policy frameworks. The framework's capabilities are illustrated in a case study performed on the stock of office buildings in the United States (US). Results indicate a potential 21 percent reduction in the current energy use levels of these buildings through realistic changes in current building operation patterns. - Highlights: • Human actions highly influence energy performance of commercial building stocks. • It is challenging to quantify operation-related energy savings potential. • The proposed framework quantifies potential energy savings from improved operations. • The framework can be applied on any stock of commercial buildings. • Applications include support for operation-focused solutions in energy policies

  10. Potentials and policy implications of energy and material efficiency improvement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Worrell, Ernst; Levine, Mark; Price, Lynn; Martin, Nathan; van den Broek, Richard; Block, Kornelis

    1997-01-01

    There is a growing awareness of the serious problems associated with the provision of sufficient energy to meet human needs and to fuel economic growth world-wide. This has pointed to the need for energy and material efficiency, which would reduce air, water and thermal pollution, as well as waste production. Increasing energy and material efficiency also have the benefits of increased employment, improved balance of imports and exports, increased security of energy supply, and adopting environmentally advantageous energy supply. A large potential exists for energy savings through energy and material efficiency improvements. Technologies are not now, nor will they be, in the foreseeable future, the limiting factors with regard to continuing energy efficiency improvements. There are serious barriers to energy efficiency improvement, including unwillingness to invest, lack of available and accessible information, economic disincentives and organizational barriers. A wide range of policy instruments, as well as innovative approaches have been tried in some countries in order to achieve the desired energy efficiency approaches. These include: regulation and guidelines; economic instruments and incentives; voluntary agreements and actions, information, education and training; and research, development and demonstration. An area that requires particular attention is that of improved international co-operation to develop policy instruments and technologies to meet the needs of developing countries. Material efficiency has not received the attention that it deserves. Consequently, there is a dearth of data on the qualities and quantities for final consumption, thus, making it difficult to formulate policies. Available data, however, suggest that there is a large potential for improved use of many materials in industrialized countries.

  11. Energy efficiency improvements in ammonia production--perspectives and uncertainties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rafiqul, Islam; Weber, Christoph; Lehmann, Bianca; Voss, Alfred

    2005-01-01

    The paper discusses the energy consumption and energy saving potential for a major energy-intensive product in the chemical industry-ammonia, based on technologies currently in use and possible process improvements. The paper consists of four parts. In the first part, mainly references to various ammonia production technologies are given. Energy consumption, emissions and saving potentials are discussed in the second part. Thereby, the situation in Europe, the US and India is highlighted and various data sources are compared. In the third part of the paper, a novel approach for modeling energy efficiency improvements is described that accounts for uncertainties and unobserved heterogeneity in the production processes. Besides new investments, revamping investments are also included in the modeling and the development of the production stock is accounted for. Finally, in the fourth part, this approach is applied to the modeling of energy efficiency improvements and CO 2 emission reductions in ammonia production. Thereby, considerable improvements in specific energy use and CO 2 emissions are found in the reference scenario, yet under the assumption of high oil and gas prices, a partial switch to coal based technologies is expected which lowers notably the CO 2 efficiency. Introduction of a CO 2 penalty under a certificate trading or other regime is on contrary found to foster energy efficiency and the use of low carbon technologies

  12. Improving the accuracy of energy baseline models for commercial buildings with occupancy data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liang, Xin; Hong, Tianzhen; Shen, Geoffrey Qiping

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • We evaluated several baseline models predicting energy use in buildings. • Including occupancy data improved accuracy of baseline model prediction. • Occupancy is highly correlated with energy use in buildings. • This simple approach can be used in decision makings of energy retrofit projects. - Abstract: More than 80% of energy is consumed during operation phase of a building’s life cycle, so energy efficiency retrofit for existing buildings is considered a promising way to reduce energy use in buildings. The investment strategies of retrofit depend on the ability to quantify energy savings by “measurement and verification” (M&V), which compares actual energy consumption to how much energy would have been used without retrofit (called the “baseline” of energy use). Although numerous models exist for predicting baseline of energy use, a critical limitation is that occupancy has not been included as a variable. However, occupancy rate is essential for energy consumption and was emphasized by previous studies. This study develops a new baseline model which is built upon the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) model but includes the use of building occupancy data. The study also proposes metrics to quantify the accuracy of prediction and the impacts of variables. However, the results show that including occupancy data does not significantly improve the accuracy of the baseline model, especially for HVAC load. The reasons are discussed further. In addition, sensitivity analysis is conducted to show the influence of parameters in baseline models. The results from this study can help us understand the influence of occupancy on energy use, improve energy baseline prediction by including the occupancy factor, reduce risks of M&V and facilitate investment strategies of energy efficiency retrofit.

  13. Hunger can be taught: Hunger Recognition regulates eating and improves energy balance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciampolini, Mario; Lovell-Smith, H David; Kenealy, Timothy; Bianchi, Riccardo

    2013-01-01

    A set of spontaneous hunger sensations, Initial Hunger (IH), has been associated with low blood glucose concentration (BG). These sensations may arise pre-meal or can be elicited by delaying a meal. With self-measurement of BG, subjects can be trained to formally identify and remember these sensations (Hunger Recognition). Subjects can then be trained to ensure that IH is present pre-meal for most meals and that their pre-meal BG is therefore low consistently (IH Meal Pattern). IH includes the epigastric Empty Hollow Sensation (the most frequent and recognizable) as well as less specific sensations such as fatigue or light-headedness which is termed inanition. This report reviews the method for identifying IH and the effect of the IH Meal Pattern on energy balance. In adults, the IH Meal Pattern has been shown to significantly decrease energy intake by one-third, decrease preprandial BG, reduce glycosylated hemoglobin, and reduce insulin resistance and weight in those who are insulin resistant or overweight. Young children as well as adults can be trained in Hunger Recognition, giving them an elegant method for achieving energy balance without the stress of restraint-type dieting. The implications of improving insulin sensitivity through improved energy balance are as wide as improving immune activity. PMID:23825928

  14. Improving Energy Efficiency In Thermal Oil Recovery Surface Facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Murthy Nadella, Narayana

    2010-09-15

    Thermal oil recovery methods such as Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS), Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) and In-situ Combustion are being used for recovering heavy oil and bitumen. These processes expend energy to recover oil. The process design of the surface facilities requires optimization to improve the efficiency of oil recovery by minimizing the energy consumption per barrel of oil produced. Optimization involves minimizing external energy use by heat integration. This paper discusses the unit processes and design methodology considering thermodynamic energy requirements and heat integration methods to improve energy efficiency in the surface facilities. A design case study is presented.

  15. Significant Improvements in Pyranometer Nighttime Offsets Using High-Flow DC Ventilation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kutchenreiter, Mark; Michalski, J.J.; Long, C.N.; Habte, Aron

    2017-05-22

    Accurate solar radiation measurements using pyranometers are required to understand radiative impacts on the Earth's energy budget, solar energy production, and to validate radiative transfer models. Ventilators of pyranometers, which are used to keep the domes clean and dry, also affect instrument thermal offset accuracy. This poster presents a high-level overview of the ventilators for single-black-detector pyranometers and black-and-white pyranometers. For single-black-detector pyranometers with ventilators, high-flow-rate (50-CFM and higher), 12-V DC fans lower the offsets, lower the scatter, and improve the predictability of nighttime offsets compared to lower-flow-rate (35-CFM), 120-V AC fans operated in the same type of environmental setup. Black-and-white pyranometers, which are used to measure diffuse horizontal irradiance, sometimes show minor improvement with DC fan ventilation, but their offsets are always small, usually no more than 1 W/m2, whether AC- or DC-ventilated.

  16. White certificates for energy efficiency improvement with energy taxes : A theoretical economic model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oikonomou, V.; Jepma, C.J.; Becchis, F.; Russolillo, D.

    2008-01-01

    In this paper we analyze interactions of two energy policy instruments, namely a White Certificates (WhC) scheme as an innovative policy instrument for energy efficiency improvement and energy taxation. These policy instruments differ in terms of objectives and final impacts on the price of

  17. Using an energy management strategy to drive improved business results and improve manufacturing operations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leroux, Marc

    2010-09-15

    Energy typically represents the single largest controllable cost in manufacturing, and is under constant scrutiny by all levels of management. In this paper we will examine the role and components of an energy management strategy, and focus on the benefits of looking at the strategy from a business perspective. We will then examine the role that an effective program, either existing or new, can play in a collaborative manufacturing environment, and how these improvements can reduce energy requirements while maintaining, or improving productivity.

  18. Significant improvement in the thermal annealing process of optical resonators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salzenstein, Patrice; Zarubin, Mikhail

    2017-05-01

    Thermal annealing performed during process improves the quality of the roughness of optical resonators reducing stresses at the periphery of their surface thus allowing higher Q-factors. After a preliminary realization, the design of the oven and the electronic method were significantly improved thanks to nichrome resistant alloy wires and chopped basalt fibers for thermal isolation during the annealing process. Q-factors can then be improved.

  19. Omega-3 fatty acid therapy dose-dependently and significantly decreased triglycerides and improved flow-mediated dilation, however, did not significantly improve insulin sensitivity in patients with hypertriglyceridemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Pyung Chun; Koh, Kwang Kon; Sakuma, Ichiro; Lim, Soo; Lee, Yonghee; Lee, Seungik; Lee, Kyounghoon; Han, Seung Hwan; Shin, Eak Kyun

    2014-10-20

    Experimental studies demonstrate that higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FA) improves insulin sensitivity, however, we reported that n-3 FA 2g therapy, most commonly used dosage did not significantly improve insulin sensitivity despite reducing triglycerides by 21% in patients. Therefore, we investigated the effects of different dosages of n-3 FA in patients with hypertriglyceridemia. This was a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study. Age, sex, and body mass index were matched among groups. All patients were recommended to maintain a low fat diet. Forty-four patients (about 18 had metabolic syndrome/type 2 diabetes mellitus) in each group were given placebo, n-3 FA 1 (O1), 2 (O2), or 4 g (O4), respectively daily for 2 months. n-3 FA therapy dose-dependently and significantly decreased triglycerides and triglycerides/HDL cholesterol and improved flow-mediated dilation, compared with placebo (by ANOVA). However, each n-3 FA therapy did not significantly decrease high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and fibrinogen, compared with placebo. O1 significantly increased insulin levels and decreased insulin sensitivity (determined by QUICKI) and O2 significantly decreased plasma adiponectin levels relative to baseline measurements. Of note, when compared with placebo, each n-3 FA therapy did not significantly change insulin, glucose, adiponectin, glycated hemoglobin levels and insulin sensitivity (by ANOVA). We observed similar results in a subgroup of patients with the metabolic syndrome. n-3 FA therapy dose-dependently and significantly decreased triglycerides and improved flow-mediated dilation. Nonetheless, n-3 FA therapy did not significantly improve acute-phase reactants and insulin sensitivity in patients with hypertriglyceridemia, regardless of dosages. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  20. Optimizing residence time, temperature and speed to improve TMP pulp properties and reduce energy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sabourin, M.; Xu, E.; Cort, B.; Boileau, I.; Waller, A.

    1997-04-01

    The concept of reducing energy consumption in pulp mills by increasing the disc speed of refining has been established using single disc and double disc refiners in both pilot plant and mill applications. The RTS study evaluated in this paper reviews the effect of high-speed single disc refining coupled with shortdwell-high pressure retention conditions. Coupling these variables permitted evaluation of an optimum residence time, temperature and speed (RTS) operational window. The objective of the RTS conditions to sufficiently soften the wood chips through high temperature such that the fibre is more receptive to initial defiberization at high intensity. The improved pulp from the primary refiner at high intensity could potentially demonstrate improvements in physical pulp properties at a reduced specific energy requirement. The spruce/fir RTS-TMP described here required significantly less specific energy and produced TMP with slightly improved strength properties and equivalent optical properties compared to conventional TMP pulp. Studies on the radiate pine furnish indicated that the physical pulp property/specific energy relationships could be adjusted by manipulating the residence time. 4 refs., 10 tabs., 10 figs.

  1. Economic effects of energy efficiency improvements in the Finnish building stock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tuominen, Pekka; Forsström, Juha; Honkatukia, Juha

    2013-01-01

    This study estimates the economic effects of investing in energy efficiency in buildings on a national level. First conservation potentials in space heating for two different scenarios with different levels of investment in energy efficiency are quantified. This was done relying on statistical data and future projections of the development of the building stock. Then economic modeling was used to estimate the effects on energy sector and the economy at large. The results show that a rather modest increase resulting in a few percent rise in annual construction and renovation investments can decrease total primary energy consumption 3.8–5.3% by 2020 and 4.7–6.8% by 2050 compared to a baseline scenario. On the short term a slight decrease in the level of GDP and employment is expected. On the medium to long term, however, the effects on both would be positive. Furthermore, a significant drop in harmful emissions and hence external costs is anticipated. Overall, a clear net benefit is expected from improving energy efficiency. - Highlights: ► The possible cut in energy consumption: 3.8–5.3% by 2020 and 4.7–6.8% by 2050. ► Short term negative effects to GDP and long term positive effects are expected. ► A significant drop in harmful emissions and hence external costs is anticipated.

  2. Tundra permafrost thaw causes significant shifts in energy partitioning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Stiegler

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Permafrost, a key component of the arctic and global climate system, is highly sensitive to climate change. Observed and ongoing permafrost degradation influences arctic hydrology, ecology and biogeochemistry, and models predict that rapid warming is expected to significantly reduce near-surface permafrost and seasonally frozen ground during the 21st century. These changes raise concern of how permafrost thaw affects the exchange of water and energy with the atmosphere. However, associated impacts of permafrost thaw on the surface energy balance and possible feedbacks on the climate system are largely unknown. In this study, we show that in northern subarctic Sweden, permafrost thaw and related degradation of peat plateaus significantly change the surface energy balance of three peatland complexes by enhancing latent heat flux and, to less degree, also ground heat flux at the cost of sensible heat flux. This effect is valid at all radiation levels but more pronounced at higher radiation levels. The observed differences in flux partitioning mainly result from the strong coupling between soil moisture availability, vegetation composition, albedo and surface structure. Our results suggest that ongoing and predicted permafrost degradation in northern subarctic Sweden ultimately result in changes in land–atmosphere coupling due to changes in the partitioning between latent and sensible heat fluxes. This in turn has crucial implications for how predictive climate models for the Arctic are further developed.

  3. Steam Pressure-Reducing Station Safety and Energy Efficiency Improvement Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lower, Mark D [ORNL; Christopher, Timothy W [ORNL; Oland, C Barry [ORNL

    2011-06-01

    The Facilities and Operations (F&O) Directorate is sponsoring a continuous process improvement (CPI) program. Its purpose is to stimulate, promote, and sustain a culture of improvement throughout all levels of the organization. The CPI program ensures that a scientific and repeatable process exists for improving the delivery of F&O products and services in support of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Management Systems. Strategic objectives of the CPI program include achieving excellence in laboratory operations in the areas of safety, health, and the environment. Identifying and promoting opportunities for achieving the following critical outcomes are important business goals of the CPI program: improved safety performance; process focused on consumer needs; modern and secure campus; flexibility to respond to changing laboratory needs; bench strength for the future; and elimination of legacy issues. The Steam Pressure-Reducing Station (SPRS) Safety and Energy Efficiency Improvement Project, which is under the CPI program, focuses on maintaining and upgrading SPRSs that are part of the ORNL steam distribution network. This steam pipe network transports steam produced at the ORNL steam plant to many buildings in the main campus site. The SPRS Safety and Energy Efficiency Improvement Project promotes excellence in laboratory operations by (1) improving personnel safety, (2) decreasing fuel consumption through improved steam system energy efficiency, and (3) achieving compliance with applicable worker health and safety requirements. The SPRS Safety and Energy Efficiency Improvement Project being performed by F&O is helping ORNL improve both energy efficiency and worker safety by modifying, maintaining, and repairing SPRSs. Since work began in 2006, numerous energy-wasting steam leaks have been eliminated, heat losses from uninsulated steam pipe surfaces have been reduced, and deficient pressure retaining components have been replaced. These improvements helped ORNL

  4. Improvement of powertrain efficiency through energy breakdown analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Damiani, Lorenzo; Repetto, Matteo; Prato, Alessandro Pini

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Energy breakdown analysis for the vehicular powertrain. • Model for road vehicles simulation in different missions. • Implemented powertrain management strategies: intelligent gearbox, Stop and Start, free wheel. • Innovative hybrid powertrain turned to engine thermodynamic cycles minimization. • Evaluation of fuel savings associated to each management strategy. - Abstract: A vehicular powertrain can be thought as an energy conversion chain, each component being characterized by its efficiency. Significant global efficiency improvements can be achieved once is identified the system energy breakdown, individuating the losses connected to each powertrain component; it is then possible to carry out the most appropriate interventions. This paper presents a simulation study of a diesel-fuelled commercial vehicle powertrain based on the above summarized point of view. The work aims at individuating the energy flows involved in the system during different missions, proposing an intelligent combination of technical solutions which minimize fuel consumption. Through a validated Matlab–Simulink model, able to indicate the powertrain energy breakdown, simulations are carried out to evaluate the fuel saving associated to a series of powertrain management logics which lead to the minimization of engine losses, the recovery of reverse power in deceleration and braking, the elimination of useless engine cycles. Tests were performed for different real missions (urban, extra-urban and highway). The results obtained point out a –23% fuel consumption (average value for urban, extra-urban and highway missions) compared to the traditional powertrain. Clearly, such result affects positively the CO 2 emission

  5. Single-source dual-energy spectral multidetector CT of pancreatic adenocarcinoma: optimization of energy level viewing significantly increases lesion contrast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, B N; Thomas, J V; Lockhart, M E; Berland, L L; Morgan, D E

    2013-02-01

    .007). Significantly increased pancreatic lesion contrast was noted at lower viewing energies using spectral MDCT. Individual patient CNR-optimized energy level images have the potential to improve lesion conspicuity. Copyright © 2012 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Improvements for conventional clean energies: hydroelectric power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henry, P.

    1991-01-01

    Hydro-electric energy offers considerable possibilities and advantages which should be exploited before considering the construction of power which use fossil fuels. In fact: - hydro-electric is the only renewable energy available in very large quantities at competitive prices, - there are still many possibilities for producing it since at present only 14% is exploited, - hydraulic machines have been considerably improved over recent years, - the improvements make it possible to use watercourses in successive stages thus considerably reducing damage to the environment, - hydro-electric installations have a regulating effect, - vast areas of uncultivated land can be irrigated using the water reserves created by the artificial lakes. All these reasons favour intensive exploitation of hydro-electric energy reserves, in spite of the initial investment costs, which are sometimes higher than those for constructing fuel/driven power stations. (author) 9 figs., 1 tab., 3 refs

  7. Significant Improvement of Catalytic Efficiencies in Ionic Liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Choong Eui; Yoon, Mi Young; Choi, Doo Seong

    2005-01-01

    The use of ionic liquids as reaction media can confer many advantages upon catalytic reactions over reactions in organic solvents. In ionic liquids, catalysts having polar or ionic character can easily be immobilized without additional structural modification and thus the ionic solutions containing the catalyst can easily be separated from the reagents and reaction products, and then, be reused. More interestingly, switching from an organic solvent to an ionic liquid often results in a significant improvement in catalytic performance (e.g., rate acceleration, (enantio)selectivity improvement and an increase in catalyst stability). In this review, some recent interesting results which can nicely demonstrate these positive 'ionic liquid effect' on catalysis are discussed

  8. Restructuring and energy efficiency improvement of the Bulgarian energy economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moumdjian, G.

    1993-01-01

    The structure of the national energy economy of Bulgaria implies characteristic features that specify low efficiency as regards power production, ecology and economics. Even the qualitative assessments show that these indices stand far away from the standards established in developed countries like Denmark, Finland, Sweden, etc. The best starting position for harmful energy efficiency improvement as well as emission reduction must be based on the restructuring of energy economy. The strategy of restructuring and development of energy economy covers the whole integrated national energy flow system 'resources - end user'. The preliminary study shows that energy efficiency can be increased by 25-30% within a period of 6-10 years using the least-cost investment strategy (including the research and development activities expenses). The study covers the existing structure of energy sector. Scenarios are being elaborated for its development and restructuring in respect to: heat production and transfer; electricity generation and transmission; energy consumption and conservation in residential buildings, public buildings and commercial sector; energy consumption in transport sector and agriculture. The approach for identification of the real potential opportunities in relation to the above stated areas is based on mathematical statistics and stochastic differential equations, multicriterial assessments, approach of self organisation systems and demand-side management. (author)

  9. US-China Clean Energy Research Center on Building Energy Efficiency: Materials that Improve the Cost-Effectiveness of Air Barrier Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hun, Diana E. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2016-12-01

    The US–China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) was launched in 2009 by US Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang, and Chinese National Energy Agency Administrator Zhang Guobao. This 5-year collaboration emerged from the fact that the United States and China are the world’s largest energy producers, energy consumers, and greenhouse gas emitters, and that their joint effort could have significant positive repercussions worldwide. CERC’s main goal is to develop and deploy clean energy technologies that will help both countries meet energy and climate challenges. Three consortia were established to address the most pressing energy-related research areas: Advanced Coal Technology, Clean Vehicles, and Building Energy Efficiency (BEE). The project discussed in this report was part of the CERC-BEE consortia; its objective was to lower energy use in buildings by developing and evaluating technologies that improve the cost-effectiveness of air barrier systems for building envelopes.

  10. Training directionally selective motion pathways can significantly improve reading efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawton, Teri

    2004-06-01

    This study examined whether perceptual learning at early levels of visual processing would facilitate learning at higher levels of processing. This was examined by determining whether training the motion pathways by practicing leftright movement discrimination, as found previously, would improve the reading skills of inefficient readers significantly more than another computer game, a word discrimination game, or the reading program offered by the school. This controlled validation study found that practicing left-right movement discrimination 5-10 minutes twice a week (rapidly) for 15 weeks doubled reading fluency, and significantly improved all reading skills by more than one grade level, whereas inefficient readers in the control groups barely improved on these reading skills. In contrast to previous studies of perceptual learning, these experiments show that perceptual learning of direction discrimination significantly improved reading skills determined at higher levels of cognitive processing, thereby being generalized to a new task. The deficits in reading performance and attentional focus experienced by the person who struggles when reading are suggested to result from an information overload, resulting from timing deficits in the direction-selectivity network proposed by Russell De Valois et al. (2000), that following practice on direction discrimination goes away. This study found that practicing direction discrimination rapidly transitions the inefficient 7-year-old reader to an efficient reader.

  11. SAGD CO2 mitigation through energy efficiency improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plessis du, D.

    2010-01-01

    An evaluation of the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions reductions achieved using energy efficiency measures in steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) operations was presented. The efficiency of a typical SAGD operation was analyzed using an indexing tool based on the Carnot cycle efficiency to develop an ideal SAGD heat cycle. The benefits of using an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) technology to convert waste heat to electrical power were also investigated. A CO 2 abatement curve was used to identify the economic benefits and costs of various greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. The level of recovered energy was determined in relation to energy prices, capital costs, and carbon penalties in order to determine the most efficient means of decreasing energy usage. The study demonstrated that energy efficiency can be improved by up to 20 percent, and water loss reductions of up to 50 percent can be achieved using cost-effective energy efficiency measures. Results of the study can be used to guide government policy and provide industry with practical tools to benchmark performance and improve efficiencies. 4 refs., 1 tab., 10 figs.

  12. Power transformations improve interpolation of grids for molecular mechanics interaction energies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minh, David D L

    2018-02-18

    A common strategy for speeding up molecular docking calculations is to precompute nonbonded interaction energies between a receptor molecule and a set of three-dimensional grids. The grids are then interpolated to compute energies for ligand atoms in many different binding poses. Here, I evaluate a smoothing strategy of taking a power transformation of grid point energies and inverse transformation of the result from trilinear interpolation. For molecular docking poses from 85 protein-ligand complexes, this smoothing procedure leads to significant accuracy improvements, including an approximately twofold reduction in the root mean square error at a grid spacing of 0.4 Å and retaining the ability to rank docking poses even at a grid spacing of 0.7 Å. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Improving building energy efficiency in India: State-level analysis of building energy efficiency policies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Sha; Tan, Qing; Evans, Meredydd; Kyle, Page; Vu, Linh; Patel, Pralit L.

    2017-11-01

    India is expected to add 40 billion m2 of new buildings till 2050. Buildings are responsible for one third of India’s total energy consumption today and building energy use is expected to continue growing driven by rapid income and population growth. The implementation of the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) is one of the measures to improve building energy efficiency. Using the Global Change Assessment Model, this study assesses growth in the buildings sector and impacts of building energy policies in Gujarat, which would help the state adopt ECBC and expand building energy efficiency programs. Without building energy policies, building energy use in Gujarat would grow by 15 times in commercial buildings and 4 times in urban residential buildings between 2010 and 2050. ECBC improves energy efficiency in commercial buildings and could reduce building electricity use in Gujarat by 20% in 2050, compared to the no policy scenario. Having energy codes for both commercial and residential buildings could result in additional 10% savings in electricity use. To achieve these intended savings, it is critical to build capacity and institution for robust code implementation.

  14. Energy-saving implications from supply chain improvement: An exploratory study on China's consumer goods retail system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Xi; Cai, Hua; Florig, H. Keith

    2016-01-01

    Despite significant public attentions to green supply chain management, few studies have explicitly addressed the energy implications of consumer-goods supply surplus, especially in developing countries like China. This study explored the energy-saving potential from improving supply chain efficiencies and reducing excess inventory in China's retail system from a life-cycle perspective. Through embodied energy analysis, we found that energy invested pre-manufacture contributed 80–95% of the total energy embodied in consumer products. Although embodied energy intensities had declined by 60–90% since the mid-1990s, the lessened marginal improvements implied that 'low hanging fruits' have largely been captured, and the search for new opportunities for energy-saving is in demand. Positive correlations between total economic inputs and embodied energy in consumer goods indicated possible synergy effect between cost-reduction and energy-saving in supply system management. And structural path analysis identified sector-specific energy management priorities for each retail-related sector. This study suggested that improving supply chain efficiencies provides a promising supplement to China's current industrial energy-efficient projects which target reducing direct energy use per se as an intra-firm cost-saving measure. From the life-cycle perspective, the definition of 'green sector' might have to be reconsidered in China towards a more energy-efficient economy and society.

  15. Trade-offs between Energy Efficiency improvements and additional Renewable Energy supply: A review of international experiences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baldini, Mattia; Klinge Jacobsen, Henrik

    improvements made in the energy saving field. Indeed, less attention has been paid to implement energy efficiency measures in energy systems modeling, which has resulted in scenarios where expedients for a wise use of energy (e.g. energy savings and renewables’ share) are unbalanced and cost......-savings opportunities are missed. The aim of this paper is to review and evaluate international experiences on finding the optimal trade-off between efficiency improvements and additional renewable energy supply. A critical review of each technique, focusing on purposes, methodology and outcomes, is provided along......-makers, informations useful for identify a suitable analysis for investigate on the optimal trade-off between renewables and energy efficiency measures in energy-systems under different objectives....

  16. Improved time to exhaustion following ingestion of the energy drink Amino Impact™

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ratamess Nicholas A

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a commercially available energy drink on time to exhaustion during treadmill exercise. In addition, subjective measures of energy, focus, and fatigue were examined Methods Fifteen subjects (9 men and 6 women; 20.9 ± 1.0 y; 172.1 ± 9.1 cm; 71.0 ± 9.4 kg; 16.9 ± 9.7% body fat underwent two testing sessions administered in a randomized, double-blind fashion. Subjects reported to the laboratory in a 3-hr post-absorptive state and were provided either the supplement (SUP; commercially marketed as Amino Impact™ or placebo (P. During each laboratory visit subjects performed a treadmill run (70% VO2 max to exhaustion. Mean VO2 was measured during each endurance exercise protocol. Subjects were required to complete visual analog scales for subjective measures of energy, focus and fatigue at the onset of exercise (PRE, 10-mins into their run (EX10 and immediately post-exercise (IP. Results Time to exhaustion was significantly greater (p = 0.012 during SUP than P. Subjects consuming the supplement were able to run 12.5% longer than during the placebo treatment. Subjects consuming SUP reported significantly greater focus (p = 0.031, energy (p = 0.016, and less fatigue (p = 0.005 at PRE. Significant differences between groups were seen at EX10 for focus (p = 0.026 and energy (p = 0.004, but not fatigue (p = 0.123. No differences were seen at IP for either focus (p = 0.215, energy (p = 0.717 or fatigue (p = 0.430. Conclusions Results of this study indicate that the supplement Amino Impact™ can significantly increase time to exhaustion during a moderate intensity endurance run and improve subjective feelings of focus, energy and fatigue.

  17. Which Subsidy Mode Improves the Financial Performance of Renewable Energy Firms? A Panel Data Analysis of Wind and Solar Energy Companies between 2009 and 2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huiming Zhang

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The effectiveness of subsidies in improving the performance of renewable energy firms has aroused significant research attention in recent years. As subsidy modes may affect corporate financial performance,we have chosen companies specializing in wind and solar energy in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets as samples.The relationships between the subsidy modes and financial performance of these two types of companies are investigated with a panel data model. Results of the total sample indicate that both indirect and non-innovative subsidy have significant effects on the financial performance of renewable energy companies. The regressive coefficient of the former,however, is a negative value, which illustrates that taxation, bonus, and other market-based mechanisms impair corporate profitability. Moreover, the influence of innovative subsidy is weak, which means that the subsidy used for research and development, technical demonstration, and other innovations of renewable energy enterprises have failed to effectively enhance corporate financial performance. In terms of sub-industries, the direct subsidy for wind energy companies has achieved a significant effect. Incomparison, the indirect subsidy and innovative subsidy acquired by solar energy companies have notably reduced corporate profitability. Thissuggests an urgent reform of subsidy policy for this industry is needed. The government should consider differences in the effects subsidies have for wind and solar energy companies when improving subsidy policy. In addition, market-based subsidy mechanisms should be perfected, and the structure of innovative subsidies should be ameliorated.

  18. Improved energy efficiency in sawmill drying system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, Jan-Olof; Westerlund, Lars

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A heating system at a sawmill was investigated and improved. • Different impacts of external technologies at the energy usage were explored. • The heat and electricity consumption was analysed separate between technologies type. • The result point out a significant decrease of the biomass consumptions. - Abstract: The worldwide use of biomass has increased drastically during the last decade. At Swedish sawmills about half of the entering timber becomes lumber, with the remainder considered as by-product (biomass). A significant part of this biomass is used for internal heat production, mainly for forced drying of lumber in drying kilns. Large heat losses in kilns arise due to difficulties in recovering evaporative heat in moist air at low temperatures. This paper addresses the impact of available state-of-the-art technologies of heat recycling on the most common drying schemes used in Swedish sawmills. Simulations of different technologies were performed on an hourly basis to compare the heat and electricity demand with the different technologies. This was executed for a total sawmill and finally to the national level to assess the potential effects upon energy efficiency and biomass consumption. Since some techniques produce a surplus of heat the comparison has to include the whole sawmill. The impact on a national level shows the potential of the different investigated techniques. The results show that if air heat exchangers were introduced across all sawmills in Sweden, the heat demand would decrease by 0.3 TWh/year. The mechanical heat pump technology would decrease the heat demand by 5.6 TWh/year and would also produce a surplus for external heat sinks, though electricity demand would increase by 1 TWh/year. The open absorption system decreases the heat demand by 3.4 TWh/year on a national level, though at the same time there is a moderate increase in electricity demand of 0.05 TWh/year. Introducing actual energy prices in Sweden gives an

  19. Improving energy efficiency in the transportation sector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Plotkin, S.E.

    1994-12-31

    A primary characteristic of transportation in the United States is its high per capita energy consumption. The average US citizen consumes nearly five times as much energy for transportation as the average Japanese and nearly three times as much as the average citizen of France, Britain, or West Germany. The energy efficiency of US transportation has improved substantially over the past two decades (both absolutely and in comparison to Europe), and US travel volume has grown more slowly than in most of the developed world. However, the United States still consumes more than one-third of the world`s transport energy. Also, 96 percent of US transport energy is in the form of oil products. This is more oil than the United States produces, despite its position as one of the world`s largest oil producers. With current problems and expectation of continued growth in travel and energy use, Congress has increasingly turned to transportation energy conservation - in the form of improvements in the technical efficiency of travel, increases in load factors, reductions in travel demand, shifting to alternative fuels, and shifts to more efficient travel modes - as an important policy goal. For example, the Clean Air Amendments of 1990 incorporate transportation demand management as a critical tool in reducing urban air pollution. Legislation proposed in the 102d Congress sought rigorous new automobile and light truck fuel economy standards. With continued increases in U.S. oil imports, urban traffic congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions, and the failure of many urban areas to meet air quality standards, strong congressional interest in new energy conservation initiates is likely to continue.

  20. Low-calorie energy drink improves physiological response to exercise in previously sedentary men: a placebo-controlled efficacy and safety study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lockwood, Christopher M; Moon, Jordan R; Smith, Abbie E; Tobkin, Sarah E; Kendall, Kristina L; Graef, Jennifer L; Cramer, Joel T; Stout, Jeffrey R

    2010-08-01

    Energy drink use has grown despite limited research to support efficacy or safety and amid concerns when combined with exercise. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of 10 weeks of once-daily energy drink consumption or energy drink consumption with exercise on measures of body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, strength, mood, and safety in previously sedentary males. Thirty-eight males were randomly assigned to energy drink + exercise (EX-A), energy drink (NEX-A), placebo + exercise (EX-B), or placebo (NEX-B). All participants consumed 1 drink per day for 10 weeks; EX-A and EX-B participated in 10 weeks of resistance and endurance exercise. Testing was performed before (PRE) and after (POST) the 10-week intervention. No significant (p > 0.05) changes were observed for body composition, fitness, or strength in NEX-A; however, significantly greater decreases in fat mass and percentage body fat and increases in VO2peak were observed in EX-A versus EX-B. Ventilatory threshold (VT), minute ventilation, VO2 at VT, and power output at VT improved significantly PRE to POST in EX-A but not in EX-B or nonexercising groups. Clinical markers for hepatic, renal, cardiovascular, and immune function, as determined by PRE and POST blood work revealed no adverse effects in response to the energy drink. Mood was not affected by energy drink use. Absent energy restriction or other dietary controls, chronic ingestion of a once-daily low-calorie energy drink appears ineffective at improving body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, or strength in sedentary males. However, when combined with exercise, preworkout energy drink consumption may significantly improve some physiological adaptations to combined aerobic and resistance training.

  1. Rapeseed is an efficient energy crop which can still improve

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flenet Francis

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available The ability of biofuels to contribute efficiently to the replacement of fossil energy and to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions has been a matter of debate. Hence, there is a need to assess accurately the energy balance of biofuels and their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in order to evaluate and to improve the benefit for society. In rapeseed, the energy ratio (energy produced per unit of non-renewable energy input is well above 2 whatever the method of calculation. In order to investigate the variability of energy ratios and to identify ways of improvement, a study was conducted in France in 2005 and 2006. The method of mass allocation of input energy was used for calculations, instead of the substitution method, because with this method the results do not depend on the utilization of co-products. Hence, this method is better adapted to follow improvements. A great variability in the energy ratio was observed in 2005 and 2006. Seed yields and energy cost of fertilizer N explained most of this variability. Hence, improvements should focus on increasing yield with little increase in energy cost, and on decreasing wasting of N fertilizer. However the farmer incomes, and the net production of energy per hectare, must also be a matter of concern. The inventories of greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels are still uncertain because of the great variability of soil emissions, due to environmental and management factors. Hence, in order to assess the effect of rapeseed on greenhouse gas emissions, methods based on process-oriented models accounting for these factors must be used. Such models give promising results, but further testing is still needed.

  2. Hunger can be taught: Hunger Recognition regulates eating and improves energy balance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ciampolini M

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Mario Ciampolini,1 David Lovell-Smith,2 Timothy Kenealy,3 Riccardo Bianchi4 1Unit of Preventive Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatrics, Università di Firenze, Florence, Italy; 2Department of General Practice, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand; 3Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; 4Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA Abstract: A set of spontaneous hunger sensations, Initial Hunger (IH, has been associated with low blood glucose concentration (BG. These sensations may arise pre-meal or can be elicited by delaying a meal. With self-measurement of BG, subjects can be trained to formally identify and remember these sensations (Hunger Recognition. Subjects can then be trained to ensure that IH is present pre-meal for most meals and that their pre-meal BG is therefore low consistently (IH Meal Pattern. IH includes the epigastric Empty Hollow Sensation (the most frequent and recognizable as well as less specific sensations such as fatigue or light-headedness which is termed inanition. This report reviews the method for identifying IH and the effect of the IH Meal Pattern on energy balance. In adults, the IH Meal Pattern has been shown to significantly decrease energy intake by one-third, decrease preprandial BG, reduce glycosylated hemoglobin, and reduce insulin resistance and weight in those who are insulin resistant or overweight. Young children as well as adults can be trained in Hunger Recognition, giving them an elegant method for achieving energy balance without the stress of restraint-type dieting. The implications of improving insulin sensitivity through improved energy balance are as wide as improving immune activity. Keywords: energy intake, hunger, energy balance, food intake regulation, prevention, insulin resistance, obesity, diabetes, inflammation, risks

  3. Portal imaging improvement with a low energy un flattened beam in high energy medical accelerators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krutman, Y; Faermann, S; Tsechanski, A [Ben-Gurion Univ. of the Negev, Beersheba (Israel)

    1996-12-01

    In this work we present a further improvement of the portal film option, for a Clinac 18 accelerator with a 10 MV therapeutic x-ray beam. This is done by lowering the nominal photon energy to 4 MV, therefore increasing the relative contribution of the low energy portion of the x-ray spectrum. Improvement of the image quality is demonstrated with a portal film scale tray, and with an anthropomorphic phantom, a graphical analysis demonstrates the improvement on image (authors).

  4. Nuclear energy significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koprda, V.

    2006-01-01

    This article is devoted to nuclear energy, to its acceptability, compatibility and sustainability. Nuclear energy is non-dispensable part of energy sources with vast innovation potential. The safety of nuclear energy, radioactive waste deposition, and prevention of risk from misuse of nuclear material have to be very seriously adjudged and solved. Nuclear energy is one of the ways how to decrease the contamination of atmosphere with carbon dioxide and it solves partially also the problem of global increase of temperature and climate changes. Given are the main factors responsible for the renaissance of nuclear energy. (author)

  5. The significance of energy for the economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spreng, D.; Schwarz, J.

    1993-01-01

    The importance of energy for the economy is described here in practical terms. This is meant for the works and workshop manager, maintenance chief, energy specialist, sales staff of industrial and business organisations. The term 'potential for saving energy' is extensively discussed. Statistical research shows a clear connection between energy application and growth of the economy. Fact: a rational use of energy is worth while in many aspects. figs., tabs., 14 refs

  6. Evaluating games console electricity use : technologies and policy options to improve energy efficiency.

    OpenAIRE

    Webb, Amanda E.

    2016-01-01

    Energy efficiency regulations and standards are increasingly being used as an approach to reduce the impact of appliances on climate change. Each new generation of games consoles is significantly different to the last and their cumulative electricity use has risen due to improved performance and functionality and increasing sales. As a result, consoles have been identified in the EU, US and Australia as a product group with the potential for significant electricity savings. However, there is ...

  7. Protein and energy intake improved by breakfast intervention in hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beermann, T; Mortensen, M N; Skadhauge, L B; Høgsted, R H; Rasmussen, H H; Holst, Mette

    2016-06-01

    Undernutrition affects about 40% of patients in hospitals. Ordinary food is recommended as the first choice to prevent and correct undernutrition. Meanwhile, sufficient intake, especially regarding protein, is difficult to reach, in patients at nutritional risk. The aim of this study was to improve protein intake at breakfast to at least 20% of total daily requirement or at least 20 g. A protein rich breakfast including 20 g of protein was served in the departments of heart and lung surgery and vascular surgery for three months. Nutrition intake was registered before and after intervention. Food intake records were collected from 32 and 30 patients respectively, mean age 69 (SD 8) years. At breakfast, protein intake was improved from 14% of individual requirements to 22% (penergy intake was improved from 18% to 25% (p=0.01). Total amount of protein intake for breakfast was increased from 14 g to 20 g (pprotein intake increased from 64% to 77% (p=0.05) and total energy intake from 76% to 99% (pProtein and energy intake for surgical patients at breakfast as well as total daily intake was significantly increased to meet recommended average level for minimum individually measured requirements. Copyright © 2016 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Improved energy efficiency in juice production through waste heat recycling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, J.-O.; Elfgren, E.; Westerlund, L.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A heating system at a juice production was investigated and improved. • Different impacts of drying cycle improvements at the energy usage were explored. • The total heat use for drying could thereby be decreased with 52%. • The results point out a significant decrease of heat consumption with low investment costs. - Abstract: Berry juice concentrate is produced by pressing berries and heating up the juice. The by-products are berry skins and seeds in a press cake. Traditionally, these by-products have been composted, but due to their valuable nutrients, it could be profitable to sell them instead. The skins and seeds need to be separated and dried to a moisture content of less than 10 %wt (on dry basis) in order to avoid fermentation. A berry juice plant in the north of Sweden has been studied in order to increase the energy and resource efficiency, with special focus on the drying system. This was done by means of process integration with mass and energy balance, theory from thermodynamics and psychrometry along with measurements of the juice plant. Our study indicates that the drying system could be operated at full capacity without any external heat supply using waste heat supplied from the juice plant. This would be achieved by increasing the efficiency of the dryer by recirculation of the drying air and by heat supply from the flue gases of the industrial boiler. The recirculation would decrease the need of heat in the dryer with about 52%. The total heat use for the plant could thereby be decreased from 1262 kW to 1145 kW. The improvements could be done without compromising the production quality

  9. Nuts Improve Diet Quality Compared to Other Energy-Dense Snacks While Maintaining Body Weight

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siew Ling Tey

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies have reported that regular nut consumption reduces cardiovascular disease (CVD risk and does not promote weight gain despite the fact that nuts are energy-dense. However, no studies have investigated the body composition of those regularly consuming nuts compared to similar intakes of other snacks of equal energy density. This parallel study (n = 118 examined the effects of providing daily portions (~1100 kJ/d of hazelnuts, chocolate, or potato crisps compared to a control group receiving no snacks for twelve weeks. Effects on body weight and composition, blood lipids and lipoproteins, resting metabolic rate (RMR, appetite indices, and dietary quality were compared. At week 12, there was no significant difference in any of the outcome measurements between the groups except for dietary quality, which improved significantly in the nut group. Nuts can be incorporated into the diet without adversely affecting body weight and can improve diet quality.

  10. Description of occupant behaviour in building energy simulation: state-of-art and concepts for improvements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fabi, Valentina; Andersen, Rune Vinther; Corgnati, Stefano Paolo

    2011-01-01

    of basic assumptions that affect the results. Therefore, the calculated energy performance may differ significantly from the real energy consumption. One of the key reasons is the current inability to properly model occupant behaviour and to quantify the associated uncertainties in building performance...... predictions. By consequence, a better description of parameters related to occupant behaviour is highly required. In this paper, the state of art in occupant behaviour modelling within energy simulation tools is analysed and some concepts related to possible improvements of simulation tools are proposed...

  11. The energetic significance of cooking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carmody, Rachel N; Wrangham, Richard W

    2009-10-01

    While cooking has long been argued to improve the diet, the nature of the improvement has not been well defined. As a result, the evolutionary significance of cooking has variously been proposed as being substantial or relatively trivial. In this paper, we evaluate the hypothesis that an important and consistent effect of cooking food is a rise in its net energy value. The pathways by which cooking influences net energy value differ for starch, protein, and lipid, and we therefore consider plant and animal foods separately. Evidence of compromised physiological performance among individuals on raw diets supports the hypothesis that cooked diets tend to provide energy. Mechanisms contributing to energy being gained from cooking include increased digestibility of starch and protein, reduced costs of digestion for cooked versus raw meat, and reduced energetic costs of detoxification and defence against pathogens. If cooking consistently improves the energetic value of foods through such mechanisms, its evolutionary impact depends partly on the relative energetic benefits of non-thermal processing methods used prior to cooking. We suggest that if non-thermal processing methods such as pounding were used by Lower Palaeolithic Homo, they likely provided an important increase in energy gain over unprocessed raw diets. However, cooking has critical effects not easily achievable by non-thermal processing, including the relatively complete gelatinisation of starch, efficient denaturing of proteins, and killing of food borne pathogens. This means that however sophisticated the non-thermal processing methods were, cooking would have conferred incremental energetic benefits. While much remains to be discovered, we conclude that the adoption of cooking would have led to an important rise in energy availability. For this reason, we predict that cooking had substantial evolutionary significance.

  12. Optimal trade-offs between energy efficiency improvements and additional renewable energy supply: A review of international experiences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baldini, Mattia; Klinge Jacobsen, Henrik

    2016-01-01

    the improvements made in the energy saving field. Indeed, little attention has been paid to implement energy efficiency measures, which has resulted in scenarios where expedients for a wise use of energy (e.g. energy savings and renewables share) are unbalanced. The aim of this paper is to review and evaluate...... international experiences on finding the optimal trade-off between efficiency improvements and additional renewable energy supply. A critical review of each technique, focusing on purposes, methodology and outcomes, is provided along with a review of tools adopted for the analyses. The models are categorized...... trade-off between renewables and energy efficiency measures in energy-systems under different objectives....

  13. Intermittent Moderate Energy Restriction Improves Weight Loss Efficiency in Diet-Induced Obese Mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radhika V Seimon

    Full Text Available Intermittent severe energy restriction is popular for weight management. To investigate whether intermittent moderate energy restriction may improve this approach by enhancing weight loss efficiency, we conducted a study in mice, where energy intake can be controlled.Male C57/Bl6 mice that had been rendered obese by an ad libitum diet high in fat and sugar for 22 weeks were then fed one of two energy-restricted normal chow diets for a 12-week weight loss phase. The continuous diet (CD provided 82% of the energy intake of age-matched ad libitum chow-fed controls. The intermittent diet (ID provided cycles of 82% of control intake for 5-6 consecutive days, and ad libitum intake for 1-3 days. Weight loss efficiency during this phase was calculated as (total weight change ÷ [(total energy intake of mice on CD or ID-(total average energy intake of controls]. Subsets of mice then underwent a 3-week weight regain phase involving ad libitum re-feeding.Mice on the ID showed transient hyperphagia relative to controls during each 1-3-day ad libitum feeding period, and overall ate significantly more than CD mice (91.1±1.0 versus 82.2±0.5% of control intake respectively, n = 10, P<0.05. There were no significant differences between CD and ID groups at the end of the weight loss or weight regain phases with respect to body weight, fat mass, circulating glucose or insulin concentrations, or the insulin resistance index. Weight loss efficiency was significantly greater with ID than with CD (0.042±0.007 versus 0.018±0.001 g/kJ, n = 10, P<0.01. Mice on the CD exhibited significantly greater hypothalamic mRNA expression of proopiomelanocortin (POMC relative to ID and control mice, with no differences in neuropeptide Y or agouti-related peptide mRNA expression between energy-restricted groups.Intermittent moderate energy restriction may offer an advantage over continuous moderate energy restriction, because it induces significantly greater weight loss relative

  14. Energy-Efficiency Improvement Opportunities for the Textile Industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    China Energy Group; Hasanbeigi, Ali

    2010-09-29

    The textile industry is one of the most complicated manufacturing industries because it is a fragmented and heterogeneous sector dominated by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Energy is one of the main cost factors in the textile industry. Especially in times of high energy price volatility, improving energy efficiency should be a primary concern for textile plants. There are various energy-efficiency opportunities that exist in every textile plant, many of which are cost-effective. However, even cost-effective options often are not implemented in textile plants mostly because of limited information on how to implement energy-efficiency measures, especially given the fact that a majority of textile plants are categorized as SMEs and hence they have limited resources to acquire this information. Know-how on energy-efficiency technologies and practices should, therefore, be prepared and disseminated to textile plants. This guidebook provides information on energy-efficiency technologies and measures applicable to the textile industry. The guidebook includes case studies from textile plants around the world and includes energy savings and cost information when available. First, the guidebook gives a brief overview of the textile industry around the world, with an explanation of major textile processes. An analysis of the type and the share of energy used in different textile processes is also included in the guidebook. Subsequently, energy-efficiency improvement opportunities available within some of the major textile sub-sectors are given with a brief explanation of each measure. The conclusion includes a short section dedicated to highlighting a few emerging technologies in the textile industry as well as the potential for the use of renewable energy in the textile industry.

  15. Industrial Energy Management Decision Making for Improved Energy Efficiency—Strategic System Perspectives and Situated Action in Combination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrik Thollander

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Improved industrial energy efficiency is a cornerstone in climate change mitigation. Research results suggest that there is still major untapped potential for improved industrial energy efficiency. The major model used to explain the discrepancy between optimal level of energy efficiency and the current level is the barrier model, e.g., different barriers to energy efficiency inhibit adoption of cost-effective measures. The measures outlined in research and policy action plans are almost exclusively technology-oriented, but great potential for energy efficiency improvements is also found in operational measures. Both technology and operational measures are combined in successful energy management practices. Most research in the field of energy management is grounded in engineering science, and theoretical models on how energy management in industry is carried out are scarce. One way to further develop and improve energy management, both theoretically as well as practically, is to explore how a socio-technical perspective can contribute to this understanding. In this article we will further elaborate this potential of cross-pollinating these fields. The aim of this paper is to relate energy management to two theoretical models, situated action and transaction analysis. We conclude that the current model for energy management systems, the input-output model, is insufficient for understanding in-house industrial energy management practices. By the incorporation of situated action and transaction analysis to the currently used input-output model, an enhanced understanding of the complexity of energy management is gained. It is not possible to find a single energy management solution suitable for any industrial company, but rather the idea is to find a reflexive model that can be adjusted from time to time. An idea for such a reflexive model would contain the structural elements from energy management models with consideration for decisions being

  16. Polymer-Polymer Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Significantly Boosts the Power Conversion Efficiency of Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Vinay; Bharti, Vishal; Kumar, Mahesh; Chand, Suresh; Heeger, Alan J

    2015-08-01

    Optically resonant donor polymers can exploit a wider range of the solar spectrum effectively without a complicated tandem design in an organic solar cell. Ultrafast Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) in a polymer-polymer system that significantly improves the power conversion efficiency in bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells from 6.8% to 8.9% is demonstrated, thus paving the way to achieving 15% efficient solar cells. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Inhaler Reminders Significantly Improve Asthma Patients' Use of Controller Medications

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... controller medications Share | Inhaler reminders significantly improve asthma patients’ use of controller medications Published Online: July 22, ... the burden and risk of asthma, but many patients do not use them regularly. This poor adherence ...

  18. Energy deposition and the formation of biologically significant lesions by accelerated ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kiefer, J.

    1985-01-01

    The assumption that the number of biologically significant lesions depends only on the amount of of energy absorbed in a critical cellular site is not able to explain the increase of RBE with LET and leads to large discrepancies between predicted and measured inactivation cross sections in the LET range between 20 and 200 keV.μm -1 . It has, therefore, to be concluded that not only the amount of energy absorbed but also the spatial pattern of this deposition plays a decisive role. In the model presented it is postulated that two or more energy deposition events in nanometre sites are required for the formation of biologically significant lesions. This cooperative action has to take place in very short times so that only interactions within a single particle track contribute. The mathematical treatment will be outlined and qualitatively shown that the model is able to predict RBE-LET relationships. The calculations use a track structure model based on classical collision mechanics. It is compared with existing experimental results showing good agreement at least for higher particle energies. (author)

  19. Using Dashboards to Improve Energy and Comfort in Federal Buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Marini, Kyle; Ghatikar, Girish; Diamond, Richard

    2011-02-01

    Federal agencies are taking many steps to improve the sustainability of their operations, including improving the energy efficiency of their buildings, promoting recycling and reuse of materials, encouraging carpooling and alternative transit schemes, and installing low flow water fixture units are just a few of the common examples. However, an often overlooked means of energy savings is to provide feedback to building users about their energy use through information dashboards connected to a building?s energy information system. An Energy Information System (EIS), broadly defined, is a package of performance monitoring software, data acquisition hardware, and communication systems that is used to collect, store, analyze, and display energy information. At a minimum, the EIS provides the whole-building energy-use information (Granderson 2009a). We define a ?dashboard? as a display and visualization tool that utilizes the EIS data and technology to provide critical information to users. This information can lead to actions resulting in energy savings, comfort improvements, efficient operations, and more. The tools to report analyzed information have existed in the information technology as business intelligence (Few 2006). The dashboard is distinguished from the EIS as a whole, which includes additional hardware and software components to collect and storage data, and analysis for resources and energy management (Granderson 2009b). EIS can be used for a variety of uses, including benchmarking, base-lining, anomaly detection, off-hours energy use evaluation, load shape optimization, energy rate analysis, retrofit and retro-commissioning savings (Granderson 2009a). The use of these EIS features depends on the specific users. For example, federal and other building managers may use anomaly detection to identify energy waste in a specific building, or to benchmark energy use in similar buildings to identify energy saving potential and reduce operational cost. There are

  20. Energy saving certificates: an improved instrument

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2016-02-01

    This report first presents Energy Saving Certificates as one of among other instruments aimed at reducing energy consumption, and indicates how the French consumer is concerned. The benefits of this instrument are outlined: low cost, autonomy, awareness-raising, quantitative assessment of achieved energy savings. Its objectives and results since its creation in 2006 are commented, and the report outlines that this type of instrument is spreading over Europe. The authors show that its efficiency has been improved along the years due to a periodic review of standardised operation sheets, a simplification of the declaration, and an optimization of related programmes. Besides, targets have been better identified. The report outlines that assessment and controls must however be strengthened in order to reduce financial risks and potential drifts. Answers to this report by the concerned minister and ADEME are provided

  1. The improvement gap in energy intensity: Analysis of China's thirty provincial regions using the improved DEA (data envelopment analysis) model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Ke; Lin, Boqiang

    2015-01-01

    Enacting a reduction target for energy intensity in provinces has become an important issue for the central and local governments in China. But the energy intensity index has provided little information about energy efficiency improvement potential. This study re-estimates the TFEE (total-factor energy efficiency) using an improved DEA (data envelopment analysis) model, which combines the super-efficiency and sequential DEA models to avoid “discriminating power problem” and “technical regress”, and then used it to calculated the TEI (target for energy intensity). The REI (improvement potential in energy intensity) is calculated by the difference between TEI and the actual level of energy intensity. In application, we calculate the REIs for different provinces under the metafrontier and group-frontier respectively, and their ratios are the technology gaps for energy use. The main result shows that China's REIs fluctuate around 21%, 7.5% and 12% for Eastern, Central and Western China respectively; and Eastern China has the highest level of energy technology. These findings reveal that energy intensities of China's provinces do not converge to the optimal level. Therefore, the target of energy-saving policy for regions should be enhancing the energy efficiency of the inefficient ones, and thereby reduce the gap for improvement in energy intensity across regions. - Highlights: • We present an improved DEA model to calculate the TFEE (total-factor energy efficiency). • The improved TFEE combines with a meta-frontier analysis. • We estabilish a new indicator for improvement gap in energy intensity. • Improvement in energy intensity of regions in China is analysed

  2. Advanced Energy Retrofit Guide: Practical Ways to Improve Energy Performance, K-12 Schools (Book)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2013-12-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy developed the Advanced Energy Retrofit Guides (AERGs) to provide specific methodologies, information, and guidance to help energy managers and other stakeholders plan and execute energy efficiency improvements. Detailed technical discussion is fairly limited. Instead, we emphasize actionable information, practical methodologies, diverse case studies, and unbiased evaluations of the most promising retrofit energy efficiency measures for each building type. A series of AERGs is under development, addressing key segments of the commercial building stock. K-12 schools were selected as one of the highest priority building sectors, because schools affect the lives of most Americans. They also represent approximately 8% of the energy use and 10% of the floor area in commercial buildings nationwide. U.S. K-12 school districts spend more than $8 billion each year on energy - more than they spend on computers and textbooks combined. Most occupy older buildings that often have poor operational performance - more than 30% of schools were built before 1960. The average age of a school is about 42 years - which is nearly the expected serviceable lifespan of the building. K-12 schools offer unique opportunities for deep, cost-effective energy efficiency improvements, and this guide provides convenient and practical guidance for exploiting these opportunities in the context of public, private, and parochial schools.

  3. PV in Japan - improving energy security?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon

    2002-01-01

    Currently, almost 80% of Japan's primary energy is imported and about 50% of this comes from politically unstable countries. The Japanese are now working hard to improve energy security in a clean and sustainable fashion. Since the wind patterns are not favourable for wind power, the emphasis is on photovoltaics (PVs), and many companies that once manufactured integrated circuits are now working on solar cells where their knowledge and experience of mass production, quality control, sales and marketing stand them in good stead. It is expected that the Japanese will be world leaders in the making and export of solar equipment, as well as one of the world's greatest users

  4. Indoor climate quality after renovation for improved energy efficiency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gunnarsen, Lars Bo; Løck, Sebastian; Kolarik, Barbara

    2016-01-01

    The building sector is responsible for approximately 40 % of the Danish energy consumption. As every year less than 1 % of the building stock is rebuild after demolition of old buildings, improved energy efficiency of existing buildings are in focus. In the late seventies to mid-eighties unwise...... performance. The indoor quality classifications show minor improvements. By using design tools beyond the simple legal requirements, the rental dwelling marked is a far step ahead of most retrofitting of owner-occupied dwellings and houses. The fear of indoor climate degradation from retrofitted energy saving...... measures may be countered by the use of modern design tools and attention to inner moisture membranes and needs for renovation of ventilation systems....

  5. Efficiency improvement for vehicle powertrains using energy integration techniques

    OpenAIRE

    Dimitrova, Zlatina; Maréchal, François

    2016-01-01

    The main design criteria for the modern sustainable development of vehicle powertrains are the high energy efficiency of the conversion system, the competitive cost and the lowest possible environmental impacts. The need for efficiency improvement of the vehicle energy system induces the search for an innovative methodology during the design process. In this article the energy services for mobility and comfort are integrated. The energy integration of the mobility and the comfort service is a...

  6. Waste Minimization Improvements Achieved Through Six Sigma Analysis Result In Significant Cost Savings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mousseau, Jeffrey D.; Jansen, John R.; Janke, David H.; Plowman, Catherine M.

    2003-01-01

    Improved waste minimization practices at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) are leading to a 15% reduction in the generation of hazardous and radioactive waste. Bechtel, BWXT Idaho, LLC (BBWI), the prime management and operations contractor at the INEEL, applied the Six Sigma improvement process to the INEEL Waste Minimization Program to review existing processes and define opportunities for improvement. Our Six Sigma analysis team: composed of an executive champion, process owner, a black belt and yellow belt, and technical and business team members used this statistical based process approach to analyze work processes and produced ten recommendations for improvement. Recommendations ranged from waste generator financial accountability for newly generated waste to enhanced employee recognition programs for waste minimization efforts. These improvements have now been implemented to reduce waste generation rates and are producing positive results

  7. Monte Carlo dose calculation improvements for low energy electron beams using eMC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fix, Michael K; Frei, Daniel; Volken, Werner; Born, Ernst J; Manser, Peter; Neuenschwander, Hans

    2010-01-01

    The electron Monte Carlo (eMC) dose calculation algorithm in Eclipse (Varian Medical Systems) is based on the macro MC method and is able to predict dose distributions for high energy electron beams with high accuracy. However, there are limitations for low energy electron beams. This work aims to improve the accuracy of the dose calculation using eMC for 4 and 6 MeV electron beams of Varian linear accelerators. Improvements implemented into the eMC include (1) improved determination of the initial electron energy spectrum by increased resolution of mono-energetic depth dose curves used during beam configuration; (2) inclusion of all the scrapers of the applicator in the beam model; (3) reduction of the maximum size of the sphere to be selected within the macro MC transport when the energy of the incident electron is below certain thresholds. The impact of these changes in eMC is investigated by comparing calculated dose distributions for 4 and 6 MeV electron beams at source to surface distance (SSD) of 100 and 110 cm with applicators ranging from 6 x 6 to 25 x 25 cm 2 of a Varian Clinac 2300C/D with the corresponding measurements. Dose differences between calculated and measured absolute depth dose curves are reduced from 6% to less than 1.5% for both energies and all applicators considered at SSD of 100 cm. Using the original eMC implementation, absolute dose profiles at depths of 1 cm, d max and R50 in water lead to dose differences of up to 8% for applicators larger than 15 x 15 cm 2 at SSD 100 cm. Those differences are now reduced to less than 2% for all dose profiles investigated when the improved version of eMC is used. At SSD of 110 cm the dose difference for the original eMC version is even more pronounced and can be larger than 10%. Those differences are reduced to within 2% or 2 mm with the improved version of eMC. In this work several enhancements were made in the eMC algorithm leading to significant improvements in the accuracy of the dose calculation

  8. Monte Carlo dose calculation improvements for low energy electron beams using eMC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fix, Michael K; Frei, Daniel; Volken, Werner; Neuenschwander, Hans; Born, Ernst J; Manser, Peter

    2010-08-21

    The electron Monte Carlo (eMC) dose calculation algorithm in Eclipse (Varian Medical Systems) is based on the macro MC method and is able to predict dose distributions for high energy electron beams with high accuracy. However, there are limitations for low energy electron beams. This work aims to improve the accuracy of the dose calculation using eMC for 4 and 6 MeV electron beams of Varian linear accelerators. Improvements implemented into the eMC include (1) improved determination of the initial electron energy spectrum by increased resolution of mono-energetic depth dose curves used during beam configuration; (2) inclusion of all the scrapers of the applicator in the beam model; (3) reduction of the maximum size of the sphere to be selected within the macro MC transport when the energy of the incident electron is below certain thresholds. The impact of these changes in eMC is investigated by comparing calculated dose distributions for 4 and 6 MeV electron beams at source to surface distance (SSD) of 100 and 110 cm with applicators ranging from 6 x 6 to 25 x 25 cm(2) of a Varian Clinac 2300C/D with the corresponding measurements. Dose differences between calculated and measured absolute depth dose curves are reduced from 6% to less than 1.5% for both energies and all applicators considered at SSD of 100 cm. Using the original eMC implementation, absolute dose profiles at depths of 1 cm, d(max) and R50 in water lead to dose differences of up to 8% for applicators larger than 15 x 15 cm(2) at SSD 100 cm. Those differences are now reduced to less than 2% for all dose profiles investigated when the improved version of eMC is used. At SSD of 110 cm the dose difference for the original eMC version is even more pronounced and can be larger than 10%. Those differences are reduced to within 2% or 2 mm with the improved version of eMC. In this work several enhancements were made in the eMC algorithm leading to significant improvements in the accuracy of the dose

  9. Robustness Improvement of Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage System in Microgrids Using an Energy Shaping Passivity-Based Control Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui Hou

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES systems, in which the proportional-integral (PI method is usually used to control the SMESs, have been used in microgrids for improving the control performance. However, the robustness of PI-based SMES controllers may be unsatisfactory due to the high nonlinearity and coupling of the SMES system. In this study, the energy shaping passivity (ESP-based control strategy, which is a novel nonlinear control based on the methodology of interconnection and damping assignment (IDA, is proposed for robustness improvement of SMES systems. A step-by-step design of the ESP-based method considering the robustness of SMES systems is presented. A comparative analysis of the performance between ESP-based and PI control strategies is shown. Simulation and experimental results prove that the ESP-based strategy achieves the stronger robustness toward the system parameter uncertainties than the conventional PI control. Besides, the use of ESP-based control method can reduce the eddy current losses of a SMES system due to the significant reduction of 2nd and 3rd harmonics of superconducting coil DC current.

  10. Advanced Energy Retrofit Guide: Practical Ways to Improve Energy Performance; Grocery Stores (Revised) (Book)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hendron, B.

    2013-07-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy developed the Advanced Energy Retrofit Guides (AERGs) to provide specific methodologies, information, and guidance to help energy managers and other stakeholders successfully plan and execute energy efficiency improvements. Detailed technical discussion is fairly limited in these guides. Instead, we emphasize actionable information, practical methodologies, diverse case studies, and unbiased evaluations of the most promising retrofit measures for each building type. A series of AERGs is under development, addressing key segments of the commercial building stock. Grocery stores were selected as one of the highest priority sectors, because they represent one of the most energy-intensive market segments.

  11. Future energy efficiency improvements within the US department of defense: Incentives and barriers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Umstattd, Ryan J.

    2009-01-01

    The present work describes the military impact of improved efficiency and then highlights existing technological, political, and financial barriers for improving overall energy efficiency. As the largest user of energy within the US government, the Department of Defense (DOD) is rightly concerned that any disruption to the nation's energy supply may have an extremely adverse impact on its military capabilities. The total solution to providing energy security will be multi-faceted with progress required on many fronts. Increasing the use of renewable energy sources and improving energy storage capabilities are gradually creating a positive impact, but investing in improving the overall efficiency of the military effort provides both immediate and long-lasting payback. One might suppose that a decrease in the energy used by the DOD should lead to a decrease in military capability, but historical data proves otherwise. It is shown that the military has additional impetus, compared to civilian consumers, to pursue energy-efficiency improvements. Many tools are available to help the DOD along this path, yet there remain obstacles which must first be identified and analyzed as discussed herein.

  12. Monosodium glutamate delivered in a protein-rich soup improves subsequent energy compensation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masic, Una; Yeomans, Martin R

    2014-01-01

    Previous research suggests that monosodium glutamate (MSG) may have a biphasic effect on appetite, increasing appetite within a meal with its flavour-enhancing effect, but enhancing subsequent satiety due to its proposed role as a predictor of protein content. The present study explored this by assessing the impact of a 450 g soup preload differing in MSG concentration (1 % MSG added (MSG+) or no MSG (MSG-)) and nutrient content (low-energy control or high-energy carbohydrate or high-energy protein) on rated appetite and ad libitum intake of a test meal in thirty-five low-restraint male volunteers using a within-participant design. Protein-rich preloads significantly reduced intake at the test meal and resulted in more accurate energy compensation than did carbohydrate-rich preloads. This energy compensation was stronger in the MSG+ protein conditions when compared with MSG+ carbohydrate conditions. No clear differences in rated appetite were seen in MSG or the macronutrient conditions alone during preload ingestion or 45 min after intake. Overall, these findings indicate that MSG may act to further improve energy compensation when provided in a protein-rich context.

  13. Improved sensitivity in patients with peripheral neuropathy: effects of monochromatic infrared photo energy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeLellis, Salvatore L; Carnegie, Dale H; Burke, Thomas J

    2005-01-01

    The medical records of 1,047 patients (mean age, 73 years) with established peripheral neuropathy were examined to determine whether treatment with monochromatic infrared photo energy was associated with increased foot sensitivity to the 5.07 Semmes-Weinstein monofilament. The peripheral neuropathy in 790 of these patients (75%) was due to diabetes mellitus. Before treatment with monochromatic infrared photo energy, of the ten tested sites (five on each foot), a mean +/- SD of 7.9 +/- 2.4 sites were insensitive to the 5.07 Semmes-Weinstein monofilament, and 1,033 patients exhibited loss of protective sensation. After treatment, the mean +/- SD number of insensate sites on both feet was 2.3 +/- 2.4, an improvement of 71%. Only 453 of 1,033 patients (43.9%) continued to have loss of protective sensation after treatment. Therefore, monochromatic infrared photo energy treatment seems to be associated with significant clinical improvement in foot sensation in patients, primarily Medicare aged, with peripheral neuropathy. Because insensitivity to the 5.07 Semmes-Weinstein monofilament has been reported to be a major risk factor for diabetic foot wounds, the use of monochromatic infrared photo energy may be associated with a reduced incidence of diabetic foot wounds and amputations.

  14. Waste-to-Energy: Hawaii and Guam Energy Improvement Technology Demonstration Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davis, J. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Gelman, R. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Tomberlin, G. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bain, R. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2014-03-01

    The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the U.S. Navy have worked together to demonstrate new or leading-edge commercial energy technologies whose deployment will support the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in meeting its energy efficiency and renewable energy goals while enhancing installation energy security. This is consistent with the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review report1 that encourages the use of 'military installations as a test bed to demonstrate and create a market for innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies coming out of the private sector and DOD and Department of Energy laboratories,' as well as the July 2010 memorandum of understanding between DOD and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that documents the intent to 'maximize DOD access to DOE technical expertise and assistance through cooperation in the deployment and pilot testing of emerging energy technologies.' As part of this joint initiative, a promising waste-to-energy (WTE) technology was selected for demonstration at the Hickam Commissary aboard the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH), Hawaii. The WTE technology chosen is called high-energy densification waste-to-energy conversion (HEDWEC). HEDWEC technology is the result of significant U.S. Army investment in the development of WTE technology for forward operating bases.

  15. Smart Microgrid Energy Management Controls for Improved Energy Efficiency and Renewables Integration at DoD Installations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-01

    reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; 2. Increased energy efficiency; and 3. Increased energy surety. This demonstration will also directly impact ...megawatt (MW), as well as a gas-fired cogeneration plant in excess of 7 MW. In the future, additional solar PV, fuel cells and advanced energy storage... Energy Management Controls for Improved Energy Efficiency and Renewables Integration at DoD Installations May 2013 Report Documentation Page Form

  16. A hybrid decision support system for sustainable office building renovation and energy performance improvement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Juan, Yi-Kai [Department of Architecture, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) (China); Center for Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness, Stanford University (United States); Gao, Peng [Department of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Tongji University (China); Wang, Jie [Center for Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness, Stanford University (United States)

    2010-03-15

    Energy consumption of buildings accounts for around 20-40% of all energy consumed in advanced countries. Over the last decade, more and more global organizations are investing significant resources to create sustainably built environments, emphasizing sustainable building renovation processes to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. This study develops an integrated decision support system to assess existing office building conditions and to recommend an optimal set of sustainable renovation actions, considering trade-offs between renovation cost, improved building quality, and environmental impacts. A hybrid approach that combines A* graph search algorithm with genetic algorithms (GA) is used to analyze all possible renovation actions and their trade-offs to develop the optimal solution. A two-stage system validation is performed to demonstrate the practical application of the hybrid approach: zero-one goal programming (ZOGP) and genetic algorithms are adopted to validate the effectiveness of the algorithm. A real-world renovation project is introduced to validate differences in energy performance projected for the renovation solution suggested by the system. The results reveal that the proposed hybrid system is more computationally effective than either ZOGP or GA alone. The system's suggested renovation actions would provide substantial energy performance improvements to the real project if implemented. (author)

  17. Electric power and its significance as the energy for innovation and progress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klinger, H.; Boehmer, T.

    1999-01-01

    The significance of electric power as the essential form of energy to support innovation and progress well into the future is explained with respect to four major domains of application: 1. Innovative activities in microelectronics and semiconductor technology, for applications such as automation and computer technology, instrumentation and control technology, facility and systems management and control. 2. Energy efficiency programmes and schemes for increasing the penetration of energiy from renewable sources in the market. Example: Heat pump technology. 3. Electric power as an energy boosting innovation in industrial production processes. Examples are given from the transportation sector. (orig./CB) [de

  18. Method for calculating annual energy efficiency improvement of TV sets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varman, M.; Mahlia, T.M.I.; Masjuki, H.H.

    2006-01-01

    The popularization of 24 h pay-TV, interactive video games, web-TV, VCD and DVD are poised to have a large impact on overall TV electricity consumption in the Malaysia. Following this increased consumption, energy efficiency standard present a highly effective measure for decreasing electricity consumption in the residential sector. The main problem in setting energy efficiency standard is identifying annual efficiency improvement, due to the lack of time series statistical data available in developing countries. This study attempts to present a method of calculating annual energy efficiency improvement for TV set, which can be used for implementing energy efficiency standard for TV sets in Malaysia and other developing countries. Although the presented result is only an approximation, definitely it is one of the ways of accomplishing energy standard. Furthermore, the method can be used for other appliances without any major modification

  19. Method for calculating annual energy efficiency improvement of TV sets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Varman, M. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Malaya, Lembah Pantai, 50603 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Mahlia, T.M.I. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Malaya, Lembah Pantai, 50603 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)]. E-mail: indra@um.edu.my; Masjuki, H.H. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Malaya, Lembah Pantai, 50603 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

    2006-10-15

    The popularization of 24 h pay-TV, interactive video games, web-TV, VCD and DVD are poised to have a large impact on overall TV electricity consumption in the Malaysia. Following this increased consumption, energy efficiency standard present a highly effective measure for decreasing electricity consumption in the residential sector. The main problem in setting energy efficiency standard is identifying annual efficiency improvement, due to the lack of time series statistical data available in developing countries. This study attempts to present a method of calculating annual energy efficiency improvement for TV set, which can be used for implementing energy efficiency standard for TV sets in Malaysia and other developing countries. Although the presented result is only an approximation, definitely it is one of the ways of accomplishing energy standard. Furthermore, the method can be used for other appliances without any major modification.

  20. Bedtime Blood Pressure Chronotherapy Significantly Improves Hypertension Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hermida, Ramón C; Ayala, Diana E; Fernández, José R; Mojón, Artemio; Crespo, Juan J; Ríos, María T; Smolensky, Michael H

    2017-10-01

    Consistent evidence of numerous studies substantiates the asleep blood pressure (BP) mean derived from ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) is both an independent and a stronger predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk than are daytime clinic BP measurements or the ABPM-determined awake or 24-hour BP means. Hence, cost-effective adequate control of sleep-time BP is of marked clinical relevance. Ingestion time, according to circadian rhythms, of hypertension medications of 6 different classes and their combinations significantly improves BP control, particularly sleep-time BP, and reduces adverse effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. National Emergency Preparedness and Response: Improving for Incidents of National Significance

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Clayton, Christopher M

    2006-01-01

    The national emergency management system has need of significant improvement in its contingency planning and early consolidation of effort and coordination between federal, state, and local agencies...

  2. Competitive energy markets. The effective route to improving the environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swinden, D.J.

    1996-01-01

    Market forces, operating in an increasingly competitive energy market, are a preferred route to achieving environmental and energy efficiency benefits, than those which can be achieved through a managed approach adopted by many governments. It is shown, through examples, how electricity is a catalyst for change at several levels in business, the community and the general economy. Experience in the United Kingdom indicates that free market forces and inter-energy competition not only help improve the regional and therefore national economy, but they offer a very effective way of introducing improvements in energy efficiency and the environment. Governments should establish the framework for competition and regulation but not attempt to manage an industry, which is invariably done more effectively by those who run them. (author)

  3. Significant thermal energy reduction in lactic acid production process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mujtaba, Iqbal M.; Edreder, Elmahboub A.; Emtir, Mansour

    2012-01-01

    Lactic acid is widely used as a raw material for the production of biodegradable polymers and in food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The global market for lactic acid is expected to reach 259 thousand metric tons by the year 2012. For batch production of lactic acid, the traditional process includes the following steps: (i) esterification of impure lactic acid with methanol in a batch reactor to obtain methyl lactate (ester), (ii) separation of the ester in a batch distillation, (iii) hydrolysis of the ester with water in a batch reactor to produce lactic acid and (iv) separation of lactic acid (in high purity) in a batch distillation. Batch reactive distillation combines the benefit of both batch reactor and batch distillation and enhances conversion and productivity (Taylor and Krishna, 2000 ; Mujtaba and Macchietto, 1997 ). Therefore, the first and the last two steps of the lactic acid production process can be combined together in batch reactive distillation () processes. However, distillation (batch or continuous) is an energy intensive process and consumes large amount of thermal energy (via steam). This paper highlights how significant (over 50%) reduction in thermal energy consumption can be achieved for lactic acid production process by carefully controlling the reflux ratio but without compromising the product specification. In this paper, only the simultaneous hydrolysis of methyl lactate ester and the separation of lactic acid using batch reactive distillation is considered.

  4. Priority directions of the improvement of energy management at the enterprise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyakova, Galina; Izmaylova, Svetlana; Mottaeva, Angela; Karanina, Elena

    2017-10-01

    The relevance of article is caused by the fact that at the industrial enterprises pay little attention to the matters of energy saving or to the management of energy efficiency. The authors of the article defined that the potential of the increase in energy efficiency as well as the improvement of quality of strategic management at the enterprise, is connected with investment into the human capital. For the improvement of system of energy management, the key indicators of energy efficiency at the individual level are defined, the algorithm of the development of key indicators by means of which the energy efficiency of the human capital will be measured is developed, actions for support to the developed transitional strategy of power management are offered, positive results of formation of the human capital directed to increase in energy efficiency are designated.

  5. Improving Vibration Energy Harvesting Using Dynamic Magnifier

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Almuatasim Alomari

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports on the design and evaluation of vibration-based piezoelectric energy-harvesting devices based on a polyvinylidene fluoride unimorph cantilever beam attached to the front of a dynamic magnifier. Experimental studies of the electromechanical frequency response functions are studied for the first three resonance frequencies. An analytical analysis is undertaken by applying the chain matrix in order to predict output voltage and output power with respect to the vibration frequency. The proposed harvester was modeled using MATLAB software and COMSOL multi- physics to study the mode shapes and electrical output parameters. The voltage and power output of the energy harvester with a dynamic magnifier was 2.62 V and 13.68 mW, respectively at the resonance frequency of the second mode. The modeling approach provides a basis to design energy harvesters exploiting dynamic magnification for improved performance and bandwidth. The potential application of such energy harvesting devices in the transport sector include autonomous structural health monitoring systems that often include embedded sensors, data acquisition, wireless communication, and energy harvesting systems.

  6. Refractories for Industrial Processing. Opportunities for Improved Energy Efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hemrick, James G. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Hayden, H. Wayne [Metals Manufacture Process and Controls Technology, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Angelini, Peter [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Moore, Robert E. [R.E. Moore Associates, Maricopa, AZ (United States); Headrick, William L. [R.E. Moore Associates, Maricopa, AZ (United States)

    2005-01-01

    Refractories are a class of materials of critical importance to manufacturing industries with high-temperature unit processes. This study describes industrial refractory applications and identifies refractory performance barriers to energy efficiency for processing. The report provides recommendations for R&D pathways leading to improved refractories for energy-efficient manufacturing and processing.

  7. Which Subsidy Mode Improves the Financial Performance of Renewable Energy Firms? A Panel Data Analysis of Wind and Solar Energy Companies between 2009 and 2014

    OpenAIRE

    Huiming Zhang; Yu Zheng; Dequn Zhou; Peifeng Zhu

    2015-01-01

    The effectiveness of subsidies in improving the performance of renewable energy firms has aroused significant research attention in recent years. As subsidy modes may affect corporate financial performance,we have chosen companies specializing in wind and solar energy in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets as samples.The relationships between the subsidy modes and financial performance of these two types of companies are investigated with a panel data model. Results of the total sample in...

  8. Energy efficiency improvement and cost saving opportunities forpetroleum refineries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Worrell, Ernst; Galitsky, Christina

    2005-02-15

    The petroleum refining industry in the United States is the largest in the world, providing inputs to virtually any economic sector,including the transport sector and the chemical industry. The industry operates 146 refineries (as of January 2004) around the country,employing over 65,000 employees. The refining industry produces a mix of products with a total value exceeding $151 billion. Refineries spend typically 50 percent of cash operating costs (i.e., excluding capital costs and depreciation) on energy, making energy a major cost factor and also an important opportunity for cost reduction. Energy use is also a major source of emissions in the refinery industry making energy efficiency improvement an attractive opportunity to reduce emissions and operating costs. Voluntary government programs aim to assist industry to improve competitiveness through increased energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact. ENERGY STAR (R), a voluntary program managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, stresses the need for strong and strategic corporate energy management programs. ENERGY STAR provides energy management tools and strategies for successful corporate energy management programs. This Energy Guide describes research conducted to support ENERGY STAR and its work with the petroleum refining industry.This research provides information on potential energy efficiency opportunities for petroleum refineries. This Energy Guide introduces energy efficiency opportunities available for petroleum refineries. It begins with descriptions of the trends, structure, and production of the refining industry and the energy used in the refining and conversion processes. Specific energy savings for each energy efficiency measure based on case studies of plants and references to technical literature are provided. If available, typical payback periods are also listed. The Energy Guide draws upon the experiences with energy efficiency measures of petroleum refineries worldwide

  9. Energy efficiency improvement target for SIC 34 - fabricated metal products

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Byrer, T. G.; Billhardt, C. F.; Farkas, M. S.

    1977-03-15

    A March 15, 1977 revision of a February 15, 1977 document on the energy improvement target for the Fabricated Metal Products industry (SIC 34) is presented. A net energy savings in 1980 of 24% as compared with 1972 energy consumption in SIC 34 is considered a realistic goal. (ERA citation 04:045008)

  10. Energy efficiency improvement potentials and a low energy demand scenario for the global industrial sector

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kermeli, Katerina; Graus, Wina H J; Worrell, Ernst

    2014-01-01

    The adoption of energy efficiency measures can significantly reduce industrial energy use. This study estimates the future industrial energy consumption under two energy demand scenarios: (1) a reference scenario that follows business as usual trends and (2) a low energy demand scenario that takes

  11. Community energy storage and distribution SCADA improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riggins, M.

    2010-01-01

    The mission of American Electric Power (AEP) is to sustain the real time balance of energy supply and demand. Approximately 2.5 percent of energy generated in the United States (USA) is stored as pumped hydro, compressed air, or in batteries and other devices. This power point presentation discussed the use of SCADA for improving community energy storage (CES) and distribution systems. CES is a distributed fleet of small energy units connected to the transformers in order to serve houses or small commercial loads. CES is operated as a fleet offering multi-megawatt (MW) multi-hour storage. The benefits of CES include backup power, flicker mitigation, and renewable integration. Benefits to the electricity grid include power factor correct, ancillary services, and load leveling at the substation level. SCADA is being used to determine when emergency load reductions are required or when emergency inspections on fans, oil pumps or other devices are needed. An outline of AEP's monitoring system installation plan was also included. tabs., figs.

  12. Biomass recycle as a means to improve the energy efficiency of CELSS algal culture systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radmer, R.; Cox, J.; Lieberman, D.; Behrens, P.; Arnett, K.

    1987-01-01

    Algal cultures can be very rapid and efficient means to generate biomass and regenerate the atmosphere for closed environmental life support systems. However, as in the case of most higher plants, a significant fraction of the biomass produced by most algae cannot be directly converted to a useful food product by standard food technology procedures. This waste biomass will serve as an energy drain on the overall system unless it can be efficiently recycled without a significant loss of its energy content. Experiments are reported in which cultures of the alga Scenedesmus obliquus were grown in the light and at the expense of an added carbon source, which either replaced or supplemented the actinic light. As part of these experiments, hydrolyzed waste biomass from these same algae were tested to determine whether the algae themselves could be made part of the biological recycling process. Results indicate that hydrolyzed algal (and plant) biomass can serve as carbon and energy sources for the growth of these algae, suggesting that the efficiency of the closed system could be significantly improved using this recycling process.

  13. IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND REDUCING COSTS IN THE DRINKING WATER SUPPLY INDUSTRY: An ENERGY STAR Resource Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Melody, Moya; Dunham Whitehead, Camilla; Brown, Richard

    2010-09-30

    As American drinking water agencies face higher production costs, demand, and energy prices, they seek opportunities to reduce costs without negatively affecting the quality of the water they deliver. This guide describes resources for cost-effectively improving the energy efficiency of U.S. public drinking water facilities. The guide (1) describes areas of opportunity for improving energy efficiency in drinking water facilities; (2) provides detailed descriptions of resources to consult for each area of opportunity; (3) offers supplementary suggestions and information for the area; and (4) presents illustrative case studies, including analysis of cost-effectiveness.

  14. Energy management in production: A novel method to develop key performance indicators for improving energy efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    May, Gökan; Barletta, Ilaria; Stahl, Bojan; Taisch, Marco

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • We propose a 7-step methodology to develop firm-tailored energy-related KPIs (e-KPIs). • We provide a practical guide for companies to identify their most important e-KPIs. • e-KPIs support identification of energy efficiency improvement areas in production. • The method employs an action plan for achieving energy saving targets. • The paper strengthens theoretical base for energy-based decision making in manufacturing. - Abstract: Measuring energy efficiency performance of equipments, processes and factories is the first step to effective energy management in production. Thus, enabled energy-related information allows the assessment of the progress of manufacturing companies toward their energy efficiency goals. In that respect, the study addresses this challenge where current industrial approaches lack the means and appropriate performance indicators to compare energy-use profiles of machines and processes, and for the comparison of their energy efficiency performance to that of competitors’. Focusing on this challenge, the main objective of the paper is to present a method which supports manufacturing companies in the development of energy-based performance indicators. For this purpose, we provide a 7-step method to develop production-tailored and energy-related key performance indicators (e-KPIs). These indicators allow the interpretation of cause-effect relationships and therefore support companies in their operative decision-making process. Consequently, the proposed method supports the identification of weaknesses and areas for energy efficiency improvements related to the management of production and operations. The study therefore aims to strengthen the theoretical base necessary to support energy-based decision making in manufacturing industries

  15. To cool a sweltering earth: Does energy efficiency improvement offset the climate impacts of lifestyle?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adua, Lazarus, E-mail: adua.1@buckeyemail.osu.ed [Rural Sociology Graduate Program, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University, Columbus (United States)

    2010-10-15

    As technical efficiency improvement in energy use remains a touchstone measure to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, there is substantial concern about whether this approach can offset the large and expanding impacts of human actions. Critics contend that without adjustments to the prevailing consumptive lifestyle, energy efficiency improvement will generate only token reductions in GHG emissions. I address this concern by examining the extent to which technical efficiency improvement in energy use offsets the impacts of housing-related lifestyle on GHG emissions. I build from two perspectives, the physical-technical-economic models that consider energy efficiency improvement as a potent strategy to curb residential energy consumption, and the lifestyle and social-behavioral approach, which questions this view. The analyses reveal consistent positive relationship between lifestyle and energy consumption. The results also indicate that energy efficiency improvement has mixed effects on energy consumption. In fact, model-based figures show that technical efficiency improvement in energy use leads to slightly higher energy consumption if it is not accompanied by adjustments to lifestyle.

  16. To cool a sweltering earth. Does energy efficiency improvement offset the climate impacts of lifestyle?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adua, Lazarus [Rural Sociology Graduate Program, School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus (United States)

    2010-10-15

    As technical efficiency improvement in energy use remains a touchstone measure to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, there is substantial concern about whether this approach can offset the large and expanding impacts of human actions. Critics contend that without adjustments to the prevailing consumptive lifestyle, energy efficiency improvement will generate only token reductions in GHG emissions. I address this concern by examining the extent to which technical efficiency improvement in energy use offsets the impacts of housing-related lifestyle on GHG emissions. I build from two perspectives, the physical-technical-economic models that consider energy efficiency improvement as a potent strategy to curb residential energy consumption, and the lifestyle and social-behavioral approach, which questions this view. The analyses reveal consistent positive relationship between lifestyle and energy consumption. The results also indicate that energy efficiency improvement has mixed effects on energy consumption. In fact, model-based figures show that technical efficiency improvement in energy use leads to slightly higher energy consumption if it is not accompanied by adjustments to lifestyle. (author)

  17. Policy modeling for energy efficiency improvement in US industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Worrell, Ernst; Price, Lynn; Ruth, Michael

    2001-01-01

    We are at the beginning of a process of evaluating and modeling the contribution of policies to improve energy efficiency. Three recent policy studies trying to assess the impact of energy efficiency policies in the United States are reviewed. The studies represent an important step in the analysis of climate change mitigation strategies. All studies model the estimated policy impact, rather than the policy itself. Often the policy impacts are based on assumptions, as the effects of a policy are not certain. Most models only incorporate economic (or price) tools, which recent studies have proven to be insufficient to estimate the impacts, costs and benefits of mitigation strategies. The reviewed studies are a first effort to capture the effects of non-price policies. The studies contribute to a better understanding of the role of policies in improving energy efficiency and mitigating climate change. All policy scenarios results in substantial energy savings compared to the baseline scenario used, as well as substantial net benefits to the U.S. economy

  18. A new cooperative MIMO scheme based on SM for energy-efficiency improvement in wireless sensor network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Yuyang; Choi, Jaeho

    2014-01-01

    Improving the energy efficiency in wireless sensor networks (WSN) has attracted considerable attention nowadays. The multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technique has been proved as a good candidate for improving the energy efficiency, but it may not be feasible in WSN which is due to the size limitation of the sensor node. As a solution, the cooperative multiple-input multiple-output (CMIMO) technique overcomes this constraint and shows a dramatically good performance. In this paper, a new CMIMO scheme based on the spatial modulation (SM) technique named CMIMO-SM is proposed for energy-efficiency improvement. We first establish the system model of CMIMO-SM. Based on this model, the transmission approach is introduced graphically. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme, a detailed analysis in terms of energy consumption per bit of the proposed scheme compared with the conventional CMIMO is presented. Later, under the guide of this new scheme we extend our proposed CMIMO-SM to a multihop clustered WSN for further achieving energy efficiency by finding an optimal hop-length. Equidistant hop as the traditional scheme will be compared in this paper. Results from the simulations and numerical experiments indicate that by the use of the proposed scheme, significant savings in terms of total energy consumption can be achieved. Combining the proposed scheme with monitoring sensor node will provide a good performance in arbitrary deployed WSN such as forest fire detection system.

  19. Wind energy as a significant source of electricity for the United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nix, R.G.

    1996-06-01

    This paper discusses wind energy and its potential to significantly impact the generation of electricity within the US. The principles and the equipment used to convert wind energy to electricity are described, as is the status of current technology. Markets and production projections are given. There is discussion of the advances required to reduce the selling cost of electricity generated from the wind from today's price of about $0.05 per kilowatt-hour to full cost-competitiveness with gas- and coal-based electricity

  20. Improving energy performance of school buildings while ensuring indoor air quality ventilation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Becker, Rachel; Goldberger, Itamar [Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa (Israel). Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Structural Engineering and Construction Management; Paciuk, Monica [National Building Research Institute, Technion, Haifa (Israel)

    2007-09-15

    Energy conscious design of school buildings, as well as deemed-to-satisfy provisions in a Performance Based Energy Code, should address the problem known as the energy efficiency - thermal comfort - indoor air quality dilemma (EE-TC-IAQ Dilemma). In warm and moderate climates, the large internal heat sources usually found in school buildings prevent achieving thermal comfort without active cooling in summer, but are not sufficient to eliminate the need for heating in winter. Commonly used air-conditioners do not improve air quality, while natural ventilation induces uncontrolled energy losses. In this study, a step by step process was used for the development of deemed-to-satisfy design solutions, which cope with the EE-TC-IAQ Dilemma, for a performance based code. A distinction is made between improving building design variables and improving ventilation schemes. Results indicate that implementation of improved ventilation schemes in an otherwise well designed energy-conscious building result in savings of 28-30% and 17-18% for northern and southern classroom orientations, respectively. (author)

  1. Regional energy rebound effect: The impact of economy-wide and sector level energy efficiency improvement in Georgia, USA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Xuewei; Moreno-Cruz, Juan; Crittenden, John C.

    2015-01-01

    Rebound effect is defined as the lost part of ceteris paribus energy savings from improvements on energy efficiency. In this paper, we investigate economy-wide energy rebound effects by developing a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model for Georgia, USA. The model adopts a highly disaggregated sector profile and highlights the substitution possibilities between different energy sources in the production structure. These two features allow us to better characterize the change in energy use in face of an efficiency shock, and to explore in detail how a sector-level shock propagates throughout the economic structure to generate aggregate impacts. We find that with economy-wide energy efficiency improvement on the production side, economy-wide rebound is moderate. Energy price levels fall very slightly, yet sectors respond to these changing prices quite differently in terms of local production and demand. Energy efficiency improvements in particular sectors (epicenters) induce quite different economy-wide impacts. In general, we expect large rebound if the epicenter sector is an energy production sector, a direct upstream/downstream sector of energy production sectors, a transportation sector or a sector with high production elasticity. Our analysis offers valuable insights for policy makers aiming to achieve energy conservation through increasing energy efficiency. - Highlights: • We developed a CGE model to investigate economy-wide energy rebound in Georgia, USA. • The CGE model has detailed treatment for different energy inputs for production. • The model has a highly disaggregated sector profile helpful for policy making. • We compared the economy-wide impact shocks in different epicenter sectors. • We analyzed why epicenters generate dramatically different economy-wide impacts.

  2. CNE'96: National Energy Conference 'Improving Energy Efficiency in a Transition Economy'. Proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrescu, M.; Balan, Gh.; Zlatanovici, D.

    1996-01-01

    Every two years a national conference on energy is held in Romania under the auspices of Romanian Electricity Authority (RENEL). The CNC'96 Conference entitled 'Improving Energy Efficiency in a Transition Economy' has taken place in the Black Sea resort Neptun-Olimp, on September 1-5, 1996. The conference was divided in 8 sections covering the subjects: 1) Energy policies and strategies - Financing of refurbishment and development; 2) Clean and efficient technologies of the fossil fuels - Renewable energy sources; 3) Rehabilitation - Retrofitting of power facilities; 4) Nuclear Power; 5) Predictive and preventive maintenance technologies; 6) Management and process information systems; 7) Environment conservation and mitigating measures; and 8) Energy end-use. An opening talk was given by V.Romert, the Director General of RENEL, and keynote addresses were presented by I.Lindsay, WEC Secretary General (Energy in an era of change and the WEC within it), by J.E.Gray, Vice Chairman of the Atlantic Council of the United States (Global Energy Outlook), and by F.Meslier, Director of the EDF East Energy Unit, Ile de France and Chairman of the 37 Study Committee of CIGRE (Quelques evolutions recentes de la CIGRE et de son Comite 37). (M.C.)

  3. Improvement of the sensitivity of CdTe detectors in the high energy regions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nishizawa, Hiroshi; Ikegami, Kazunori; Takashima, Kazuo; Usami, Teruo [Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Tokyo (Japan); Yamamoto, Takayoshi

    1996-07-01

    In order to improve the efficiency of the full energy peak in the high energy regions, we had previously suggested a multi-layered structure of CdTe elements and have since confirmed the sensitivity improvement of the full energy peak. And furthermore, we have suggested a new type structure of multi-layered elements in this paper and we confirmed that the efficiency of the full energy peak became higher and that more proper energy spectra were obtained by our current experiment than by the detector with the conventional structure. This paper describes a simulation and experiment to improve the efficiency of the full energy peak and to obtain the more proper energy spectra of {sup 137}Cs (662keV) and {sup 60}Co (1.17 and 1.33MeV) using the new structure of CdTe detector. (J.P.N.)

  4. Physicochemical state of the nanotopographic surface of commercially pure titanium following anodization-hydrothermal treatment reveals significantly improved hydrophilicity and surface energy profiles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takebe, Jun; Ito, Shigeki; Miura, Shingo; Miyata, Kyohei; Ishibashi, Kanji

    2012-01-01

    A method of coating commercially pure titanium (cpTi) implants with a highly crystalline, thin hydroxyapatite (HA) layer using discharge anodic oxidation followed by hydrothermal treatment (Spark discharged Anodic oxidation treatment ; SA-treated cpTi) has been reported for use in clinical dentistry. We hypothesized that a thin HA layer with high crystallinity and nanostructured anodic titanium oxide film on such SA-treated cpTi implant surfaces might be a crucial function of their surface-specific potential energy. To test this, we analyzed anodic oxide (AO) cpTi and SA-treated cpTi disks by SEM and AFM. Contact angles and surface free energy of each disk surface was measured using FAMAS software. High-magnification SEM and AFM revealed the nanotopographic structure of the anodic titanium oxide film on SA-treated cpTi; however, this was not observed on the AO cpTi surface. The contact angle and surface free energy measurements were also significantly different between AO cpTi and SA-treated cpTi surfaces (Tukey's, P<0.05). These data indicated that the change of physicochemical properties of an anodic titanium oxide film with HA crystals on an SA-treated cpTi surface may play a key role in the phenomenon of osteoconduction during the process of osseointegration. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. The Carbon and Global Warming Potential Impacts of Organic Farming: Does It Have a Significant Role in an Energy Constrained World?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ralph C. Martin

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available About 130 studies were analyzed to compare farm-level energy use and global warming potential (GWP of organic and conventional production sectors. Cross cutting issues such as tillage, compost, soil carbon sequestration and energy offsets were also reviewed. Finally, we contrasted E and GWP data from the wider food system. We concluded that the evidence strongly favours organic farming with respect to whole-farm energy use and energy efficiency both on a per hectare and per farm product basis, with the possible exception of poultry and fruit sectors. For GWP, evidence is insufficient except in a few sectors, with results per ha more consistently favouring organic farming than GWP per unit product. Tillage was consistently a negligible contributor to farm E use and additional tillage on organic farms does not appear to significantly deplete soil C. Energy offsets, biogas, energy crops and residues have a more limited role on organic farms compared to conventional ones, because of the nutrient and soil building uses of soil organic matter, and the high demand for organic foods in human markets. If farm E use represents 35% of total food chain E use, improvements shown of 20% or more in E efficiency through organic farm management would reduce food-chain E use by 7% or more. Among other food supply chain stages, wholesale/retail (including cooling and packaging and processing often each contribute 30% or more to total food system E. Thus, additional improvements can be obtained with reduced processing, whole foods and food waste minimization.

  6. Finding of no significant impact for the joint DOE/EPA program on national industrial competitiveness through energy efficiency and economics (NICE{sup 3})

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    The Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA), to assess the environment impacts associated with a joint DOE/EPA cost-sharing grant program named National Industrial Competitiveness through Energy Efficiency, Environment and Economics (NICE{sup 3}). The purpose of the NICE{sup 3} Program is to encourage waste minimization technology in industry by funding projects that develop activities and process improvements to conserve energy and reduce pollution. The proposed action would provide Federal financial assistance in the form of grants to industry in order to promote pollution prevention, energy efficiency, and cost competitiveness. Based on the analysis presented in the PEA, DOE has determined that the proposed action (providing NICE{sup 3} grants for projects which are consistent with the goals of the PPA and EPACT) does not constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of NEPA. Therefore, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is not needed and the Department is issuing this Finding of No Significant Impact.

  7. [Improvement of Phi bodies stain and its clinical significance].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Xu-Bo; Lu, Xing-Guo; Yan, Li-Juan; Xiao, Xi-Bin; Wu, Dong; Xu, Gen-Bo; Zhang, Xiao-Hong; Zhao, Xiao-Ying

    2009-02-01

    The aim of this study was to improve the dyeing method of hydroperoxidase (HPO), to analyze the morphologic features of Phi bodies and to evaluate the clinical application of this method. 128 bone marrow or peripheral blood smears from patients with myeloid and lymphoid malignancies were stained by improved HPO staining. The Phi bodies were observed with detection rate of Phi bodies in different leukemias. 69 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) specimens were chosen randomly, the positive rate and the number of Phi bodies between the improved HPO and POX stain based on the same substrate of 3, 3'diaminobenzidine were compared. The results showed that the shape of bundle-like Phi bodies was variable, long or short. while the nubbly Phi bodies often presented oval and smooth. Club-like Phi bodies were found in M(3). The detection rates of bundle-like Phi bodies in AML M(1)-M(5) were 42.9% (6/14), 83.3% (15/18), 92.0% (23/25), 52.3% (11/21), 33.3% (5/15) respectively, and those of nubbly Phi bodies were 28.6% (4/14), 66.7% (12/18), 11.1% (3/25), 33.3% (7/21), 20.0% (3/15) respectively. The detection rate of bundle-like Phi bodies in M(3) was significantly higher than that in (M(1) + M(2)) or (M(4) + M(5)) groups. The detection rate of nubbly Phi bodies in (M(1) + M(2)) group was higher than that in M(3) group. In conclusion, after improvement of staining method, the HPO stain becomes simple, the detection rate of Phi bodies is higher than that by the previous method, the positive granules are more obvious, and the results become stable. This improved method plays an important role in differentiating AML from ALL, subtyping AML, and evaluating the therapeutic results.

  8. Roadmap for improving roof and façade windows in nearly zero-energy houses in Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skarning, Gunnlaug Cecilie Jensen; Hviid, Christian Anker; Svendsen, Svend

    2016-01-01

    Windows are central for the development of liveable nearly zero-energy homes and require careful consideration. Various studies have indicated that the effect of windows on energy consumption may change significantly with improved building insulation levels. Current guidelines on windows may...... comfort in nearly zero-energy houses located in the European cities Rome and Copenhagen. The aim was to identify options that can support the easy and robust design of future homes with typical use of roof and façade windows. Hourly daylight levels were calculated in DAYSIM, while space heating demand...... and operative temperatures were calculated in EnergyPlus. The results support previous findings on the limited ability of nearly zero-energy buildings to utilise solar gains. It was found that U-values are becoming increasingly important for the energy performance of windows. The paper sketches the increased...

  9. Novel ventilation design of combining spacer and mesh structure in sports T-shirt significantly improves thermal comfort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Chao; Au, Joe Sau-chuen; Fan, Jintu; Zheng, Rong

    2015-05-01

    This paper reports on novel ventilation design in sports T-shirt, which combines spacer and mesh structure, and experimental evidence on the advantages of design in improving thermal comfort. Evaporative resistance (Re) and thermal insulation (Rc) of T-shirts were measured using a sweating thermal manikin under three different air velocities. Moisture permeability index (i(m)) was calculated to compare the different designed T-shirts. The T-shirts of new and conventional designs were also compared by wearer trials, which were comprised of 30 min treadmill running followed by 10 min rest. Skin temperature, skin relative humidity, heart rate, oxygen inhalation and energy expenditure were monitored, and subjective sensations were asked. Results demonstrated that novel T-shirt has 11.1% significant lower im than control sample under windy condition. The novel T-shirt contributes to reduce the variation of skin temperature and relative humidity up to 37% and 32%, as well as decrease 3.3% energy consumption during exercise. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  10. Can market oriented economic reforms contribute to energy efficiency improvement? Evidence from China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fan Ying; Liao Hua; Wei Yiming

    2007-01-01

    Since China accelerated its market oriented economic reforms at the end of 1992, its energy intensity has declined 3.6% annually over 1993-2005. However, its energy intensity declined 4.2% annually during its first reform period 1979-1992. Therefore, can we conclude that the accelerated marketization since the end of 1992 has made no contribution to its energy efficiency improvement? In order to answer this challenging question, we examine the changes of energy own-price elasticity, as well as the elasticities of substitution between energy and non-energy (capital and labor) in China during the periods of 1979-1992 and 1993-2003. Generally, in transition or developing economies, holding the technology and output level fixed, if the energy own-price elasticity (algebraic value) declines or the substitution elasticity between factors rises, they will contribute to energy efficiency improvement. Our empirical study finds that: (1) during 1979-1992, the energy own-price elasticity is positive (0.285), and capital-energy, labor-energy are both Morishima complementary; which indicates a distorted energy price and inefficient allocation; and (2) during 1993-2003, the own-price elasticity for energy is negative (-1.236), and capital-energy and labor-energy are both Morishima substitute. All factor demands become more elastic, and all elasticities of substitution increase. The implication is that the accelerated marketization contributes substantially to energy efficiency improvement since 1993

  11. Low-Power Adiabatic Computing with Improved Quasistatic Energy Recovery Logic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shipra Upadhyay

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Efficiency of adiabatic logic circuits is determined by the adiabatic and non-adiabatic losses incurred by them during the charging and recovery operations. The lesser will be these losses circuit will be more energy efficient. In this paper, a new approach is presented for minimizing power consumption in quasistatic energy recovery logic (QSERL circuit which involves optimization by removing the nonadiabatic losses completely by replacing the diodes with MOSFETs whose gates are controlled by power clocks. Proposed circuit inherits the advantages of quasistatic ERL (QSERL family but is with improved power efficiency and driving ability. In order to demonstrate workability of the newly developed circuit, a 4 × 4 bit array multiplier circuit has been designed. A mathematical expression to calculate energy dissipation in proposed inverter is developed. Performance of the proposed logic (improved quasistatic energy recovery logic (IQSERL is analyzed and compared with CMOS and reported QSERL in their representative inverters and multipliers in VIRTUOSO SPECTRE simulator of Cadence in 0.18 μm UMC technology. In our proposed (IQSERL inverter the power efficiency has been improved to almost 20% up to 50 MHz and 300 fF external load capacitance in comparison to CMOS and QSERL circuits.

  12. An overview of the US Department of Energy Plant Lifetime Improvement Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moonka, A.K.; Harrison, D.L.

    1995-01-01

    This paper provides a brief summary of the U.S. Department of Energy's (USDOE's) cooperative effort with the nuclear industry to develop technology to manage the effects of material degradation in systems, structures and components (SSCs) that impact plant safety or can significantly improve plant performance/economics and to establish and demonstrate the license renewal process. Also included are efforts to reduce decontamination/decommission costs, and reduce the uncertainty in long-term service-life decision making. During 1995, the Plant Lifetime Improvement (PLIM) Program was renamed the Commercial Operating Light Water Reactor (COLWR) Program activities are focused on sustaining the LWR option for domestic electricity generation by supporting operation of existing LWRs as long as they are safe, efficient, and economical. The status of the key projects is discussed in this paper

  13. Feasibility study on energy conservation and environmental improvement at Pakistan Steel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-03-01

    Feasibility study on energy conservation and environmental improvement was carried out with the aim of considering the realization of the CDM (clean development mechanism) project for reduction of global warming gas emissions and contributing to the environmental improvement and economic growth in Pakistan. In the study, projects on the following were studied: coke oven coal moisture control (CMC), sinter cooler waste heat recovery, blast furnace hot stove waste heat recovery, blast furnace pulverized coal injection (PCI), blast furnace top pressure recovery turbine (TRT), hot strip mill reheating furnace regenerative type burner, coke oven environmental improvement, and blast furnace cast house dust collection. As a result of the study, the implementation of the following three projects was regarded as promising in terms of energy conservation and economical effects: blast furnace pulverized coal injection, blast furnace top pressure recovery turbine and hot strip mill reheating furnace regenerative type burner. Further, the reduction in poisonous gas by the coke oven environmental improvement project was made a top priority. In Pakistan, the price of energy is kept low, and therefore, effects of energy conservation projects are not very much expected. However, the PCI project has an effect of substitution of low-priced domestic coal for imported coal. (NEDO)

  14. Recent developments in thermally-driven seawater desalination: Energy efficiency improvement by hybridization of the MED and AD cycles

    KAUST Repository

    Ng, Kim Choon; Thu, Kyaw; Oh, Seungjin; Ang, Li; Shahzad, Muhammad Wakil; Ismail, Azhar Bin

    2015-01-01

    -driven to adsorption desalination (AD) cycles where significant thermodynamic synergy can be attained when cycles are combined. For these hybrid cycles, a quantum improvement in energy efficiency as well as in increase in water production can be expected. The advent

  15. Supply Chain Management for Improved Energy Efficiency: Review and Opportunities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatrice Marchi

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Energy efficiency represents a key resource for economic and social development, providing substantial benefits to different stakeholders, ranging from the entities which develop energy efficient measures to everyone in society. In addition to cost savings, multiple benefits can be achieved by supporting a better alignment between energy issues and strategic business priorities: e.g., improved competitiveness, profitability, quality, etc. Thus, energy efficiency can be a strategic advantage, not just a marginal issue, for companies. However, most firms, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs, face many problems and, in some cases, hostility when trying to effectively implement energy efficiency actions. The most dominant barriers are the access to capital and the lack of awareness (especially in terms of life cycle cost effects. The supply chain viewpoint represents one of the main opportunities for overcoming those barriers and improving energy performance even for weaker companies. Since the current literature on energy efficiency and practical approaches to ensure energy efficiency mainly focus on energy performance on a single-firm basis, this paper aims to provide a systematic review of papers on the integration of energy efficiency in supply chain design and management published in academic journal, thereby defining potential research streams to close the gaps in the literature. A number of literature reviews have been published focusing on specific aspects of sustainable or on green supply chain management; however, to the best of our knowledge, no review has focused on the energy efficiency issue. Firstly, the present paper shows how considering energy consumption in supply chain management can contribute to more energy-efficient processes from a systemic point of view. Then, the review methodology used is defined and the sampled papers are analyzed and categorized based on the different approaches they propose. From these

  16. High Performance Healthcare Buildings: A Roadmap to Improved Energy Efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singer, Brett C.; Tschudi, William F.

    2009-09-08

    This document presents a road map for improving the energy efficiency of hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The report compiles input from a broad array of experts in healthcare facility design and operations. The initial section lists challenges and barriers to efficiency improvements in healthcare. Opportunities are organized around the following ten themes: understanding and benchmarking energy use; best practices and training; codes and standards; improved utilization of existing HVAC designs and technology; innovation in HVAC design and technology; electrical system design; lighting; medical equipment and process loads; economic and organizational issues; and the design of next generation sustainable hospitals. Achieving energy efficiency will require a broad set of activities including research, development, deployment, demonstration, training, etc., organized around 48 specific objectives. Specific activities are prioritized in consideration of potential impact, likelihood of near- or mid-term feasibility and anticipated cost-effectiveness. This document is intended to be broad in consideration though not exhaustive. Opportunities and needs are identified and described with the goal of focusing efforts and resources.

  17. Improvements in the energy resolution and high-count-rate performance of bismuth germanate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koehler, P.E.; Wender, S.A.; Kapustinsky, J.S.

    1985-01-01

    Several methods for improving the energy resolution of bismuth germanate (BGO) have been investigated. It is shown that some of these methods resulted in a substantial improvement in the energy resolution. In addition, a method to improve the performance of BGO at high counting rates has been systematically studied. The results of this study are presented and discussed

  18. TV Energy Consumption Trends and Energy-Efficiency Improvement Options

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Won Young; Phadke, Amol; Shah, Nihar; Letschert, Virginie

    2011-07-01

    The SEAD initiative aims to transform the global market by increasing the penetration of highly efficient equipment and appliances. SEAD is a government initiative whose activities and projects engage the private sector to realize the large global energy savings potential from improved appliance and equipment efficiency. SEAD seeks to enable high-level global action by informing the Clean Energy Ministerial dialogue as one of the initiatives in the Global Energy Efficiency Challenge. In keeping with its goal of achieving global energy savings through efficiency, SEAD was approved as a task within the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) in January 2010. SEAD partners work together in voluntary activities to: (1) ?raise the efficiency ceiling? by pulling super-efficient appliances and equipment into the market through cooperation on measures like incentives, procurement, awards, and research and development (R&D) investments; (2) ?raise the efficiency floor? by working together to bolster national or regional policies like minimum efficiency standards; and (3) ?strengthen the efficiency foundations? of programs by coordinating technical work to support these activities. Although not all SEAD partners may decide to participate in every SEAD activity, SEAD partners have agreed to engage actively in their particular areas of interest through commitment of financing, staff, consultant experts, and other resources. In addition, all SEAD partners are committed to share information, e.g., on implementation schedules for and the technical detail of minimum efficiency standards and other efficiency programs. Information collected and created through SEAD activities will be shared among all SEAD partners and, to the extent appropriate, with the global public.As of April 2011, the governments participating in SEAD are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Sweden

  19. Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for Breweries: An ENERGY STAR(R) Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galitsky, Christina; Martin, Nathan; Worrell, Ernst; Lehman, Bryan

    2003-09-01

    Annually, breweries in the United States spend over $200 million on energy. Energy consumption is equal to 38 percent of the production costs of beer, making energy efficiency improvement an important way to reduce costs, especially in times of high energy price volatility. After a summary of the beer making process and energy use, we examine energy efficiency opportunities available for breweries. We provide specific primary energy savings for each energy efficiency measure based on case studies that have implemented the measures, as well as references to technical literature. If available, we have also listed typical payback periods. Our findings suggest that given available technology, there are still opportunities to reduce energy consumption cost-effectively in the brewing industry. Brewers value highly the quality, taste and drinkability of their beer. Brewing companies have and are expected to continue to spend capital on cost-effective energy conservation measures that meet these quality, taste and drinkability requirements. For individual plants, further research on the economics of the measures, as well as their applicability to different brewing practices, is needed to assess implementation of selected technologies.

  20. Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Dairy Processing Industry: An ENERGY STAR? Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brush, Adrian [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Masanet, Eric [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Worrell, Ernst [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2011-10-01

    The U.S. dairy processing industry—defined in this Energy Guide as facilities engaged in the conversion of raw milk to consumable dairy products—consumes around $1.5 billion worth of purchased fuels and electricity per year. Energy efficiency improvement is an important way to reduce these costs and to increase predictable earnings, especially in times of high energy price volatility. There are a variety of opportunities available at individual plants in the U.S. dairy processing industry to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective manner. This Energy Guide discusses energy efficiency practices and energy-efficient technologies that can be implemented at the component, process, facility, and organizational levels. A discussion of the trends, structure, and energy consumption characteristics of the U.S. dairy processing industry is provided along with a description of the major process technologies used within the industry. Next, a wide variety of energy efficiency measures applicable to dairy processing plants are described. Many measure descriptions include expected savings in energy and energy-related costs, based on case study data from real-world applications in dairy processing facilities and related industries worldwide. Typical measure payback periods and references to further information in the technical literature are also provided, when available. Given the importance of water in dairy processing, a summary of basic, proven measures for improving water efficiency are also provided. The information in this Energy Guide is intended to help energy and plant managers in the U.S. dairy processing industry reduce energy and water consumption in a cost-effective manner while maintaining the quality of products manufactured. Further research on the economics of all measures—as well as on their applicability to different production practices—is needed to assess their cost effectiveness at individual plants.

  1. Towards improved local hybrid functionals by calibration of exchange-energy densities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arbuznikov, Alexei V.; Kaupp, Martin

    2014-01-01

    A new approach for the calibration of (semi-)local and exact exchange-energy densities in the context of local hybrid functionals is reported. The calibration functions are derived from only the electron density and its spatial derivatives, avoiding spatial derivatives of the exact-exchange energy density or other computationally unfavorable contributions. The calibration functions fulfill the seven more important out of nine known exact constraints. It is shown that calibration improves substantially the definition of a non-dynamical correlation energy term for generalized gradient approximation (GGA)-based local hybrids. Moreover, gauge artifacts in the potential-energy curves of noble-gas dimers may be corrected by calibration. The developed calibration functions are then evaluated for a large range of energy-related properties (atomization energies, reaction barriers, ionization potentials, electron affinities, and total atomic energies) of three sets of local hybrids, using a simple one-parameter local-mixing. The functionals are based on (a) local spin-density approximation (LSDA) or (b) Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) exchange and correlation, and on (c) Becke-88 (B88) exchange and Lee-Yang-Parr (LYP) correlation. While the uncalibrated GGA-based functionals usually provide very poor thermochemical data, calibration allows a dramatic improvement, accompanied by only a small deterioration of reaction barriers. In particular, an optimized BLYP-based local-hybrid functional has been found that is a substantial improvement over the underlying global hybrids, as well as over previously reported LSDA-based local hybrids. It is expected that the present calibration approach will pave the way towards new generations of more accurate hyper-GGA functionals based on a local mixing of exchange-energy densities

  2. Driving forces and barriers to improved energy performance of buildings: an analysis of energy performance of Swedish buildings, 2000-2006

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fuglseth, Bente Beckstroem

    2008-06-15

    The building sector is responsible for a substantial part of energy use and green house gas emissions in Europe. This report explores driving forces and barriers to improved energy performance of buildings, using the Swedish building sector as a case. The development of energy performance of buildings in Sweden from 2000 until 2006 is explored by applying a threefold understanding of energy performance of buildings: substitution from fossil fuels to renewable energy, conversion from electrical heating to thermal energy and reduction in energy demand. Three explanatory approaches are used to analyse driving forces and barriers to improved energy performance: the techno-economic approach stresses the physical aspects of infrastructure and technologies, the institutional approach emphasizes the role of institutional factors, while the regulative approach focuses on formal rules and laws. The study concludes that all factors have promoted substitution of fossil fuels with renewable energy, while they have prevented conversion from electrical heating to thermal energy and reduction in energy demand. (author). 95 refs

  3. Application of superconducting magnet energy storage to improve power system dynamic performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitani, Y.; Tsuji, K.; Murakami, Y.

    1988-01-01

    The application of Superconducting Magnet Energy Storage (SMES) to the stabilization of a power system with long distance bulk power transmission lines which has the problem of poorly damped power oscillations, is presented. Control schemes for stabilization using SMES which is capable of controlling active and reactive power simultaneously in four quadrant ranges, is proposed. The effective locations and the necessary capacities of SMES for power system stabilizing control are discussed in detail. Results of numerical analysis and experiments in an artificial power transmission system demonstrate the significant effect of the control by SMES on the improvement of power system oscillatory performance

  4. An improved method for piezoelectric characterization of polymers for energy harvesting applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gusarova, E.; Gusarov, B.; Zakharov, D.; Bousquet, M.; Viala, B.; Cugat, O.; Delamare, J.; Gimeno, L.

    2013-12-01

    This work presents an improved method for measuring the direct piezoelectric voltage and energy of flexible polymers. Well-controlled stress is applied with a four-point bending system and voltage is measured in real open-circuit conditions. The presented method separates the piezoelectric part from the measurement part by introducing a mechanical switch, allowing instantaneous post-deformation discharge measurements. Oscilloscope and contact-less electrostatic voltmeter are compared. Direct piezoelectric measurements under open-circuit conditions have been performed on commercial PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) and its copolymers. Significant differences to data sheet values (close-circuit conditions) are reported and commented.

  5. Templated assembly of photoswitches significantly increases the energy-storage capacity of solar thermal fuels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kucharski, Timothy J; Ferralis, Nicola; Kolpak, Alexie M; Zheng, Jennie O; Nocera, Daniel G; Grossman, Jeffrey C

    2014-05-01

    Large-scale utilization of solar-energy resources will require considerable advances in energy-storage technologies to meet ever-increasing global energy demands. Other than liquid fuels, existing energy-storage materials do not provide the requisite combination of high energy density, high stability, easy handling, transportability and low cost. New hybrid solar thermal fuels, composed of photoswitchable molecules on rigid, low-mass nanostructures, transcend the physical limitations of molecular solar thermal fuels by introducing local sterically constrained environments in which interactions between chromophores can be tuned. We demonstrate this principle of a hybrid solar thermal fuel using azobenzene-functionalized carbon nanotubes. We show that, on composite bundling, the amount of energy stored per azobenzene more than doubles from 58 to 120 kJ mol(-1), and the material also maintains robust cyclability and stability. Our results demonstrate that solar thermal fuels composed of molecule-nanostructure hybrids can exhibit significantly enhanced energy-storage capabilities through the generation of template-enforced steric strain.

  6. Improving Energy Efficiency Through Technology. Trends, Investment Behaviour and Policy Design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Florax, R.J.G.M. [Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (United States); De Groot, H.L.F. [VU University, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Mulder, P. [Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam (Netherlands)] (eds.)

    2011-10-15

    This innovative book explores the adoption of energy-saving technologies and their impact on energy efficiency improvements. It contains a mix of theoretical and empirical contributions, and combines and compares economic and physical indicators to monitor and analyse trends in energy efficiency. The authors pay considerable attention to empirical research on the determinants of energy-saving investment including uncertainty, energy-price volatility and subsidies. They also discuss the role of energy modelling in policy design and the potential effect of energy policies on technology diffusion in energy-extensive sectors. Written from a multi-disciplinary perspective, this book will appeal to academics and graduates in the areas of energy-saving technologies, energy economics and natural resource economics, as well as policy makers - particularly those in energy policy.

  7. Modelling long term energy consumption of French residential sector - improving behavioral realism and simulating ambitious scenarios

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allibe, Benoit

    2012-01-01

    This thesis aims to integrate components of an economic model of the behaviors of households in a technological model of French residential sector energy consumption dynamics and to analyze the consequences of this integration on the results of long-term residential energy consumption simulations (2030-2050). The results of this work highlight significant differences between the actual household space heating energy consumptions and those estimated by engineering models. These differences are largely due to the elasticity of thermal comfort demand to thermal comfort price. Our improved model makes it possible to conjointly integrate the concepts of price elasticity and rebound effect (the increase in energy service level following an improvement in energy performance of the equipment providing the service) in a daily behavior model. Regarding space heating consumption, the consequences of this behavioral adaptation - combined with some technical defects - are a significant reduction of the technical and behavioral energy saving potentials (while effective daily use of energy is generally lower than predicted by engineering models) at a national level. This implies that mid and long-term national energy policy targets (a 38% drop in primary energy consumption by 2020 and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by a factor of 4 by 2050 compared to the 1990 level) will be harder to reach than previously expected for the residential sector. These results also imply that a strong reduction in carbon emissions cannot be achieved solely through the diffusion of efficient technologies and energy conservation behavior but also requires to significantly lower the average carbon content of residential space heating energy through the generalized use of wood energy. The second issue addressed in this thesis is the influence of the resolution of a techno-economic model (i.e. its ability to represent the various values that a variable can have within the modeled system) on its

  8. Energy efficiency through energy audit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Esan, A. A.

    2000-08-01

    Energy is an essential factor to economic and social development and improved standards of living in developing countries. Nigeria in particular. There is a strong need for greater energy efficiency in every sector of economy in order to reduce costs. enhance competitiveness, conserve energy resources and reduce environmental impacts associated with production, distribution and use of energy. Energy auditing and monitoring has a significant role in any energy management and conservation project. Energy auditing as an important part of industrial energy management on plant level, represents a complex of activities aiming at the efficient use of energy. The activities are undertaken by a team of experts who use a set of measuring instruments to monitor and evaluate all the necessary data to elaborate a package of recommendations on improvements in the field of energy efficiency and possible product quality. The inefficient conversion and use of energy have been identified as a central problem for all developing countries, Nigeria inclusive, since they all consume significantly higher amounts of energy per unit of GDP than OECD countries. This aggravates energy-related environmental problems and is also a burden on domestic resources and foreign exchange. Energy prices have risen drastically in many developing countries, while energy intensities remain high. Price changes alone are not rapidly translating energy efficiency improvements. Identifying and removing the obstacles to greater energy efficiency should be priority for government in developing countries. This is why the Energy Commission, an apex organ of government on Energy matters in all its ramifications is out to encourage relatively low-cost energy audits for the Textile industries - such audits can identify ''good house-keeping's' measures, such as simply process improvements, that reduce energy consumption and operating costs. This will be followed by the training of plant workers/energy managers

  9. Advanced Energy Retrofit Guide (AERG): Practical Ways to Improve Energy Performance; Healthcare Facilities (Book)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hendron, R.; Leach, M.; Bonnema, E.; Shekhar, D.; Pless, S.

    2013-09-01

    The Advanced Energy Retrofit Guide for Healthcare Facilities is part of a series of retrofit guides commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy. By presenting general project planning guidance as well as detailed descriptions and financial payback metrics for the most important and relevant energy efficiency measures (EEMs), the guides provide a practical roadmap for effectively planning and implementing performance improvements in existing buildings. The Advanced Energy Retrofit Guides (AERGs) are intended to address key segments of the U.S. commercial building stock: retail stores, office buildings, K-12 schools, grocery stores, and healthcare facilities. The guides' general project planning considerations are applicable nationwide; the energy and cost savings estimates for recommended EEMs were developed based on energy simulations and cost estimates for an example hospital tailored to five distinct climate regions. These results can be extrapolated to other U.S. climate zones. Analysis is presented for individual EEMs, and for packages of recommended EEMs for two project types: existing building commissioning projects that apply low-cost and no-cost measures, and whole-building retrofits involving more capital-intensive measures.

  10. Improvement of the Energy Stability of the Single Ion Microbeam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhan Furu; Qi Xuehong; Xu Mingliang; Chen Lianyun; Yu Zengliang

    2008-01-01

    Energy instability strongly affects the state and the beam size of the single ion microbeam. A facility based on the Generating Voltmeter was developed to improve the energy stability of the CAS-LIBB (Chinese Academy of Sciences, key laboratory of ion beam bioengineering) single ion microbeam. This paper presents the analysis of the energy instability of the single ion microbeam. A simplified theoretical model is set up to calculate the relationship between the energy instability and the beam spot size. By using this technique, the energy instability is adjusted to about 1%. Stable run-time is over 6 hours. The radius of the single ion beam is reduced by 10% compared to the previous one.

  11. Continuous Energy Improvement in Motor Driven Systems - A Guidebook for Industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gilbert A. McCoy and John G. Douglass

    2014-02-01

    This guidebook provides a step-by-step approach to developing a motor system energy-improvement action plan. An action plan includes which motors should be repaired or replaced with higher efficiency models, recommendations on maintaining a spares inventory, and discussion of improvements in maintenance practices. The guidebook is the successor to DOE’s 1997 Energy Management for Motor Driven Systems. It builds on its predecessor publication by including topics such as power transmission systems and matching driven equipment to process requirements in addition to motors.

  12. Improving energy productivity in paddy production through benchmarking-An application of data envelopment analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chauhan, Narvendra Singh; Mohapatra, Pratap K.J.; Pandey, Keshaw Prasad

    2006-01-01

    In this study, a data envelopment analysis approach has been used to determine the efficiencies of farmers with regard to energy use in rice production activities in the alluvial zone in the state of West Bengal in India. The study has helped to segregate efficient farmers from inefficient ones, identify wasteful uses of energy from different sources by inefficient farmers and to suggest reasonable savings in energy uses from different sources. The methods of cross efficiency matrix and distribution of virtual inputs are used to get insights into the performance of individual farmers, rank efficient farmers and identify the improved operating practices followed by a group of truly efficient farmers. The results reveal that, on an average, about 11.6% of the total input energy could be saved if the farmers follow the input package recommended by the study. The study also suggests that better use of power tillers and introduction of improved machinery would improve the efficiency of energy use and thereby improve the energy productivity of the rice production system in the zone

  13. Improving energy productivity in paddy production through benchmarking-An application of data envelopment analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chauhan, Narvendra Singh [Department of Agronomy, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, P.O. Pundibari, District Cooch Behar (West Bengal) 736 165 (India)]. E-mail: nsc_01@rediffmail.com; Mohapatra, Pratap K.J. [Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (West Bengal) 721 302 (India); Pandey, Keshaw Prasad [Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (West Bengal) 721 302 (India)

    2006-06-15

    In this study, a data envelopment analysis approach has been used to determine the efficiencies of farmers with regard to energy use in rice production activities in the alluvial zone in the state of West Bengal in India. The study has helped to segregate efficient farmers from inefficient ones, identify wasteful uses of energy from different sources by inefficient farmers and to suggest reasonable savings in energy uses from different sources. The methods of cross efficiency matrix and distribution of virtual inputs are used to get insights into the performance of individual farmers, rank efficient farmers and identify the improved operating practices followed by a group of truly efficient farmers. The results reveal that, on an average, about 11.6% of the total input energy could be saved if the farmers follow the input package recommended by the study. The study also suggests that better use of power tillers and introduction of improved machinery would improve the efficiency of energy use and thereby improve the energy productivity of the rice production system in the zone.

  14. Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Baking Industry: An ENERGY STAR® Guide for Plant and Energy Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Masanet, Eric [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Environmental Energy Technologies Division; Therkelsen, Peter [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Environmental Energy Technologies Division; Worrell, Ernst [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Environmental Energy Technologies Division

    2012-12-28

    The U.S. baking industry—defined in this Energy Guide as facilities engaged in the manufacture of commercial bakery products such as breads, rolls, frozen cakes, pies, pastries, and cookies and crackers—consumes over $800 million worth of purchased fuels and electricity per year. Energy efficiency improvement is an important way to reduce these costs and to increase predictable earnings, especially in times of high energy price volatility. There are a variety of opportunities available at individual plants to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner. This Energy Guide discusses energy efficiency practices and energy-efficient technologies that can be implemented at the component, process, facility, and organizational levels. Many measure descriptions include expected savings in energy and energy-related costs, based on case study data from real-world applications in food processing facilities and related industries worldwide. Typical measure payback periods and references to further information in the technical literature are also provided, when available. A summary of basic, proven measures for improving plant-level water efficiency is also provided. The information in this Energy Guide is intended to help energy and plant managers in the U.S. baking industry reduce energy and water consumption in a cost-effective manner while maintaining the quality of products manufactured. Further research on the economics of all measures—as well as on their applicability to different production practices—is needed to assess their cost effectiveness at individual plants.

  15. Improving energy efficiency: Strategies for supporting sustained market evolution in developing and transitioning countries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meyers, S.

    1998-02-01

    This report presents a framework for considering market-oriented strategies for improving energy efficiency that recognize the conditions of developing and transitioning countries, and the need to strengthen the effectiveness of market forces in delivering greater energy efficiency. It discusses policies that build markets in general, such as economic and energy pricing reforms that encourage competition and increase incentives for market actors to improve the efficiency of their energy use, and measures that reduce the barriers to energy efficiency in specific markets such that improvement evolves in a dynamic, lasting manner. The report emphasizes how different policies and measures support one another and can create a synergy in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. In addressing this topic, it draws on the experience with market transformation energy efficiency programs in the US and other industrialized countries.

  16. Quantifying the statistical importance of utilizing regression over classic energy intensity calculations for tracking efficiency improvements in industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nimbalkar, Sachin U. [ORNL; Wenning, Thomas J. [ORNL; Guo, Wei [ORNL

    2017-08-01

    In the United States, manufacturing facilities account for about 32% of total domestic energy consumption in 2014. Robust energy tracking methodologies are critical to understanding energy performance in manufacturing facilities. Due to its simplicity and intuitiveness, the classic energy intensity method (i.e. the ratio of total energy use over total production) is the most widely adopted. However, the classic energy intensity method does not take into account the variation of other relevant parameters (i.e. product type, feed stock type, weather, etc.). Furthermore, the energy intensity method assumes that the facilities’ base energy consumption (energy use at zero production) is zero, which rarely holds true. Therefore, it is commonly recommended to utilize regression models rather than the energy intensity approach for tracking improvements at the facility level. Unfortunately, many energy managers have difficulties understanding why regression models are statistically better than utilizing the classic energy intensity method. While anecdotes and qualitative information may convince some, many have major reservations about the accuracy of regression models and whether it is worth the time and effort to gather data and build quality regression models. This paper will explain why regression models are theoretically and quantitatively more accurate for tracking energy performance improvements. Based on the analysis of data from 114 manufacturing plants over 12 years, this paper will present quantitative results on the importance of utilizing regression models over the energy intensity methodology. This paper will also document scenarios where regression models do not have significant relevance over the energy intensity method.

  17. Improving the network infeed accuracy of non-dispatchable generators with energy storage devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koeppel, Gaudenz; Korpaas, Magnus

    2008-01-01

    The power output of generators based on renewable energy sources is often difficult to predict due to the non-deterministic behaviour of the energy source. Particularly in the case of wind turbines this leads to unpredicted line loading and requires balancing energy, at relatively high costs, depending on market structures. Consequently, the income from the production from such non-dispatchable generators can be significantly reduced by the penalty costs incurred. This paper investigates the potential of operating an energy storage device in parallel with the non-dispatchable generator in order to compensate the inaccuracies of the forecasted infeed and to avoid infeed deviations. A time series based simulation methodology is discussed, suitable for any type of non-dispatchable generator. The methodology contains a procedure for simulating different forecast errors, applying an exponentially weighted moving average approach. Analysis procedures and system performance indices are introduced for the evaluation of the configuration's performance. The applicability is shown in two case studies, using measurement data from a wind turbine and from a photovoltaic system. Both case studies show that the suggested configuration considerably improves the reliability or dependability of the network infeed, in turn reducing the demand for balancing energy and back-up generation. The relation between forecast error magnitude and required energy capacity is identified and the coherence of the time series analysis is discussed. (author)

  18. The Wind Forecast Improvement Project (WFIP). A Public/Private Partnership for Improving Short Term Wind Energy Forecasts and Quantifying the Benefits of Utility Operations -- the Northern Study Area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Finley, Cathy [WindLogics, St. Paul, MN (United States)

    2014-04-30

    individual wind plant and at the system-wide aggregate level over the one year study period showed that the research weather model-based power forecasts (all types) had lower overall error rates than the current operational weather model-based power forecasts, both at the individual wind plant level and at the system aggregate level. The bulk error statistics of the various model-based power forecasts were also calculated by season and model runtime/forecast hour as power system operations are more sensitive to wind energy forecast errors during certain times of year and certain times of day. The results showed that there were significant differences in seasonal forecast errors between the various model-based power forecasts. The results from the analysis of the various wind power forecast errors by model runtime and forecast hour showed that the forecast errors were largest during the times of day that have increased significance to power system operators (the overnight hours and the morning/evening boundary layer transition periods), but the research weather model-based power forecasts showed improvement over the operational weather model-based power forecasts at these times.

  19. Multi-energy x-ray detectors to improve air-cargo security

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paulus, Caroline; Moulin, Vincent; Perion, Didier; Radisson, Patrick; Verger, Loïck

    2017-05-01

    X-ray based systems have been used for decades to screen luggage or cargo to detect illicit material. The advent of energy-sensitive photon-counting x-ray detectors mainly based on Cd(Zn)Te semi-conductor technology enables to improve discrimination between materials compared to single or dual energy technology. The presented work is part of the EUROSKY European project to develop a Single European Secure Air-Cargo Space. "Cargo" context implies the presence of relatively heavy objects and with potentially high atomic number. All the study is conducted on simulations with three different detectors: a typical dual energy sandwich detector, a realistic model of the commercial ME100 multi-energy detector marketed by MULTIX, and a ME100 "Cargo": a not yet existing modified multi-energy version of the ME100 more suited to air freight cargo inspection. Firstly, a comparison on simulated measurements shows the performances improvement of the new multi-energy detectors compared to the current dual-energy one. The relative performances are evaluated according to different criteria of separability or contrast-to-noise ratio and the impact of different parameters is studied (influence of channel number, type of materials and tube voltage). Secondly, performances of multi-energy detectors for overlaps processing in a dual-view system is accessed: the case of orthogonal projections has been studied, one giving dimensional values, the other one providing spectral data to assess effective atomic number. A method of overlap correction has been proposed and extended to multi-layer objects case. Therefore, Calibration and processing based on bi-material decomposition have been adapted for this purpose.

  20. Improving Energy Efficiency for the Vehicle Assembly Industry: A Discrete Event Simulation Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oumer, Abduaziz; Mekbib Atnaw, Samson; Kie Cheng, Jack; Singh, Lakveer

    2016-11-01

    This paper presented a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model for investigating and improving energy efficiency in vehicle assembly line. The car manufacturing industry is one of the highest energy consuming industries. Using Rockwell Arena DES package; a detailed model was constructed for an actual vehicle assembly plant. The sources of energy considered in this research are electricity and fuel; which are the two main types of energy sources used in a typical vehicle assembly plant. The model depicts the performance measurement for process- specific energy measures of painting, welding, and assembling processes. Sound energy efficiency model within this industry has two-fold advantage: reducing CO2 emission and cost reduction associated with fuel and electricity consumption. The paper starts with an overview of challenges in energy consumption within the facilities of automotive assembly line and highlights the parameters for energy efficiency. The results of the simulation model indicated improvements for energy saving objectives and reduced costs.

  1. Improving thermoelectric energy harvesting efficiency by using graphene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Usman

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This study is aimed at enhancing the efficiency of a thermoelectric (TE energy harvesting system by using a thick graphene layer. This method is a simple yet effective way to increase the temperature gradient across a conventional TE module by accelerating heat dissipation on the cold side of the system. Aqueous dispersions of graphene were used to prepare a 112-μm thick graphene layer on the cold side of the TE system with aluminum as the substrate material. The maximum efficiency of the proposed system was improved by 25.45 %, as compared to the conventional TE system, which does not have a graphene layer. Additionally, the proposed system shows very little performance deterioration (2.87 % in the absence of enough air flow on the cold side of the system, compared to the case of the conventional system (10.59 %. Hence, the proposed system, when coupled with the latest research on high performance TE materials, presents a groundbreaking improvement in the practical application of the TE energy harvesting systems.

  2. Domestic energy use and householders' energy behaviour

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yohanis, Yigzaw Goshu

    2012-01-01

    This paper discusses domestic energy use and energy behaviour. It shows some improvement in domestic energy consumption and adoption of good energy practice. The survey conducted indicated that 35% of homes could improve their energy efficiency by improved tank insulation. In the last 5 years condensing boilers have been installed only in 3% of homes, indicating that householders are unaware of their advantages. Although 88% of surveyed homes had purchased a major appliance in the last 2 years, only 16% had any idea of the energy rating of their new appliances. Use of energy saving light bulbs is predominant in kitchens compared to other rooms. 70–80% of householders undertook some kind of day-to-day energy efficiency measures. 20–35% of householders would like to invest in energy-saving measures but found cost to be a key barrier. Approximately 84% of those surveyed were unaware of the energy rating of their household appliances. Price and brand were the most important factors determining the purchase of a new appliance. Significant energy-saving could be achieved by providing appropriate information to the general public regarding temperature control, efficiency of appliances and energy-saving heating systems. - Highlights: ▶ Good practice in household energy use is being adopted but actual use is rising. ▶ Cost is dominant in energy related decisions purchasing of household appliances. ▶ Energy behaviour is improving but level of awareness needs more work.

  3. Jevons' Paradox revisited: The evidence for backfire from improved energy efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sorrell, Steve

    2009-01-01

    Beginning with William Stanley Jevons in 1865, a number of authors have claimed that economically justified energy-efficiency improvements will increase rather than reduce energy consumption. 'Jevons Paradox' is extremely difficult to test empirically, but could have profound implications for energy and climate policy. This paper summarises and critiques the arguments and evidence that have been cited in support of Jevons' Paradox, focusing in particular on the work of Len Brookes and Harry Saunders. It identifies some empirical and theoretical weaknesses in these arguments, highlights the questions they raise for economic orthodoxy and points to some interesting parallels between these arguments and those used by the 'biophysical' school of ecological economics. While the evidence in favour of 'Jevons Paradox' is far from conclusive, it does suggest that economy-wide rebound effects are larger than is conventionally assumed and that energy plays a more important role in driving productivity improvements and economic growth than is conventionally assumed

  4. Metaldyne: Plant-Wide Assessment at Royal Oak Finds Opportunities to Improve Manufacturing Efficiency, Reduce Energy Use, and Achieve Significant Cost Savings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2005-05-01

    This case study prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Technologies Program describes a plant-wide energy assessment conducted at the Metaldyne, Inc., forging plant in Royal Oak, Michigan. The assessment focused on reducing the plant's operating costs, inventory, and energy use. If the company were to implement all the recommendations that came out of the assessment, its total annual energy savings for electricity would be about 11.5 million kWh and annual cost savings would be $12.6 million.

  5. Different Training Modalities Improve Energy Cost and Performance in Master Runners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorenzo Pugliese

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of continuous moderate-intensity and discontinuous high-intensity training on running performance in master runners.Methods: Thirty-four male master runners (47.2 ± 7.4 years were assigned to three different groups: continuous moderate-intensity training (CMIT, discontinuous high-intensity training (DHIT, and control group (CON. CMIT and DHIT performed 8-week of supervised training (3 session·wk−1; ~35 km·wk−1 while CON maintained their normal training habits (3–4 session·wk−1; ~50 km·wk−1. Peak oxygen consumption (V˙O2peak and peak running speed (vpeak during incremental treadmill exercise, gas exchange threshold (GET, speed at GET, energy cost of running (Cr, and 5-km performance were evaluated before and after training.Results: Following the training period, both CMIT and DHIT significantly reduced Cr (−4.4 and −4.9%, respectively, P < 0.05, increased speed at GET (3.4 and 5.7%, P < 0.05 and improved 5-km time-trial performance (3.1 and 2.2%, P < 0.05 whereas no differences were found for V˙O2peak and GET (as %V˙O2peak. After training, vpeak improved only for DHIT (6%, P < 0.05. No differences were found in any variable for CON.Conclusions: This study indicates that both CMIT and DHIT may positively affect running performance in middle-aged master runners. This improvement was achieved despite a significant reduction of the amount of weekly training volume.

  6. Evaluating clean energy alternatives for Jiangsu, China: An improved multi-criteria decision making method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Ling; Zhou, Peng; Newton, Sidney; Fang, Jian-xin; Zhou, De-qun; Zhang, Lu-ping

    2015-01-01

    Promoting the utilization of clean energy has been identified as one potential solution to addressing environmental pollution and achieving sustainable development in many countries around the world. Evaluating clean energy alternatives includes a requirement to balance multiple conflict criteria, including technology, environment, economy and society, all of which are incommensurate and interdependent. Traditional MCDM (multi-criteria decision making) methods, such as the weighted average method, often fail to aggregate such criteria consistently. In this paper, an improved MCDM method based on fuzzy measure and integral is developed and applied to evaluate four primary clean energy options for Jiangsu Province, China. The results confirm that the preferred clean energy option for Jiangsu is solar photovoltaic, followed by wind, biomass and finally nuclear. A sensitivity analysis is also conducted to evaluate the values of clean energy resources for Jiangsu. The ordered weighted average method is also applied to compare the method mentioned above in our empirical study. The results show that the improved MCDM method provides higher discrimination between alternative clean energy alternatives. - Highlights: • Interactions among evaluation criteria of clean energy resources are taken into account. • An improved multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method is proposed based on entropy weight method, fuzzy measure and integral. • Clean energy resources of Jiangsu are evaluated with the improved MCDM method, and their ranks are identified.

  7. Significant improvement of electrochemical performance of Cu ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    LiVPO4F cathode material for lithium-ion batteries. YU ZHANGa,∗, XIAOLAN BAIb ... and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). ... Analysis of electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) ... studied with a SEM (JSM-7500F, Japan) equipped with.

  8. Protein blend ingestion before allogeneic stem cell transplantation improves protein-energy malnutrition in patients with leukemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Guangxu; Zhang, Jianping; Li, Minghua; Yi, Suqin; Xie, Jin; Zhang, Hongru; Wang, Jing

    2017-10-01

    Severe protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) and skeletal muscle wasting are commonly observed in patients with acute leukemia. Recently, the ingestion of a soy-whey protein blend has been shown to promote muscle protein synthesis (MPS). Thus, we tested the hypothesis that the ingestion of a soy-whey blended protein (BP) may improve the PEM status and muscle mass in acute leukemia patients. In total, 24 patients from the same treatment group were randomly assigned to the natural diet plus soy-whey blended protein (BP) group and the natural diet only (ND) group. Our data showed that protein and energy intake decreased significantly (P protein) were observed in the majority (>50%) of the patients. However, 66% of the patients who ingested the BP before transplantation showed obvious increases in arm muscle area. The gripping power value (△ post-pre or △ post-baseline ) was significantly higher in the BP group than in the ND group (P protein to different extents. Notably, the average time to stem cell engraftment was significantly shorter for patients in the BP group (12.2 ± 2.0 days) than for patients in the ND group (15.1 ± 2.9 days). Collectively, our data supported that soy-whey protein can improve PEM status and muscle mass in leukemia patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. The use of biological systems to improve the energy sustainability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Giovannozzi-Sermmanik, G. [Tuscia Univ., Viterbo (Italy)

    2005-06-01

    Few considerations on the possible role of biochemical reactions to improve energy availability for the mankind activities are presented. An improvement of the sustainability, among many biological cycles, can be obtained by amplified organic matter biosynthesis and its efficient utilisation. In the plants the increase of biosynthesis of cellulose, lignins, starch and hemicelluloses, main renewable reserves of chemical bonds in the biosphere, can be meliorated by more active photosynthetic cycle due to phophoenolpyruvic carboxylase. A second aspect is related to the efficient biodegradations of the plant organic matter by cellulases, hemicellulases and polyphenol oxidases allowing the mobilisation and utilisation of huge amounts of chemical bonds.The capability of this biodegradation can be improved by an emerging technology, the solid state fermentation (SSF), with which the biodegradation is controlled and driven. An example of such integrated approach is constituted by paper pulps from agricultural and forestry materials obtainable with less chemicals use, lower specific energy, better yield of paper pulps and better properties of the papers. (au)

  10. Transportation Energy Futures Series. Potential for Energy Efficiency Improvement Beyond the Light-Duty-Vehicle Sector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vyas, A. D. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Patel, D. M. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Bertram, K. M. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

    2013-02-01

    Considerable research has focused on energy efficiency and fuel substitution options for light-duty vehicles, while much less attention has been given to medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses, aircraft, marine vessels, trains, pipeline, and off-road equipment. This report brings together the salient findings from an extensive review of literature on future energy efficiency options for these non-light-duty modes. Projected activity increases to 2050 are combined with forecasts of overall fuel efficiency improvement potential to estimate the future total petroleum and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to current levels. This is one of a series of reports produced as a result of the Transportation Energy Futures (TEF) project, a Department of Energy-sponsored multi-agency project initiated to pinpoint underexplored strategies for abating GHGs and reducing petroleum dependence related to transportation.

  11. Transportation Energy Futures Series: Potential for Energy Efficiency Improvement Beyond the Light-Duty-Vehicle Sector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vyas, A. D.; Patel, D. M.; Bertram, K. M.

    2013-03-01

    Considerable research has focused on energy efficiency and fuel substitution options for light-duty vehicles, while much less attention has been given to medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses, aircraft, marine vessels, trains, pipeline, and off-road equipment. This report brings together the salient findings from an extensive review of literature on future energy efficiency options for these non-light-duty modes. Projected activity increases to 2050 are combined with forecasts of overall fuel efficiency improvement potential to estimate the future total petroleum and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to current levels. This is one of a series of reports produced as a result of the Transportation Energy Futures (TEF) project, a Department of Energy-sponsored multi-agency project initiated to pinpoint underexplored strategies for abating GHGs and reducing petroleum dependence related to transportation.

  12. NASA Contributions to Improve Understanding of Extreme Events in the Global Energy and Water Cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapenta, William M.

    2008-01-01

    The U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) has established the water cycle goals of the Nation's climate change program. Accomplishing these goals will require, in part, an accurate accounting of the key reservoirs and fluxes associated with the global water and energy cycle, including their spatial and temporal variability. through integration of all necessary observations and research tools, To this end, in conjunction with NASA's Earth science research strategy, the overarching long-term NASA Energy and Water Cycle Study (NEWS) grand challenge can he summarized as documenting and enabling improved, observationally based, predictions of water and energy cycle consequences of Earth system variability and change. This challenge requires documenting and predicting trends in the rate of the Earth's water and energy cycling that corresponds to climate change and changes in the frequency and intensity of naturally occurring related meteorological and hydrologic events, which may vary as climate may vary in the future. The cycling of water and energy has obvious and significant implications for the health and prosperity of our society. The importance of documenting and predicting water and energy cycle variations and extremes is necessary to accomplish this benefit to society.

  13. Study on improving rail energy efficiency (E2) : best practices and strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-03-23

    A recent Volpe Center report [1] for the Federal Railroad Administrations (FRA) Rail Energy, Environment, and Engine (E3) Technology research and development program reviewed rail industry best practices (BPs) and strategies for improving energy e...

  14. Rehearsal significantly improves immediate and delayed recall on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hessen, Erik

    2011-10-01

    A repeated observation during memory assessment with the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) is that patients who spontaneously employ a memory rehearsal strategy by repeating the word list more than once achieve better scores than patients who only repeat the word list once. This observation led to concern about the ability of the standard test procedure of RAVLT and similar tests in eliciting the best possible recall scores. The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that a rehearsal recall strategy of repeating the word list more than once would result in improved scores of recall on the RAVLT. We report on differences in outcome after standard administration and after experimental administration on Immediate and Delayed Recall measures from the RAVLT of 50 patients. The experimental administration resulted in significantly improved scores for all the variables employed. Additionally, it was found that patients who failed effort screening showed significantly poorer improvement on Delayed Recall compared with those who passed the effort screening. The general clear improvement both in raw scores and T-scores demonstrates that recall performance can be significantly influenced by the strategy of the patient or by small variations in instructions by the examiner.

  15. Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Pharmaceutical Industry. An ENERGY STAR Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galitsky, Christina; Galitsky, Christina; Chang, Sheng-chieh; Worrell, Ernst; Masanet, Eric

    2008-03-01

    The U.S. pharmaceutical industry consumes almost $1 billion in energy annually. Energy efficiency improvement is an important way to reduce these costs and to increase predictable earnings, especially in times of high energy price volatility. There are a variety of opportunities available at individual plants in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner. This Energy Guide discusses energy efficiency practices and energy efficient technologies that can be implemented at the component, process, system, and organizational levels. A discussion of the trends, structure, and energy consumption characteristics of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry is provided along with a description of the major process steps in the pharmaceutical manufacturing process. Expected savings in energy and energy-related costs are given for many energy efficiency measures, based on case study data from real-world applications in pharmaceutical and related facilities worldwide. Typical measure payback periods and references to further information in the technical literature are also provided, when available. The information in this Energy Guide is intended to help energy and plant managers reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner while meeting regulatory requirements and maintaining the quality of products manufactured. At individual plants, further research on the economics of the measures?as well as their applicability to different production practices?is needed to assess potential implementation of selected technologies.

  16. A new approach to measuring the rebound effect associated to energy efficiency improvements: An application to the US residential energy demand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orea, Luis; Llorca, Manuel; Filippini, Massimo

    2015-01-01

    This paper brings attention to the fact that the energy demand frontier model introduced by Filippini and Hunt (2011, 2012) is closely connected to the measurement of the so-called rebound effect associated with improvements in energy efficiency. In particular, we show that their model implicitly imposes a zero rebound effect, which contradicts most of the available empirical evidence on this issue. We relax this restrictive assumption through the modelling of a rebound-effect function that mitigates or intensifies the effect of an efficiency improvement on energy consumption. We illustrate our model with an empirical application that aims to estimate a US frontier residential aggregate energy demand function using panel data for 48 states over the period 1995 to 2011. Average values of the rebound effect in the range of 56–80% are found. Therefore, policymakers should be aware that most of the expected energy reduction from efficiency improvements may not be achieved. - Highlights: • A new approach to measuring rebound effects in energy consumption is presented. • We illustrate our proposal with an application to US residential energy demand. • Relatively large rebound effects in the range of 56–80% are found. • Energy-inefficient states tend to exhibit low rebound effects. • We identify states where energy-saving policies should be more effective

  17. Valuing improvements in comfort from domestic energy-efficiency retrofits using a trade-off simulation model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clinch, J. Peter; Healy, John D.

    2003-01-01

    There are a number of stimuli behind energy efficiency, not least the Kyoto Protocol. The domestic sector has been highlighted as a key potential area. Improving energy efficiency in this sector also assists alleviating fuel poverty, for research is now demonstrating the strong relationship between poor domestic thermal efficiency, high fuel poverty and poor health and comfort status. Previous research has modelled the energy consumption and technical potential for energy saving resulting from energy-efficiency upgrades in this sector. However, there is virtually no work evaluating the economic benefit of improving households' thermal comfort post-retrofit. This paper does this for Ireland using a computer-simulation program. A dynamic modelling process is employed which projects into the future predicting the extent to which energy savings are forgone for improvements in comfort

  18. Low-energy extracorporeal shock wave therapy promotes vascular endothelial growth factor expression and improves locomotor recovery after spinal cord injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaya, Seiji; Ozawa, Hiroshi; Kanno, Haruo; Kishimoto, Koshi N; Sekiguchi, Akira; Tateda, Satoshi; Yahata, Kenichiro; Ito, Kenta; Shimokawa, Hiroaki; Itoi, Eiji

    2014-12-01

    Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is widely used for the clinical treatment of various human diseases. Recent studies have demonstrated that low-energy ESWT upregulates the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and promotes angiogenesis and functional recovery in myocardial infarction and peripheral artery disease. Many previous reports suggested that VEGF produces a neuroprotective effect to reduce secondary neural tissue damage after spinal cord injury (SCI). The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether low-energy ESWT promotes VEGF expression and neuroprotection and improves locomotor recovery after SCI. Sixty adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: sham group (laminectomy only), sham-SW group (low-energy ESWT applied after laminectomy), SCI group (SCI only), and SCI-SW group (low-energy ESWT applied after SCI). Thoracic spinal cord contusion injury was inflicted using an impactor. Low-energy ESWT was applied to the injured spinal cord 3 times a week for 3 weeks. Locomotor function was evaluated using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) Scale (open field locomotor score) at different time points over 42 days after SCI. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to assess neural tissue damage in the spinal cord. Neuronal loss was investigated by immunostaining for NeuN. The mRNA expressions of VEGF and its receptor, Flt-1, in the spinal cord were assessed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Immunostaining for VEGF was performed to evaluate VEGF protein expression in the spinal cord. In both the sham and sham-SW groups, no animals showed locomotor impairment on BBB scoring. Histological analysis of H & E and NeuN stainings in the sham-SW group confirmed that no neural tissue damage was induced by the low-energy ESWT. Importantly, animals in the SCI-SW group demonstrated significantly better locomotor improvement than those in the SCI group at 7, 35, and 42 days after injury (p

  19. Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Fruit and Vegetable Processing Industry. An ENERGY STAR Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Masanet, Eric; Masanet, Eric; Worrell, Ernst; Graus, Wina; Galitsky, Christina

    2008-01-01

    The U.S. fruit and vegetable processing industry--defined in this Energy Guide as facilities engaged in the canning, freezing, and drying or dehydrating of fruits and vegetables--consumes over $800 million worth of purchased fuels and electricity per year. Energy efficiency improvement isan important way to reduce these costs and to increase predictable earnings, especially in times of high energy price volatility. There are a variety of opportunities available at individual plants in the U.S. fruit and vegetable processing industry to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner. This Energy Guide discusses energy efficiency practices and energy-efficient technologies that can be implemented at the component, process, facility, and organizational levels. A discussion of the trends, structure, and energy consumption characteristics of the U.S. fruit and vegetable processing industry is provided along with a description of the major process technologies used within the industry. Next, a wide variety of energy efficiency measures applicable to fruit and vegetable processing plants are described. Many measure descriptions include expected savings in energy and energy-related costs, based on case study data from real-world applications in fruit and vegetable processing facilities and related industries worldwide. Typical measure payback periods and references to further information in the technical literature are also provided, when available. Given the importance of water in fruit and vegetable processing, a summary of basic, proven measures for improving plant-level water efficiency are also provided. The information in this Energy Guide is intended to help energy and plant managers in the U.S. fruit and vegetable processing industry reduce energy and water consumption in a cost-effective manner while maintaining the quality of products manufactured. Further research on the economics of all measures--as well as on their applicability to different production

  20. We forgot half of the population! The significance of gender in Danish energy renovation projects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tjørring, Lise

    2016-01-01

    that the way people live their everyday lives plays a crucial role in understanding why they choose whether to perform an energy renovation. This study is based on an anthropological investigation of ten Danish families and their decision-making process while receiving free energy advice, which, in many cases......, ended as an energy renovation project in the home. During the study, gender emerged as a significant factor in two ways. First, energy renovations were perceived differently by men and women as a consequence of their different everyday practices. Second, there was a cultural norm about the division...... that contains different gender practices and cultural influences....

  1. Heat storage in forest biomass improves energy balance closure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindroth, A.; Mölder, M.; Lagergren, F.

    2010-01-01

    Temperature measurements in trunks and branches in a mature ca. 100 years-old mixed pine and spruce forest in central Sweden were used to estimate the heat storage in the tree biomass. The estimated heat flux in the sample trees and data on biomass distributions were used to scale up to stand level biomass heat fluxes. The rate of change of sensible and latent heat storage in the air layer below the level of the flux measurements was estimated from air temperature and humidity profile measurements and soil heat flux was estimated from heat flux plates and soil temperature measurements. The fluxes of sensible and latent heat from the forest were measured with an eddy covariance system in a tower. The analysis was made for a two-month period in summer of 1995. The tree biomass heat flux was the largest of the estimated storage components and varied between 40 and -35 W m-2 on summer days with nice weather. Averaged over two months the diurnal maximum of total heat storage was 45 W m-2 and the minimum was -35 W m-2. The soil heat flux and the sensible heat storage in air were out of phase with the biomass flux and they reached maximum values that were about 75% of the maximum of the tree biomass heat storage. The energy balance closure improved significantly when the total heat storage was added to the turbulent fluxes. The slope of a regression line with sum of fluxes and storage as independent and net radiation as dependent variable, increased from 0.86 to 0.95 for half-hourly data and the scatter was also reduced. The most significant finding was, however, that during nights with strongly stable conditions when the sensible heat flux dropped to nearly zero, the total storage matched the net radiation very well. Another interesting result was that the mean energy imbalance started to increase when the Richardson number became more negative than ca. -0.1. In fact, the largest energy deficit occurred at maximum instability. Our conclusion is that eddy covariance

  2. Energy analysis and improvement potential of finned double-pass solar collector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fudholi, Ahmad; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman; Othman, Mohd Yusof; Ruslan, Mohd Hafidz; Bakhtyar, B.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • The developed steady state model predicting the thermal performance of double-pass solar collectors is presented. • The main objective of this paper is to analyze the energy and exergy of finned double-pass solar collector. • A new mathematical model, solution procedure, and test results are presented. • The thermal performances and improvement potential of the double-pass solar collectors are discussed. - Abstract: Steady state energy balance equations for the finned double-pass solar collector have been developed. These equations were solved using the matrix inversion method. The predicted results were in agreement with the results obtained from the experiments. The predictions and experiments were observed at the mass flow rate ranging between 0.03 kg/s and 0.1 kg/s, and solar radiation ranging between 400 W/m 2 and 800 W/m 2 . The effects of mass flow rates and solar radiation levels on energy efficiency, exergy efficiency and the improvement potential have been observed. The optimum energy efficiency is approximately 77%, which was observed at the mass flow rate of 0.09 kg/s. The optical efficiency of the finned double-pass solar collector is approximately 70–80%. The exergy efficiency is approximately 15–28% and improvement potential of 740–1070 W for a solar radiation of 425–790 W/m 2

  3. Market of dwelling improvement. Energy mastery in existing dwellings in France; Marche de l'amelioration de l'habitat. La maitrise de l'energie dans l'habitat existant en France

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Videau, S.; Le Fur, B.

    2003-09-01

    This documentary study represents a basis of thinking for the development of the market of energy mastery works in existing accommodations. It integrates, analyzes and synthesizes a huge number of data about energy and environment gathered from several sources (Energy Observatory, French agency of environment and energy mastery (Ademe), national program of fight against climatic change (PNLCC), etc..). It presents first, the economical, environmental and social stakes of such a market (energy dependence of France, environmental commitments, energy over-consumption of old buildings), and then it lists the different points that would lead to significant energy savings: use of energy efficient appliances (consumer information), insulation and space heating improvements, and promotion of renewable energy sources. (J.S.)

  4. Improving energy audit process and report outcomes through planning initiatives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sprau Coulter, Tabitha L.

    Energy audits and energy models are an important aspect of the retrofit design process, as they provide project teams with an opportunity to evaluate a facilities current building systems' and energy performance. The information collected during an energy audit is typically used to develop an energy model and an energy audit report that are both used to assist in making decisions about the design and implementation of energy conservation measures in a facility. The current lack of energy auditing standards results in a high degree of variability in energy audit outcomes depending on the individual performing the audit. The research presented is based on the conviction that performing an energy audit and producing a value adding energy model for retrofit buildings can benefit from a revised approach. The research was divided into four phases, with the initial three phases consisting of: 1.) process mapping activity - aimed at reducing variability in the energy auditing and energy modeling process. 2.) survey analysis -- To examine the misalignment between how industry members use the top energy modeling tools compared to their intended use as defined by software representatives. 3.) sensitivity analysis -- analysis of the affect key energy modeling inputs are having on energy modeling analysis results. The initial three phases helped define the need for an improved energy audit approach that better aligns data collection with facility owners' needs and priorities. The initial three phases also assisted in the development of a multi-criteria decision support tool that incorporates a House of Quality approach to guide a pre-audit planning activity. For the fourth and final research phase explored the impacts and evaluation methods of a pre-audit planning activity using two comparative energy audits as case studies. In each case, an energy audit professionals was asked to complete an audit using their traditional methods along with an audit which involved them first

  5. Measuring and improving the public perceptions on nuclear energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Young Sung

    2001-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to measure the public's perception on risk and benefit of nuclear power and to find ways to improve the perceptions. Latent Class Analysis is adopted for the perception measures, which quantify people's perception and reveal the perception structure. The measures resulted from Latent Class Analysis show that women perceive risks to be more existent and benefits to be less than men do. Moreover there is a tendency that if education level is high, perceived risk is low and perceived benefit is high. The perception of risk and benefit also depends on different channels through which people get information about nuclear energy. Comparing seven different information channels, the most effective ways of communicating with people to improve the risk and benefit perception of nuclear energy are found to be the visit to nuclear plants and the education through the regular schooling. Information dissemination through mass media is only effective to the benefit perception

  6. Energy use in Denmark

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schipper, L.; Howarth, R.; Andersson, B.; Price, L.

    1993-01-01

    This paper reviews the evolution of energy use in Denmark since the early 1970s, in order to shed light on the future path of energy use in Denmark, with particular emphasis on the role of energy efficiency. Improvements in end-use energy efficiency reduced primary energy requirements in Denmark by 22% between 1972 and 1988. This change accounts for two thirds of the decline in the ratio of energy use to gross domestic product that occurred during this time: the rest of the decline was caused by changes in the mix of goods and services produced and consumed by the Danes. Total energy savings achieved between 1972 and 1988 in Denmark ranked among the highest measured in any major OECD country. Overall, most of the energy savings in Denmark were brought about through improvements in technology. Short-term changes in consumer behaviour were significant in reducing energy needs for space heating and transport. An important stimulus for improved efficiency was higher energy prices, led in no small part by significant taxes imposed on small consumers of heating oil, electricity and motor fuels. (author). 21 refs, 20 figs, 2 tabs

  7. Energy Saving Melting and Revert Reduction Technology (E-SMARRT): Melting Efficiency Improvement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Principal Investigator Kent Peaslee; Co-PI’s: Von Richards, Jeffrey Smith

    2012-07-31

    Steel foundries melt recycled scrap in electric furnaces and typically consume 35-100% excess energy from the theoretical energy requirement required to pour metal castings. This excess melting energy is multiplied by yield losses during casting and finishing operations resulting in the embodied energy in a cast product typically being three to six times the theoretical energy requirement. The purpose of this research project was to study steel foundry melting operations to understand energy use and requirements for casting operations, define variations in energy consumption, determine technologies and practices that are successful in reducing melting energy and develop new melting techniques and tools to improve the energy efficiency of melting in steel foundry operations.

  8. Energy Saving Melting and Revert Reduction Technology: Improved Die Casting Process to Preserve the Life of the Inserts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    David Schwam, PI; Xuejun Zhu, Sr. Research Associate

    2012-09-30

    The goal of this project was to study the combined effects of die design, proper internal cooling and efficient die lubricants on die life. The project targeted improvements in die casting insert life by: Optomized Die Design for Reduced Surface Temperature: The life of die casting dies is significantly shorter when the die is exposed to elevated temperature for significant periods of time. Any die operated under conditions leading to surface temperature in excess of 1050oF undergoes structural changes that reduce its strength. Optimized die design can improve die life significantly. This improvement can be accomplished by means of cooling lines, baffles and bubblers in the die. A key objective of the project was to establish criteria for the minimal distance of the cooling lines from the surface. This effort was supported with alloys and machining by BohlerUddeholm, Dunn Steel, HH Stark and Rex Buckeye. In plant testing and evaluation was conducted as in-kind cost share at St. Clair Die Casting. The Uddeholm Dievar steel evaluated in this program showed superior resistance to thermal fatigue resistance. Based on the experimental evidence, cooling lines could be placed as close as 0.5" from the surface. Die Life Extension by Optimized Die Lubrication: The life of die casting dies is affected by additions made to its surface with the proper lubricants. These lubricants will protect the surface from the considerable temperature peaks that occur when the molten melt enters the die. Dies will reach a significantly higher temperature without this lubricant being applied. The amount and type of the lubricant are critical variables in the die casting process. However, these lubricants must not corrode the die surface. This effort was supported with alloys and machining by BohlerUddeholm, Dunn Steel, HH Stark and Rex Buckeye. In plant testing and evaluation was conducted as in-kind cost share at St. Clair Die Casting. Chem- Trend participated in the program with die

  9. Unified Health Gamification can significantly improve well-being in corporate environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahrestani, Arash; Van Gorp, Pieter; Le Blanc, Pascale; Greidanus, Fabrizio; de Groot, Kristel; Leermakers, Jelle

    2017-07-01

    There is a multitude of mHealth applications that aim to solve societal health problems by stimulating specific types of physical activities via gamification. However, physical health activities cover just one of the three World Health Organization (WHO) dimensions of health. This paper introduces the novel notion of Unified Health Gamification (UHG), which covers besides physical health also social and cognitive health and well-being. Instead of rewarding activities in the three WHO dimensions using different mHealth competitions, UHG combines the scores for such activities on unified leaderboards and lets people interact in social circles beyond personal interests. This approach is promising in corporate environments since UHG can connect the employees with intrinsic motivation for physical health with those who have quite different interests. In order to evaluate this approach, we realized an app prototype and we evaluated it in two corporate pilot studies. In total, eighteen pilot users participated voluntarily for six weeks. Half of the participants were recruited from an occupational health setting and the other half from a treatment setting. Our results suggest that the UHG principles are worth more investigation: various positive health effects were found based on a validated survey. The mean mental health improved significantly at one pilot location and at the level of individual pilot participants, multiple other effects were found to be significant: among others, significant mental health improvements were found for 28% of the participants. Most participants intended to use the app beyond the pilot, especially if it would be further developed.

  10. Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Centralization for Significant Energy Savings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, Dale

    2010-09-15

    Cost effective predictive maintenance (PdM) technologies and basic energy calculations can mine energy savings form processes or maintenance activities. Centralizing and packaging this information correctly empowers facility maintenance and reliability professionals to build financial justification and support for strategies and personnel to weather global economic downturns and competition. Attendees will learn how to: Systematically build a 'pilot project' for applying PdM and tracking systems; Break down a typical electrical bill to calculate energy savings; Use return on investment (ROI) calculations to identify the best and highest value options, strategies and tips for substantiating your energy reduction maintenance strategies.

  11. Targeting for energy efficiency and improved energy collaboration between different companies using total site analysis (TSA)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hackl, Roman; Andersson, Eva; Harvey, Simon

    2011-01-01

    Rising fuel prices, increasing costs associated with emissions of green house gases and the threat of global warming make efficient use of energy more and more important. Industrial clusters have the potential to significantly increase energy efficiency by energy collaboration. In this paper Sweden's largest chemical cluster is analysed using the total site analysis (TSA) method. TSA delivers targets for the amount of utility consumed and generated through excess energy recovery by the different processes. The method enables investigation of opportunities to deliver waste heat from one process to another using a common utility system. The cluster consists of 5 chemical companies producing a variety of products, including polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), amines, ethylene, oxygen/nitrogen and plasticisers. The companies already work together by exchanging material streams. In this study the potential for energy collaboration is analysed in order to reach an industrial symbiosis. The overall heating and cooling demands of the site are around 442 MW and 953 MW, respectively. 122 MW of heat is produced in boilers and delivered to the processes. TSA is used to stepwise design a site-wide utility system which improves energy efficiency. It is shown that heat recovery in the cluster can be increased by 129 MW, i.e. the current utility demand could be completely eliminated and further 7 MW excess steam can be made available. The proposed retrofitted utility system involves the introduction of a site-wide hot water circuit, increased recovery of low pressure steam and shifting of heating steam pressure to lower levels in a number heat exchangers when possible. Qualitative evaluation of the suggested measures shows that 60 MW of the savings potential could to be achieved with moderate changes to the process utility system corresponding to 50% of the heat produced from purchased fuel in the boilers of the cluster. Further analysis showed that after implementation

  12. Energy efficiency improvements in electric motors and drives

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bertoldi, P. [Commission of the European Communities, Brussels (Belgium). Directorate General for Energy; Ameida, A.T. de [Coimbra Univ. (Portugal). Dept. de Engenharia Electrotecnica; Falkner, H. [eds.] [AEA Technolgy, Harwell (United Kingdom). ETSU

    2000-07-01

    This book covers the state of the art of energy-efficient electric motor technologies, which can be used now and in the near future to achieve significant and cost-effective energy savings. Recent developments in advanced motor technologies by some of the largest manufacturers of motors and drives are also presented. Although energy-efficient motor technologies can save a huge amount of electricity, they still have not been widely adopted. The barriers which can hinder the adoption of those technologies are presented. Policies and programmes to promote the large scale penetration of energy-efficient technologies and the market transformation are featured in the book, describing the experiences carried out in different parts of the world. This extensive coverage includes contributions from relevant institutions in the European Union, North America, Latin America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. (orig.)

  13. Intermittent energy restriction improves weight loss efficiency in obese men: the MATADOR study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrne, N M; Sainsbury, A; King, N A; Hills, A P; Wood, R E

    2018-01-01

    Background/Objectives: The MATADOR (Minimising Adaptive Thermogenesis And Deactivating Obesity Rebound) study examined whether intermittent energy restriction (ER) improved weight loss efficiency compared with continuous ER and, if so, whether intermittent ER attenuated compensatory responses associated with ER. Subjects/Methods: Fifty-one men with obesity were randomised to 16 weeks of either: (1) continuous (CON), or (2) intermittent (INT) ER completed as 8 × 2-week blocks of ER alternating with 7 × 2-week blocks of energy balance (30 weeks total). Forty-seven participants completed a 4-week baseline phase and commenced the intervention (CON: N=23, 39.4±6.8 years, 111.1±9.1 kg, 34.3±3.0 kg m−2; INT: N=24, 39.8±9.5 years, 110.2±13.8 kg, 34.1±4.0 kg m−2). During ER, energy intake was equivalent to 67% of weight maintenance requirements in both groups. Body weight, fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM) and resting energy expenditure (REE) were measured throughout the study. Results: For the N=19 CON and N=17 INT who completed the intervention per protocol, weight loss was greater for INT (14.1±5.6 vs 9.1±2.9 kg; Penergy balance blocks was minimal (0.0±0.3 kg). While reduction in absolute REE did not differ between groups (INT: -502±481 vs CON: −624±557 kJ d−1; P=0.5), after adjusting for changes in body composition, it was significantly lower in INT (INT: −360±502 vs CON: −749±498 kJ d−1; Penergy balance ‘rest periods’ may reduce compensatory metabolic responses and, in turn, improve weight loss efficiency. PMID:28925405

  14. Higher-capacity lithium ion battery chemistries for improved residential energy storage with micro-cogeneration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Darcovich, K.; Henquin, E.R.; Kenney, B.; Davidson, I.J.; Saldanha, N.; Beausoleil-Morrison, I.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Characterized two novel high capacity electrode materials for Li-ion batteries. • A numerical discharge model was run to characterize Li-ion cell behavior. • Engineering model of Li-ion battery pack developed from cell fundamentals. • ESP-r model integrated micro-cogeneration and high capacity Li-ion storage. • Higher capacity batteries shown to improve micro-cogeneration systems. - Abstract: Combined heat and power on a residential scale, also known as micro-cogeneration, is currently gaining traction as an energy savings practice. The configuration of micro-cogeneration systems is highly variable, as local climate, energy supply, energy market and the feasibility of including renewable type components such as wind turbines or photovoltaic panels are all factors. Large-scale lithium ion batteries for electrical storage in this context can provide cost savings, operational flexibility, and reduced stress on the distribution grid as well as a degree of contingency for installations relying upon unsteady renewables. Concurrently, significant advances in component materials used to make lithium ion cells offer performance improvements in terms of power output, energy capacity, robustness and longevity, thereby enhancing their prospective utility in residential micro-cogeneration installations. The present study evaluates annual residential energy use for a typical Canadian home connected to the electrical grid, equipped with a micro-cogeneration system consisting of a Stirling engine for supplying heat and power, coupled with a nominal 2 kW/6 kW h lithium ion battery. Two novel battery cathode chemistries, one a new Li–NCA material, the other a high voltage Ni-doped lithium manganate, are compared in the residential micro-cogeneration context with a system equipped with the presently conventional LiMn 2 O 4 spinel-type battery

  15. Frameworks for improvement: clinical audit, the plan-do-study-act cycle and significant event audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillam, Steve; Siriwardena, A Niroshan

    2013-01-01

    This is the first in a series of articles about quality improvement tools and techniques. We explore common frameworks for improvement, including the model for improvement and its application to clinical audit, plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles and significant event analysis (SEA), examining the similarities and differences between these and providing examples of each.

  16. Millwater Pumping System Optimization Improves Efficiency and Saves Energy at an Automotive Glass Plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2003-03-01

    In 2001, the Visteon automotive glass plant in Nashville, Tennessee renovated its millwater pumping system. This improvement saved the plant $280,000 annually in energy and operating costs, reduced annual energy consumption by 3.2 million kilowatt-hours, reduced water consumption, improved system performance, and reduced use of water treatment chemicals.

  17. A model for improving energy efficiency in industrial motor system using multicriteria analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herrero Sola, Antonio Vanderley; Mota, Caroline Maria de Miranda; Kovaleski, Joao Luiz

    2011-01-01

    In the last years, several policies have been proposed by governments and global institutions in order to improve the efficient use of energy in industries worldwide. However, projects in industrial motor systems require new approach, mainly in decision making area, considering the organizational barriers for energy efficiency. Despite the wide application, multicriteria methods remain unexplored in industrial motor systems until now. This paper proposes a multicriteria model using the PROMETHEE II method, with the aim of ranking alternatives for induction motors replacement. A comparative analysis of the model, applied to a Brazilian industry, has shown that multicriteria analysis presents better performance on energy saving as well as return on investments than single criterion. The paper strongly recommends the dissemination of multicriteria decision aiding as a policy to support the decision makers in industries and to improve energy efficiency in electric motor systems. - Highlights: → Lack of decision model in industrial motor system is the main motivation of the research. → A multicriteria model based on PROMETHEE method is proposed with the aim of supporting the decision makers in industries. → The model can contribute to transpose some barriers within the industries, improving the energy efficiency in industrial motor system.

  18. A model for improving energy efficiency in industrial motor system using multicriteria analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herrero Sola, Antonio Vanderley, E-mail: sola@utfpr.edu.br [Federal University of Technology, Parana, Brazil (UTFPR)-Campus Ponta Grossa, Av. Monteiro Lobato, Km 4, CEP: 84016-210 (Brazil); Mota, Caroline Maria de Miranda, E-mail: carolmm@ufpe.br [Federal University of Pernambuco, Cx. Postal 7462, CEP 50630-970, Recife (Brazil); Kovaleski, Joao Luiz [Federal University of Technology, Parana, Brazil (UTFPR)-Campus Ponta Grossa, Av. Monteiro Lobato, Km 4, CEP: 84016-210 (Brazil)

    2011-06-15

    In the last years, several policies have been proposed by governments and global institutions in order to improve the efficient use of energy in industries worldwide. However, projects in industrial motor systems require new approach, mainly in decision making area, considering the organizational barriers for energy efficiency. Despite the wide application, multicriteria methods remain unexplored in industrial motor systems until now. This paper proposes a multicriteria model using the PROMETHEE II method, with the aim of ranking alternatives for induction motors replacement. A comparative analysis of the model, applied to a Brazilian industry, has shown that multicriteria analysis presents better performance on energy saving as well as return on investments than single criterion. The paper strongly recommends the dissemination of multicriteria decision aiding as a policy to support the decision makers in industries and to improve energy efficiency in electric motor systems. - Highlights: > Lack of decision model in industrial motor system is the main motivation of the research. > A multicriteria model based on PROMETHEE method is proposed with the aim of supporting the decision makers in industries. > The model can contribute to transpose some barriers within the industries, improving the energy efficiency in industrial motor system.

  19. Performance Improvement of Polymer Solar Cells by Surface-Energy-Induced Dual Plasmon Resonance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Mengnan; Shen, Ping; Liu, Yan; Chen, Boyuan; Guo, Wenbin; Ruan, Shengping; Shen, Liang

    2016-03-09

    The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of metal nanoparticles (MNPs) is effectively applied on polymer solar cells (PSCs) to improve power conversion efficiency (PCE). However, universality of the reported results mainly focused on utilizing single type of MNPs to enhance light absorption only in specific narrow wavelength range. Herein, a surface-energy-induced dual MNP plasmon resonance by thermally evaporating method was presented to achieve the absorption enhancement in wider range. The differences of surface energy between silver (Ag), gold (Au), and tungsten trioxide (WO3) compared by contact angle images enable Ag and Au prefer to respectively aggregate into isolated islands rather than films at the initial stage of the evaporation process, which was clearly demonstrated in the atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurement. The sum of plasmon-enhanced wavelength range induced by both Ag NPs (350-450 nm) and Au NPs (450-600 nm) almost cover the whole absorption spectra of active layers, which compatibly contribute a significant efficiency improvement from 4.57 ± 0.16 to 6.55 ± 0.12% compared to the one without MNPs. Besides, steady state photoluminescence (PL) measurements provide strong evidence that the SPR induced by the Ag-Au NPs increase the intensity of light absorption. Finally, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) reveals that doping Au and Ag causes upper shift of both the work function and valence band of WO3, which is directly related to hole collection ability. We believe the surface-energy-induced dual plasmon resonance enhancement by simple thermally evaporating technique might pave the way toward higher-efficiency PSCs.

  20. Energy efficiency improvements in air traffic: The case of Airbus A320 in Spain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cansino, José M.; Román, Rocío

    2017-01-01

    Structural improvements in aircraft design, seeking to improve energy efficiency, can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by reducing reduced fuel consumption. This research reviews improvements with the introduction of a structural component known as 'winglet;' these are positioned at the top of the aircraft wing, and increased Airbus Group A320 sales. Data used are taken from air traffic in Spain for the 2010–2014 period with projections being made for 2020. The results show that winglets reduce CO_2 equivalent emissions associated with Spain's air transport for the 2015–2020 period between 66.29 and 59.56 Gg. depending on the scenario considered in 2020. - Highlights: • Spanish air traffic is considered a key-GHG emission sector. • The aviation industry has drastically reduced its emissions. • To what extent could improved model to reduce fuel consumption and polluting emissions? • A320 Neo, A330 Neo and A380 Neo models are in the process of industrialisation. • Objectives fixed by Air Transport Action Group for 2020 are relevant.

  1. Reimagining Energy in the North: Developing Solutions for Improving Renewable Energy Security in Northern Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creed, I. F.; Poelzer, G.; Noble, B.; Beatty, B.; Belcher, K.; Chung, T.; Loring, P. A.

    2017-12-01

    The global energy sector is at a crossroads. Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, volatile fossil fuel prices, the emergence of sustainability markets, and advances in renewable energy technologies are setting the foundation for what could be one of the most significant societal transitions since the industrial revolution. There is a growing movement to "re-energize" Canada, through embracing pathways to facilitate a societal transition a low-carbon future. For example, circumpolar jurisdictions are poised for a transition to renewable energy. There are more than 250 remote, off-grid communities across Canada's North, of which approximately 170 are Indigenous, that rely largely on diesel-fueled generators. Diesel-fueled generation is generally reliable when properly maintained; however, supply is limited, infrastructure is at capacity or in need of major upgrading, and the volatile price of fuel can mean significant social, community and economic opportunity loss. Renewable energy projects offer one possible opportunity to address these challenges. But, given the challenges of human capacity, limited fiscal resources, and regulatory barriers, how can Northern communities participate in the global energy transition and not be left behind? To answer this question, the University of Saskatchewan, together with partners from the circumpolar North, are leading an initiative to develop a cross-sectoral and multi-national consortium of communities, utilities, industries, governments, and academics engaged in renewable energy in the North. This consortium will reimagine energy security in the North by co-creating and brokering the knowledge and understanding to design renewable energy systems that enhance social and economic value. Northern communities and utilities will learn directly from other northern communities and utilities across Canada and internationally about what can be achieved in renewable energy development and the solutions to current and future

  2. Redesign of the low energy section of the Fermilab linac to improve beam brightness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmidt, C.; Noble, R.; Palkovic, J.; Mills, F.E.

    1988-10-01

    The critical parameters which limit the luminosity of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider are the beam emittances, both longitudinal and transverse, at each stage in the acceleration sequence. Improvements to reduce invariant emittance growth at earlier acceleration stages necessarily encourage improvements in all downstream stages. Recent advances in linac technology should permit a significant increase in the beam brightness of the Fermilab linac. A redesign of the low energy section of the linac is envisioned to include a circular aperture H/sup /minus// source, a short 30-keV transport line (solenoids, Gabor lenses or einzel lenses) for matching to a radio frequency quadrupole linac (RFQ), and injection at approximately 2 MeV into a new 200 MHz Alvarez linac tank for acceleration to 10 MeV. 9 refs., 1 fig

  3. Determination of significance in Ecological Impact Assessment: Past change, current practice and future improvements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Briggs, Sam; Hudson, Malcolm D., E-mail: mdh@soton.ac.uk

    2013-01-15

    Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA) is an important tool for conservation and achieving sustainable development. 'Significant' impacts are those which disturb or alter the environment to a measurable degree. Significance is a crucial part of EcIA, our understanding of the concept in practice is vital if it is to be effective as a tool. This study employed three methods to assess how the determination of significance has changed through time, what current practice is, and what would lead to future improvements. Three data streams were collected: interviews with expert stakeholders, a review of 30 Environmental Statements and a broad-scale survey of the United Kingdom Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (IEEM) members. The approach taken in the determination of significance has become more standardised and subjectivity has become constrained through a transparent framework. This has largely been driven by a set of guidelines produced by IEEM in 2006. The significance of impacts is now more clearly justified and the accuracy with which it is determined has improved. However, there are limitations to accuracy and effectiveness of the determination of significance. These are the quality of baseline survey data, our scientific understanding of ecological processes and the lack of monitoring and feedback of results. These in turn are restricted by the limited resources available in consultancies. The most notable recommendations for future practice are the implementation of monitoring and the publication of feedback, the creation of a central database for baseline survey data and the streamlining of guidance. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The assessment of significance has changed markedly through time. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The IEEM guidelines have driven a standardisation of practice. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Currently limited by quality of baseline data and scientific understanding. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Monitoring

  4. Dividing wall column: Improving thermal efficiency, energy savings and economic performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aurangzeb, Md; Jana, Amiya K.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A rigorous model is developed for a dividing wall column. • Heat transfer model for metal wall is proposed. • Performance improvement is quantified for a ternary system. • Thermal efficiency, energy savings and cost are three used indices. - Abstract: This work aims at investigating the performance improvement of a dividing wall column (DWC) for the separation of a ternary system. It is true that for fractionating a ternary mixture, at least a sequence of two conventional distillation columns is required. To improve energetic and economic potential, and reduce space requirement, two columns are proposed to merge into one shell with a dividing wall. For developing the mathematical model of a distillation column, we consider the effect of heat transfer through the metal wall placed at an intermediated position inside the cylindrical column. The simulated DWC model is verified using the Aspen Plus flowsheet simulator with a wide variety of phase equilibrium models. The superiority of this proposed heat integrated configuration is shown for a ternary hydrocarbon system over a conventional distillation sequence (CDS) in terms of mainly three performance indexes, namely thermal efficiency, energy savings and total annual cost (TAC). It is investigated that the dividing wall distillation scheme can secure a 37.5% energy efficiency, and a 22.6% savings in energy consumption and 23.23% in TAC. The promising performance can also be quantified in terms of a reasonably low payback period of 2.11 years.

  5. Identified best environmental management practices to improve the energy performance of the retail trade sector in Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galvez-Martos, Jose-Luis; Styles, David; Schoenberger, Harald

    2013-01-01

    The retail trade sector has been identified as a target sector for the development of sectoral reference documents on best environmental management practices under the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme. This paper focuses on the important energy-related needs in retailers' stores such as for food refrigeration and lighting, as well as heating, ventilation and air conditioning of the building. For the definition of best environmental management practices in the European framework, frontrunner retailers have been identified as those retailers integrating energy minimization and saving measures as standard practice systematically across stores. These best performers also integrate a comprehensive monitoring system in the energy management of every store or building belonging to the company, enabling the rapid identification of energy saving opportunities. An integrative approach is needed to define how best practices should be implemented in combination to optimize energy management within stores: building aspects such as insulation of the building envelope or the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, should be optimized in combination with best options for refrigeration in food retailers. Refrigeration systems are responsible for half of the final energy use in stores and of their carbon footprint. Natural refrigerants, heat recovery from the condensation stage and covering of display cases are measures with high environmental benefits to reduce the impact of refrigeration. Finally, practices for lighting, as optimal lighting strategies, and the integration of renewable energy sources in overall zero energy building concepts can save considerable amounts of fossil energy, reduce the carbon footprint and produce significant cost-savings in the long term. - highlights: • There is a high energy performance improvement potential of the retail trade sector. • We propose techniques with a high performance level and applied by frontrunners. • We identified

  6. Improved four-stage accel-decel production of low-energy stripped heavy ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thieberger, P.; Barrette, J.; Johnson, B.M.; Jones, K.W.; Meron, M.; Wegner, H.E.

    1982-01-01

    The two model MP Tandem Van de Graaff accelerators at Brookhaven have been used in a four-stage accel-decel configuration to produce highly stripped low energy heavy ions. The performance in this mode of operation has now been substantially improved by modifications of the second accelerator. The inclined field acceleration tube electrodes at the exit of this accelerator were replaced by straight electrodes, the vacuum was improved and the maximum negative terminal potential was increased. Higher intensity beams of heavier highly stripped ions can now be produced at lower energies than before

  7. Improving the Power out of a Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Using Segmented Electrodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SAJID RAFIQUE

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Vibration-based EH (Energy Harvesting using piezoelectric materials have been investigated by several research groups with the aim of harvesting maximum energy and providing power to low-powered wireless electronic systems for their entire operational life. The main areas of research includes improvements in mathematical modelling, optimization of harvester geometry, developments in electrical circuitry, advancements in charge storage devices and investigating various piezoelectric materials to achieve maximum power output. This paper investigates and compares the electrical power output with whole length electrodes and with segmentation of electrodes for the same harvester length. It is found that the voltage generated by one electrode of length l/2 of the direction-fixed tip system is significantly greater than that produced by one electrode of length l of the free tip system. This paper also verifies the fact that segmentation of electrodes reduces the effect of strain nodes and charge cancellation particularly at higher mode frequencies. The paper presents the simulation results using DSM (Dynamic Stiffness Matrix which is a compact method of modelling piezoelectric beams

  8. Improving the power out of a piezoelectric energy harvester using segmented electrodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rafiq, S.; Shah, S.A.

    2017-01-01

    Vibration-based EH (Energy Harvesting) using piezoelectric materials have been investigated by several research groups with the aim of harvesting maximum energy and providing power to low-powered wireless electronic systems for their entire operational life. The main areas of research includes improvements in mathematical modelling, optimization of harvester geometry, developments in electrical circuitry, advancements in charge storage devices and investigating various piezoelectric materials to achieve maximum power output. This paper investigates and compares the electrical power output with whole length electrodes and with segmentation of electrodes for the same harvester length. It is found that the voltage generated by one electrode of length l/2 of the direction-fixed tip system is significantly greater than that produced by one electrode of length l of the free tip system. This paper also verifies the fact that segmentation of electrodes reduces the effect of strain nodes and charge cancellation particularly at higher mode frequencies. The paper presents the simulation results using DSM (Dynamic Stiffness Matrix) which is a compact method of modelling piezoelectric beams. (author)

  9. Influence of embodied energy in the energy efficiency of optical transport networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mata, Javier; Ye, Yabin; Lopez, Jorge

    2013-01-01

    An energy model including both operational and embodied energy is proposed to evaluate the performance evolution of optical transport networks in a multi-period study up to 15 years. Significant improvements in energy efficiency per GHz and energy reductions can be achieved for flexi-grid OFDM-ba...

  10. University energy management improvement on basis of standards and digital technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Novikova Olga

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays to implement the energy management system it is important to fulfill not only the legal requirements but also to follow the set of recommendations prepared by international and national management standards. The purpose of this article is to prepare the concept and methodology for the optimization and improvement of the energy management system (EMS for Universities with implementation of legal requirements and recommendations from international and national management standards with the help of digital technologies. During the research the systematic analysis, complex approach, logical sampling and analogy were used. It is shown that this process should be done with the help of the process-based approach, in accordance with ISO 9001, and energy management ISO 50001. The authors developed the structure of the basic standard of energy management: "Guidelines for the energy management system". It is proved that the involvement of the technical senior students in the project of EMS improvement allows to expand their competencies for new technics and technologies. Cloud service Bitrix24 was chosen for IT-support of the project. During the study, a list of characteristics was used as a basis for creating a query to the technology department of the university. DBMS Microsoft Access was chosen for its creation. In addition, the possible results of initiating a single database containing all the information needed for accounting and control of energy supply were listed. Moreover, the possibility of automated energy management system implementation and its results were considered. The required actions described in this research can be implemented in any University, that will extend energy management to any University worldwide.

  11. Improving Ventilation and Saving Energy: Final Report on Indoor Environmental Quality and Energy Monitoring in Sixteen Relocatable Classrooms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Apte, Michael G.; Norman, Bourassa; Faulkner, David; Hodgson, Alfred T.; Hotchi, Toshfumi; Spears, Michael; Sullivan, Douglas P.; Wang, Duo

    2008-04-04

    An improved HVAC system for portable classrooms was specified to address key problems in existing units. These included low energy efficiency, poor control of and provision for adequate ventilation, and excessive acoustic noise. Working with industry, a prototype improved heat pump air conditioner was developed to meet the specification. A one-year measurement-intensive field-test of ten of these IHPAC systems was conducted in occupied classrooms in two distinct California climates. These measurements are compared to those made in parallel in side by side portable classrooms equipped with standard 10 SEER heat pump air conditioner equipment. The IHPAC units were found to work as designed, providing predicted annual energy efficiency improvements of about 36 percent to 42 percent across California's climate zones, relative to 10 SEER units. Classroom ventilation was vastly improved as evidenced by far lower indoor minus outdoor CO2 concentrations. TheIHPAC units were found to provide ventilation that meets both California State energy and occupational codes and the ASHRAE minimum ventilation requirements; the classrooms equipped with the 10 SEER equipment universally did not meet these targets. The IHPAC system provided a major improvement in indoor acoustic conditions. HVAC system generated background noise was reduced in fan-only and fan and compressor modes, reducing the nose levels to better than the design objective of 45 dB(A), and acceptable for additional design points by the Collaborative on High Performance Schools. The IHPAC provided superior ventilation, with indoor minus outdoor CO2 concentrations that showed that the Title 24 minimum ventilation requirement of 15 CFM per occupant was nearly always being met. The opposite was found in the classrooms utilizing the 10 SEER system, where the indoor minus outdoor CO2 concentrations frequently exceeded levels that reflect inadequate ventilation. Improved ventilation conditions in the IHPAC lead to

  12. Improved method for solving the neutron transport problem by discretization of space and energy variables

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bosevski, T.

    1971-01-01

    The polynomial interpolation of neutron flux between the chosen space and energy variables enabled transformation of the integral transport equation into a system of linear equations with constant coefficients. Solutions of this system are the needed values of flux for chosen values of space and energy variables. The proposed improved method for solving the neutron transport problem including the mathematical formalism is simple and efficient since the number of needed input data is decreased both in treating the spatial and energy variables. Mathematical method based on this approach gives more stable solutions with significantly decreased probability of numerical errors. Computer code based on the proposed method was used for calculations of one heavy water and one light water reactor cell, and the results were compared to results of other very precise calculations. The proposed method was better concerning convergence rate, decreased computing time and needed computer memory. Discretization of variables enabled direct comparison of theoretical and experimental results

  13. Jevons' Paradox revisited: The evidence for backfire from improved energy efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sorrell, Steve [Sussex Energy Group, SPRU - Science and Technology Policy Research, Freeman Centre, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QE (United Kingdom)], E-mail: s.r.sorrell@sussex.ac.uk

    2009-04-15

    Beginning with William Stanley Jevons in 1865, a number of authors have claimed that economically justified energy-efficiency improvements will increase rather than reduce energy consumption. 'Jevons Paradox' is extremely difficult to test empirically, but could have profound implications for energy and climate policy. This paper summarises and critiques the arguments and evidence that have been cited in support of Jevons' Paradox, focusing in particular on the work of Len Brookes and Harry Saunders. It identifies some empirical and theoretical weaknesses in these arguments, highlights the questions they raise for economic orthodoxy and points to some interesting parallels between these arguments and those used by the 'biophysical' school of ecological economics. While the evidence in favour of 'Jevons Paradox' is far from conclusive, it does suggest that economy-wide rebound effects are larger than is conventionally assumed and that energy plays a more important role in driving productivity improvements and economic growth than is conventionally assumed.

  14. Jevons' Paradox revisited. The evidence for backfire from improved energy efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sorrell, Steve [Sussex Energy Group, SPRU Science and Technology Policy Research, Freeman Centre, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QE (United Kingdom)

    2009-04-15

    Beginning with William Stanley Jevons in 1865, a number of authors have claimed that economically justified energy-efficiency improvements will increase rather than reduce energy consumption. 'Jevons Paradox' is extremely difficult to test empirically, but could have profound implications for energy and climate policy. This paper summarises and critiques the arguments and evidence that have been cited in support of Jevons' Paradox, focusing in particular on the work of Len Brookes and Harry Saunders. It identifies some empirical and theoretical weaknesses in these arguments, highlights the questions they raise for economic orthodoxy and points to some interesting parallels between these arguments and those used by the 'biophysical' school of ecological economics. While the evidence in favour of 'Jevons Paradox' is far from conclusive, it does suggest that economy-wide rebound effects are larger than is conventionally assumed and that energy plays a more important role in driving productivity improvements and economic growth than is conventionally assumed. (author)

  15. Electron linac for medical isotope production with improved energy efficiency and isotope recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noonan, John; Walters, Dean; Virgo, Matt; Lewellen, John

    2015-09-08

    A method and isotope linac system are provided for producing radio-isotopes and for recovering isotopes. The isotope linac is an energy recovery linac (ERL) with an electron beam being transmitted through an isotope-producing target. The electron beam energy is recollected and re-injected into an accelerating structure. The ERL provides improved efficiency with reduced power requirements and provides improved thermal management of an isotope target and an electron-to-x-ray converter.

  16. A significant shift in favor of nuclear energy since 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2008-01-01

    A new opinion poll shows a general trend in Europe in favor of nuclear energy: 44% of the people interrogated are for nuclear energy while only 37% were for in 2005. About 40% of the people against nuclear energy would change their mind if a safe and definitive solution for the management of radioactive waste was found. The survey also shows that more people are aware of the assets of nuclear energy in terms of energy independence and greenhouse gas emission. The countries where the support is the strongest are the Czech Republic (64%), Lithuania (64%), Sweden (62%) and Finland (61%). In France, the biggest nuclear energy producer in Europe, the rate of favorable opinion for nuclear energy remains constant at 52%. (A.C.)

  17. Improved parametric fits for the HeH2 ab initio energy surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muchnick, P.

    1992-01-01

    A brief history of the development of ab initio calculations for the HeH 2 quasi-molecule energy surface, and the parametric fits to these ab initio calculations, is presented. The concept of 'physical reasonableness' of the parametric fit is discussed. Several new improved parametric fits for the energy surface, meeting these requirements, are then proposed. One fit extends the Russek-Garcia parametric fit for the deep repulsion region to include r-dependent parameters, resulting in a more physically reasonable fit with smaller average error. This improved surface fit is applied to quasi-elastic collisions of He on H 2 in the impulse approximation. Previous classical calculations of the scaled inelastic vibrorotational excitation energy distributions are improved with this more accurate parametric fit of the energy surface and with the incorporation of quantum effects in vibrational excitation. It is shown that Sigmund's approach in developing his scaling law is incomplete in the contribution of the three-body interactions to vibrational excitation of the H 2 molecule is concerned. The Sigmund theory is extended to take into account for r-dependency of three-body interactions. A parametric fit for the entire energy surface from essentially 0 ≤R≤∞ and 1.2≤r≤1.6 a.u., where R is the intermolecular spacing and r is the hydrogen bonding length, is also presented. This fit is physically reasonable in all asymptotic limits. This first, full surface parametric fit is based primarily upon a composite of ab initio studies by Russek and Garcia and Meyer, Hariharan and Kutzelnigg. Parametric fits for the H 2 (1sσ g ) 2 , H 2 + (1sσ g ), H 2 + (2pσ u ) and (LiH 2 ) + energy surfaces are also presented. The new parametric fits for H 2 , H 2 + (1sσ g ) are shown to be improvements over the well-known Morse potentials for these surfaces

  18. Protocol for maximizing energy savings and indoor environmental quality improvements when retrofitting apartments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Noris, Federico [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Delp, William W. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Vermeer, Kimberly [Urban Habitat Initiatives Inc., Boston, MA (United States); Adamkiewicz, Gary [Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA (United States); Singer, Brett C. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Fisk, William J. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2013-06-01

    The current focus on building energy retrofit provides an opportunity to simultaneously improve indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Toward this end, we developed a protocol for selecting packages of retrofits that both save energy and improve IEQ in apartments. The protocol specifies the methodology for selecting retrofits from a candidate list while addressing expected energy savings, IEQ impacts, and costs in an integrated manner. Interviews, inspections and measurements are specified to collect the needed input information. The protocol was applied to 17 apartments in three buildings in two different climates within California. Diagnostic measurements and surveys conducted before and after retrofit implementation indicate enhanced apartment performance.

  19. Improving Indoor Localization Using Bluetooth Low Energy Beacons

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavel Kriz

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper describes basic principles of a radio-based indoor localization and focuses on the improvement of its results with the aid of a new Bluetooth Low Energy technology. The advantage of this technology lies in its support by contemporary mobile devices, especially by smartphones and tablets. We have implemented a distributed system for collecting radio fingerprints by mobile devices with the Android operating system. This system enables volunteers to create radio-maps and update them continuously. New Bluetooth Low Energy transmitters (Apple uses its “iBeacon” brand name for these devices have been installed on the floor of the building in addition to existing WiFi access points. The localization of stationary objects based on WiFi, Bluetooth Low Energy, and their combination has been evaluated using the data measured during the experiment in the building. Several configurations of the transmitters’ arrangement, several ways of combination of the data from both technologies, and other parameters influencing the accuracy of the stationary localization have been tested.

  20. Energy efficiency improvements utilising mass flow control and a ring topology in a district heating network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laajalehto, Tatu; Kuosa, Maunu; Mäkilä, Tapio; Lampinen, Markku; Lahdelma, Risto

    2014-01-01

    Heating and cooling have a major role in the energy sector, covering 46% of total final energy use worldwide. District heating (DH) is a significant technology for improving the energy efficiency of heating systems in communities, because it enables waste heat sources to be utilised economically and therefore significantly reduces the environmental impacts of power generation. As a result of new and more stringent construction regulations for buildings, the heat demands of individual buildings are decreasing and more energy-efficient heating systems have to be developed. In this study, the energy efficiency of a new DH system which includes both a new control system called mass flow control and a new network design called a ring network is examined. A topology in the Helsinki region is studied by using a commercial DH network modelling tool, Grades Heating. The district heating network is attached to a wood-burning heat station which has a heat recovery system in use. Examination is performed by means of both technical and economic analysis. The new non-linear temperature programme that is required is adopted for supply and return temperatures, which allows greater temperature cooling and smaller flow rates. Lower district heating water temperatures are essential when reducing the heat losses in the network and heat production. Mass flow control allows smaller pressure drops in the network and thus reduces the pumping power. The aim of this study was to determine the most energy-efficient DH water supply temperatures in the case network. If the ring network design is utilised, the district heating system is easier to control. As a result the total heat consumption within the heating season is reduced compared to traditional DH systems. On the basis of the results, the new DH system is significantly more energy-efficient in the case network that was examined than the traditional design. For example, average energy losses within the constraints (which consist of heat

  1. Carotid endarterectomy significantly improves postoperative laryngeal sensitivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammer, Georg Philipp; Tomazic, Peter Valentin; Vasicek, Sarah; Graupp, Matthias; Gugatschka, Markus; Baumann, Anneliese; Konstantiniuk, Peter; Koter, Stephan Herwig

    2016-11-01

    sensory threshold on the operated-on side (6.08 ± 2.02 mm Hg) decreased significantly at the 6-week follow-up, even in relation to the preoperative measure (P = .022). With the exception of one patient with permanent unilateral vocal fold immobility, no signs of nerve injury were detected. In accordance with previous reports, injuries to the recurrent laryngeal nerve during CEA seem to be rare. In most patients, postoperative symptoms (globus, dysphagia, dysphonia) and signs fade within a few weeks without any specific therapeutic intervention. This study shows an improved long-term postoperative superior laryngeal nerve function with regard to laryngopharyngeal sensitivity. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Photovoltaic Plants Generation Improvement Using Li-Ion Batteries as Energy Buffer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beltran, H.; Swierczynski, Maciej Jozef; Luna, A.

    2011-01-01

    This paper analyzes the PV power plants operability improvement obtained when introducing energy storage (ES) systems which allow decoupling the power received from the sun on the photovoltaic (PV) panels from the power injected by the power plant into the grid. Two energy management strategies a...... are presented and analyzed, using Li-ion batteries as the energy storage buffer. The generated power redistribution and its variability reduction are All the results obtained in this paper are based on one year long simulations which used real irradiance data sampled every two minutes....

  3. Dual-energy CT-cholangiography in potential donors for living-related liver transplantation: Improved biliary visualization by intravenous morphine co-medication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sommer, C.M.; Schwarzwaelder, C.B.; Stiller, W.; Schindera, S.T.; Heye, T.; Stampfl, U.; Bellemann, N.; Holzschuh, M.; Schmidt, J.; Weitz, J.; Grenacher, L.; Kauczor, H.U.; Radeleff, B.A.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To prospectively evaluate whether intravenous morphine co-medication improves bile duct visualization of dual-energy CT-cholangiography. Materials and methods: Forty potential donors for living-related liver transplantation underwent CT-cholangiography with infusion of a hepatobiliary contrast agent over 40 min. Twenty minutes after the beginning of the contrast agent infusion, either normal saline (n = 20 patients; control group [CG]) or morphine sulfate (n = 20 patients; morphine group [MG]) was injected. Forty-five minutes after initiation of the contrast agent, a dual-energy CT acquisition of the liver was performed. Applying dual-energy post-processing, pure iodine images were generated. Primary study goals were determination of bile duct diameters and visualization scores (on a scale of 0 to 3: 0—not visualized; 3—excellent visualization). Results: Bile duct visualization scores for second-order and third-order branch ducts were significantly higher in the MG compared to the CG (2.9 ± 0.1 versus 2.6 ± 0.2 [P < 0.001] and 2.7 ± 0.3 versus 2.1 ± 0.6 [P < 0.01], respectively). Bile duct diameters for the common duct and main ducts were significantly higher in the MG compared to the CG (5.9 ± 1.3 mm versus 4.9 ± 1.3 mm [P < 0.05] and 3.7 ± 1.3 mm versus 2.6 ± 0.5 mm [P < 0.01], respectively). Conclusion: Intravenous morphine co-medication significantly improved biliary visualization on dual-energy CT-cholangiography in potential donors for living-related liver transplantation

  4. Dual-energy CT-cholangiography in potential donors for living-related liver transplantation: Improved biliary visualization by intravenous morphine co-medication

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sommer, C.M., E-mail: christof.sommer@med.uni-heidelberg.de [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg (Germany); Schwarzwaelder, C.B.; Stiller, W. [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg (Germany); Schindera, S.T. [Department of Diagnostic, Interventional, and Pediatric Radiology, University Hospital and University of Berne, Berne (Switzerland); Heye, T.; Stampfl, U.; Bellemann, N.; Holzschuh, M. [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg (Germany); Schmidt, J.; Weitz, J. [Department of General, Abdominal and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg (Germany); Grenacher, L.; Kauczor, H.U.; Radeleff, B.A. [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg (Germany)

    2012-09-15

    Purpose: To prospectively evaluate whether intravenous morphine co-medication improves bile duct visualization of dual-energy CT-cholangiography. Materials and methods: Forty potential donors for living-related liver transplantation underwent CT-cholangiography with infusion of a hepatobiliary contrast agent over 40 min. Twenty minutes after the beginning of the contrast agent infusion, either normal saline (n = 20 patients; control group [CG]) or morphine sulfate (n = 20 patients; morphine group [MG]) was injected. Forty-five minutes after initiation of the contrast agent, a dual-energy CT acquisition of the liver was performed. Applying dual-energy post-processing, pure iodine images were generated. Primary study goals were determination of bile duct diameters and visualization scores (on a scale of 0 to 3: 0—not visualized; 3—excellent visualization). Results: Bile duct visualization scores for second-order and third-order branch ducts were significantly higher in the MG compared to the CG (2.9 ± 0.1 versus 2.6 ± 0.2 [P < 0.001] and 2.7 ± 0.3 versus 2.1 ± 0.6 [P < 0.01], respectively). Bile duct diameters for the common duct and main ducts were significantly higher in the MG compared to the CG (5.9 ± 1.3 mm versus 4.9 ± 1.3 mm [P < 0.05] and 3.7 ± 1.3 mm versus 2.6 ± 0.5 mm [P < 0.01], respectively). Conclusion: Intravenous morphine co-medication significantly improved biliary visualization on dual-energy CT-cholangiography in potential donors for living-related liver transplantation.

  5. Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Glass Industry. An ENERGY STAR Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galitsky, Christina; Worrell, Ernst; Galitsky, Christina; Masanet, Eric; Graus, Wina

    2008-03-01

    The U.S. glass industry is comprised of four primary industry segments--flat glass, container glass, specialty glass, and fiberglass--which together consume $1.6 billion in energy annually. On average, energy costs in the U.S. glass industry account for around 14 percent of total glass production costs. Energy efficiency improvement is an important way to reduce these costs and to increase predictable earnings, especially in times of high energy price volatility. There is a variety of opportunities available at individual plants in the U.S. glass industry to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner. This Energy Guide discusses energy efficiency practices and energy-efficient technologies that can be implemented at the component, process, system, and organizational levels. A discussion of the trends, structure, and energy consumption characteristics of the U.S. glass industry is provided along with a description of the major process steps in glass manufacturing. Expected savings in energy and energy-related costs are given for many energy efficiency measures, based on case study data from real-world applications in glass production facilities and related industries worldwide. Typical measure payback periods and references to further information in the technical literature are also provided, when available. The information in this Energy Guide is intended to help energy and plant managers in the U.S. glass industry reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner while maintaining the quality of products manufactured. Further research on the economics of the measures--as well on as their applicability to different production practices--is needed to assess potential implementation of selected technologies at individual plants.

  6. Evaluating the Management System Approach for Industrial Energy Efficiency Improvements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Zobel

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Voluntary environmental management systems (EMS based on the international standard ISO 14001 have become widespread globally in recent years. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of voluntary management systems on energy efficiency in the Swedish manufacturing industry by means of objective industrial energy data derived from mandatory annual environmental reports. The study focuses on changes in energy efficiency over a period of 12 years and includes both ISO 14001-certified companies and non-certified companies. Consideration is given to energy improvement efforts in the companies before the adoption of ISO 14001. The analysis has been carried out using statistical methods for two different industrial energy parameters: electricity and fossil fuel consumption. The results indicate that ISO 14001 adoption and certification has increased energy efficiency regarding the use of fossil fuel. In contrast, no effect of the management systems has been found concerning the use of electricity. The mixed results of this study are only partly in line with the results of previous studies based on perceptions of company representatives.

  7. Design strategy for improving the energy efficiency in series hydraulic/electric synergy system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramakrishnan, R.; Hiremath, Somashekhar S.; Singaperumal, M.

    2014-01-01

    Battery is a vital subsystem in an electric vehicle with regenerative braking system. The energy efficiency of an electric vehicle is improved by storing the regenerated energy in an electric battery, during braking, and reusing it during subsequent acceleration. Battery possesses a relatively poor power density and slow charging of regenerated energy, when compared to hydro-pneumatic accumulators. A series hydraulic/electric synergy system – an energy efficient mechatronics system is proposed to overcome the drawbacks in the conventional electric vehicle with regenerative braking. Even though, electric battery provides higher energy density than the accumulator system, optimal sizing of the hydro-pneumatic accumulator and other process parameters in the system to provide better energy density and efficiency. However, a trade-off prevails between the system energy delivered and energy consumed. This gives rise to a multiple objective problem. The proposed multi-objective design optimization procedure based on an evolutionary strategy algorithm maximizes the energy efficiency of the system. The system simulation results after optimization show that, the optimal system parameters increase the energy efficiency by 3% and hydraulic regeneration efficiency by 17.3%. The suggested design methodology provides a basis for the design of a series hydraulic/electric synergy system as energy efficient and zero emission system. - Highlights: • Dynamic analysis of SHESS to investigate energy efficiency. • Optimization of system parameters based on multi-objective design strategy. • Evaluation of improvements in system energy efficiency and hydraulic regeneration energy. • Identification of conditions at which hydraulic regenerative efficiency is maximized for minimum energy consumption. • Results confirm advantages of using SHESS

  8. Optimization Strategy for Improving the Energy Efficiency of Irrigation Systems by Micro Hydropower: Practical Application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Modesto Pérez-Sánchez

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Analyses of possible synergies between energy recovery and water management are essential for achieving sustainable advances in the performance of pressurized irrigation networks. Nowadays, the use of micro hydropower in water systems is being analysed to improve the overall energy efficiency. In this line, the present research is focused on the proposal and development of a novel optimization strategy for increasing the energy efficiency in pressurized irrigation networks by energy recovering. The recovered energy is maximized considering different objective functions, including feasibility index: the best energy converter must be selected, operating in its best efficiency conditions by variation of its rotational speed, providing the required flow in each moment. These flows (previously estimated through farmers’ habits are compared with registered values of flow in the main line with very suitable calibration results, getting a Nash–Sutcliffe value above 0.6 for different time intervals, and a PBIAS index below 10% in all time interval range. The methodology was applied to a Vallada network obtaining a maximum recovered energy of 58.18 MWh/year (41.66% of the available energy, improving the recovered energy values between 141 and 184% when comparing to energy recovery considering a constant rotational speed. The proposal of this strategy shows the real possibility of installing micro hydropower machines to improve the water–energy nexus management in pressurized systems.

  9. Improving energy efficiency of an Olefin plant – A new approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tahouni, Nassim; Bagheri, Narges; Towfighi, Jafar; Hassan Panjeshahi, M.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • The retrofit of an Olefin plant is studied to improve the overall energy efficiency. • Three levels of retrofit and optimization of this process are suggested. • A simultaneous method is presented to optimize low-temperature separation processes. - Abstract: Low-temperature gas separation processes are the most important gas separation routes. There is a complex interaction between core process (separation columns), associated heat exchanger network and refrigeration cycles in sub ambient processes. The aim of this paper is performing a comprehensive retrofit study of an Olefin plant (as an industrial example) to improve the overall energy efficiency. In this regard, the effect of improving column operating parameters and refrigeration cycles are first evaluated separately. Then, column operating parameters and refrigeration cycles as well as heat exchanger network are optimized simultaneously using genetic algorithm or simulated annealing. Having compared all results, one can conclude that simultaneous optimization leads to higher efficiency of the overall system

  10. Energy use in Denmark: An international perspective

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schipper, L.; Howarth, R.; Andersson, B.; Price, L.

    1992-08-01

    This report analyzes the evolution use in Denmark since the early 1970s in order to shed light on the future path of energy use in Denmark, with particular emphasis on the role of energy efficiency. The authors found that improvements in end-use energy efficiency reduced primary energy requirements in Denmark by 22% between 1972 and 1988. Focusing on developments in six individual sectors of the Danish economy (residential, manufacturing, other industry, service, travel, and freight), they found that the residential, manufacturing, and service sectors have led the improvements in efficiency. Travel showed few significant improvements and the efficiency of freight transportation worsened. The international comparisons showed that the structure of energy use in Denmark is less energy-intensive than that of most high-income OECD countries, with the exception of Japan. Overall, they concluded that most of the energy savings achieved in Denmark were brought about through improvements in technology. They also found that an important stimulus for improved efficiency was higher energy prices, led in no small part by significant taxes imposed on small consumers of heating oil, electricity, and motor fuels. Energy-efficiency programs accelerated energy savings in homes and commercial buildings. The rate of improvement of energy efficiency in Denmark has slowed down significantly since 1984, consistent with trends observed in other major countries. While many of the energy-efficiency goals stated or implied in Denmark`s Energi 2000 are achievable over a very long period, present trends do not point towards achievement of these goals by 2010 or even 2020. Strong measures will have to be developed by both public and private authorities if energy efficiency is to make a key contributions to reducing environmental problems associated with energy use in Denmark.

  11. Energy efficiency improvement procedures and audit results of electrical, thermal and solar applications in Palestine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibrik, I.H.; Mahmoud, M.M.

    2005-01-01

    Energy conservation in utilities has played a vital role in improving energy efficiency in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors. The electrical energy consumption in Palestine has increased sharply in the past few years and achieved by the end of 2001 to 10% per year. It is expected that this percentage will increase to about 12% if the current political situation will end hopefully with peace. Modern energy efficient technologies are needed for the national energy policy. Such technologies are investigated in this paper. Implementing of a national 3 years project aiming at energy efficiency improvement in residential and industrial sectors as well as in public utilities, which include wide range of diversified audits and power measurements, had led to creating this paper. Measurement and audit results had shown that the total conservation potential in these sectors is around 15% of the total energy consumption. The associated costs of the investment in this field are relatively low and correspond to a pay back period varying in the range from 6 to 36 months. Consequently, the energy conservation policy will be seriously improved in the forthcoming years. It is estimated that 10% of the new energy purchasing capacity will be reduced accordingly

  12. The German way to an energy efficient future. Process and cross cutting technology improvements for CO{sub 2} reductions and a competitive economy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Radgen, P.

    1999-07-01

    The aim of the paper is to show how Germany tries to improve the energy efficiency of the economy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions without affecting the competitiveness of the industry. Between 1990 to 1995 Germany has reduced its CO{sub 2} emission from 1029 to 933 million tonnes, which is equivalent to an emission reduction of 9%. To analyse and compare different options to reach the emission reduction target, multiple tools have been developed and can be used to help in setting policy priorities. The IKARUS model and database together with the use of energy efficiency indicators helps to keep the development of energy consumption and emission reduction on track to the reduction target. Voluntary agreements between industry and government had been worked out, to limit the emissions in the energy intensive sectors of the German industry. Results from the monitoring of this efforts will be presented together with a short evaluation of the factors influencing the improvements in energy efficiency. As energy related emissions can be reduced significantly by closing energy and material flows, the effect of recycling of energy intensive materials such as steel, glass, plastics, and paper is discussed. The possible role of renewables as energy carrier and feedstock is evaluated for the production of surfactants. If more oleochemical surfactants could be applied, this will help to reduce the CO{sub 2} emissions from the use of fossil fuels as feedstock. The efficiency improvement by cross cutting technologies will be discussed for furnaces, compressed air systems and electric motors. Most of these improvement potentials are economic at present energy prices, but some barriers for their application has to be overcome. One way to help decision makers in industry is the use of energy benchmarking. Benchmarking helps to analyse the energy efficiency of the own company in comparison to the competitors and to set appropriate targets and to prepare a road map of measures to

  13. Improvement of Polytetrafluoroethylene Surface Energy by Repetitive Pulse Non-Thermal Plasma Treatment in Atmospheric Air

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Guoqing; Zhang Guanjun; Zhang Wenyuan

    2011-01-01

    Improvement of polytetrafluoroethylene surface energy by non-thermal plasma treatment is presented, using a nanosecond-positive-edge repetitive pulsed dielectric barrier discharge generator in atmospheric air. The electrical parameters including discharging power, peak and density of micro-discharge current were calculated, and the electron energy was estimated. Surface treatment experiments of polytetrafluoroethylene films were conducted for both different applied voltages and different treating durations. Results show that the surface energy of polytetrafluoroethylene film could be improved to 40 mJ/m 2 or more by plasma treatment. Surface roughness measurement and surface X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicate that there are chemical etching and implantation of polar oxygen groups in the sample surface treating process, resulting in the improvement of the sample surface energy. Compared with an AC source of 50 Hz, the dielectric barrier discharges generated by a repetitive pulsed source could provide higher peak power, lower mean power, larger micro-discharge current density and higher electron energy. Therefore, with the same applied peak voltage and treating duration, the improvement of polytetrafluoroethylene surface energy using repetitive pulsed plasma is more effective, and the plasma treatment process based on repetitive pulsed dielectric barrier discharges in air is thus feasible and applicable.

  14. New approaches for improving energy efficiency in the Brazilian industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulo Henrique de Mello Santana

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The Brazilian government has been promoting energy efficiency measures for industry since the eighties but with very limited returns, as shown in this paper. The governments of some other countries dedicated much more effort and funds for this area and reached excellent results. The institutional arrangements and types of programmes adopted in these countries are briefly evaluated in the paper and provide valuable insights for several proposals put forward here to make more effective the Brazilian government actions directed to overcome market barriers and improve energy efficiency in the local industry. The proposed measures include the creation of Industrial Assessment Centres and an executive agency charged with the coordination of all energy efficiency programmes run by the Federal government. A large share of the Brazilian industry energy consumption comes from energy-intensive industrial branches. According to a recent survey, most of them have substantial energy conservation potentials. To materialize a fair amount of them, voluntary targets concerning energy efficiency gains should start to be negotiated between the Government and associations representing these industrial branches. Credit facilities and tax exemptions for energy-efficient equipment’s should be provided to stimulate the interest of the entrepreneurs and the setting-up of bolder targets.

  15. A Retrofit Tool for Improving Energy Efficiency of Commercial Buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levine, Mark; Feng, Wei; Ke, Jing; Hong, Tianzhen; Zhou, Nan

    2013-06-06

    Existing buildings will dominate energy use in commercial buildings in the United States for three decades or longer and even in China for the about two decades. Retrofitting these buildings to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use is thus critical to achieving the target of reducing energy use in the buildings sector. However there are few evaluation tools that can quickly identify and evaluate energy savings and cost effectiveness of energy conservation measures (ECMs) for retrofits, especially for buildings in China. This paper discusses methods used to develop such a tool and demonstrates an application of the tool for a retrofit analysis. The tool builds on a building performance database with pre-calculated energy consumption of ECMs for selected commercial prototype buildings using the EnergyPlus program. The tool allows users to evaluate individual ECMs or a package of ECMs. It covers building envelope, lighting and daylighting, HVAC, plug loads, service hot water, and renewable energy. The prototype building can be customized to represent an actual building with some limitations. Energy consumption from utility bills can be entered into the tool to compare and calibrate the energy use of the prototype building. The tool currently can evaluate energy savings and payback of ECMs for shopping malls in China. We have used the tool to assess energy and cost savings for retrofit of the prototype shopping mall in Shanghai. Future work on the tool will simplify its use and expand it to cover other commercial building types and other countries.

  16. Global energy efficiency improvement in the log term: a demand- and supply-side perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Graus, W.H.J.; Blomen, E.; Worrell, E.

    2011-01-01

    This study assessed technical potentials for energy efficiency improvement in 2050 in a global context. The reference scenario is based on the World Energy Outlook of the International Energy Agency 2007 edition and assumptions regarding gross domestic product developments after 2030. In the

  17. Productivity benefits of industrial energy efficiency measures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Worrell, Ernst; Laitner, John A.; Michael, Ruth; Finman, Hodayah

    2004-08-30

    We review the relationship between energy efficiency improvement measures and productivity in industry. We review over 70 industrial case studies from widely available published databases, followed by an analysis of the representation of productivity benefits in energy modeling. We propose a method to include productivity benefits in the economic assessment of the potential for energy efficiency improvement. The case-study review suggests that energy efficiency investments can provide a significant boost to overall productivity within industry. If this relationship holds, the description of energy-efficient technologies as opportunities for larger productivity improvements has significant implications for conventional economic assessments. The paper explores the implications this change in perspective on the evaluation of energy-efficient technologies for a study of the iron and steel industry in the US. This examination shows that including productivity benefits explicitly in the modeling parameters would double the cost-effective potential for energy efficiency improvement, compared to an analysis excluding those benefits. We provide suggestions for future research in this important area.

  18. A Wind Power Plant with Thermal Energy Storage for Improving the Utilization of Wind Energy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chang Liu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The development of the wind energy industry is seriously restricted by grid connection issues and wind energy generation rejections introduced by the intermittent nature of wind energy sources. As a solution of these problems, a wind power system integrating with a thermal energy storage (TES system for district heating (DH is designed to make best use of the wind power in the present work. The operation and control of the system are described in detail. A one-dimensional system model of the system is developed based on a generic model library using the object-oriented language Modelica for system modeling. Validations of the main components of the TES module are conducted against experimental results and indicate that the models can be used to simulate the operation of the system. The daily performance of the integrated system is analyzed based on a seven-day operation. And the influences of system configurations on the performance of the integrated system are analyzed. The numerical results show that the integrated system can effectively improve the utilization of total wind energy under great wind power rejection.

  19. An Improved Crow Search Algorithm Applied to Energy Problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Primitivo Díaz

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The efficient use of energy in electrical systems has become a relevant topic due to its environmental impact. Parameter identification in induction motors and capacitor allocation in distribution networks are two representative problems that have strong implications in the massive use of energy. From an optimization perspective, both problems are considered extremely complex due to their non-linearity, discontinuity, and high multi-modality. These characteristics make difficult to solve them by using standard optimization techniques. On the other hand, metaheuristic methods have been widely used as alternative optimization algorithms to solve complex engineering problems. The Crow Search Algorithm (CSA is a recent metaheuristic method based on the intelligent group behavior of crows. Although CSA presents interesting characteristics, its search strategy presents great difficulties when it faces high multi-modal formulations. In this paper, an improved version of the CSA method is presented to solve complex optimization problems of energy. In the new algorithm, two features of the original CSA are modified: (I the awareness probability (AP and (II the random perturbation. With such adaptations, the new approach preserves solution diversity and improves the convergence to difficult high multi-modal optima. In order to evaluate its performance, the proposed algorithm has been tested in a set of four optimization problems which involve induction motors and distribution networks. The results demonstrate the high performance of the proposed method when it is compared with other popular approaches.

  20. Markets and employment related to energy efficiency improvements and renewable energies: situation 2012-2013 and short term outlook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fleuriot, Fanny; Gaudin, Thomas; Guillerminet, Marie-Laure; Louis, Jonathan; Vesine, Eric; Greffet, Pierre; Randriambololona, Celine; Rageau, Francois; Carabot, Cyril

    2014-11-01

    Since 2008, ADEME has regularly compiled an overview of markets and employment related to the main activities connected with improving energy efficiency and developing renewable sources of energy in France. The activities were selected partly according to their connection with ADEME's field of activity and partly according to their connection with the main policies determined by the Grenelle environment summit. Another factor taken into account was the existence of statistical data enabling the relevant markets to be regularly monitored. Since the very first version of the report, each time it has analysed some thirty market segments, all of which fall into one of three main sectors: - Energy efficiency improvements in residential accommodation: work to improve energy efficiency in existing housing (insulation of outside walls and replacement of windows and doors with more effective solutions), purchase of condensing boilers, energy efficient large household electrical appliances, and compact fluorescent lamps; - Energy efficiency improvements in transport systems: developments in urban public transport systems and railways, including equipment and sales of category A and B private vehicles; - Investments in the production of renewable energy (RE) and sales of renewably sourced energy. Over the years, several new markets have been added, including controlled mechanical ventilation systems (CMV), city bike schemes, etc. For this edition of the report, three new markets have been introduced, each with its own individual 'Market Report': Marine Renewable Energies, Heating Networks, and Hybrid and Electric Vehicles, while thermodynamic domestic boilers and sales of LED lamps have been added to markets for heat-pumps and compact fluorescent lamps respectively. The possibility of including markets related to energy efficiency improvements in industry and non-residential buildings was also investigated, but no regular statistical data enabling proper

  1. Energy extraction from atmospheric turbulence to improve flight vehicle performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Chinmay Karsandas

    Small 'bird-sized' Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have now become practical due to technological advances in embedded electronics, miniature sensors and actuators, and propulsion systems. Birds are known to take advantage of wind currents to conserve energy and fly long distances without flapping their wings. This dissertation explores the possibility of improving the performance of small UAVs by extracting the energy available in atmospheric turbulence. An aircraft can gain energy from vertical gusts by increasing its lift in regions of updraft and reducing its lift in downdrafts - a concept that has been known for decades. Starting with a simple model of a glider flying through a sinusoidal gust, a parametric optimization approach is used to compute the minimum gust amplitude and optimal control input required for the glider to sustain flight without losing energy. For small UAVs using optimal control inputs, sinusoidal gusts with amplitude of 10--15% of the cruise speed are sufficient to keep the aircraft aloft. The method is then modified and extended to include random gusts that are representative of natural turbulence. A procedure to design optimal control laws for energy extraction from realistic gust profiles is developed using a Genetic Algorithm (GA). A feedback control law is designed to perform well over a variety of random gusts, and not be tailored for one particular gust. A small UAV flying in vertical turbulence is shown to obtain average energy savings of 35--40% with the use of a simple control law. The design procedure is also extended to determine optimal control laws for sinusoidal as well as turbulent lateral gusts. The theoretical work is complemented by experimental validation using a small autonomous UAV. The development of a lightweight autopilot and UAV platform is presented. Flight test results show that active control of the lift of an autonomous glider resulted in approximately 46% average energy savings compared to glides with fixed

  2. Fiscal 1997 research report. International energy use rationalization project (Analytical tool research project for energy consumption efficiency improvement in Asia); 1997 nendo kokusai energy shiyo gorika taisaku jigyo chosa hokokusho. Asia energy shohi koritsuka bunseki tool chosa jigyo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-05-01

    The project aims to prepare inter-industry relations tables and models for energy analysis for Asian countries and thereby to probe into relations between the industrial structure or the ultimate consumption structure and energy consumption. For the comprehension of energy consumption as broken by each industry, Asian nations' inter-industry relations tables and energy statistics are linked for the compilation of energy analysis oriented inter-industry relations tables, and the resultant tables are used for the metric analysis of industrial structures and energy consumption structures in these countries. The tables prepared this time are 1985 tables for Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines and 1990 tables for China, Singapore, and Malaysia. The Malaysian transportation sector needs to be improved in energy saving. In Singapore, energy saving is functioning effectively in the transportation sector. China's energy consuming industries are those involving coal, chemistry, steelmaking, ceramics, and earth and quarrying. In Taiwan, improvement needs to be made in the transportation sector. Korea should conserve energy in the transportation sector. In the Philippines, energy needs to be saved in businesses related to water supply, transportation, and fishery. Thai industries as a whole needs to save energy. Improved energy consumption efficiency is sought for in the Indonesian cement related sector. (NEDO)

  3. Fiscal 1997 research report. International energy use rationalization project (Analytical tool research project for energy consumption efficiency improvement in Asia); 1997 nendo kokusai energy shiyo gorika taisaku jigyo chosa hokokusho. Asia energy shohi koritsuka bunseki tool chosa jigyo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-05-01

    The project aims to prepare inter-industry relations tables and models for energy analysis for Asian countries and thereby to probe into relations between the industrial structure or the ultimate consumption structure and energy consumption. For the comprehension of energy consumption as broken by each industry, Asian nations' inter-industry relations tables and energy statistics are linked for the compilation of energy analysis oriented inter-industry relations tables, and the resultant tables are used for the metric analysis of industrial structures and energy consumption structures in these countries. The tables prepared this time are 1985 tables for Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines and 1990 tables for China, Singapore, and Malaysia. The Malaysian transportation sector needs to be improved in energy saving. In Singapore, energy saving is functioning effectively in the transportation sector. China's energy consuming industries are those involving coal, chemistry, steelmaking, ceramics, and earth and quarrying. In Taiwan, improvement needs to be made in the transportation sector. Korea should conserve energy in the transportation sector. In the Philippines, energy needs to be saved in businesses related to water supply, transportation, and fishery. Thai industries as a whole needs to save energy. Improved energy consumption efficiency is sought for in the Indonesian cement related sector. (NEDO)

  4. What energies?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Favennec, Jean-Pierre

    2009-01-01

    Energy consumption has developed significantly since the Second World War and population growth and improved living standards should see needs increasing even more. Traditional forecasts show that this energy consumption will continue to depend heavily on fossil energy. However, resources are limited and their use have a negative impact on the greenhouse effect and climate change. There is therefore a need to develop large quantities of renewable energy sources, to intensify energy saving programs and to pursue research in certain key areas

  5. Active surface model improvement by energy function optimization for 3D segmentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azimifar, Zohreh; Mohaddesi, Mahsa

    2015-04-01

    This paper proposes an optimized and efficient active surface model by improving the energy functions, searching method, neighborhood definition and resampling criterion. Extracting an accurate surface of the desired object from a number of 3D images using active surface and deformable models plays an important role in computer vision especially medical image processing. Different powerful segmentation algorithms have been suggested to address the limitations associated with the model initialization, poor convergence to surface concavities and slow convergence rate. This paper proposes a method to improve one of the strongest and recent segmentation algorithms, namely the Decoupled Active Surface (DAS) method. We consider a gradient of wavelet edge extracted image and local phase coherence as external energy to extract more information from images and we use curvature integral as internal energy to focus on high curvature region extraction. Similarly, we use resampling of points and a line search for point selection to improve the accuracy of the algorithm. We further employ an estimation of the desired object as an initialization for the active surface model. A number of tests and experiments have been done and the results show the improvements with regards to the extracted surface accuracy and computational time of the presented algorithm compared with the best and recent active surface models. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Evaluation of design options for improving the energy efficiency of an environmentally safe domestic refrigerator-freezer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vineyard, E.A.; Sand, J.R. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Bohman, R.H.

    1995-03-01

    In order to reduce greenhouse emissions from power plants and respond to regulatory actions arising from the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA), several design options were investigated for improving the energy efficiency of a conventionally designed, domestic refrigerator-freezer. The options, such as improved cabinet insulation and high-efficiency compressor and fans, were incorporated into a prototype refrigerator-freezer cabinet and refrigeration system to produce a unit that is superior from an environmental viewpoint due to its lower energy consumption and the use of refrigerant HFC-134a as a replacement for CFC-12. Baseline energy performance of the original 1993 production refrigerator-freezer, along with cabinet heat load and compressor calorimeter test results, were extensively documented to provide a firm basis for experimentally measured energy savings. A detailed refrigerator system computer model was used to evaluate the energy savings for several design modifications that, collectively, could achieve a targeted energy consumption of 1.00 kWh/d for a 20 ft{sup 3} (570 l) top-mount, automatic-defrost, refrigerator-freezer. The energy consumption goal represents a 50% reduction in the 1993 NAECA standard for units of this size. Following the modeling simulation, laboratory prototypes were fabricated and tested to experimentally verify the analytical results and aid in improving the model in those areas where discrepancies occurred. While the 1.00 kWh/d goal was not achieved with the modifications, a substantial energy efficiency improvement of 22% (1.41 kWh/d) was demonstrated using near-term technologies. It is noted that each improvement exacts a penalty in terms of increased cost or system complexity/reliability. Further work on this project will analyze cost-effectiveness of the design changes and investigate alternative, more-elaborate, refrigeration system changes to further reduce energy consumption.

  7. Caffeine-containing energy drink improves physical performance in female soccer players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lara, Beatriz; Gonzalez-Millán, Cristina; Salinero, Juan Jose; Abian-Vicen, Javier; Areces, Francisco; Barbero-Alvarez, Jose Carlos; Muñoz, Víctor; Portillo, Luis Javier; Gonzalez-Rave, Jose Maria; Del Coso, Juan

    2014-05-01

    There is little information about the effects of caffeine intake on female team-sport performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a caffeine-containing energy drink to improve physical performance in female soccer players during a simulated game. A double-blind, placebo controlled and randomized experimental design was used in this investigation. In two different sessions, 18 women soccer players ingested 3 mg of caffeine/kg in the form of an energy drink or an identical drink with no caffeine content (placebo). After 60 min, they performed a countermovement jump (CMJ) and a 7 × 30 m sprint test followed by a simulated soccer match (2 × 40 min). Individual running distance and speed were measured using GPS devices. In comparison to the placebo drink, the ingestion of the caffeinated energy drink increased the CMJ height (26.6 ± 4.0 vs 27.4 ± 3.8 cm; P 18 km/h (161 ± 99 vs 216 ± 103 m; P caffeine/kg might be an effective ergogenic aid to improve physical performance in female soccer players.

  8. Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Improving Rapport between Track/Cross Country Coaches and Significant Others

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helm, David Jay

    2017-01-01

    This study examines the background information and the components of N.L.P., being eye movements, use of predicates, and posturing, as they apply to improving rapport and empathy between track/cross country coaches and their significant others in the arena of competition to help alleviate the inherent stressors.

  9. Retrofit of ammonia plant for improving energy efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Panjeshahi, M.H.; Ghasemian Langeroudi, E.; Tahouni, N.

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this work is to perform a retrofit study of an ammonia plant, in purpose of improving energy efficiency. As a common practice, one can divide an ammonia plant into two parts: the hot-end and the cold-end. In the hot section, two different options are investigated that both lead to a threshold condition and achieve maximum energy saving. The first option covers only process-to-process energy integration, while the second option considers some modification in the convection section of the primary reformer through a new arrangement of the heating coils. Thus, a considerable reduction in cooling water, HP steam and fuel gas consumption is achieved. In the cold section, retrofit study is dominated by reducing the amount of shaft work or power consumption in the refrigeration system. Application of the Combined Pinch and Exergy Analysis revealed that part of the shaft work, which was originally being used, was inefficient and could have been avoided in a well-integrated design. Therefore, by proposing optimum refrigeration levels, reasonable saving (15%) in power consumption was observed without the need for new investment

  10. High Habitual Physical Activity Improves Acute Energy Compensation in Nonobese Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaulieu, Kristine; Hopkins, Mark; Long, Cecilia; Blundell, John; Finlayson, Graham

    2017-11-01

    Evidence suggests that homeostatic satiety signaling is enhanced with higher levels of physical activity (PA), with active individuals demonstrating an improved ability to compensate for previous energy intake (EI). However, prior studies lacked objective assessment of both PA level and EI. This study examined the effect of objectively measured PA level on homeostatic (energy compensation) and hedonic (liking and wanting) responses to high-energy (HEP), low-energy (LEP), and control preloads. Thirty-four nonobese individuals were grouped by tertiles of accelerometry-measured habitual moderate-to-vigorous PA (low, LoMVPA; moderate, ModMVPA; high, HiMVPA), similar in age, sex, and body mass index. After a preliminary assessment, EI (fixed-energy breakfast and ad libitum lunch, dinner, and evening snack box meals) was determined for three probe meal days in which preloads varying in energy content (HEP, 699 kcal; LEP, 258 kcal; control, 0 kcal) were consumed before the lunch meal. Liking and wanting were assessed before and after preload consumption (Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire), and appetite ratings were taken throughout the day. Relative to control, EI at lunch was reduced to a greater extent after consumption of HEP compared with LEP in ModMVPA (P reflecting more accurate energy compensation in HiMVPA and ModMVPA. There were no effects on cumulative EI after preload consumption of (lunch, dinner, and snack box combined). HEP led to a greater suppression of hunger, liking, and wanting compared with LEP in all MVPA tertiles. Nonobese individuals with lower levels of measured PA were insensitive to the nutritional manipulation of the preloads, suggesting a weaker satiety response to food. This study provides objective evidence that higher habitual PA improves acute homeostatic appetite control.

  11. Power-Split Hybrid Electric Vehicle Energy Management Based on Improved Logic Threshold Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhumu Fu

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We design an improved logic threshold approach of energy management for a power-split HEV assisted by an integrated starter generator (ISG. By combining the efficiency map and the optimum torque curve of internal combustion engine (ICE with the state of charge (SOC of batteries, the improved logic threshold controller manages the ICE within its peak efficiency region at first. Then the electrical power demand is established based on the ICE energy output. On that premise, a variable logic threshold value K is defined to achieve the power distribution between the ISG and the electric motor/generator (EMG. Finally, simulation models for the power-split HEV with improved logic threshold controller are established in ADVISOR. Compared to the equally power-split HEV with the logic threshold controller, when using the improved logic threshold controller, the battery power consumption, the ICE efficiency, the fuel consumption, and the motor driving system efficiency are improved.

  12. Industrial Energy Audit Guidebook: Guidelines for Conducting an Energy Audit in Industrial Facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hasanbeigi, Ali; Price, Lynn

    2010-10-07

    Various studies in different countries have shown that significant energy-efficiency improvement opportunities exist in the industrial sector, many of which are cost-effective. These energy-efficiency options include both cross-cutting as well as sector-specific measures. However, industrial plants are not always aware of energy-efficiency improvement potentials. Conducting an energy audit is one of the first steps in identifying these potentials. Even so, many plants do not have the capacity to conduct an effective energy audit. In some countries, government policies and programs aim to assist industry to improve competitiveness through increased energy efficiency. However, usually only limited technical and financial resources for improving energy efficiency are available, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Information on energy auditing and practices should, therefore, be prepared and disseminated to industrial plants. This guidebook provides guidelines for energy auditors regarding the key elements for preparing for an energy audit, conducting an inventory and measuring energy use, analyzing energy bills, benchmarking, analyzing energy use patterns, identifying energy-efficiency opportunities, conducting cost-benefit analysis, preparing energy audit reports, and undertaking post-audit activities. The purpose of this guidebook is to assist energy auditors and engineers in the plant to conduct a well-structured and effective energy audit.

  13. CDMS Detector Fabrication Improvements and Low Energy Nuclear Recoil Measurements in Germanium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jastram, Andrew [Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

    2015-12-01

    As the CDMS (Cryogenic Dark Matter Search) experiment is scaled up to tackle new dark matter parameter spaces (lower masses and cross-sections), detector production efficiency and repeatability becomes ever more important. A dedicated facility has been commissioned for SuperCDMS detector fabrication at Texas A&M University (TAMU). The fabrication process has been carefully tuned using this facility and its equipment. Production of successfully tested detectors has been demonstrated. Significant improvements in detector performance have been made using new fabrication methods, equipment, and tuning of process parameters. This work has demonstrated the capability for production of next generation CDMS SNOLAB detectors. Additionally, as the dark matter parameter space is probed further, careful calibrations of detector response to nuclear recoil interactions must be performed in order to extract useful information (in relation to dark matter particle characterzations) from experimental results. A neutron beam of tunable energy is used in conjunction with a commercial radiation detector to characterize ionization energy losses in germanium during nuclear recoil events. Data indicates agreement with values predicted by the Lindhard equation, providing a best-t k-value of 0.146.

  14. Improved perceived indoor environment in renovated and energy-retrofitted social housing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Henrik Nellemose

    2017-01-01

    , noise from outside and too little daylight. The evaluation shows that it is possible to achieve a win-win situation, with both energy savings and improved perceived indoor environment. The evaluation also reveals that careful attention is needed to avoid introducing annoying noise from new technical......The purpose of the present study was, among other things, to evaluate how tenants perceived the indoor environment in renovated and energy-retrofitted social housing erected in the 1960s. Tenants answered a questionnaire to quantify problems and satisfaction with the indoor environment before...... and after the renovation work. A majority of tenants perceived the indoor environment improved for all parameters: temperature, draught, air quality, noise and daylight, after the renovation work. In particular, the tenants experienced fewer problems with too low temperature and draught during the winter...

  15. Multivariate analysis method for energy calibration and improved mass assignment in recoil spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Bouanani, Mohamed; Hult, Mikael; Persson, Leif; Swietlicki, Erik; Andersson, Margaretha; Oestling, Mikael; Lundberg, Nils; Zaring, Carina; Cohen, D.D.; Dytlewski, Nick; Johnston, P.N.; Walker, S.R.; Bubb, I.F.; Whitlow, H.J.

    1994-01-01

    Heavy ion recoil spectrometry is rapidly becoming a well established analysis method, but the associated data analysis processing is still not well developed. The pronounced nonlinear response of silicon detectors for heavy ions leads to serious limitation and complication in mass gating, which is the principal factor in obtaining energy spectra with minimal cross talk between elements. To overcome the above limitation, a simple empirical formula with an associated multiple regression method is proposed for the absolute energy calibration of the time of flight-energy dispersive detector telescope used in recoil spectrometry. A radical improvement in mass assignment was realized, which allows a more accurate and improved depth profiling with the important feature of making the data processing much easier. ((orig.))

  16. Significance of atmospheric effects of heat rejection from energy centers in the semi arid northwest

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramsdell, J.V.; Drake, R.L.; Young, J.R.

    1976-01-01

    The results presented in this paper have been obtained using simple atmospheric models in an attempt to optimize heat sink management in a conceptual nuclear energy center (NEC) at Hanford. The models have been designed to be conservatice in the sense that they are biased toward over prediction of the impact of cooling system effluents on humidity and fog. Thus the models are screening tools to be used to identify subjects for further, more realistic examination. Within this context the following conclusions have been reached: the evaluation of any atmospheric impact postulated for heat dissipation must be conducted in quantitative terms which can be used to determine the significance of the impact; of the potential atmospheric impacts of large heat releases from energy centers, the one most amenable to quantitative evaluation in meaningful terms as the increase in fog; a postulated increase in frequency of fog can be translated into terms of visibility and both can be evaluated statistically; the translation of a increase in fog to visibility terms permits economic evaluation of the impact; and the predicted impact of the HNEC on fog and visibility is statistically significant whether the energy center consists of 20 or 40 units

  17. Integration of solar thermal for improved energy efficiency in low-temperature-pinch industrial processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atkins, Martin J.; Walmsley, Michael R.W.; Morrison, Andrew S.

    2010-01-01

    Solar thermal systems have the potential to provide renewable industrial process heat and are especially suited for low pinch temperature processes such as those in the food, beverage, and textile sectors. When correctly integrated within an industrial process, they can provide significant progress towards both increased energy efficiency and reduction in emissions. However, the integration of renewable solar energy into industrial processes presents a challenge for existing process integration techniques due to the non-continuous nature of the supply. A thorough pinch analysis study of the industrial process, taking in to account non-continuous operating rates, should be performed to evaluate the utility demand profile. Solar collector efficiency data under variable climatic conditions should also be collected for the specific site. A systematic method of combining this information leads to improved design and an optimal operating strategy. This approach has been applied to a New Zealand milk powder plant and benefits of several integration strategies, including mass integration, are investigated. The appropriate placement of the solar heat is analogous to the placement of a hot utility source and an energy penalty will be incurred when the solar thermal system provides heat below the pinch temperature.

  18. Integration of solar thermal for improved energy efficiency in low-temperature-pinch industrial processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Atkins, Martin J.; Walmsley, Michael R.W.; Morrison, Andrew S. [Energy Research Group, School of Science and Engineering, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240 (New Zealand)

    2010-05-15

    Solar thermal systems have the potential to provide renewable industrial process heat and are especially suited for low pinch temperature processes such as those in the food, beverage, and textile sectors. When correctly integrated within an industrial process, they can provide significant progress towards both increased energy efficiency and reduction in emissions. However, the integration of renewable solar energy into industrial processes presents a challenge for existing process integration techniques due to the non-continuous nature of the supply. A thorough pinch analysis study of the industrial process, taking in to account non-continuous operating rates, should be performed to evaluate the utility demand profile. Solar collector efficiency data under variable climatic conditions should also be collected for the specific site. A systematic method of combining this information leads to improved design and an optimal operating strategy. This approach has been applied to a New Zealand milk powder plant and benefits of several integration strategies, including mass integration, are investigated. The appropriate placement of the solar heat is analogous to the placement of a hot utility source and an energy penalty will be incurred when the solar thermal system provides heat below the pinch temperature. (author)

  19. Modeling energy efficiency to improve air quality and health effects of China’s cement industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Shaohui; Worrell, Ernst; Crijns-Graus, Wina; Krol, Maarten; Bruine, Marco de; Geng, Guangpo; Wagner, Fabian; Cofala, Janusz

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • An integrated model was used to model the co-benefits for China’s cement industry. • PM_2_._5 would decrease by 2–4% by 2030 through improved energy efficiency. • 10,000 premature deaths would be avoided per year relative to the baseline scenario. • Total benefits are about two times higher than the energy efficiency costs. - Abstract: Actions to reduce the combustion of fossil fuels often decrease GHG emissions as well as air pollutants and bring multiple benefits for improvement of energy efficiency, climate change, and air quality associated with human health benefits. The China’s cement industry is the second largest energy consumer and key emitter of CO_2 and air pollutants, which accounts for 7% of China’s total energy consumption, 15% of CO_2, and 14% of PM_2_._5, respectively. In this study, a state-of-the art modeling framework is developed that comprises a number of different methods and tools within the same platform (i.e. provincial energy conservation supply curves, the Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies, ArcGIS, the global chemistry Transport Model, version 5, and Health Impact Assessment) to assess the potential for energy savings and emission mitigation of CO_2 and PM_2_._5, as well as the health impacts of pollution arising from China’s cement industry. The results show significant heterogeneity across provinces in terms of the potential for PM_2_._5 emission reduction and PM_2_._5 concentration, as well as health impacts caused by PM_2_._5. Implementation of selected energy efficiency measures would decrease total PM_2_._5 emissions by 2% (range: 1–4%) in 2020 and 4% (range: 2–8%) by 2030, compared to the baseline scenario. The reduction potential of provincial annual PM_2_._5 concentrations range from 0.03% to 2.21% by 2030 respectively, when compared to the baseline scenario. 10,000 premature deaths are avoided by 2020 and 2030 respectively relative to baseline scenario. The

  20. Experiments to Improve Power Conversion Parameters in a Traveling Wave Direct Energy Converter Simulator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takeno, Hiromasa; Kiriyama, Yuusuke; Yasaka, Yasuyoshi

    2005-01-01

    An experimental study of direct power conversion for D- 3 He fusion is presented. In a small-scale simulator of direct energy converter, which is based on a principle of deceleration of 14.7MeV protons by traveling wave field, a new structure of an external transmission circuit in experiment is proposed for the purpose of enhancement of deceleration electrode voltages. A prototype circuit was designed and constructed, resulting improvement of voltage amplitude in an order of magnitude. A more practical circuit, in which inductor elements were manufactured by using coaxial cables, was also constructed and tested. An excitation of the third harmonic frequency with a significant amplitude was observed. The cause of this problem is attributed to the modulated ion beam which has a third harmonic component and fact that the inductance of the element nonlinearly depends on frequency. This problem is serious for a practical scale energy converter, and a careful design of the circuit could avoid the problem

  1. Household biomass energy choice and its policy implications on improving rural livelihoods in Sichuan, China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Qiu; Yang, Haoran; Liu, Tianbiao; Zhang, Lin

    2016-01-01

    It is widely known that a switch from traditional biomass energy to modern clean, safe and efficient energy could improve local rural livelihoods by enhancing the access to ‘high quality’ energy and reducing the negative impacts of traditional biomass energy on health, environment and living standards. Hence, in this paper, we used alternative-specific conditional logit model (ASCLM) to examine the rural household energy choice behaviors in Sichuan Province of China from the perspective of revealed and stated preferences. The results show that the fuel switching in our study region is not a simple unidirectional process from traditional biomass energy to modern fuels as incomes improve. Household energy choice behaviors could be not only affected by energy-specific characteristics such as fuel price, smoky level and safety risk, but also influenced by household-specific factors such as income level, age and educational level of the decision maker, household demographic structure, number of people frequently eating at home, distance to the nearest biomass collecting spot and household location, suggesting that government should attach more importance to simultaneously improve energy quality, control energy price and enhance household socio-economic status. - Highlights: •McFadden's choice model was applied to analyze household energy choice in Sichuan. •We examined household revealed and stated preferences for different fuels. •Household fuel switching is not a simple or unidirectional process. •Households prefer to use fuel with lower cost, higher safety and lower indoor pollution. •Household fuel choice is affected by interactions among multiple factors.

  2. Significance of MPEG-7 textural features for improved mass detection in mammography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eltonsy, Nevine H; Tourassi, Georgia D; Fadeev, Aleksey; Elmaghraby, Adel S

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of the study is to investigate the significance of MPEG-7 textural features for improving the detection of masses in screening mammograms. The detection scheme was originally based on morphological directional neighborhood features extracted from mammographic regions of interest (ROIs). Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) was performed to evaluate the performance of each set of features independently and merged into a back-propagation artificial neural network (BPANN) using the leave-one-out sampling scheme (LOOSS). The study was based on a database of 668 mammographic ROIs (340 depicting cancer regions and 328 depicting normal parenchyma). Overall, the ROC area index of the BPANN using the directional morphological features was Az=0.85+/-0.01. The MPEG-7 edge histogram descriptor-based BPNN showed an ROC area index of Az=0.71+/-0.01 while homogeneous textural descriptors using 30 and 120 channels helped the BPNN achieve similar ROC area indexes of Az=0.882+/-0.02 and Az=0.877+/-0.01 respectively. After merging the MPEG-7 homogeneous textural features with the directional neighborhood features the performance of the BPANN increased providing an ROC area index of Az=0.91+/-0.01. MPEG-7 homogeneous textural descriptor significantly improved the morphology-based detection scheme.

  3. Improving the energy balance of grass-based anaerobic digestion through combined harvesting and pretreatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsapekos, P; Kougias, P G; Egelund, H; Larsen, U; Pedersen, J; Trénel, P; Angelidaki, I

    2017-08-01

    An important challenge that has to be addressed to achieve sustainable anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic substrates is the development of energy and cost efficient pretreatment methods. Technologies orientated to simultaneously harvest and mechanically pretreat the biomass at the field could meet these criteria as they can potentially reduce the energy losses. The objective of this study was to elucidate the effect of two full-scale harvesting machines to enhance the biogas production and subsequently, improve energy balance. The performances of Disc-mower and Excoriator were assessed on meadow and cultivated grass silages. The results showed that relatively high methane production can be achieved from meadow and cultivated grass harvested in different seasons. The findings indicated that the bioenergy production can be improved based on the selection of the appropriate harvesting technology. More specifically, Excoriator, which cuts and subsequently applies shearing forces on harvested biomass, enhanced the methane production up to 10% and the overall energy budget was improved proportionally to the driving speed increase. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Exploring energy loss by vector flow mapping in children with ventricular septal defect: Pathophysiologic significance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honda, Takashi; Itatani, Keiichi; Takanashi, Manabu; Kitagawa, Atsushi; Ando, Hisashi; Kimura, Sumito; Oka, Norihiko; Miyaji, Kagami; Ishii, Masahiro

    2017-10-01

    Vector flow mapping is a novel echocardiographic flow visualization method, and it has enabled us to quantitatively evaluate the energy loss in the left ventricle (intraventricular energy loss). Although intraventricular energy loss is assumed to be a part of left ventricular workload itself, it is unclear what this parameter actually represents. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the characteristics of intraventricular energy loss. We enrolled 26 consecutive children with ventricular septal defect (VSD). On echocardiography vector flow mapping, intraventricular energy loss was measured in the apical 3-chamber view. We measured peak energy loss and averaged energy loss in the diastolic and systolic phases, and subsequently compared these parameters with catheterization parameters and serum brain natrium peptide (BNP) level. Diastolic, peak, and systolic energy loss were strongly and positively correlated with right ventricular systolic pressure (r=0.76, 0.68, and 0.56, p<0.0001, = 0.0001, and 0.0029, respectively) and right ventricular end diastolic pressure (r=0.55, 0.49, and 0.49, p=0.0038, 0.0120, and 0.0111, respectively). In addition, diastolic, peak, and systolic energy loss were significantly correlated with BNP (r=0.75, 0.69 and 0.49, p<0.0001, < 0.0001, and=0.0116, respectively). In children with VSD, elevated right ventricular pressure is one of the factors that increase energy loss in the left ventricle. The results of the present study encourage further studies in other study populations to elucidate the characteristics of intraventricular energy loss for its possible clinical application. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Petrochemical Industry - An ENERGY STAR(R) Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neelis, Maarten; Worrell, Ernst; Masanet, Eric

    2008-09-01

    Energy is the most important cost factor in the U.S petrochemical industry, defined in this guide as the chemical industry sectors producing large volume basic and intermediate organic chemicals as well as large volume plastics. The sector spent about $10 billion on fuels and electricity in 2004. Energy efficiency improvement is an important way to reduce these costs and to increase predictable earnings, especially in times of high energy price volatility. There are a variety of opportunities available at individual plants in the U.S. petrochemical industry to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner. This Energy Guide discusses energy efficiency practices and energy efficient technologies that can be implemented at the component, process, facility, and organizational levels. A discussion of the trends, structure, and energy consumption characteristics of the petrochemical industry is provided along with a description of the major process technologies used within the industry. Next, a wide variety of energy efficiency measures are described. Many measure descriptions include expected savings in energy and energy-related costs, based on case study data from real-world applications in the petrochemical and related industries worldwide. Typical measure payback periods and references to further information in the technical literature are also provided, when available. The information in this Energy Guide is intended to help energy and plant managers in the U.S. petrochemical industry reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner while maintaining the quality of products manufactured. Further research on the economics of all measures--and on their applicability to different production practices--is needed to assess their cost effectiveness at individual plants.

  6. Histone deacetylase inhibitor significantly improved the cloning efficiency of porcine somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yongye; Tang, Xiaochun; Xie, Wanhua; Zhou, Yan; Li, Dong; Yao, Chaogang; Zhou, Yang; Zhu, Jianguo; Lai, Liangxue; Ouyang, Hongsheng; Pang, Daxin

    2011-12-01

    Valproic acid (VPA), a histone deacetylase inbibitor, has been shown to generate inducible pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from mouse and human fibroblasts with a significant higher efficiency. Because successful cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) undergoes a full reprogramming process in which the epigenetic state of a differentiated donor nuclear is converted into an embryonic totipotent state, we speculated that VPA would be useful in promoting cloning efficiency. Therefore, in the present study, we examined whether VPA can promote the developmental competence of SCNT embryos by improving the reprogramming state of donor nucleus. Here we report that 1 mM VPA for 14 to 16 h following activation significantly increased the rate of blastocyst formation of porcine SCNT embryos constructed from Landrace fetal fibroblast cells compared to the control (31.8 vs. 11.4%). However, we found that the acetylation level of Histone H3 lysine 14 and Histone H4 lysine 5 and expression level of Oct4, Sox2, and Klf4 was not significantly changed between VPA-treated and -untreated groups at the blastocyst stage. The SCNT embryos were transferred to 38 surrogates, and the cloning efficiency in the treated group was significantly improved compared with the control group. Taken together, we have demonstrated that VPA can improve both in vitro and in vivo development competence of porcine SCNT embryos.

  7. Energy efficiency improving opportunities in a large Chinese shoe-making enterprise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ming Yang

    2010-01-01

    Energy consumption and energy intensity reduction opportunities are quite different from one enterprise to another. It is necessary to understand how much energy is used at individual enterprise, where the most energy is consumed and what the best opportunities are to invest in energy efficiency. Auditing energy efficiency was recently undertaken in one of the top 1000 largest Chinese enterprises. The objectives of this paper are to fill a gap in the literature of auditing energy efficiency for a Chinese manufacturing enterprise and to share the audited energy efficiency results. This paper concludes that if the enterprise invests USD 1.9 million to improve energy efficiency, the investment will be recovered in about 18 months. The net present value of the investment would be about USD 9.8 million at a discount rate of 12%. The investment will reduce a large amount of energy consumption at the enterprise based on its figures in 2008, including 15% of electricity, 40% of fuel oil, and 54% of diesel. Carbon reduction is also very cost-effective. Investment of one dollar in the enterprise will help cut carbon emission by 7.95 kg per year and generate $5.3 net revenue in the economic lifetime of the invested technology.

  8. Ceramic Composite Intermediate Temperature Stress-Rupture Properties Improved Significantly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morscher, Gregory N.; Hurst, Janet B.

    2002-01-01

    Silicon carbide (SiC) composites are considered to be potential materials for future aircraft engine parts such as combustor liners. It is envisioned that on the hot side (inner surface) of the combustor liner, composites will have to withstand temperatures in excess of 1200 C for thousands of hours in oxidizing environments. This is a severe condition; however, an equally severe, if not more detrimental, condition exists on the cold side (outer surface) of the combustor liner. Here, the temperatures are expected to be on the order of 800 to 1000 C under high tensile stress because of thermal gradients and attachment of the combustor liner to the engine frame (the hot side will be under compressive stress, a less severe stress-state for ceramics). Since these composites are not oxides, they oxidize. The worst form of oxidation for strength reduction occurs at these intermediate temperatures, where the boron nitride (BN) interphase oxidizes first, which causes the formation of a glass layer that strongly bonds the fibers to the matrix. When the fibers strongly bond to the matrix or to one another, the composite loses toughness and strength and becomes brittle. To increase the intermediate temperature stress-rupture properties, researchers must modify the BN interphase. With the support of the Ultra-Efficient Engine Technology (UEET) Program, significant improvements were made as state-of-the-art SiC/SiC composites were developed during the Enabling Propulsion Materials (EPM) program. Three approaches were found to improve the intermediate-temperature stress-rupture properties: fiber-spreading, high-temperature silicon- (Si) doped boron nitride (BN), and outside-debonding BN.

  9. Factors Related to Significant Improvement of Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rates in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients Receiving Telbivudine Therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Te-Fu Lin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background and Aim. The improvement of estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs in chronic hepatitis B (CHB patients receiving telbivudine therapy is well known. The aim of this study was to clarify the kinetics of eGFRs and to identify the significant factors related to the improvement of eGFRs in telbivudine-treated CHB patients in a real-world setting. Methods. Serial eGFRs were calculated every 3 months using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI equation. The patients were classified as CKD-1, -2, or -3 according to a baseline eGFR of ≥90, 60–89, or <60 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively. A significant improvement of eGFR was defined as a more than 10% increase from the baseline. Results. A total of 129 patients were enrolled, of whom 36% had significantly improved eGFRs. According to a multivariate analysis, diabetes mellitus (DM (p=0.028 and CKD-3 (p=0.043 were both significantly related to such improvement. The rates of significant improvement of eGFR were about 73% and 77% in patients with DM and CKD-3, respectively. Conclusions. Telbivudine is an alternative drug of choice for the treatment of hepatitis B patients for whom renal safety is a concern, especially patients with DM and CKD-3.

  10. Italian renewable energy sources improvement; Decollo su larga scala delle fonti rinnovabili

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silvestrini, G. [Ministero dell' Ambiente, Rome (Italy)

    1999-08-01

    The paper reports Italian and international guidelines for renewable energy sources improvement. [Italian] Si assiste ad una ripresa di attenzione a livello internazionale ed italiano nei confronti delle energie rinnovabili, il cui panoramam e' oggi cambiato. In Italia sono pero' inadeguate le realta' produttive in questo settore ed anche i grandi attori energetici hanno finora affrontato la tematica con eccessiva timidezza. Il Ministero dell'Ambiente sollecita un maggiore impegno da parte delle societa' energetiche nei confronti delle energie rinnovabili.

  11. Continuous Improvement in Battery Testing at the NASA/JSC Energy System Test Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyd, William; Cook, Joseph

    2003-01-01

    The Energy Systems Test Area (ESTA) at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas conducts development and qualification tests to fulfill Energy System Division responsibilities relevant to ASA programs and projects. EST A has historically called upon a variety of fluid, mechanical, electrical, environmental, and data system capabilities spread amongst five full-service facilities to test human and human supported spacecraft in the areas of propulsion systems, fluid systems, pyrotechnics, power generation, and power distribution and control systems. Improvements at ESTA are being made in full earnest of offering NASA project offices an option to choose a thorough test regime that is balanced with cost and schedule constraints. In order to continue testing of enabling power-related technologies utilized by the Energy System Division, an especially proactive effort has been made to increase the cost effectiveness and schedule responsiveness for battery testing. This paper describes the continuous improvement in battery testing at the Energy Systems Test Area being made through consolidation, streamlining, and standardization.

  12. A critical analysis of energy efficiency improvement potentials in Taiwan's cement industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Yun-Hsun; Chang, Yi-Lin; Fleiter, Tobias

    2016-01-01

    The cement industry is the second most energy-intensive sector in Taiwan, which underlines the need to understand its potential for energy efficiency improvement. A bottom-up model-based assessment is utilized to conduct a scenario analysis of energy saving opportunities up to the year 2035. The analysis is supported by detailed expert interviews in all cement plants of Taiwan. The simulation results reveal that by 2035, eighteen energy efficient technologies could result in 25% savings for electricity and 9% savings for fuels under the technical diffusion scenario. This potential totally amounts to about 5000 TJ/year, of which 91% can be implemented cost-effectively assuming a discount rate of 10%. Policy makers should support a fast diffusion of these technologies. Additionally, policy makers can tap further saving potentials. First, by decreasing the clinker share, which is currently regulated to a minimum of 95%. Second, by extending the prohibition to build new cement plants by allowing for replacement of existing capacity with new innovative plants in the coming years. Third, by supporting the use of alternative fuels, which is currently still a niche in Taiwan. - Highlights: •We analyze energy efficiency improvement potentials in Taiwan's cement industry. •Eighteen process-specific technologies are analyzed using a bottom-up model. •Our model systematically reflects the diffusion of technologies over time. •We find energy-saving potentials of 25% for electricity and 9% for fuels in 2035. •91% of the energy-saving potentials can be realized cost-effectively.

  13. Crosstalk corrections for improved energy resolution with highly segmented HPGe-detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruyneel, Bart; Reiter, Peter; Wiens, Andreas; Eberth, Juergen; Hess, Herbert; Pascovici, Gheorghe; Warr, Nigel; Aydin, Sezgin; Bazzacco, Dino; Recchia, Francesco

    2009-01-01

    Crosstalk effects of 36-fold segmented, large volume AGATA HPGe detectors cause shifts in the γ-ray energy measured by the inner core and outer segments as function of segment multiplicity. The positions of the segment sum energy peaks vary approximately linearly with increasing segment multiplicity. The resolution of these peaks deteriorates also linearly as a function of segment multiplicity. Based on single event treatment, two methods were developed in the AGATA Collaboration to correct for the crosstalk induced effects by employing a linear transformation. The matrix elements are deduced from coincidence measurements of γ-rays of various energies as recorded with digital electronics. A very efficient way to determine the matrix elements is obtained by measuring the base line shifts of untriggered segments using γ-ray detection events in which energy is deposited in a single segment. A second approach is based on measuring segment energy values for γ-ray interaction events in which energy is deposited in only two segments. After performing crosstalk corrections, the investigated detector shows a good fit between the core energy and the segment sum energy at all multiplicities and an improved energy resolution of the segment sum energy peaks. The corrected core energy resolution equals the segment sum energy resolution which is superior at all folds compared to the individual uncorrected energy resolutions. This is achieved by combining the two independent energy measurements with the core contact on the one hand and the segment contacts on the other hand.

  14. The role of built environment energy efficiency in a sustainable UK energy economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clarke, Joseph A.; Johnstone, Cameron M.; Kelly, Nicolas J.; Strachan, Paul A.; Tuohy, Paul

    2008-01-01

    Energy efficiency in the built environment can make significant contributions to a sustainable energy economy. In order to achieve this, greater public awareness of the importance of energy efficiency is required. In the short term, new efficient domestic appliances, building technologies, legislation quantifying building plant performance, and improved building regulations to include installed plant will be required. Continuing these improvements in the longer term is likely to see the adoption of small-scale renewable technologies embedded in the building fabric. Internet-based energy services could deliver low-cost building energy management and control to the mass market enabling plant to be operated and maintained at optimum performance levels and energy savings quantified. There are many technology options for improved energy performance of the building fabric and energy systems and it is not yet clear which will prove to be the most economic. Therefore, flexibility is needed in legislation and energy-efficiency initiatives

  15. Voluntary agreements with white certificates for energy efficiency improvement as a hybrid policy instrument

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oikonomou, V.; Patel, M.K.; Rietbergen, M.; Van der Gaast, W.

    2009-01-01

    In this paper we examine the implementation of a combined policy scheme that consists of a traditional instrument, the voluntary agreements (VAs), and an innovative one, the white certificates (WhC). The basic structure of this scheme is that energy suppliers who undertake an energy efficiency obligation under a white certificate scheme can make use of voluntary actions to enhance investments in innovative energy savings projects. Energy suppliers and other market parties can additionally or in parallel participate in voluntary agreements and set energy efficiency targets. For fulfilling their voluntary agreement target, these market parties can receive tax exemptions or receive white certificates that they can sell in the market. Transaction costs and baseline definition for demonstrating energy efficiency improvement deserve special attention. This policy can assist a country to enhance energy efficiency improvement while it stimulates innovation. Cost effectiveness can be higher than the case of stand-alone policy instruments, since more financing options are available for more expensive projects. Nevertheless, the added value of the scheme lies more in the implementation of innovative measures for enhanced energy efficiency. Furthermore, market parties can discover more business opportunities in energy efficiency and establish a green image; hence an integrated scheme should achieve higher political acceptability. (author)

  16. Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Vehicle Assembly Industry: An ENERGY STAR Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galitsky, Christina; Galitsky, Christina; Worrell, Ernst

    2008-01-01

    The motor vehicle industry in the U.S. spends about $3.6 billion on energy annually. In this report, we focus on auto assembly plants. In the U.S., over 70 assembly plants currently produce 13 million cars and trucks each year. In assembly plants, energy expenditures is a relatively small cost factor in the total production process. Still, as manufacturers face an increasingly competitive environment, energy efficiency improvements can provide a means to reduce costs without negatively affecting the yield or the quality of the product. In addition, reducing energy costs reduces the unpredictability associated with variable energy prices in today?s marketplace, which could negatively affect predictable earnings, an important element for publicly-traded companies such as those in the motor vehicle industry. In this report, we first present a summary of the motor vehicle assembly process and energy use. This is followed by a discussion of energy efficiency opportunities available for assembly plants. Where available, we provide specific primary energy savings for each energy efficiency measure based on case studies, as well as references to technical literature. If available, we have listed costs and typical payback periods. We include experiences of assembly plants worldwide with energy efficiency measures reviewed in the report. Our findings suggest that although most motor vehicle companies in the U.S. have energy management teams or programs, there are still opportunities available at individual plants to reduce energy consumption cost effectively. Further research on the economics of the measures for individual assembly plants, as part of an energy management program, is needed to assess the potential impact of selected technologies at these plants.

  17. Energy Policy and Long Term Energy Demand in Croatian Households Sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Puksec, T.; Duic, N.

    2011-01-01

    Households sector in Croatia represents one of the largest consumers of energy today with around 75,75PJ, which is almost 29% of Croatia's final energy demand. Considering this consumption, implementing different mechanisms that would lead to improvements in energy efficiency in this sector seems relevant. In order to plan future energy systems it is important to know future possibilities and needs regarding energy demand for different sectors. Through this paper long term energy demand projections for Croatian households sector will be shown with a special emphasis on different mechanisms, both financial, legal but also technological that will influence future energy demand scenarios. It is important to see how these mechanisms influence, positive or negative, on future energy demand and which mechanism would be most influential. Energy demand predictions in this paper are based upon bottom-up approach model which combines and process large number of input data. The Model will be compared to Croatian national Energy Strategy and certain difference will be presented. One of the major conclusions shown in this paper is significant possibilities for energy efficiency improvements and lower energy demand in the future, based on careful and rational energy planning. Different financial, legal and technological mechanisms can lead to significant savings in the households sector which also leads to lesser greenhouse gas emissions and lower Croatian dependence on foreign fossil fuels. (author)

  18. Energy intensity developments in 40 major economies: Structural change or technology improvement?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voigt, Sebastian; De Cian, Enrica; Schymura, Michael; Verdolini, Elena

    2014-01-01

    This study analyzes energy intensity trends and drivers in 40 major economies using the WIOD database, a novel harmonized and consistent dataset of input–output table time series accompanied by environmental satellite data. We use logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition to (1) attribute efficiency changes to either changes in technology or changes in the structure of the economy, (2) study trends in global energy intensity between 1995 and 2007, and (3) highlight sectoral and regional differences. For the country analysis we apply the traditional two factor index decomposition approach, while for the global analysis we use a three factor decomposition which includes the consideration of regional structural changes in the global economy. We first show that heterogeneity within each sector across countries is high. These general trends within sectors are dominated by large economies, first and foremost the United States. In most cases, heterogeneity is lower within each country across the different sectors. Regarding changes of energy intensity at the country level, improvements between 1995 and 2007 are largely attributable to technological change while structural change is less important in most countries. Notable exceptions are Japan, the United States, Australia, Taiwan, Mexico and Brazil where a change in the industry mix was the main driver behind the observed energy intensity reduction. At the global level we find that despite a shift of the global economy to more energy-intensive countries, aggregate energy efficiency improved mostly due to technological change

  19. Improvement of a portable high-energy radiographic inspection system: Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Owen, R.D.

    1987-02-01

    This report describes the development of miniaturized linear accelerator (MINAC) technology, including descriptions of all major developments sponsored by EPRI subsequent to previously sponsored work. In addition, this report describes MINAC-related developments in both real-time x-ray imaging and radiographic image data processing systems which were sponsored by EPRI concurrently. The objectives of this program have been to achieve modifications identified as desirable improvements to the basic ''MINAC 3'' equipment; to expand the range and effectiveness of MINAC applications through design improvements, achievement of wider energy/output capabilities, and the development of suitable imaging and digital processing technologies; and to provide technical information on high-energy radiographic equipment useful to scientists, educators, institutions, NDE technicians and others who may benefit from detailed information on the special equipment. Program, equipment and technical descriptions are followed by conclusions and recommendations for future work

  20. Energy efficiency improvement and cost saving opportunities for the Corn Wet Milling Industry: An ENERGY STAR Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galitsky, Christina; Worrell, Ernst; Ruth, Michael

    2003-07-01

    Corn wet milling is the most energy intensive industry within the food and kindred products group (SIC 20), using 15 percent of the energy in the entire food industry. After corn, energy is the second largest operating cost for corn wet millers in the United States. A typical corn wet milling plant in the United States spends approximately $20 to $30 million per year on energy, making energy efficiency improvement an important way to reduce costs and increase predictable earnings, especially in times of high energy-price volatility. This report shows energy efficiency opportunities available for wet corn millers. It begins with descriptions of the trends, structure and production of the corn wet milling industry and the energy used in the milling and refining process. Specific primary energy savings for each energy efficiency measure based on case studies of plants and references to technical literature are provided. If available, typical payback periods are also listed. The report draws upon the experiences of corn, wheat and other starch processing plants worldwide for energy efficiency measures. The findings suggest that given available resources and technology, there are opportunities to reduce energy consumption cost-effectively in the corn wet milling industry while maintaining the quality of the products manufactured. Further research on the economics of the measures, as well as the applicability of these to different wet milling practices, is needed to assess the feasibility of implementation of selected technologies at individual plants.

  1. Low-energy extracorporeal shock wave therapy for promotion of vascular endothelial growth factor expression and angiogenesis and improvement of locomotor and sensory functions after spinal cord injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yahata, Kenichiro; Kanno, Haruo; Ozawa, Hiroshi; Yamaya, Seiji; Tateda, Satoshi; Ito, Kenta; Shimokawa, Hiroaki; Itoi, Eiji

    2016-12-01

    OBJECTIVE Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is widely used to treat various human diseases. Low-energy ESWT increases expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in cultured endothelial cells. The VEGF stimulates not only endothelial cells to promote angiogenesis but also neural cells to induce neuroprotective effects. A previous study by these authors demonstrated that low-energy ESWT promoted expression of VEGF in damaged neural tissue and improved locomotor function after spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the neuroprotective mechanisms in the injured spinal cord produced by low-energy ESWT are still unknown. In the present study, the authors investigated the cell specificity of VEGF expression in injured spinal cords and angiogenesis induced by low-energy ESWT. They also examined the neuroprotective effects of low-energy ESWT on cell death, axonal damage, and white matter sparing as well as the therapeutic effect for improvement of sensory function following SCI. METHODS Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into the SCI group (SCI only) and SCI-SW group (low-energy ESWT applied after SCI). Thoracic SCI was produced using a New York University Impactor. Low-energy ESWT was applied to the injured spinal cord 3 times a week for 3 weeks after SCI. Locomotor function was evaluated using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan open-field locomotor score for 42 days after SCI. Mechanical and thermal allodynia in the hindpaw were evaluated for 42 days. Double staining for VEGF and various cell-type markers (NeuN, GFAP, and Olig2) was performed at Day 7; TUNEL staining was also performed at Day 7. Immunohistochemical staining for CD31, α-SMA, and 5-HT was performed on spinal cord sections taken 42 days after SCI. Luxol fast blue staining was performed at Day 42. RESULTS Low-energy ESWT significantly improved not only locomotion but also mechanical and thermal allodynia following SCI. In the double staining, expression of VEGF was observed in Neu

  2. Accelerating energy efficiency improvement in the public sector, using Energy Performance Contracting - a workshop on Nordic experiences and needs for improvements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gottberg, Annika; Gode, Jenny; Axelsson, Ulrik

    2009-08-15

    This report provides documentation on a workshop on experiences of Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) in the Nordic countries, aiming to identify strengths, weaknesses and needs for improvements. The results of surveys undertaken to inform presentations and discussions at the workshop are reported. Furthermore, the outcomes of the discussions during the workshop and resulting recommend actions for different actors to further and accelerate the use of EPC in the public sector are reported. Target groups for this documentation are existing and potential EPC customers, providers and policy-makers

  3. Improving urban district heating systems and assessing the efficiency of the energy usage therein

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orlov, M. E.; Sharapov, V. I.

    2017-11-01

    The report describes issues in connection with improving urban district heating systems from combined heat power plants (CHPs), to propose the ways for improving the reliability and the efficiency of the energy usage (often referred to as “energy efficiency”) in such systems. The main direction of such urban district heating systems improvement suggests transition to combined heating systems that include structural elements of both centralized and decentralized systems. Such systems provide the basic part of thermal power via highly efficient methods for extracting thermal power plants turbines steam, while peak loads are covered by decentralized peak thermal power sources to be mounted at consumers’ locations, with the peak sources being also reserve thermal power sources. The methodology was developed for assessing energy efficiency of the combined district heating systems, implemented as a computer software product capable of comparatively calculating saving on reference fuel for the system.

  4. Significant improvement of thermal stability of glucose 1-dehydrogenase by introducing disulfide bonds at the tetramer interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Haitao; Gao, Fen; Liu, Danfeng; Li, Zeli; Xu, Xiaohong; Wu, Min; Zhao, Yuhua

    2013-12-10

    Rational design was applied to glucose 1-dehydrogenase (LsGDH) from Lysinibacillus sphaericus G10 to improve its thermal stability by introduction of disulfide bridges between subunits. One out of the eleven mutants, designated as DS255, displayed significantly enhanced thermal stability with considerable soluble expression and high specific activity. It was extremely stable at pH ranging from 4.5 to 10.5, as it retained nearly 100% activity after incubating at different buffers for 1h. Mutant DS255 also exhibited high thermostability, having a half-life of 9900min at 50°C, which was 1868-fold as that of its wild type. Moreover, both of the increased free energy of denaturation and decreased entropy of denaturation of DS255 suggested that the enzyme structure was stabilized by the engineered disulfide bonds. On account of its robust stability, mutant DS255 would be a competitive candidate in practical applications of chiral chemicals synthesis, biofuel cells and glucose biosensors. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Fact Sheet: Improving Energy Efficiency for Server Rooms and Closets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheung, Hoi Ying [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Mahdavi, Rod [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Greenberg, Steve [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Brown, Rich [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Tschudi, William [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Delforge, Pierre [Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, NY (United States); Dickerson, Joyce [Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, NY (United States)

    2012-09-01

    Is there a ghost in your IT closet? If your building has one or more IT rooms or closets containing between 5 and 50 servers, chances are that they account for a significant share of the building’s energy use (in some cases, over half!). Servers, data storage arrays, networking equipment, and the cooling and power conditioning that support them tend to draw large amounts of energy 24/7, in many cases using more energy annually than traditional building loads such as HVAC and lighting. The good news is that there are many cost-effective actions, ranging from simple to advanced, that can dramatically reduce that energy use, helping you to save money and reduce pollution.

  6. Energy and Exergy Analysis for Improving the Energy Performance of Air-Cooled Liquid Chillers by Different Condensing-Coil Configurations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tzong-Shing Lee

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available This study constructed a parameter analysis for improving the energy performance of air-cooled water chillers by altering the angle configuration of the condenser coils. The mathematical models for energy and exergy analyses of the individual components and overall system of air-cooled water chillers are presented. This study investigated the potential enhancement of performance efficiency in air-cooled chillers and the energy conversion efficiency of each component, in order to determine how the angle configuration of condenser coils influences chiller performance. This study found that the overall performance of an air-cooled chiller could be improved by approximately 3.4%, and the total irreversibility could be reduced by approximately 2.7%. With each 1% increase in average wind speed over the condenser coils, the overall performance of an air‑cooled chiller was found to be enhanced by approximately 0.43%, and its total irreversibility was reduced by approximately 0.35%. The results of this study can be effectively applied to air-cooled condenser units, and can provide an important basis of reference for developing and enhancing the energy efficiency of air-cooled chillers.

  7. Informatics Solution for Energy Efficiency Improvement and Consumption Management of Householders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simona-Vasilica Oprea

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Although in 2012 the European Union (EU has promoted energy efficiency in order to ensure a gradual 20% reduction of energy consumption by 2020, its targets related to energy efficiency have increased and extended to new time horizons. Therefore, in 2016, a new proposal for 2030 of energy efficiency target of 30% has been agreed. However, during the last years, even if the electricity consumption by households decreased in the EU-28, the largest expansion was recorded in Romania. Taking into account that the projected consumption peak is increasing and energy consumption management for residential activities is an important measure for energy efficiency improvement since its ratio from total consumption can be around 25–30%, in this paper, we propose an informatics solution that assists both electricity suppliers/grid operators and consumers. It includes three models for electricity consumption optimization, profiles, clustering and forecast. By this solution, the daily operation of appliances can be optimized and scheduled to minimize the consumption peak and reduce the stress on the grid. For optimization purpose, we propose three algorithms for shifting the operation of the programmable appliances from peak to off-peak hours. This approach enables the supplier to apply attractive time-of-use tariffs due to the fact that by flattening the consumption peak, it becomes more predictable, and thus improves the strategies on the electricity markets. According to the results of the optimization process, we compare the proposed algorithms emphasizing the benefits. For building consumption profiles, we develop a clustering algorithm based on self-organizing maps. By running the algorithm for three scenarios, well-delimited profiles are obtained. As for the consumption forecast, highly accurate feedforward artificial neural networks algorithm with backpropagation is implemented. Finally, we test these algorithms using several datasets showing their

  8. Policy Instruments to Improve Energy Performance of Existing Owner Occupied Dwellings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorraine Colette Murphy

    2016-11-01

    has increased due to, inter alia, the realization that the revolution in energy use that must occur for climate change targets to be met means major changes in the fabric of the existing dwelling stock, dwellings constructed before building regulations demanded high energy performance standards. It is argued that the building sector, in general, and the existing dwelling stock, in particular, can contribute more cost effectively and more significantly in quality and quantity terms than any other sector (Amstalden et al., 2007; Lomas, 2010; Ürge-Vorsatz, et al., 2007. This has provoked calls for new and improved instruments to meet the energy saving potential of existing dwellings. Despite many of the same instruments being used for decades there is little solid information on many crucial dimensions of how instruments operate and on what impact they have. The few evaluations and reviews that do take place are commonly focused on theoretical energy savings and costs and instrument strengths and weaknesses. Instruments commonly appear and disappear without undergoing improvement or change or contributing to policy learning. Many instruments are laden with assumptions about the target group that are never formally or comprehensively proved or debunked. Little theorizing takes place on the type of instruments most suited to the target group. Fundamentally, there is a serious lack of information surrounding the effectiveness of instruments assumed to be making climate change targets a reality. It is the above mentioned information deficits that influenced the objectives and structure of this thesis. Instruments are examined from different angles and viewpoints, from experts, owner occupiers, official evaluations and front-runner countries. Assessment frameworks were developed to tease out how well instruments truly function. Households in receipt of instruments such as the EPC and energy audit were compared to households not in receipt of instruments. Moreover, the

  9. Research report for fiscal 1998. Research of feasibility of energy supply/demand structure overseas improvement (research of feasibility of more effective energy use for Russian energy consuming industries); 1998 nendo kaigai energy jukyu kozo kodoka jisshi kanosei chosa. Roshia no energy tashohi sangyo ni okeru energy yuko riyo nado jigyo jisshi kanosei chosa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-03-01

    A report is made outlining the economic situation and industrial policies in Russia and the actual state of energy consuming industries (thermoelectric power generation, oil refining, and iron making) in that country. In Russia, energy efficiency is much lower than in advanced countries in the West, and the improvement of energy efficiency is a serious task to solve in the Russian fuel energy department. Cited to explain the poor efficiency are facilities growing antiquated, delay in the introduction of new technologies and instruments, insufficient maintenance, and the weak consciousness of energy saving. Although the electric power circle and energy related departments are conscious of the need of endeavors for improving energy efficiency, yet it is too difficult for corporations themselves to invest heavily in facilities. When Japan implements a model project for saving energy in Russia, it will be greatly contributing to the improvement of energy supply/demand in Russia, to the stabilization of social and economic states in that country, and to the prevention of global warming. (NEDO)

  10. Development of Pathways to Achieve the SE4ALL Energy Efficiency Objective: Global and Regional Potential for Energy Efficiency Improvements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gregg, Jay Sterling; Balyk, Olexandr; Pérez, Cristian Hernán Cabrera

    This study examines the three objectives of the UN Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative: 1. Ensure universal access to modern energy services by 2030. 2. Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency (from 1.3% to 2.6% annual reduction in energy intensity of GDP) by 2030. 3....... Double the share of renewable energy in global final energy from 18% to 36% by 2030. The integrated assessment model, ETSAP-TIAM, was used in this study to compare, from an economic optimization point of view, different scenarios for the development of the energy system between 2010 and 2030....... This analysis is conducted on a global and regional scale. The scenarios were constructed to analyze the effect of achieving the SE4ALL energy efficiency objective, the SE4ALL renewable energy objective, both together, and all three SE4ALL objectives. Synergies exist between renewable energy and energy...

  11. Technical assessment of the significance of Wigner energy for disposal of graphite wastes from the Windscale Piles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guppy, R.M.; Wisbey, S.J.; McCarthy, J.

    2001-01-01

    Plans to dismantle the core of the Windscale Pile 1 reactor, and to package the waste for interim storage and eventual disposal, are well advanced. UK Nirex Limited, currently responsible for identifying and developing a site primarily for disposal of the wide range of intermediate level wastes, is addressing the suitability of the waste from Windscale Pile 1, for transport to, and disposal at, a deep waste repository. To support the decommissioning of Windscale Pile 1, information on the condition of the graphite has been sought. Despite the fire in 1957, recent sampling of regions of the core has shown that much of the graphite still contains significant residual Wigner energy. Unless it can be shown that Wigner energy will not be released at a significant rate during operations such as waste packaging or handling of the package, or after disposal, future safety cases may be undermined. A model for the release of Wigner energy has been developed, which describes the stored energy as a set of defects with different activation energies. Initial values of stored energy are attributed to each member of the set, and the energy is released using first order decay processes. By appropriate selection of the range of activation energies and stored energies attributable to each population of defects, experimentally determined releases of stored energy as a function of temperature can be reproduced by the model. Within the disposal environment, the packages will be subject to modest heating from external sources, including the host rocks, radioactive decay, corrosion processes and heat from curing of backfill materials in the disposal vaults. The Wigner energy release model has been used in combination with finite element thermal modelling to assess the temperature evolution of stacks of waste packages located within hypothetical disposal vaults. It has also been used to assess the response of individual waste packages exposed to fires. This paper provides a summary of the

  12. Energy security for India: Biofuels, energy efficiency and food productivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gunatilake, Herath; Roland-Holst, David; Sugiyarto, Guntur

    2014-01-01

    The emergence of biofuel as a renewable energy source offers opportunities for significant climate change mitigation and greater energy independence to many countries. At the same time, biofuel represents the possibility of substitution between energy and food. For developing countries like India, which imports over 75% of its crude oil, fossil fuels pose two risks—global warming pollution and long-term risk that oil prices will undermine real living standards. This paper examines India's options for managing energy price risk in three ways: biofuel development, energy efficiency promotion, and food productivity improvements. Our salient results suggest that biodiesel shows promise as a transport fuel substitute that can be produced in ways that fully utilize marginal agricultural resources and hence promote rural livelihoods. First-generation bioethanol, by contrast, appears to have a limited ability to offset the impacts of oil price hikes. Combining the biodiesel expansion policy with energy efficiency improvements and food productivity increases proved to be a more effective strategy to enhance both energy and food security, help mitigate climate change, and cushion the economy against oil price shocks. - Highlights: • We investigate the role of biofuels in India applying a CGE model. • Biodiesel enhances energy security and improve rural livelihoods. • Sugarcane ethanol does not show positive impact on the economy. • Biodiesel and energy efficiency improvements together provide better results. • Food productivity further enhances biodiesel, and energy efficiency impacts

  13. Energy and environment efficiency analysis based on an improved environment DEA cross-model: Case study of complex chemical processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geng, ZhiQiang; Dong, JunGen; Han, YongMing; Zhu, QunXiong

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: •An improved environment DEA cross-model method is proposed. •Energy and environment efficiency analysis framework of complex chemical processes is obtained. •This proposed method is efficient in energy-saving and emission reduction of complex chemical processes. -- Abstract: The complex chemical process is a high pollution and high energy consumption industrial process. Therefore, it is very important to analyze and evaluate the energy and environment efficiency of the complex chemical process. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to evaluate the relative effectiveness of decision-making units (DMUs). However, the traditional DEA method usually cannot genuinely distinguish the effective and inefficient DMU due to its extreme or unreasonable weight distribution of input and output variables. Therefore, this paper proposes an energy and environment efficiency analysis method based on an improved environment DEA cross-model (DEACM) method. The inputs of the complex chemical process are divided into energy and non-energy inputs. Meanwhile, the outputs are divided into desirable and undesirable outputs. And then the energy and environment performance index (EEPI) based on the cross evaluation is used to represent the overall performance of each DMU. Moreover, the improvement direction of energy-saving and carbon emission reduction of each inefficiency DMU is quantitatively obtained based on the self-evaluation model of the improved environment DEACM. The results show that the improved environment DEACM method has a better effective discrimination than the original DEA method by analyzing the energy and environment efficiency of the ethylene production process in complex chemical processes, and it can obtain the potential of energy-saving and carbon emission reduction of ethylene plants, especially the improvement direction of inefficient DMUs to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emission.

  14. Improved continuum lowering calculations in screened hydrogenic model with l-splitting for high energy density systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Amjad; Shabbir Naz, G.; Saleem Shahzad, M.; Kouser, R.; Aman-ur-Rehman; Nasim, M. H.

    2018-03-01

    The energy states of the bound electrons in high energy density systems (HEDS) are significantly affected due to the electric field of the neighboring ions. Due to this effect bound electrons require less energy to get themselves free and move into the continuum. This phenomenon of reduction in potential is termed as ionization potential depression (IPD) or the continuum lowering (CL). The foremost parameter to depict this change is the average charge state, therefore accurate modeling for CL is imperative in modeling atomic data for computation of radiative and thermodynamic properties of HEDS. In this paper, we present an improved model of CL in the screened hydrogenic model with l-splitting (SHML) proposed by G. Faussurier and C. Blancard, P. Renaudin [High Energy Density Physics 4 (2008) 114] and its effect on average charge state. We propose the level charge dependent calculation of CL potential energy and inclusion of exchange and correlation energy in SHML. By doing this, we made our model more relevant to HEDS and free from CL empirical parameter to the plasma environment. We have implemented both original and modified model of SHML in our code named OPASH and benchmark our results with experiments and other state-of-the-art simulation codes. We compared our results of average charge state for Carbon, Beryllium, Aluminum, Iron and Germanium against published literature and found a very reasonable agreement between them.

  15. Improving weather forecasts for wind energy applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kay, Merlinde; MacGill, Iain

    2010-08-01

    Weather forecasts play an important role in the energy industry particularly because of the impact of temperature on electrical demand. Power system operation requires that this variable and somewhat unpredictable demand be precisely met at all times and locations from available generation. As wind generation makes up a growing component of electricity supply around the world, it has become increasingly important to be able to provide useful forecasting for this highly variable and uncertain energy resource. Of particular interest are forecasts of weather events that rapidly change wind energy production from one or more wind farms. In this paper we describe work underway to improve the wind forecasts currently available from standard Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) through a bias correction methodology. Our study has used the Australian Bureau of Meteorology MesoLAPS 5 km limited domain model over the Victoria/Tasmania region, providing forecasts for the Woolnorth wind farm, situated in Tasmania, Australia. The accuracy of these forecasts has been investigated, concentrating on the key wind speed ranges 5 - 15 ms-1 and around 25 ms-1. A bias correction methodology was applied to the NWP hourly forecasts to help account for systematic issues such as the NWP grid point not being at the exact location of the wind farm. An additional correction was applied for timing issues by using meteorological data from the wind farm. Results to date show a reduction in spread of forecast error for hour ahead forecasts by as much as half using this double correction methodology - a combination of both bias correction and timing correction.

  16. Improving weather forecasts for wind energy applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kay, Merlinde; MacGill, Iain

    2010-01-01

    Weather forecasts play an important role in the energy industry particularly because of the impact of temperature on electrical demand. Power system operation requires that this variable and somewhat unpredictable demand be precisely met at all times and locations from available generation. As wind generation makes up a growing component of electricity supply around the world, it has become increasingly important to be able to provide useful forecasting for this highly variable and uncertain energy resource. Of particular interest are forecasts of weather events that rapidly change wind energy production from one or more wind farms. In this paper we describe work underway to improve the wind forecasts currently available from standard Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) through a bias correction methodology. Our study has used the Australian Bureau of Meteorology MesoLAPS 5 km limited domain model over the Victoria/Tasmania region, providing forecasts for the Woolnorth wind farm, situated in Tasmania, Australia. The accuracy of these forecasts has been investigated, concentrating on the key wind speed ranges 5 - 15 ms -1 and around 25 ms -1 . A bias correction methodology was applied to the NWP hourly forecasts to help account for systematic issues such as the NWP grid point not being at the exact location of the wind farm. An additional correction was applied for timing issues by using meteorological data from the wind farm. Results to date show a reduction in spread of forecast error for hour ahead forecasts by as much as half using this double correction methodology - a combination of both bias correction and timing correction.

  17. Improving cost-effectiveness and mitigating risks of renewable energy requirements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffin, James P.

    Policy makers at the federal and state levels of government are debating actions to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on oil as an energy source. Several concerns drive this debate: sharp rises in energy prices, increasing unease about the risks of climate change, energy security, and interest in expanding the domestic renewable energy industry. Renewable energy requirements are frequently proposed to address these concerns, and are currently in place, in various forms, at the federal and state levels of government. These policies specify that a certain portion of the energy supply come from renewable energy sources. This dissertation focuses on a specific proposal, known as 25 X 25, which requires 25% of electricity and motor vehicle transportation fuels supplied to U.S. consumers to come from renewable energy sources, such as wind power and ethanol, by 2025. This dissertation builds on prior energy policy analysis, and more specifically analyses of renewable energy requirements, by assessing the social welfare implications of a 25 x 25 policy and applying new methods of uncertainty analysis to multiple policy options decision makers can use to implement the policy. These methods identify policy options that can improve the cost-effectiveness and reduce the risks of renewable energy requirements. While the dissertation focuses on a specific policy, the research methods and findings are applicable to other renewable energy requirement policies. In the dissertation, I analyze six strategies for implementing a 25 x 25 policy across several hundred scenarios that represent plausible futures for uncertainties in energy markets, such as renewable energy costs, energy demand, and fossil fuel prices. The strategies vary in the availability of resources that qualify towards the policy requirement and the use of a "safety valve" that allows refiners and utilities to pay a constant fee after renewable energy costs reach a predetermined threshold. I test

  18. The challenges of ESRD care in developing economies: sub-Saharan African opportunities for significant improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bamgboye, Ebun Ladipo

    Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. This, along with other noncommunicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes, and heart diseases, poses a double burden on a region that is still struggling to cope with the scourge of communicable diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, and more recently Ebola. Causes of CKD in the region are predominantly glomerulonephritis and hypertension, although type 2 diabetes is also becoming a significant cause as is the retroviral disease. Patients are generally younger than in the developed world, and there is a significant male preponderance. Most patients are managed by hemodialysis, with peritoneal dialysis and kidney transplantation being available in only few countries in the region. Government funding and support for dialysis is often unavailable, and when available, often with restrictions. There is a dearth of trained manpower to treat the disease, and many countries have a limited number of units, which are often ill-equipped to deal adequately with the number of patients who require end-stage renal disease (ESRD) care in the region. Although there has been a significant improvement when compared with the situation, even as recently as 10 years ago, there is also the potential for further improvement, which would significantly improve the outcomes in patients with ESRD in the region. The information in this review was obtained from a combination of renal registry reports (published and unpublished), published articles, responses to a questionnaire sent to nephrologists prior to the World Congress of Nephrology (WCN) in Cape Town, and from nephrologists attending the WCN in Cape Town (March 13 - 17, 2015).

  19. Improving energy efficiency of dedicated cooling system and its contribution towards meeting an energy-optimized data center

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Jinkyun; Kim, Yundeok

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Energy-optimized data center’s cooling solutions were derived for four different climate zones. • We studied practical technologies of green data center that greatly improved energy efficiency. • We identified the relationship between mutually dependent factors in datacenter cooling systems. • We evaluated the effect of the dedicated cooling system applications. • Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) was computed with energy simulation for data centers. - Abstract: Data centers are approximately 50 times more energy-intensive than general buildings. The rapidly increasing energy demand for data center operation has motivated efforts to better understand data center electricity use and to identify strategies that reduce the environmental impact. This research is presented analytical approach to the energy efficiency optimization of high density data center, in a synergy with relevant performance analysis of corresponding case study. This paper builds on data center energy modeling efforts by characterizing climate and cooling system differences among data centers and then evaluating their consequences for building energy use. Representative climate conditions for four regions are applied to data center energy models for several different prototypical cooling types. This includes cooling system, supplemental cooling solutions, design conditions and controlling the environment of ICT equipment were generally used for each climate zone, how these affect energy efficiency, and how the prioritization of system selection is derived. Based on the climate classification and the required operating environmental conditions for data centers suggested by the ASHRAE TC 9.9, a dedicated data center energy evaluation tool was taken to examine the potential energy savings of the cooling technology. Incorporating economizer use into the cooling systems would increase the variation in energy efficiency among geographic regions, indicating that as data centers

  20. Energy efficiency improvement: A strong driver for Total operations and R and D

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garnaud, Frederic; Rocher, Anne

    2010-09-15

    Total has implemented an energy efficiency action plan for both producing fields and new projects linked to a dedicated R and D program. The Energy efficiency assessment methodology is described, with an example: base line of the current situation, energy efficiency plan, contribution to best practices at corporate level. A methodology to assess the energy efficiency of a new development has been defined and implemented within Total. This methodology as well as related indicators is presented. Examples of R and D results dedicated to improve energy efficiency in two major areas of future developments are given: sour gas production and deep offshore field architecture.

  1. Improved free-energy landscape reconstruction of bacteriorhodopsin highlights local variations in unfolding energy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heenan, Patrick R; Yu, Hao; Siewny, Matthew G W; Perkins, Thomas T

    2018-03-28

    Precisely quantifying the energetics that drive the folding of membrane proteins into a lipid bilayer remains challenging. More than 15 years ago, atomic force microscopy (AFM) emerged as a powerful tool to mechanically extract individual membrane proteins from a lipid bilayer. Concurrently, fluctuation theorems, such as the Jarzynski equality, were applied to deduce equilibrium free energies (ΔG 0 ) from non-equilibrium single-molecule force spectroscopy records. The combination of these two advances in single-molecule studies deduced the free-energy of the model membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin in its native lipid bilayer. To elucidate this free-energy landscape at a higher resolution, we applied two recent developments. First, as an input to the reconstruction, we used force-extension curves acquired with a 100-fold higher time resolution and 10-fold higher force precision than traditional AFM studies of membrane proteins. Next, by using an inverse Weierstrass transform and the Jarzynski equality, we removed the free energy associated with the force probe and determined the molecular free-energy landscape of the molecule under study, bacteriorhodopsin. The resulting landscape yielded an average unfolding free energy per amino acid (aa) of 1.0 ± 0.1 kcal/mol, in agreement with past single-molecule studies. Moreover, on a smaller spatial scale, this high-resolution landscape also agreed with an equilibrium measurement of a particular three-aa transition in bacteriorhodopsin that yielded 2.7 kcal/mol/aa, an unexpectedly high value. Hence, while average unfolding ΔG 0 per aa is a useful metric, the derived high-resolution landscape details significant local variation from the mean. More generally, we demonstrated that, as anticipated, the inverse Weierstrass transform is an efficient means to reconstruct free-energy landscapes from AFM data.

  2. Survival prediction algorithms miss significant opportunities for improvement if used for case selection in trauma quality improvement programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heim, Catherine; Cole, Elaine; West, Anita; Tai, Nigel; Brohi, Karim

    2016-09-01

    Quality improvement (QI) programs have shown to reduce preventable mortality in trauma care. Detailed review of all trauma deaths is a time and resource consuming process and calculated probability of survival (Ps) has been proposed as audit filter. Review is limited on deaths that were 'expected to survive'. However no Ps-based algorithm has been validated and no study has examined elements of preventability associated with deaths classified as 'expected'. The objective of this study was to examine whether trauma performance review can be streamlined using existing mortality prediction tools without missing important areas for improvement. We conducted a retrospective study of all trauma deaths reviewed by our trauma QI program. Deaths were classified into non-preventable, possibly preventable, probably preventable or preventable. Opportunities for improvement (OPIs) involve failure in the process of care and were classified into clinical and system deviations from standards of care. TRISS and PS were used for calculation of probability of survival. Peer-review charts were reviewed by a single investigator. Over 8 years, 626 patients were included. One third showed elements of preventability and 4% were preventable. Preventability occurred across the entire range of the calculated Ps band. Limiting review to unexpected deaths would have missed over 50% of all preventability issues and a third of preventable deaths. 37% of patients showed opportunities for improvement (OPIs). Neither TRISS nor PS allowed for reliable identification of OPIs and limiting peer-review to patients with unexpected deaths would have missed close to 60% of all issues in care. TRISS and PS fail to identify a significant proportion of avoidable deaths and miss important opportunities for process and system improvement. Based on this, all trauma deaths should be subjected to expert panel review in order to aim at a maximal output of performance improvement programs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier

  3. Financing Energy Upgrades for K-12 School Districts: A Guide to Tapping into Funding for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Improvements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goggio Borgeson, Merrian [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Environmental Energy Technologies Division; Zimring, Mark [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Environmental Energy Technologies Division

    2013-04-01

    This guide focuses on clean energy financing options for school administrators, facility managers, and other K-12 school decision makers who are considering investments in high performance school projects. This guide explicitly focuses on comprehensive energy upgrades, those that involve multiple measures and are targeted toward achieving significant energy savings. Successful implementation of clean energy upgrades in schools is a matter of understanding the opportunity, making the commitment, and creatively tapping into available financing. This guide attempts to provide the foundation needed for successful projects in U.S. schools. It walks through the financing options available to K-12 schools and provides case studies of six school districts from around the country.

  4. Some conditions for significant contribution from photovoltaics to sustainable development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coiante, D.

    1994-03-01

    In medium-long term perspective, the anthropogenic atmospheric pollution, due to fossil fuel burning, could be contained by massively using of renewable energy. Significant improvements are expected to arise from diffusion into use of large scale PV power systems. Considering the situation in Italy as a typical study case, a limit can be individuated, which makes that PV contribution to annual electric energy balance can reach a maximum of about 7%. Such a figure corresponds to about 2% in terms of contribution to total energy balance. Thus, the intermittent energy sources are destined, in Italy, to be confined to a role, just significant (7%) in the electric energy sector, but quite marginal (2%) with reference to expected environmental massive benefits. Apart from numerical results, this disappointing concept can be applied in general to all OCSE countries, wich globally produce the largest amount of world pollutant energy. Consequently, if photovoltaics wants to acquire a real environmental consistence, the limit of PV system diffusion has to be overcome. This can be attained by implementing the present grid-tied reference model for PV system diffusion by including an hydrogen production and storage system

  5. Short term wave forecasting, using digital filters, for improved control of Wave Energy Converters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tedd, James; Frigaard, Peter

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents a Digital Filter method for real time prediction of waves incident upon a Wave Energy device. The method transforms waves measured at a point ahead of the device, to expected waves incident on the device. The relationship between these incident waves and power capture is derived...... experimentally. Results are shown form measurements taken on the Wave Dragon prototype device, a floating overtopping device situated in Northern Denmark. In this case the method is able to accurately predict the surface elevation at the device 11.2 seconds before the measurement is made. This is sufficient...... to allow advanced control systems to be developed using this knowledge to significantly improve power capture....

  6. Short term wave forecasting, using digital filters, for improved control of Wave Energy Converters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tedd, J.; Frigaard, P. [Department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University, Aalborg (Denmark)

    2007-07-01

    This paper presents a Digital Filter method for real time prediction of waves incident upon a Wave Energy device. The method transforms waves measured at a point ahead of the device, to expected waves incident on the device. The relationship between these incident waves and power capture is derived experimentally. Results are shown form measurements taken on the Wave Dragon prototype device, a floating overtopping device situated in Northern Denmark. In this case the method is able to accurately predict the surface elevation at the device 11.2 seconds before the measurement is made. This is sufficient to allow advanced control systems to be developed using this knowledge to significantly improve power capture.

  7. Commissioning of building HVAC systems for improvement of energy performance; Commissioning of building HVAC systems for improvement of energy performance. Teilnahme IEA-ECBCS Annex 40 (Betreiberkompetenz)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chuard, J -M

    2005-06-15

    This paper takes a look at the tasks performed in Task 40 of the 'Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems ECBCS' programme of the International Energy Agency IEA that is taking a look at the commissioning of building HVAC systems with the aim of improving the energy performance of such systems. Emphasis is put on the Swiss contribution to the task. This well-illustrated paper presents information on the structure of the task, time-lines and a diagram for its implementation structures. Also, the countries participating in Task 40 and their representatives are listed, and various work already published by the annex is noted. The paper places a focus on operator competence and lists points to be taken into account when carrying out work on optimising energy consumption. The various processes involved are noted and discussed. Management guidelines are presented and economical and market aspects are discussed. Finally, projects that will continue the work are noted.

  8. Commissioning of building HVAC systems for improvement of energy performance; Commissioning of building HVAC systems for improvement of energy performance. Teilnahme IEA-ECBCS Annex 40 (Betreiberkompetenz)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chuard, J.-M.

    2005-06-15

    This paper takes a look at the tasks performed in Task 40 of the 'Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems ECBCS' programme of the International Energy Agency IEA that is taking a look at the commissioning of building HVAC systems with the aim of improving the energy performance of such systems. Emphasis is put on the Swiss contribution to the task. This well-illustrated paper presents information on the structure of the task, time-lines and a diagram for its implementation structures. Also, the countries participating in Task 40 and their representatives are listed, and various work already published by the annex is noted. The paper places a focus on operator competence and lists points to be taken into account when carrying out work on optimising energy consumption. The various processes involved are noted and discussed. Management guidelines are presented and economical and market aspects are discussed. Finally, projects that will continue the work are noted.

  9. Energy efficiency improvement target for SIC 34 - fabricated metal products. Revised target support document

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Byrer, T. G.; Billhardt, C. F.; Farkas, M. S.

    1977-02-15

    In accordance with section 374 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), Pub. L. 94-163, the Federal Energy Administration (FEA) proposed industrial energy efficiency improvement targets for the ten most energy-consumptive manufacturing industries in the U.S. Following public hearings and a review of the comments made, the final targets for Fabricated Metal Products (SIC 34) were established and are described. Using 1972 data on the energy consumed to produce specific metal products, it was concluded that a 24% reduction in energy consumption for SIC 34 is a viable goal for achievement by 1980. (ERA citation 04:045006)

  10. The significance of renewable energy use for economic output and environmental protection: evidence from the Next 11 developing economies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paramati, Sudharshan Reddy; Sinha, Avik; Dogan, Eyup

    2017-05-01

    Increasing economic activities in developing economies raise demand for energy mainly sourced from conventional sources. The consumption of more conventional energy will have a significant negative impact on the environment. Therefore, attention of policy makers has recently shifted towards the promotion of renewable energy generation and uses across economic activities to ensure low carbon economy. Given the recent scenario, in this paper, we aim to examine the role of renewable energy consumption on the economic output and CO 2 emissions of the next fastest developing economies of the world. The study employs several robust panel econometric models by using annual data from 1990 to 2012. Empirical findings confirm the significant long-run association among the variables. Similarly, results show that renewable energy consumption positively contributes to economic output and has an adverse effect on CO 2 emissions. Given our findings, we suggest policy makers of those economies to initiate further effective policies to promote more renewable energy generation and uses across economic activities to ensure sustainable economic development.

  11. Molecular approaches to improvement of Jatropha curcas Linn. as a sustainable energy crop.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sudhakar Johnson, T; Eswaran, Nalini; Sujatha, M

    2011-09-01

    With the increase in crude oil prices, climate change concerns and limited reserves of fossil fuel, attention has been diverted to alternate renewable energy sources such as biofuel and biomass. Among the potential biofuel crops, Jatropha curcas L, a non-domesticated shrub, has been gaining importance as the most promising oilseed, as it does not compete with the edible oil supplies. Economic relevance of J. curcas for biodiesel production has promoted world-wide prospecting of its germplasm for crop improvement and breeding. However, lack of adequate genetic variation and non-availability of improved varieties limited its prospects of being a successful energy crop. In this review, we present the progress made in molecular breeding approaches with particular reference to tissue culture and genetic transformation, genetic diversity assessment using molecular markers, large-scale transcriptome and proteome studies, identification of candidate genes for trait improvement, whole genome sequencing and the current interest by various public and private sector companies in commercial-scale cultivation, which highlights the revival of Jatropha as a sustainable energy crop. The information generated from molecular markers, transcriptome profiling and whole genome sequencing could accelerate the genetic upgradation of J. curcas through molecular breeding.

  12. Improved vibration-based energy harvesting by annular mass configuration of piezoelectric circular diaphragms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yangyiwei; Li, Yuanbo; Guo, Yaqian; Xu, Bai-Xiang; Yang, Tongqing

    2018-03-01

    Vibration-based energy harvesting using piezoelectric circular diaphragms (PCDs) with a structure featuring the central mass (C-mass) configuration has drawn much attention in recent decades. In this work, we propose a new configuration with the annular proof mass (A-mass) where an improved energy harvesting is promised. The numerical analysis was employed using the circuit-coupled piezoelectric simulation, and the experimental validation was implemented using PCDs with the even-width annular electrodes. Samples with the different mass configurations as well as structural parameters ϖ 1 and ϖ 2, which indicate the ratio between the inner boundary radius and piezoelectric ceramic radius as well as the ratio between outer boundary radius and the substrate radius, respectively, were prepared and tested. The impedance-matched output power of full-electrode PCDs was also collected, and some distinct improvement was measured on samples with the certain structural parameters. The power increases from 14.1 mW to 19.0 mW after changing the configuration from C-mass to A-mass with the same parameters (ϖ 1, ϖ 2) = (0.16, 0.9), showing the considerable improvement in energy harvesting by using A-mass configuration.

  13. Effects of substituting energy with capital on China's aggregated energy and environmental efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Mian; Yang Fuxia; Chen Xingpeng

    2011-01-01

    Substituting energy with capital (SEC) in economic productions has become a common practice both for business owners and policy-makers to improve their energy and environmental efficiency. However, seldom previous studies on energy efficiency and/or environmental performance evaluation took this role into account. This paper aims to shed some light on the effects of SEC on China's aggregated energy and environmental efficiency (AEEE) within a parametric stochastic frontier analysis framework. Moreover, influencing factors of regional efficiency score are also discussed using a pooled regression model. The results indicate that SEC poses significant effects on improving China's AEEE, and this impact appears obvious regional variation that regions with lower efficiency scores hold more extensive potential to improve their AEEE by means of SEC. Furthermore, upgrading industrial structure and decreasing the proportion of coal in energy consumption make great sense to improve China's AEEE. - Highlights: → We examine the effects of substituting energy with capital on China's energy and environmental efficiency. → The efficiency value considering this substitution is higher than that without considering it. → Hebei and Shanxi hold the largest potential of energy saving and SO 2 emissions reduction. → China's energy and environmental efficiency is affected by its energy mix and industrial structure.

  14. Basic information to improve public acceptance to nuclear energy in Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gibelli, Sonia M.O.; Lima e Silva, Pedro Paulo de; Xavier, Ana Maria

    1997-01-01

    In Brazil, the current production of nuclear energy is restricted to Angra I plant, a 657 MW pressurized water reactor, in operation since 1982. Among the eight units predicted in 1975 within the Brazil Germany nuclear agreement, only two have been effectively contracted, namely Angra 2 and 3. The nuclear alternative, likewise all other energy sources, is very much dependable on the assessment of their own benefits compared to the associated risks posed to the population and the environment. The main goal of this article is to provide information to enable the improvement of public acceptance of the use of nuclear energy in the country, by comparing risks associated with different sources as well as pointing out aspects related to risk perception by the public. (author)

  15. Improving the Conventional Pelletization Process to Save Energy during Biomass Densification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhongjia Chen

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available A pellet mill is currently the most frequently used method for producing pellets using either a ring die or a flat die. In the densification process, a great amount of energy is required to avoid spring-back and to overcome the friction between the material and the channel surface of the die. However, extra energy is unnecessarily consumed because of friction between the roller and densified material and the pressure between the roller and die, where there are no opening channels. The aim of this work was to attempt to eliminate a portion of the frictional and compaction energy consumption based on an improved method of densification using a ring die. An upgraded pellet mill was designed and manufactured with rams on its roller. When the die and the roller rotate in a fixed transmission ratio, the rams precisely press raw material into opening channels on the die. Experimental tests on its feasibility were carried out. The results showed that the pellet mill, with this improvement, worked without wear on the surface of either the ring die or the roller; furthermore, the density and mechanical durability of pellets were the same as those produced using the traditional method.

  16. Modeling energy efficiency to improve air quality and health effects of China's cement industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zhang, Shaohui; Worrell, Ernst|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/106856715; Crijns-Graus, Wina|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/308005015; Krol, Maarten|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/078760410; de Bruine, Marco|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/411965085; Geng, Guangpo; Wagner, Fabian; Cofala, Janusz

    2016-01-01

    Actions to reduce the combustion of fossil fuels often decrease GHG emissions as well as air pollutants and bring multiple benefits for improvement of energy efficiency, climate change, and air quality associated with human health benefits. The China's cement industry is the second largest energy

  17. Evaluation of Uniformity and Glare Improvement with Low Energy Efficiency Losses in Street Lighting LED Luminaires Using Laser-Sintered Polyamide-Based Diffuse Covers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alfonso Gago-Calderón

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Energy saving in street lighting is garnering more interest and has become a priority in municipal management. Therefore, LED luminaires are gradually becoming prevalent in our cities. Beyond their energy/economic saving potential, quality in public lighting installations concerns aspects such as uniformity and glare which must be maintained if not improved in any installation renewal project using this technology. The high light intensity generated in a discrete point in LED packages and its directional nature result in significant deficiencies in these last two parameters. To soften these effects, translucent covers are being used as one of the most common solutions with the drawback of significant light intensity losses. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the behavior of LED luminaire’s polyamide-based optical covers manufactured with a laser-sintered process. These are designed to improve glare and uniformity output, to minimize light output reductions, and to be industrially manufactured with no increment of cost for their lighting equipment compared to conventional transparent polycarbonate solutions. A laboratory and field lighting test study has been applied to different covers with the same LED lamp and luminaire to compare the performance of three different solutions built with different polymeric materials and with different light transmission surface textures. The photometric results have been observed and discussed to demonstrate the ability to significantly improve the lighting performance of LED luminaires—illuminance and uniformity levels and discomfort and disability glare indexes— using an improved optic cover.

  18. E2F5 status significantly improves malignancy diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer

    KAUST Repository

    Kothandaraman, Narasimhan

    2010-02-24

    Background: Ovarian epithelial cancer (OEC) usually presents in the later stages of the disease. Factors, especially those associated with cell-cycle genes, affecting the genesis and tumour progression for ovarian cancer are largely unknown. We hypothesized that over-expressed transcription factors (TFs), as well as those that are driving the expression of the OEC over-expressed genes, could be the key for OEC genesis and potentially useful tissue and serum markers for malignancy associated with OEC.Methods: Using a combination of computational (selection of candidate TF markers and malignancy prediction) and experimental approaches (tissue microarray and western blotting on patient samples) we identified and evaluated E2F5 transcription factor involved in cell proliferation, as a promising candidate regulatory target in early stage disease. Our hypothesis was supported by our tissue array experiments that showed E2F5 expression only in OEC samples but not in normal and benign tissues, and by significantly positively biased expression in serum samples done using western blotting studies.Results: Analysis of clinical cases shows that of the E2F5 status is characteristic for a different population group than one covered by CA125, a conventional OEC biomarker. E2F5 used in different combinations with CA125 for distinguishing malignant cyst from benign cyst shows that the presence of CA125 or E2F5 increases sensitivity of OEC detection to 97.9% (an increase from 87.5% if only CA125 is used) and, more importantly, the presence of both CA125 and E2F5 increases specificity of OEC to 72.5% (an increase from 55% if only CA125 is used). This significantly improved accuracy suggests possibility of an improved diagnostics of OEC. Furthermore, detection of malignancy status in 86 cases (38 benign, 48 early and late OEC) shows that the use of E2F5 status in combination with other clinical characteristics allows for an improved detection of malignant cases with sensitivity

  19. Improving the energy efficiency of industrial refrigeration systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Jin-Sik; Binns, Michael; Park, Sangmin; Kim, Jin-Kuk

    2016-01-01

    Various retrofit design options are available for improving the energy efficiency and economics of industrial refrigeration systems. This study considers a novel retrofit option using a mixed refrigerant (MR) in refrigeration cycles designed for use with a pure refrigerant (PR). In this way energy savings can be realized by switching refrigerants without requiring extensive and expensive reconfiguration of equipment. Hence, the aim here is to test the common thinking that equipment should always be extensively reconfigured when switching from pure to mixed refrigerants. To determine the most energy-efficient operating conditions for each refrigeration design an optimization framework is utilized linking a process simulator with an external optimization method. A case study is presented to demonstrate how the proposed process modeling and optimization framework can be applied and to illustrate the economic benefits of using the retrofit design options considered here. For the case considered in this paper, savings of shaft power required for the refrigeration cycle can be achieved from 16.3% to 27.2% when the pure refrigerant is replaced with mixed refrigerants and operating conditions are re-optimized. - Highlights: • Design methods for the design of refrigeration cycles in retrofit cases. • Consideration of mixed refrigerants to the existing multi-level pure-refrigerant cycles. • Optimization of refrigeration cycles with integrated use of a process simulator with an optimizer.

  20. Improving the Performance and Energy Efficiency of Phase Change Memory Systems

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    王琪; 李佳芮; 王东辉

    2015-01-01

    Phase change memory (PCM) is a promising technology for future memory thanks to its better scalability and lower leakage power than DRAM (dynamic random-access memory). However, adopting PCM as main memory needs to overcome its write issues, such as long write latency and high write power. In this paper, we propose two techniques to improve the performance and energy-efficiency of PCM memory systems. First, we propose a victim cache technique utilizing the existing buffer in the memory controller to reduce PCM memory accesses. The key idea is reorganizing the buffer into a victim cache structure (RBC) to provide additional hits for the LLC (last level cache). Second, we propose a chip parallelism-aware replacement policy (CPAR) for the victim cache to further improve performance. Instead of evicting one cache line once, CPAR evicts multiple cache lines that access different PCM chips. CPAR can reduce the frequent victim cache eviction and improve the write parallelism of PCM chips. The evaluation results show that, compared with the baseline, RBC can improve PCM memory system performance by up to 9.4% and 5.4% on average. Combing CPAR with RBC (RBC+CPAR) can improve performance by up to 19.0% and 12.1% on average. Moreover, RBC and RBC+CPAR can reduce memory energy consumption by 8.3%and 6.6%on average, respectively.

  1. Using Public Participation to Improve MELs Energy Data Collection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kloss, Margarita; Cheung, Iris [Hoi; Brown, Richard; Meier, Alan

    2014-08-11

    Miscellaneous and electronic loads (MELs) comprise an increasing share of building energy consumption. Large-scale data collection is needed to inform meaningful energy reduction strategies because of the diversity of MELs and our lack of understanding about how people use them. Traditional methods of data collection, however, usually incur high labor and metering equipment expenses. As an alternative, this paper investigates the feasibility of crowdsourcing data collection to satisfy at least part of the data collection needs with acceptable accuracy. We assessed the reliability and accuracy of crowd-sourced data by recruiting 18 volunteers and testing our crowdsourcing protocol. The protocol asked volunteers to perform measurement tasks for three MELs devices of increasing complexity 1) record power meter and MELs product characteristics, 2) identify and measure all power modes available, and 3) report the measured power. Volunteers performed reasonably well for devices with functionalities with which they were familiar, but many could not correctly identify all available power modes in complex devices. Accuracy may improve when participants measure the power used by familiar devices in their home, or by providing more specific instructions, e.g. videos. Furthermore, crowdsourcing data collection from individual homeowners has the potential to generate valuable information about MELs energy use in homes when integrated with existing programs such as Home Energy Saver and Building America.

  2. A Decade of Solid Oxide Electrolysis Improvements at DTU Energy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauch, Anne; Brodersen, Karen; Chen, Ming

    2017-01-01

    a short review of the R&D work on SOEC single cells conducted at DTU Energy from 2005 to 2015. The SOEC improvements have involved increasing the of the oxygen electrode performance, elimination of impurities in the feed streams, optimization of processing routes, and fuel electrode structure optimization....... All together, these improvements have led to a decrease in long-term degradation rate from ∼40 %/kh to ∼0.4 %/kh for steam electrolysis at -1 A/cm2, while the initial area specific resistance has been decreased from 0.44 Ωcm2 to 0.15 Ωcm2 at -0.5 A/cm2 and 750 °C....

  3. Multicriteria approach for the improvement of energy systems design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giannantoni, C.; Lazzaretto, A.; Macor, A.; Mirandola, A.; Stoppato, A.; Tonon, S.; Ulgiati, S.

    2005-01-01

    An iterative procedure is suggested to evaluate and improve the energy system design. The procedure considers the information deriving from complementary evaluation approaches, each applied within its appropriate time-space window of interest: (a) Process-related, local-scale methods (Energy, Exergy and Thermoeconomic analyses); (b) Environmental assessment methods (Impact Assessment, Emergy Synthesis); (c) Economic methods (Micro- and Macro-Economic and Externality Evaluations). Process-related methods are applied first, in order to provide local-scale performance indicators able to suggest optimization procedures from a user-side point of view. Environmental evaluation approaches are then used to judge the overall environmental quality of the design, in the largest regional and biosphere scales. Finally, micro- and macro-economic evaluation approaches are applied in order to ascertain the soundness of the proposed solution as far as the economic return on the investment as well as global benefits to the Society are concerned. New choices for the design configuration and parameters may be suggested by implementing the iterative procedure. A cogeneration system working in a town of Northern Italy is used as a case study: starting from the present configuration of the plant, modifications are suggested and evaluated, thus identifying the way for improving the performance under various viewpoints. A proposal for plant transformation from Steam Cycle to Combined Cycle is suggested, capable of increasing the plant electric power from 136 to 332 MWe, increasing the energy efficiency from 60 to 63%, increasing the exergy efficiency from 37 to 49%, and decreasing the overall demand for environmental support (transformity) from 1.84x10 5 to 1.27x10 5 seJ/J. The paper points out several benefits and bottlenecks of the existing plant and of the proposed solutions

  4. Barriers and opportunities for improving energy efficiency in the social housing sector: Case study of E4C's Division of Housing and Mental Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchand-Smith, Patrick

    Energy efficiency improvements in the social housing sector have the potential to produce a range of environmental and social benefits. These improvements can be produced through retrofits that deliver energy savings or new construction built to a high standard of energetic efficiency. However, implementation of these approaches is hindered by economic and organizational constraints affecting the agencies that provide society with social housing and the governments that support the provision of these services. This thesis builds on the work of other researchers studying these constraints by supplying an in-depth case study from Alberta and a discussion based on its findings. The case study focuses on E4C, a social service agency with several housing projects. Overall, findings matched important themes identified in the academic literature. The in-depth nature of the case study added additional insight to many of these themes. Most barriers are economic in nature and related to a lack of sufficient funding or the up-front costs of energy-saving retrofits. The recommendations presented are based on consideration of the multiple barriers and opportunities faced. Most of these require a considerable investment of time on the part of agencies and would be followed up by capital investments to implement energy-saving changes. Therefore it is important to note that the most significant barrier is commitment, which is one of E4C's central values. This thesis showed that commitment cannot exceed capacity to act. Greater commitment on the part of governments, agencies or society at large could have significant impacts in improving the energy efficiency of buildings in the Albertan, and Canadian, social housing sector.

  5. Potentials for energy savings and long term energy demand of Croatian households sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pukšec, Tomislav; Vad Mathiesen, Brian; Duić, Neven

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Long term energy demand of Croatian households sector has been modelled. ► Developed model can describe the whole households sector. ► Main modes include heating, cooling, electrical appliances, cooking and hot water. ► Different scenarios regarding future energy demand are presented and discussed. -- Abstract: Households represent one of the most interesting sectors, when analyzing Croatia’s energy balance. It makes up one of the largest energy consumers with around 75 PJ per year, which is almost 29% of Croatia’s final energy demand. Considering this consumption, implementing various mechanisms, which would lead to improvements in energy efficiency of this sector, seems relevant. In order to plan future energy systems, important would be to know future possibilities and needs regarding energy demand of different sectors. Through this paper, long term energy demand projections of Croatian households sector will be shown. Focus of the paper will be on various mechanisms influencing future energy demand scenarios. Important would be to quantify this influence, whether positive or negative, and see which mechanisms would be the most significant. Energy demand projections in this paper are based upon bottom-up approach model which combines and processes a large number of input data. The model will be compared to Croatian National Energy Strategy and certain differences and conclusions will be presented. One of the major conclusions shown in this paper is significant possibilities for energy efficiency improvements and lower energy demand in the future, based on careful and rational energy planning. Different financial, legal and technological mechanisms can lead to significant savings in the households sector which leads to lower GHG emissions and lower Croatian dependence on foreign fossil fuels.

  6. Can energy forecasts be improved?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rech, O.; Alban, P.

    2000-01-01

    Within the present day context of energy, characterized by the gap between short term trends and long term risks, forecasting takes on particular interest. We based our study on the evaluation of the results of some of these long term (2020) and very long term (2050) forecasts. This article looks at the overall demand for energy, whereas the evolution of each primary energy will be handled in a future article. We are restricting our analysis to a global level despite the inherent limitations of such a choice. Our approach mainly concentrates on the dynamics of the phenomena. Thus, we have noticed a simultaneous slowing down since the 1960's of the demography, economy and energy. The revenue and energy consumption per capita do not elude this tendency. At the same time, energy production leads a steep downward tendency. All in all, the forecasts have a tendency to conflict more or less with these changes. In the majority of the scenarios the anticipated rhythms of economic change and energy consumption would indicate a sudden and abrupt inverse of current dynamics. We have noticed that the single use of the average annual rate of change is insufficient to clearly present the long term tendencies that follow curved and not linear paths. Diagnostic errors made in past analyses are likely to affect the models for forecasting, for which the inferred dynamics have not been fully apprehended

  7. FARM-PRODUCED ENERGY OF AGRICULTURAL WASTE ORIGIN IMPROVES ITS PROFITABILITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karol Węglarzy

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The most important tasks of Polish agriculture in 2014-2020 perspective will include maintaining food quality and safety, and orientation toward the part of the production of renewable energy, especially using biomass. Processing of biomass in anaerobic methane fermentation of agricultural biogas solves the problem of waste storage, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially high concentrations of methane, coming from the fermentation of slowly stored biomass. The economic aspect explains the popularity of biogas works; it is related to diversification of agricultural production through the introduction of a qualitatively new production of green energy from biogas, which significantly affects the profitability of agricultural production and will be an alternative for some companies, or large farms as a source of additional income and energy security. Energy generated in small biogas plants can fully protect the energy needs of a small farm releasing it from external sources and generating savings. For installations larger surplus may provide an additional source of farms’ income.

  8. Potential Benefits from Improved Energy Efficiency of KeyElectrical Products: The Case of India

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McNeil, Michael; Iyer, Maithili; Meyers, Stephen; Letschert,Virginie; McMahon, James E.

    2005-12-20

    The goal of this project was to estimate the net benefits that cost-effective improvements in energy efficiency can bring to developing countries. The study focused on four major electrical products in the world's second largest developing country, India. These products--refrigerators, room air conditioners, electric motors, and distribution transformers--are important targets for efficiency improvement in India and in other developing countries. India is an interesting subject of study because of it's size and rapid economic growth. Implementation of efficient technologies in India would save billions in energy costs, and avoid hundreds of megatons of greenhouse gas emissions. India also serves as an example of the kinds of improvement opportunities that could be pursued in other developing countries.

  9. What China can learn from international policy experiences to improve industrial energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Xu [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Shen, Bo [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Price, Lynn [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Lu, Hongyou [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Hasanbeigi, Ali [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2016-11-01

    China’s industrial sector dominates the country’s total energy consumption and energy efficiency in the industry sector is crucial to help China reach its energy and CO2 emissions reduction goals. There are many energy efficiency policies in China, but the motivation and willingness of enterprises to improve energy efficiency has weakened. This report first identifies barriers that enterprises face to be self-motivated to implement energy efficiency measures. Then, this report reviews international policies and programs to improve energy efficiency and evaluates how these policies helped to address the identified barriers. Lastly, this report draws conclusions and provides recommendations to China in developing policies and programs to motivate enterprises to improve energy efficiency.

  10. Improved Model for Predicting the Free Energy Contribution of Dinucleotide Bulges to RNA Duplex Stability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomcho, Jeremy C; Tillman, Magdalena R; Znosko, Brent M

    2015-09-01

    Predicting the secondary structure of RNA is an intermediate in predicting RNA three-dimensional structure. Commonly, determining RNA secondary structure from sequence uses free energy minimization and nearest neighbor parameters. Current algorithms utilize a sequence-independent model to predict free energy contributions of dinucleotide bulges. To determine if a sequence-dependent model would be more accurate, short RNA duplexes containing dinucleotide bulges with different sequences and nearest neighbor combinations were optically melted to derive thermodynamic parameters. These data suggested energy contributions of dinucleotide bulges were sequence-dependent, and a sequence-dependent model was derived. This model assigns free energy penalties based on the identity of nucleotides in the bulge (3.06 kcal/mol for two purines, 2.93 kcal/mol for two pyrimidines, 2.71 kcal/mol for 5'-purine-pyrimidine-3', and 2.41 kcal/mol for 5'-pyrimidine-purine-3'). The predictive model also includes a 0.45 kcal/mol penalty for an A-U pair adjacent to the bulge and a -0.28 kcal/mol bonus for a G-U pair adjacent to the bulge. The new sequence-dependent model results in predicted values within, on average, 0.17 kcal/mol of experimental values, a significant improvement over the sequence-independent model. This model and new experimental values can be incorporated into algorithms that predict RNA stability and secondary structure from sequence.

  11. Improved initial guess for minimum energy path calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smidstrup, Søren; Pedersen, Andreas; Stokbro, Kurt; Jónsson, Hannes

    2014-01-01

    A method is presented for generating a good initial guess of a transition path between given initial and final states of a system without evaluation of the energy. An objective function surface is constructed using an interpolation of pairwise distances at each discretization point along the path and the nudged elastic band method then used to find an optimal path on this image dependent pair potential (IDPP) surface. This provides an initial path for the more computationally intensive calculations of a minimum energy path on an energy surface obtained, for example, by ab initio or density functional theory. The optimal path on the IDPP surface is significantly closer to a minimum energy path than a linear interpolation of the Cartesian coordinates and, therefore, reduces the number of iterations needed to reach convergence and averts divergence in the electronic structure calculations when atoms are brought too close to each other in the initial path. The method is illustrated with three examples: (1) rotation of a methyl group in an ethane molecule, (2) an exchange of atoms in an island on a crystal surface, and (3) an exchange of two Si-atoms in amorphous silicon. In all three cases, the computational effort in finding the minimum energy path with DFT was reduced by a factor ranging from 50% to an order of magnitude by using an IDPP path as the initial path. The time required for parallel computations was reduced even more because of load imbalance when linear interpolation of Cartesian coordinates was used

  12. Energy and Exergy Analysis of Ocean Compressed Air Energy Storage Concepts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vikram C. Patil

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Optimal utilization of renewable energy resources needs energy storage capability in integration with the electric grid. Ocean compressed air energy storage (OCAES can provide promising large-scale energy storage. In OCAES, energy is stored in the form of compressed air under the ocean. Underwater energy storage results in a constant-pressure storage system which has potential to show high efficiency compared to constant-volume energy storage. Various OCAES concepts, namely, diabatic, adiabatic, and isothermal OCAES, are possible based on the handling of heat in the system. These OCAES concepts are assessed using energy and exergy analysis in this paper. Roundtrip efficiency of liquid piston based OCAES is also investigated using an experimental liquid piston compressor. Further, the potential of improved efficiency of liquid piston based OCAES with use of various heat transfer enhancement techniques is investigated. Results show that adiabatic OCAES shows improved efficiency over diabatic OCAES by storing thermal exergy in thermal energy storage and isothermal OCAES shows significantly higher efficiency over adiabatic and diabatic OCAES. Liquid piston based OCAES is estimated to show roundtrip efficiency of about 45% and use of heat transfer enhancement in liquid piston has potential to improve roundtrip efficiency of liquid piston based OCAES up to 62%.

  13. Energy efficiency, carbon emissions, and measures towards their improvement in the food and beverage sector for six European countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meyers, Steven; Schmitt, Bastian; Chester-Jones, Mae; Sturm, Barbara

    2016-01-01

    Basic and detailed audits of small and medium sized food and beverage enterprises were conducted in six European Union countries to determine product specific energy consumption and measures to reduce energy use and carbon emissions. Collected results showed that the companies’ products had similar specific energy consumption as prior studies, but due to no standard metrics, the range was rather large. Auditors primarily recommended energy savings measures (process optimization and heat recovery), due to their low payback periods. Lower carbon energy sources were also recommended (solar thermal and combined heat/power), but often at higher costs, supported through government incentive programs. Through these measures, energy savings of up to 45% and carbon to 30% (∼30,000 t CO_2 equivalent in the audited companies) were possible, dependent on the type, size of company, and fuel choice. Typically, very small companies and those using coal showed the greatest margin for improvement, though it varied greatly depending on the type of product produced and the installed heating and cooling equipment. Auditors noted significant barriers toward the implementation of measures, e.g. companies found the costs too high, did not know of efficient technologies and their performance, or did not have managerial support to implement efficiency measures. - Highlights: • The Food and Beverage sector in Europe was assessed for carbon reduction potential. • Significant emission reductions can be achieved by energy efficiency and renewables. • The Bakery and Meat branches can reduce energy consumption by 30–40%. • Small and coal burning companies have the greatest potential for emission reduction. • Financial barriers remain the hardest obstacle to realize reduction potential.

  14. Estimating Evapotranspiration from an Improved Two-Source Energy Balance Model Using ASTER Satellite Imagery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qifeng Zhuang

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Reliably estimating the turbulent fluxes of latent and sensible heat at the Earth’s surface by remote sensing is important for research on the terrestrial hydrological cycle. This paper presents a practical approach for mapping surface energy fluxes using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER images from an improved two-source energy balance (TSEB model. The original TSEB approach may overestimate latent heat flux under vegetative stress conditions, as has also been reported in recent research. We replaced the Priestley-Taylor equation used in the original TSEB model with one that uses plant moisture and temperature constraints based on the PT-JPL model to obtain a more accurate canopy latent heat flux for model solving. The collected ASTER data and field observations employed in this study are over corn fields in arid regions of the Heihe Watershed Allied Telemetry Experimental Research (HiWATER area, China. The results were validated by measurements from eddy covariance (EC systems, and the surface energy flux estimates of the improved TSEB model are similar to the ground truth. A comparison of the results from the original and improved TSEB models indicates that the improved method more accurately estimates the sensible and latent heat fluxes, generating more precise daily evapotranspiration (ET estimate under vegetative stress conditions.

  15. Case history studies of energy conservation improvements in the meat industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1982-06-01

    Presented are case histories for ten energy-efficient technologies implemented by the meat industry. For each case is presented: the name and location of the plant, name of plant employee contact with address and telephone number, energy consumption and costs at the plant before and after implementation of energy-conserving technology, description of the investment decision process, and changes in production or product quality as a result of the new equipment. The measures presented are: continuous rendering, high-pressure return on the boiler, heat recovery from condensate return and flash steam, continuous whole blood processing, preheating of process water with recovered refrigeration waste heat, continuous rendering of poultry scraps, electrical stimulation of beef, preheating and storing process water with recovered refrigeration waste heat, microcomputer control system, and housekeeping improvements. (LEW)

  16. Autonomous efficiency improvement or income elasticity of energy demand: Does it matter?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Webster, Mort; Paltsev, Sergey; Reilly, John

    2008-01-01

    Observations of historical energy consumption, energy prices, and income growth in industrial economies exhibit a trend in improving energy efficiency even when prices are constant or falling. Two alternative explanations of this phenomenon are: a productivity change that uses less energy and a structural change in the economy in response to rising income. It is not possible to distinguish among these from aggregate data, and economic energy models for forecasting emissions simulate one, as an exogenous time trend, or the other, as energy demand elasticity with respect to income, or both processes for projecting energy demand into the future. In this paper, we ask whether and how it matters which process one uses for projecting energy demand and carbon emissions. We compare two versions of the MIT Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model, one using a conventional efficiency time trend approach and the other using an income elasticity approach. We demonstrate that while these two versions yield equivalent projections in the near-term, that they diverge in two important ways: long-run projections and under uncertainty in future productivity growth. We suggest that an income dependent approach may be preferable to the exogenous approach

  17. Performance Evaluation of Lower-Energy Energy Storage Alternatives for Full-Hybrid Vehicles; NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gonder, J.; Cosgrove, J.; Pesaran, A.

    2014-02-11

    Automakers have been mass producing hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) for well over a decade, and the technology has proven to be very effective at reducing per-vehicle fuel use. However, the incremental cost of HEVs such as the Toyota Prius or Ford Fusion Hybrid remains several thousand dollars higher than the cost of comparable conventional vehicles, which has limited HEV market penetration. The b b b b battery energy storage device is typically the component with the greatest contribution toward this cost increment, so significant cost reductions/performance improvements to the energy storage system (ESS) can correspondingly improve the vehicle-level cost/benefit relationship. Such an improvement would in turn lead to larger HEV market penetration and greater aggregate fuel savings. The United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Storage Program managers asked the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to collaborate with a USABC Workgroup and analyze the trade-offs between vehicle fuel economy and reducing the decade-old minimum energy requirement for power-assist HEVs. NREL’s analysis showed that significant fuel savings could still be delivered from an ESS with much lower energy storage than the previous targets, which prompted USABC to issue a new set of lower-energy ESS (LEESS) targets that could be satisfied by a variety of technologies. With support from DOE, NREL has developed an HEV test platform for in-vehicle performance and fuel economy validation testing of the hybrid system using such LEESS devices. This presentation describes development of the vehicle test platform, and laboratory as well as in-vehicle evaluation results with alternate energy storage configurations as compared to the production battery system. The alternate energy storage technologies considered include lithium-ion capacitors -- i.e., asymmetric electrochemical energy storage devices possessing one electrode with battery

  18. White Certificates for energy efficiency improvement with energy taxes: A theoretical economic model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oikonomou, Vlasis; Jepma, Catrinus; Becchis, Franco; Russolillo, Daniele

    2008-01-01

    In this paper we analyze interactions of two energy policy instruments, namely a White Certificates (WhC) scheme as an innovative policy instrument for energy efficiency improvement and energy taxation. These policy instruments differ in terms of objectives and final impacts on the price of electricity. We examine the effect of these policy instruments in the electricity sector, focusing on electricity producers and suppliers in a competitive market. Using microeconomic theory, we identify synergies between market players and demonstrate the total effect on the electricity price when suppliers internalize the behaviour of producers in their decisions. This model refers to an ideal market situation of full liberalization. The cases we examine consist of electricity producers with and without a carbon tax, electricity suppliers with and without an electricity tax, and with WhC obligations. Furthermore, we present a parallel implementation of WhC for electricity suppliers with carbon tax on electricity producers and an electricity tax with WhC obligations to electricity suppliers. We demonstrate differences in optimization behaviour of producers and suppliers. Based on a couple of cases of WhC with carbon and electricity taxes, various positive and negative effects of both schemes in terms of target achievement and efficiency are present, which can lead to an added value of such schemes in the policy mix, although uncertainties of outcomes are quite high. A basic finding is that in a merit order several parameters can increase final electricity price after the implementation of different policies: demand for electricity and electricity supply cost at a large scale and then follow the level of level of obligation for energy saving, level of penalty, and price of WhC (representing the marginal costs of energy saving projects). The impact magnitude of parameters depends on the values chosen and on the initial position of suppliers (i.e. if their actual behaviour deviates

  19. Cold homes, fuel poverty and energy efficiency improvements: A longitudinal focus group approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grey, Charlotte N B; Schmieder-Gaite, Tina; Jiang, Shiyu; Nascimento, Christina; Poortinga, Wouter

    2017-08-01

    Cold homes and fuel poverty have been identified as factors in health and social inequalities that could be alleviated through energy efficiency interventions. Research on fuel poverty and the health impacts of affordable warmth initiatives have to date primarily been conducted using quantitative and statistical methods, limiting the way how fuel poverty is understood. This study took a longitudinal focus group approach that allowed exploration of lived experiences of fuel poverty before and after an energy efficiency intervention. Focus group discussions were held with residents from three low-income communities before (n = 28) and after (n = 22) they received energy efficiency measures funded through a government-led scheme. The results show that improving the energy efficiency of homes at risk of fuel poverty has a profound impact on wellbeing and quality of life, financial stress, thermal comfort, social interactions and indoor space use. However, the process of receiving the intervention was experienced by some as stressful. There is a need for better community engagement and communication to improve the benefits delivered by fuel poverty programmes, as well as further qualitative exploration to better understand the wider impacts of fuel poverty and policy-led intervention schemes.

  20. Incentive mechanism design for the residential building energy efficiency improvement of heating zones in North China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhong, Y.; Cai, W.G.; Wu, Y.; Ren, H.

    2009-01-01

    Starting with analyzing the investigation results by Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China in 2005, more than half of the 10,236 participants are willing to improve the residential building energy efficiency and accept an additional cost of less than 10% of the total cost, the authors illustrate that incenting actions are necessary to improve building energy efficiency and build a central government-local government-market model. As a result of the model analysis, to pursue good execution effects brought by the incentive policies, the executors are required to distinguish the differences of incentive objects' economic activities and strongly respect the incenting on the energy conservation performance. A case study on the incentive policies of existing residential building energy efficiency improvement in heating zones in North China is given as well. Finally, it is strongly recommended to give the first priority to performance-based incentives so that to reduce the lazy behaviors of the incented objects and ensure the targets to be achieved.

  1. Formosa Plastics Corporation: Plant-Wide Assessment of Texas Plant Identifies Opportunities for Improving Process Efficiency and Reducing Energy Costs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2005-01-01

    At Formosa Plastics Corporation's plant in Point Comfort, Texas, a plant-wide assessment team analyzed process energy requirements, reviewed new technologies for applicability, and found ways to improve the plant's energy efficiency. The assessment team identified the energy requirements of each process and compared actual energy consumption with theoretical process requirements. The team estimated that total annual energy savings would be about 115,000 MBtu for natural gas and nearly 14 million kWh for electricity if the plant makes several improvements, which include upgrading the gas compressor impeller, improving the vent blower system, and recovering steam condensate for reuse. Total annual cost savings could be $1.5 million. The U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Technologies Program cosponsored this assessment.

  2. Improving Wind Farm Dispatchability Using Model Predictive Control for Optimal Operation of Grid-Scale Energy Storage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Douglas Halamay

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper demonstrates the use of model-based predictive control for energy storage systems to improve the dispatchability of wind power plants. Large-scale wind penetration increases the variability of power flow on the grid, thus increasing reserve requirements. Large energy storage systems collocated with wind farms can improve dispatchability of the wind plant by storing energy during generation over-the-schedule and sourcing energy during generation under-the-schedule, essentially providing on-site reserves. Model predictive control (MPC provides a natural framework for this application. By utilizing an accurate energy storage system model, control actions can be planned in the context of system power and state-of-charge limitations. MPC also enables the inclusion of predicted wind farm performance over a near-term horizon that allows control actions to be planned in anticipation of fast changes, such as wind ramps. This paper demonstrates that model-based predictive control can improve system performance compared with a standard non-predictive, non-model-based control approach. It is also demonstrated that secondary objectives, such as reducing the rate of change of the wind plant output (i.e., ramps, can be considered and successfully implemented within the MPC framework. Specifically, it is shown that scheduling error can be reduced by 81%, reserve requirements can be improved by up to 37%, and the number of ramp events can be reduced by 74%.

  3. EnergyPlus Run Time Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hong, Tianzhen; Buhl, Fred; Haves, Philip

    2008-09-20

    EnergyPlus is a new generation building performance simulation program offering many new modeling capabilities and more accurate performance calculations integrating building components in sub-hourly time steps. However, EnergyPlus runs much slower than the current generation simulation programs. This has become a major barrier to its widespread adoption by the industry. This paper analyzed EnergyPlus run time from comprehensive perspectives to identify key issues and challenges of speeding up EnergyPlus: studying the historical trends of EnergyPlus run time based on the advancement of computers and code improvements to EnergyPlus, comparing EnergyPlus with DOE-2 to understand and quantify the run time differences, identifying key simulation settings and model features that have significant impacts on run time, and performing code profiling to identify which EnergyPlus subroutines consume the most amount of run time. This paper provides recommendations to improve EnergyPlus run time from the modeler?s perspective and adequate computing platforms. Suggestions of software code and architecture changes to improve EnergyPlus run time based on the code profiling results are also discussed.

  4. Natural gas to improve energy security in Small Island Developing States: A techno-economic analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pravesh Raghoo

    Full Text Available There is a paucity of studies on natural gas-based energy production in Small Island Developing States (SIDS even though technological improvements today are likely to make the application of natural gas more and more feasible. The development of natural gas in some of the regions of the Pacific, Africa, Indian Ocean and Caribbean attracts nearby countries and the coming up of the compressed natural gas (CNG technology which can serve regional markets are two motivations for SIDS to develop natural gas-based energy provision. A third factor concerns long-term energy security. Due to continued reliance on fossil fuels and slow uptake of renewable energy, there is a need to diversify SIDS’ energy mix for a sustainable electricity industry. Comparing the opportunities and constraints of liquefied natural gas (LNG and compressed natural gas (CNG in a SIDS-specific context, this paper discusses how to improve the integration of natural gas in prevailing energy regimes in SIDS as an alternative fuel to oil and complementary to renewable energy sources. To illustrate feasibility in practice, a techno-economic analysis is carried out using the island of Mauritius as an example. Keywords: Energy security, Natural gas, Small Island Developing States

  5. Study on improvement of energy efficiency of walking robots by spring -installed leg design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Eung Soo; Song, Heuy Gap

    1993-01-01

    Although a walking robot is potentially useful in nuclear industry, its application has not been successful so far due to poor energy efficiency. In this paper, dynamic spring balancing of a swinging leg is proposed for improving energy efficiency. Since the fluctuation of internal energy is unavoidable due to leg oscillation, springs can be used for storing energy that is otherwise dissipated at the end of the return phase of the leg. Based of approximation to harmonic oscillation, an optimum trajectory and spring parameters are simultaneously synthesized for the leg in the return phase. (Author)

  6. Improving scaling methods to estimate eruption energies from volcanic crater structures using blast experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sonder, I.; Graettinger, A. H.; Valentine, G.; Schmid, A.; Zimanowski, B.; Majji, M.; Ross, P.; White, J. D.; Taddeucci, J.; Lube, G.; Kueppers, U.; Bowman, D. C.

    2013-12-01

    In an ongoing effort to understand the relevant processes behind the formation of volcanic crater-, maar-, and diatreme structures, experiments producing craters with radii exceeding one meter were conducted at University at Buffalos Geohazards Field Station. A chemical explosive was used as energy source for the tests, and detonated in prepared test beds made from several stratified, compacted aggregates. The amount of explosive, as well as its depth of burial were varied in the twelve experiments. The detonations were recorded by a diverse set of sensors including high-speed/high-definition cameras, seismic and electric field sensors, normal- and infrasound microphones. Morphology and structures were documented after each blast by manual measurements and semi-automated photogrammetry. After all blasts were complete the structures excavated and analyzed. The measured sensor signals were evaluated and related to blast energies, depths of burial and crater morphologies. Former experiments e.g. performed by Goto et al. (2001; Geophys. Res. Lett. 28, 4287-4290) considered craters of single blasts at a given lateral position and found empirical relationships emphasizing the importance of length scaling with the cube root of the blasts energy E. For example the depth of burial producing the largest crater radius--the ';optimal' depth--is proportional to E1/3, as is the corresponding radius. Resembling natural processes creating crater and diatreme structures the experiments performed here feature several blasts at one lateral position. The dependencies on E1/3 could be roughly confirmed. Also the scaled depth correlated with the sensor signals capturing the blasts dynamics. However, significant scatter was introduced by the pre-existing morphologies. Using a suitable re-definition for the charges depth of burial (';eruption depth'), accounting for a pre-existing (crater) morphology, the measured dependencies of morphology and blast dynamics on E can be improved

  7. Energy conservation and environmental benefits that may be realized from Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baumann, P.D.

    1992-01-01

    This paper discusses the Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) technology which has the capability to significantly improve electrical system operations within electric utility systems. This has been demonstrated by Bonneville Power Administration in a 30-MJ SMES demonstration unit. Savings in utility operations from improved system efficiency, increased reliability, and reduced maintenance requirements contribute to the economic justification of SMES. Beyond these benefits, there are additional benefits which in the long run may significantly outweigh the electrical operational benefits. These benefits are the energy conservation and environmental benefits. Since SMES can uncouple generation from load, it can shift generation around, thereby changing the operational characteristics of the system. The technology has the capability of reducing fuel consumption which can in turn reduce emissions. In a regional setting it can potentially shift emissions both in volumes and in physical areas to avoid problem situations. With its capability to strategically shift generation and significantly affect emissions and air quality it can stretch clean energy generation options. With these attributes, SMES can be recognized as an energy and environmental management technology and tool

  8. Co-benefits of energy efficiency improvement and air pollution abatement in the Chinese iron and steel industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Shaohui; Worrell, Ernst; Crijns-Graus, Wina; Wagner, Fabian; Cofala, Janusz

    2014-01-01

    In 2010, China was responsible for 45% of global steel production, while consuming 15.8 EJ of final energy and emitting 1344 Mt CO 2eq , 8.4 Mt of PM (particulate matter) emissions, and 5.3 Mt of SO 2 emissions. In this paper we analyse the co-benefits of implementing energy efficiency measures that jointly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants, in comparison to applying only air pollution control (end-of-pipe technology). For this purpose we construct ECSC (energy conservation supply curves) that contain potentials and costs of energy efficiency measures and implement these in the GAINS (greenhouse gas and air pollution interactions and synergies) model. Findings show that the technical energy saving potential for the Chinese iron and steel industry for 2030 is around 5.7 EJ. This is equivalent to 28% of reference energy use in 2030. The emissions mitigation of GHGs (greenhouse gases) and air pollutants in BAEEM S 3 scenario would be reduce 27% CO 2 eq, 3% of PM, and 22% of SO 2 , compared to the BL scenario in 2030. Investments and cost savings were calculated for different scenarios, showing that energy efficiency investments will result in significant reductions in air pollution control costs. Hence, Energy efficiency measures should be integrated in air quality policy in China. - Highlights: • Implementation rates of 56 EEMs (energy efficiency measures) are quantified in China's Iron and steel industry. • Energy Supply Cost Curve was implemented in the GAINS (greenhouse gas and air pollution interactions and synergies) model. • The contribution of energy efficiency measure on the process level was estimated. • There are large co-benefits of improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions. • EEMs (energy efficiency measures) would lead to huge reductions in air pollution

  9. Using Public Participation to Improve MELs Energy Data Collection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheung, Iris (Hoi Ying); Kloss, Margarita; Brown, Rich; Meier, Alan

    2014-03-11

    Miscellaneous Electric Loads (MELs) have proliferated in the last decade, and comprise an increasing share of building energy consumption. Because of the diversity of MELs and our lack of understanding about how people use them, large-scale data collection is needed to inform meaningful energy reduction strategies. Traditional methods of data collection, however, usually incur high labor and metering equipment expenses. As an alternative, this paper investigates the feasibility of crowdsourcing data collection to satisfy at least part of the data collection needs with acceptable accuracy. This study assessed the reliability and accuracy of crowdsourced data, by recruiting over 20 volunteers (from the 2012 Lawrence Berkeley Lab, Open House event) to test our crowdsourcing protocol. The protocol asked volunteers to perform the following tasks for three test products with increasing complexity - record power meter and product characteristics, identify all power settings available, and report the measured power. Based on our collected data and analysis, we concluded that volunteers performed reasonably well for devices with functionalities with which they are familiar, and might not produce highly accurate field measurements for complex devices. Accuracy will likely improve when participants are measuring the power used by devices in their home which they know how to operate, by providing more specific instructions including instructional videos. When integrated with existing programs such as the Home Energy Saver tool, crowdsourcing data collection from individual homeowners has the potential to generate a substantial amount of information about MELs energy use in homes.

  10. Ageing Fxr deficient mice develop increased energy expenditure, improved glucose control and liver damage resembling NASH.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mikael Bjursell

    Full Text Available Nuclear receptor subfamily 1, group H, member 4 (Nr1h4, FXR is a bile acid activated nuclear receptor mainly expressed in the liver, intestine, kidney and adrenal glands. Upon activation, the primary function is to suppress cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase (Cyp7a1, the rate-limiting enzyme in the classic or neutral bile acid synthesis pathway. In the present study, a novel Fxr deficient mouse line was created and studied with respect to metabolism and liver function in ageing mice fed chow diet. The Fxr deficient mice were similar to wild type mice in terms of body weight, body composition, energy intake and expenditure as well as behaviours at a young age. However, from 15 weeks of age and onwards, the Fxr deficient mice had almost no body weight increase up to 39 weeks of age mainly because of lower body fat mass. The lower body weight gain was associated with increased energy expenditure that was not compensated by increased food intake. Fasting levels of glucose and insulin were lower and glucose tolerance was improved in old and lean Fxr deficient mice. However, the Fxr deficient mice displayed significantly increased liver weight, steatosis, hepatocyte ballooning degeneration and lobular inflammation together with elevated plasma levels of ALT, bilirubin and bile acids, findings compatible with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH and cholestasis. In conclusion, ageing Fxr deficient mice display late onset leanness associated with elevated energy expenditure and improved glucose control but develop severe NASH-like liver pathology.

  11. Ageing Fxr deficient mice develop increased energy expenditure, improved glucose control and liver damage resembling NASH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjursell, Mikael; Wedin, Marianne; Admyre, Therése; Hermansson, Majlis; Böttcher, Gerhard; Göransson, Melker; Lindén, Daniel; Bamberg, Krister; Oscarsson, Jan; Bohlooly-Y, Mohammad

    2013-01-01

    Nuclear receptor subfamily 1, group H, member 4 (Nr1h4, FXR) is a bile acid activated nuclear receptor mainly expressed in the liver, intestine, kidney and adrenal glands. Upon activation, the primary function is to suppress cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase (Cyp7a1), the rate-limiting enzyme in the classic or neutral bile acid synthesis pathway. In the present study, a novel Fxr deficient mouse line was created and studied with respect to metabolism and liver function in ageing mice fed chow diet. The Fxr deficient mice were similar to wild type mice in terms of body weight, body composition, energy intake and expenditure as well as behaviours at a young age. However, from 15 weeks of age and onwards, the Fxr deficient mice had almost no body weight increase up to 39 weeks of age mainly because of lower body fat mass. The lower body weight gain was associated with increased energy expenditure that was not compensated by increased food intake. Fasting levels of glucose and insulin were lower and glucose tolerance was improved in old and lean Fxr deficient mice. However, the Fxr deficient mice displayed significantly increased liver weight, steatosis, hepatocyte ballooning degeneration and lobular inflammation together with elevated plasma levels of ALT, bilirubin and bile acids, findings compatible with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cholestasis. In conclusion, ageing Fxr deficient mice display late onset leanness associated with elevated energy expenditure and improved glucose control but develop severe NASH-like liver pathology.

  12. An energy management for series hybrid electric vehicle using improved dynamic programming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Hao; Yang, Yaoquan; Liu, Chunyu

    2018-02-01

    With the increasing numbers of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), management for two energy sources, engine and battery, is more and more important to achieve the minimum fuel consumption. This paper introduces several working modes of series hybrid electric vehicle (SHEV) firstly and then describes the mathematical model of main relative components in SHEV. On the foundation of this model, dynamic programming is applied to distribute energy of engine and battery on the platform of matlab and acquires less fuel consumption compared with traditional control strategy. Besides, control rule recovering energy in brake profiles is added into dynamic programming, so shorter computing time is realized by improved dynamic programming and optimization on algorithm.

  13. Improving the Energy Performance in Existing Non-residential Buildings in Denmark Using the Total Concept Method

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krawczyk, Pawel; Afshari, Alireza; Simonsen, Graves K.

    2016-01-01

    This project is a part of a joint European research project, “Total Concept”, which is a method for improving the energy performance in existing non-Residential buildings. The method focuses on achieving maximum energy savings in a Building within the profitability frames set by a building owner...... was to form a package of measures for an energy performance improvement in the building based on the Total Concept method. This paper presents results from recently analyzed data on two renovated Danish buildings according to the rules of “Total Concept” method. According to the estimation done based...

  14. Significant improvement in one-dimensional cursor control using Laplacian electroencephalography over electroencephalography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boudria, Yacine; Feltane, Amal; Besio, Walter

    2014-06-01

    Objective. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) based on electroencephalography (EEG) have been shown to accurately detect mental activities, but the acquisition of high levels of control require extensive user training. Furthermore, EEG has low signal-to-noise ratio and low spatial resolution. The objective of the present study was to compare the accuracy between two types of BCIs during the first recording session. EEG and tripolar concentric ring electrode (TCRE) EEG (tEEG) brain signals were recorded and used to control one-dimensional cursor movements. Approach. Eight human subjects were asked to imagine either ‘left’ or ‘right’ hand movement during one recording session to control the computer cursor using TCRE and disc electrodes. Main results. The obtained results show a significant improvement in accuracies using TCREs (44%-100%) compared to disc electrodes (30%-86%). Significance. This study developed the first tEEG-based BCI system for real-time one-dimensional cursor movements and showed high accuracies with little training.

  15. Energy use and climate change improvements of Li/S batteries based on life cycle assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arvidsson, Rickard; Janssen, Matty; Svanström, Magdalena; Johansson, Patrik; Sandén, Björn A.

    2018-04-01

    We present a life cycle assessment (LCA) study of a lithium/sulfur (Li/S) cell regarding its energy use (in electricity equivalents, kWhel) and climate change (in kg carbon dioxide equivalents, CO2 eq) with the aim of identifying improvement potentials. Possible improvements are illustrated by departing from a base case of Li/S battery design, electricity from coal power, and heat from natural gas. In the base case, energy use is calculated at 580 kWhel kWh-1 and climate change impact at 230 kg CO2 eq kWh-1 of storage capacity. The main contribution to energy use comes from the LiTFSI electrolyte salt production and the main contribution to climate change is electricity use during the cell production stage. By (i) reducing cell production electricity requirement, (ii) sourcing electricity and heat from renewable sources, (iii) improving the specific energy of the Li/S cell, and (iv) switching to carbon black for the cathode, energy use and climate change impact can be reduced by 54 and 93%, respectively. For climate change, our best-case result of 17 kg CO2 eq kWh-1 is of similar magnitude as the best-case literature results for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The lithium metal requirement of Li/S batteries and LIBs are also of similar magnitude.

  16. Advanced air distribution: Improving health and comfort while reducing energy use

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Melikov, Arsen Krikor

    2015-01-01

    -quality indoor environments at the same time as low-energy consumption. Advanced air distribution, designed to supply clean air where, when, and as much as needed, makes it possible to efficiently achieve thermal comfort, control exposure to contaminants, provide high-quality air for breathing and minimizing......Indoor environment affects the health, comfort, and performance of building occupants. The energy used for heating, cooling, ventilating, and air conditioning of buildings is substantial. Ventilation based on total volume air distribution in spaces is not always an efficient way to provide high...... the risk of airborne cross-infection while reducing energy use. This study justifies the need for improving the present air distribution design in occupied spaces, and in general the need for a paradigm shift from the design of collective environments to the design of individually controlled environments...

  17. Improved cache performance in Monte Carlo transport calculations using energy banding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegel, A.; Smith, K.; Felker, K.; Romano, P.; Forget, B.; Beckman, P.

    2014-04-01

    We present an energy banding algorithm for Monte Carlo (MC) neutral particle transport simulations which depend on large cross section lookup tables. In MC codes, read-only cross section data tables are accessed frequently, exhibit poor locality, and are typically too much large to fit in fast memory. Thus, performance is often limited by long latencies to RAM, or by off-node communication latencies when the data footprint is very large and must be decomposed on a distributed memory machine. The proposed energy banding algorithm allows maximal temporal reuse of data in band sizes that can flexibly accommodate different architectural features. The energy banding algorithm is general and has a number of benefits compared to the traditional approach. In the present analysis we explore its potential to achieve improvements in time-to-solution on modern cache-based architectures.

  18. Mechanism analysis and evaluation methodology of regenerative braking contribution to energy efficiency improvement of electrified vehicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lv, Chen; Zhang, Junzhi; Li, Yutong; Yuan, Ye

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The energy flow of an electric vehicle with regenerative brake is analyzed. • Methodology for measuring the regen brake contribution is discussed. • Evaluation parameters of regen brake contribution are proposed. • Vehicle tests are carried out on chassis dynamometer. • Test results verify the evaluation method and parameters proposed. - Abstract: This article discusses the mechanism and evaluation methods of contribution brought by regenerative braking to electric vehicle’s energy efficiency improvement. The energy flow of an electric vehicle considering the braking energy regeneration was analyzed. Then, methodologies for measuring the contribution made by regenerative brake to vehicle energy efficiency improvement were introduced. Based on the energy flow analyzed, two different evaluation parameters were proposed. Vehicle tests were carried out on chassis dynamometer under typical driving cycles with three different control strategies. The experimental results the difference between the proposed two evaluation parameters, and demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the evaluation methodologies proposed

  19. An energy systems engineering approach to the optimal design of energy systems in commercial buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Pei; Pistikopoulos, Efstratios N. [Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE), Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Li, Zheng [Department of Thermal Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

    2010-08-15

    Energy consumption in commercial buildings accounts for a significant proportion of worldwide energy consumption. Any increase in the energy efficiency of the energy systems for commercial buildings would lead to significant energy savings and emissions reductions. In this work, we introduce an energy systems engineering framework towards the optimal design of such energy systems with improved energy efficiency and environmental performance. The framework features a superstructure representation of the various energy technology alternatives, a mixed-integer optimization formulation of the energy systems design problem, and a multi-objective design optimization solution strategy, where economic and environmental criteria are simultaneously considered and properly traded off. A case study of a supermarket energy systems design is presented to illustrate the key steps and potential of the proposed energy systems engineering approach. (author)

  20. An energy systems engineering approach to the optimal design of energy systems in commercial buildings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Pei; Pistikopoulos, Efstratios N.; Li Zheng

    2010-01-01

    Energy consumption in commercial buildings accounts for a significant proportion of worldwide energy consumption. Any increase in the energy efficiency of the energy systems for commercial buildings would lead to significant energy savings and emissions reductions. In this work, we introduce an energy systems engineering framework towards the optimal design of such energy systems with improved energy efficiency and environmental performance. The framework features a superstructure representation of the various energy technology alternatives, a mixed-integer optimization formulation of the energy systems design problem, and a multi-objective design optimization solution strategy, where economic and environmental criteria are simultaneously considered and properly traded off. A case study of a supermarket energy systems design is presented to illustrate the key steps and potential of the proposed energy systems engineering approach.

  1. An energy systems engineering approach to the optimal design of energy systems in commercial buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu Pei [Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE), Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Pistikopoulos, Efstratios N., E-mail: e.pistikopoulos@imperial.ac.u [Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE), Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Li Zheng [Department of Thermal Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

    2010-08-15

    Energy consumption in commercial buildings accounts for a significant proportion of worldwide energy consumption. Any increase in the energy efficiency of the energy systems for commercial buildings would lead to significant energy savings and emissions reductions. In this work, we introduce an energy systems engineering framework towards the optimal design of such energy systems with improved energy efficiency and environmental performance. The framework features a superstructure representation of the various energy technology alternatives, a mixed-integer optimization formulation of the energy systems design problem, and a multi-objective design optimization solution strategy, where economic and environmental criteria are simultaneously considered and properly traded off. A case study of a supermarket energy systems design is presented to illustrate the key steps and potential of the proposed energy systems engineering approach.

  2. Improvement Of Rural Off-Farm Energy Use In Nigeria: A Prerequisite For Rural Development And Poverty Alleviation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Umar, B

    2002-01-01

    In Nigeria, agricultural production takes place predominantly in the rural areas. The development of those areas, therefore, is necessary for the much-coveted rise in agricultural production and poverty alleviation. Development is a natural ally of improved energy use, both on and off-farm. Energy use in rural Nigeria is rudimentary and unimpressive. This paper discusses the existing pattern of energy use in the off-farm sector of rural areas and suggests ways of improvement to alleviate poverty and propel rural development

  3. Fiscal 1999 survey report. Survey of effect of energy efficiency improvement on global environment; 1999 nendo energy shohi koritsuka chikyu kankyo eikyo chosa hokokusho

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2000-03-01

    Analyses are conducted into consideration given to global warming measures in the 3rd assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and into technology transfer from developed nations to developing nations in the Asia-Pacific region etc. to contribute to their energy efficiency improvement. The aim is to present data for deliberation as to how future energy efficiency improvement measures should be in the Asia-Pacific region. The chapters (Chapter 0 through Chapter 10) of the report to be worked out by Working Group III deeply involved in energy problems are 0) Introduction, 1) Scope of the report; 2) Socio-economic and emissions scenarios; 3) Technical and economic potential of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions reduction; 4) Technical and economic potential of biological CO2 mitigation options; 5) Barriers, opportunities and market potential of technologies and practices; 6) Policies, measures and instruments; 7) Costing methodologies; 8) Global, regional and national costs and ancillary benefits of mitigation; 9) Sector costs and ancillary benefits of mitigation; and 10) Decision making frameworks. As the result of the survey, some actual technology transfer implementations are introduced covering branches closely related to energy efficiency improvement, which are branches of construction, traffic, industry, energy supply, and wastes. (NEDO)

  4. Environmental co-benefits of energy efficiency improvement in coal-fired power sector: A case study of Henan Province, China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Ke; Wang, Shanshan; Liu, Lei; Yue, Hui; Zhang, Ruiqin; Tang, Xiaoyan

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Pollutant surcharge is considered in Energy Conservation Supply Curve. • Intake Fraction method is incorporated into Energy Conservation Supply Curve. • Health benefits contribute 97% of co-benefits of energy efficiency improvement. - Abstract: The coal-fired power sector is one of the major contributors to environmental problems and has great potential of air pollution abatement. This study employs Energy Conservation Supply Curves (ECSCs) combined with pollutant surcharge and health benefits to evaluate the environmental co-benefits of energy efficiency improvement in the coal-fired power sector. Health benefits and the pollution surcharge are considered as the environmental co-benefits that reduce costs of conserved energy (CCEs) in ECSCs. The health benefits of energy efficiency improvement are quantified using Intake Fraction method, while the pollutant surcharge is calculated based on the regulation. Three scenarios including a Business As Usual (BAU) scenario, an Energy Efficiency Improvement (EEI) scenario, and an Upgrading Standards and Incentive (USI) scenario is considered in a case study for Henan Province of China. Our results show that costs of conserved energy (CCEs) are reduced by 0.56 and 0.29 USD/GJ under the EEI and USI scenarios due to health benefits and pollutant surcharge reductions related to energy efficient technologies, respectively. In particular, health benefits account for 97% of the reductions in CCEs, while the pollutant surcharge only contributes 3%. Under the EEI and USI scenarios, in 2020, energy efficiency improvement reduces energy consumption in Henan’s coal-fired power sector by 3.3% and 3.5% compared with the BAU scenario, respectively. The EEI and USI scenarios indicates that health benefits of 1.5 × 10"9 and 2.4 × 10"9 USD are gained and the reductions of pollutant surcharges of 197 and 226 million USD are realized in 2020, respectively.

  5. Improving energy efficiency of cyclone circuits in coal beneficiation plants by pump-storage systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Lijun; Xia, Xiaohua; Zhang, Jiangfeng

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A pump-storage system (PSS) is introduced in a coal washing plant to reduce energy consumption and cost. • Optimal operation of the PSS under TOU tariff is formulated and solved. Life cycle cost analysis of the design is done. • Simulation results show the effectiveness of energy efficiency improvement and load shifting effect of the proposed approach. • An annual 38% reduction of overall cost of the coal washing plant with 2.86 years payback period is achieved. • Capacity improvement of power plants contracted to the coal mine is expected as less electricity is required to get fuel. - Abstract: A pump storage system (PSS) is introduced to the coal preparation dense medium cyclone (DMC) plants to improve their energy efficiency while maintaining the required medium supply. The DMC processes are very energy intensive and inefficient because the medium supply pumps are constantly over-pumping. The PSS presented is to reduce energy consumption and cost by introducing an addition medium circulation loop. The corresponding pump operation optimization problem in the PSS scheme under time-based electricity tariff is formulated and solved, based on which the financial benefits of the design is investigated using life cycle cost analysis. A case study based on the operation status of a South African coal mine is carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach. It is demonstrated that the energy cost can be reduced by more than 50% in the studied case by introducing a 160 m 3 storage tank. According to life cycle analysis, the PSS Option 1 yields an annual 38% reduction of the overall cost for the beneficiation plant with a payback period of 2.68 years

  6. Energy storage in ceramic dielectrics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Love, G.R.

    1990-01-01

    Historically, multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLC's) have not been considered for energy storage applications for two primary reasons. First, physically large ceramic capacitors were very expensive and, second, total energy density obtainable was not nearly so high as in electrolytic capacitor types. More recently, the fabrication technology for MLC's has improved significantly, permitting both significantly higher energy density and significantly lower costs. Simultaneously, in many applications, total energy storage has become smaller, and the secondary requirements of very low effective series resistance and effective series inductance (which, together, determine how efficiently the energy may be stored and recovered) have become more important. It is therefore desirable to reexamine energy storage in ceramics for contemporary commercial and near-commercial dielectrics. Stored energy is proportional to voltage squared only in the case of paraelectric insulators, because only they have capacitance that is independent of bias voltage. High dielectric constant materials, however, are ferroics (that is ferroelectric and/or antiferroelectric) and display significant variation of effective dielectric constant with bias voltage

  7. Testing Low-Energy, High-Power Energy Storage Alternatives in a Full-Hybrid Vehicle (Presentation)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cosgrove, J.; Gonger, J.

    2014-01-01

    Automakers have been mass producing hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) for well over a decade, and the technology has proven to be very effective at reducing per-vehicle gasoline use. However, the battery cost in HEVs contribute to higher incremental cost of HEVs (a few thousand dollars) than the cost of comparable conventional vehicles, which has limited HEV market penetration. Significant cost reductions/performance improvements to the energy storage system (ESS) can improve the vehicle-level cost vs. benefit relationship for HEVs. Such an improvement could lead to larger HEV market penetration and greater aggregate gasoline savings. After significant analysis by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) and Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Storage program suggested a new set of requirements for ESS for power-assist HEVs for cost reduction without impacting performance and fuel economy significantly. With support from DOE, NREL has developed an HEV test platform for in-vehicle performance and fuel economy validation testing of the hybrid system using such LEESS devices. This poster will describe development of the LEESS HEV test platform, and LEESS laboratory as well as in-vehicle evaluation results. The first LEESS technology tested was lithium-ion capacitors (LICs) - i.e., asymmetric electrochemical energy storage devices possessing one electrode with battery-type characteristics (lithiated graphite) and one with ultracapacitor-type characteristics (carbon). We will discuss the performance and fuel saving results with LIC with comparison with original NiMH battery.

  8. Methods for functionality improvement of digital electronics with low switching energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wetzstein, Olaf

    2010-01-01

    This thesis is a contribution to automate electronic circuit design for technologies dealing with low switching energy.The intention is to increase the stability of Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) circuits. In order to achieve this goal, new design tools are introduced and innovative circuit topologies are implemented.The concepts that have been elaborated are demonstrated using RSFQ circuits, but they are valid for any other digital electronics.Future developments with main focus on power efficiency will take advantage of these new concepts and design tools.The aim of this work is to analyze the influences of thermal noise on the reliability of sensitive electronics.By means of an analytic description, the influence of thermal noise is classified. Based on this estimation the stability of circuits is evaluated. This approach of correlating the topology of a circuit with its immunity to thermal noise is unique so far.The results of the analysis demonstrate that using a symmetric circuit topology significantly improves the circuit's robustness against both the influence of thermal noise and parameter spread caused by the fabrication process. In order to realize symmetric circuits, phase-shifting-elements such as pi-junctions become important.The technology that permits the fabrication of phase-shifting-elements has been developed during the recent years.The essential work flow which is necessary to implement these elements into RSFQ electronics is presented in detail in this work. The predicted improvements are experimentally proved.

  9. Improvements to TOVS retrievals over sea ice and applications to estimating Arctic energy fluxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francis, Jennifer A.

    1994-01-01

    Modeling studies suggest that polar regions play a major role in modulating the Earth's climate and that they may be more sensitive than lower latitudes to climate change. Until recently, however, data from meteorological stations poleward of 70 degs have been sparse, and consequently, our understanding of air-sea-ice interaction processes is relatively poor. Satellite-borne sensors now offer a promising opportunity to observe polar regions and ultimately to improve parameterizations of energy transfer processes in climate models. This study focuses on the application of the TIROS-N operational vertical sounder (TOVS) to sea-ice-covered regions in the nonmelt season. TOVS radiances are processed with the improved initialization inversion ('3I') algorithm, providng estimates of layer-average temperature and moisture, cloud conditions, and surface characteristics at a horizontal resolution of approximately 100 km x 100 km. Although TOVS has flown continuously on polar-orbiting satellites since 1978, its potential has not been realized in high latitudes because the quality of retrievals is often significantly lower over sea ice and snow than over the surfaces. The recent availability of three Arctic data sets has provided an opportunity to validate TOVS retrievals: the first from the Coordinated Eastern Arctic Experiment (CEAREX) in winter 1988/1989, the second from the LeadEx field program in spring 1992, and the third from Russian drifting ice stations. Comparisons with these data reveal deficiencies in TOVS retrievals over sea ice during the cold season; e.g., ice surface temperature is often 5 to 15 K too warm, microwave emissivity is approximately 15% too low at large view angles, clear/cloudy scenes are sometimes misidentified, and low-level inversions are often not captured. In this study, methods to reduce these errors are investigated. Improvements to the ice surface temperature retrieval have reduced rms errors from approximately 7 K to 3 K; correction of

  10. PXD101 significantly improves nuclear reprogramming and the in vitro developmental competence of porcine SCNT embryos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jin, Jun-Xue; Kang, Jin-Dan; Li, Suo; Jin, Long; Zhu, Hai-Ying; Guo, Qing; Gao, Qing-Shan; Yan, Chang-Guo; Yin, Xi-Jun, E-mail: yinxj33@msn.com

    2015-01-02

    Highlights: • First explored that the effects of PXD101 on the development of SCNT embryos in vitro. • 0.5 μM PXD101 treated for 24 h improved the development of porcine SCNT embryos. • Level of AcH3K9 was significantly higher than control group at early stages. - Abstract: In this study, we investigated the effects of the histone deacetylase inhibitor PXD101 (belinostat) on the preimplantation development of porcine somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos and their expression of the epigenetic markers histone H3 acetylated at lysine 9 (AcH3K9). We compared the in vitro developmental competence of SCNT embryos treated with various concentrations of PXD101 for 24 h. Treatment with 0.5 μM PXD101 significantly increased the proportion of SCNT embryos that reached the blastocyst stage, in comparison to the control group (23.3% vs. 11.5%, P < 0.05). We tested the in vitro developmental competence of SCNT embryos treated with 0.5 μM PXD101 for various amounts of times following activation. Treatment for 24 h significantly improved the development of porcine SCNT embryos, with a significantly higher proportion of embryos reaching the blastocyst stage in comparison to the control group (25.7% vs. 10.6%, P < 0.05). PXD101-treated SCNT embryos were transferred into two surrogate sows, one of whom became pregnant and four fetuses developed. PXD101 treatment significantly increased the fluorescence intensity of immunostaining for AcH3K9 in embryos at the pseudo-pronuclear and 2-cell stages. At these stages, the fluorescence intensities of immunostaining for AcH3K9 were significantly higher in PXD101-treated embryos than in control untreated embryos. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that PXD101 can significantly improve the in vitro and in vivo developmental competence of porcine SCNT embryos and can enhance their nuclear reprogramming.

  11. An On-Chip RBC Deformability Checker Significantly Improves Velocity-Deformation Correlation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chia-Hung Dylan Tsai

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available An on-chip deformability checker is proposed to improve the velocity–deformation correlation for red blood cell (RBC evaluation. RBC deformability has been found related to human diseases, and can be evaluated based on RBC velocity through a microfluidic constriction as in conventional approaches. The correlation between transit velocity and amount of deformation provides statistical information of RBC deformability. However, such correlations are usually only moderate, or even weak, in practical evaluations due to limited range of RBC deformation. To solve this issue, we implemented three constrictions of different width in the proposed checker, so that three different deformation regions can be applied to RBCs. By considering cell responses from the three regions as a whole, we practically extend the range of cell deformation in the evaluation, and could resolve the issue about the limited range of RBC deformation. RBCs from five volunteer subjects were tested using the proposed checker. The results show that the correlation between cell deformation and transit velocity is significantly improved by the proposed deformability checker. The absolute values of the correlation coefficients are increased from an average of 0.54 to 0.92. The effects of cell size, shape and orientation to the evaluation are discussed according to the experimental results. The proposed checker is expected to be useful for RBC evaluation in medical practices.

  12. Energy and women's economic empowerment: Rethinking the benefits of improved cookstove use in rural India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seaward, James Nicholas

    International development organizations have recently ramped up efforts to promote the use of improved cookstoves (ICS) in developing countries, aiming to reduce the harmful environmental and public health impacts of the burning of biomass for cooking and heating. I hypothesize that ICS use also has additional benefits---economic and social benefits---that can contribute to women's economic empowerment in the developing world. To explore the relationship between ICS use and women's economic empowerment, I use Ordinary Least Squares and Logit models based on data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) to analyze differences between women living in households that use ICS and those living in homes that use traditional cookstoves. My regression results reveal that ICS use has a statistically significant and negative effect on the amount of time women and girls spend on fuel collection and a statistically significant and positive effect on the likelihood of women's participation in side businesses, but does not have a statistically significant effect on the likelihood of lost productivity. My analysis shows promise that in addition to health and environmental benefits, fuel-efficient cooking technologies can also have social and economic impacts that are especially beneficial to women. It is my hope that the analysis provided in this paper will be used to further the dialogue about the importance of women's access to modern energy services in the fight to improve women's living standards in the developing world.

  13. Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the U.S. Iron and Steel Industry An ENERGY STAR(R) Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Worrell, Ernst; Blinde, Paul; Neelis, Maarten; Blomen, Eliane; Masanet, Eric

    2010-10-21

    Energy is an important cost factor in the U.S iron and steel industry. Energy efficiency improvement is an important way to reduce these costs and to increase predictable earnings, especially in times of high energy price volatility. There are a variety of opportunities available at individual plants in the U.S. iron and steel industry to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner. This Energy Guide discusses energy efficiency practices and energy-efficient technologies that can be implemented at the component, process, facility, and organizational levels. A discussion of the structure, production trends, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions of the iron and steel industry is provided along with a description of the major process technologies used within the industry. Next, a wide variety of energy efficiency measures are described. Many measure descriptions include expected savings in energy and energy-related costs, based on case study data from real-world applications in the steel and related industries worldwide. Typical measure payback periods and references to further information in the technical literature are also provided, when available. The information in this Energy Guide is intended to help energy and plant managers in the U.S. iron and steel industry reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective manner while maintaining the quality of products manufactured. Further research on the economics of all measures?and on their applicability to different production practices?is needed to assess their cost effectiveness at individual plants.

  14. Geothermy, a significant energy source in the Republic of Macedonia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kotevski, Georgi; Sutinova, Jagoda; Donev, S.; Novkovski, Todor

    1995-01-01

    According to the recent investigations, it is ascertain that the Republic of Macedonia is one of the richest thermal waters regions. Therefore, the territory of Macedonia is a perspective terrain for geothermal energy exploration. The aim of this paper is to point out the main localities that are priority for further geothermal energy investigations. The chemical analysis of the Macedonian geothermal waters is also presented

  15. Improving the performance of jaggery making unit using solar energy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lakshmi Pathi Jakkamputi

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The thermal performance of open earth pan furnace used conventionally for preparing jaggery (gur is very low. Dry bagasse is used as a fuel to produce heat in a combustion process in the open earth furnace. The energy loss due to inefficient combustion process, the energy loss through exhaust gases and other losses due to furnace wall, convection and radiation bring the thermal efficiency of open earth pan furnace to a low value. Certain quantity of energy produced in combustion process is used to sensibly heat the sugarcane juice to its evaporation temperature. Solar collectors can supply the sensible heat required to raise the sugarcane juice temperature up to its boiling point, thereby reducing the total quantity of heat required in preparing the jaggery. Solar drier can be used to supply hot air required for the combustion process to burn the bagasse in more efficient manner. This paper presents analytical calculations done to study the performance improvement of the jaggery making unit using solar collector and solar drier.

  16. Improvement of the GERDA Ge Detectors Energy Resolution by an Optimized Digital Signal Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benato, G.; D'Andrea, V.; Cattadori, C.; Riboldi, S.

    GERDA is a new generation experiment searching for neutrinoless double beta decay of 76Ge, operating at INFN Gran Sasso Laboratories (LNGS) since 2010. Coaxial and Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) Detectors have been operated in liquid argon (LAr) in GERDA Phase I. In the framework of the second GERDA experimental phase, both the contacting technique, the connection to and the location of the front end readout devices are novel compared to those previously adopted, and several tests have been performed. In this work, starting from considerations on the energy scale stability of the GERDA Phase I calibrations and physics data sets, an optimized pulse filtering method has been developed and applied to the Phase II pilot tests data sets, and to few GERDA Phase I data sets. In this contribution the detector performances in term of energy resolution and time stability are here presented. The improvement of the energy resolution, compared to standard Gaussian shaping adopted for Phase I data analysis, is discussed and related to the optimized noise filtering capability. The result is an energy resolution better than 0.1% at 2.6 MeV for the BEGe detectors operated in the Phase II pilot tests and an improvement of the energy resolution in LAr of about 8% achieved on the GERDA Phase I calibration runs, compared to previous analysis algorithms.

  17. Analysis of the Dependence between Energy Demand Indicators in Buildings Based on Variants for Improving Energy Efficiency in a School Building

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skiba, Marta; Rzeszowska, Natalia

    2017-09-01

    One of the five far-reaching goals of the European Union is climate change and sustainable energy use. The first step in the implementation of this task is to reduce energy demand in buildings to a minimum by 2021, and in the case of public buildings by 2019. This article analyses the possibility of improving energy efficiency in public buildings, the relationship between particular indicators of the demand for usable energy (UE), final energy (FE) and primary energy (PE) in buildings and the impact of these indicators on the assessment of energy efficiency in public buildings, based on 5 variants of extensive thermal renovation of a school building. The analysis of the abovementioned variants confirms that the thermal renovation of merely the outer envelope of the building is insufficient and requires the use of additional energy sources, for example RES. Moreover, each indicator of energy demand in the building plays a key role in assessing the energy efficiency of the building. For this reason it is important to analyze each of them individually, as well as the dependencies between them.

  18. The effectiveness of energy efficiency improvement in a developing country: Rebound effect of residential electricity use in South Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, Sang-Hyeon

    2007-01-01

    The government of South Korea considers an energy efficiency improvement policy an effective economic measure for climate change like many other governments. But it is unaware of any 'rebound effect', the unexpected result of energy efficiency improvement. So the rebound effect of residential electricity use in South Korea was estimated using two different scales in this paper. At the macro level, the rebound effect was estimated indirectly by using price elasticity, and at the micro level, the rebound effect of individual home appliances was estimated directly by using a non-linear relationship between energy efficiency and energy use. At the macro level, the long- and short-term results of rebound effect were estimated at 30% and 38%, respectively. Also at the micro level, the rebound effect of air conditioners was 57-70%; while refrigerators showed only a composite of rebound and income effects. Finally, there was no backfire effect, and efficiency improvement brought energy reduction. In conclusion, these suggest that rebound effect is an important factor that the government of South Korea must consider when planning its energy efficiency improvement policy. (author)

  19. Recent developments in thermally-driven seawater desalination: Energy efficiency improvement by hybridization of the MED and AD cycles

    KAUST Repository

    Ng, Kim Choon

    2015-01-01

    The energy, water and environment nexus is a crucial factor when considering the future development of desalination plants or industry in the water-stressed economies. New generation of desalination processes or plants has to meet the stringent environment discharge requirements and yet the industry remains highly energy efficient and sustainable when producing good potable water. Water sources, either brackish or seawater, have become more contaminated as feed while the demand for desalination capacities increase around the world. One immediate solution for energy efficiency improvement comes from the hybridization of the proven desalination processes to the newer processes of desalination: For example, the integration of the available thermally-driven to adsorption desalination (AD) cycles where significant thermodynamic synergy can be attained when cycles are combined. For these hybrid cycles, a quantum improvement in energy efficiency as well as in increase in water production can be expected. The advent of MED with AD cycles, or simply called the MEDAD cycles, is one such example where seawater desalination can be pursued and operated in cogeneration with the electricity production plants: The hybrid desalination cycles utilize only the low exergy bled-steam at low temperatures, complemented with waste exhaust or renewable solar thermal heat at temperatures between 60 and 80. °C. In this paper, the authors have reported their pioneered research on aspects of AD and related hybrid MEDAD cycles, both at theoretical models and experimental pilots. Using the cogeneration of electricity and desalination concept, the authors examined the cost apportionment of fuel cost by the quality or exergy of working steam for such cogeneration configurations.

  20. Analysis of downshift’s improvement to energy efficiency of an electric vehicle during regenerative braking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Liang; Li, Xujian; Wang, Xiangyu; Song, Jian; He, Kai; Li, Chenfeng

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Downshift is effective in improving the energy efficiency of electric vehicles. • Energy improvement of downshift varies with vehicle speed and brake strength. • The designed nonlinear sliding mode observer is accurate in estimating bake torque. • The proposed resembling PWM method is practical to regulate hydraulic pressure. • The effect of downshift on braking safety and comfort can be restrained by control. - Abstract: Downshift during regenerative braking helps to improve the energy efficiency of electric vehicles. Two main problems are involved in the downshift process. One is the determination of optimal downshift point, and the other is the cooperative control of regenerative braking and hydraulic braking. In order to achieve a systemic solution to these problems, a hierarchical control strategy is brought forward for an electric vehicle with a two-speed automated mechanical transmission. For the upper controller, an off-line calculation and on-line look-up table method is adopted to obtain the optimal downshift point, and a series regenerative braking distribution strategy is designed. For the medium controller, a nonlinear sliding mode observer is designed to obtain the actual hydraulic brake torque. For the lower controller, cooperative control of regenerative braking and hydraulic braking is given to ensure brake safety during downshift process, and a resembling pulse width modulation method is proposed to regulated the hydraulic brake torque. Simulation results and hardware-in-loop test show that the proposed algorithm is effective in improving the energy efficiency of electric vehicles.

  1. Energy efficiency improvement of medical electric tools and devices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meshkov Aleksandr S.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available With the ever-increasing volume of applications of various kinds of electric drives in all spheres of human activity, the issues in improving the efficiency of the electromechanical converters of electric energy, one of the most important components of the electric drive (ED, are becoming increasingly important. Such issues include reducing their weight and size, improving the functional characteristics of these devices to increase their operational life and reducing the cost of manufacture. Taking full advantage of these opportunities relates to the AC and DC single-phase commutator motor (SCM, which is widely used in regulated and high-speed motor drives in medical electric hand tools. The SCM is used in machinery where the load torque has a hyperbolic dependence on the rotational speed and the need to work with a large motor overload due to the “soft” mechanical characteristics of such motors.

  2. Optimal energy management of a hybrid electric powertrain system using improved particle swarm optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Syuan-Yi; Hung, Yi-Hsuan; Wu, Chien-Hsun; Huang, Siang-Ting

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Online sub-optimal energy management using IPSO. • A second-order HEV model with 5 major segments was built. • IPSO with equivalent-fuel fitness function using 5 particles. • Engine, rule-based control, PSO, IPSO and ECMS are compared. • Max. 31+% fuel economy and 56+% energy consumption improved. - Abstract: This study developed an online suboptimal energy management system by using improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) for engine/motor hybrid electric vehicles. The vehicle was modeled on the basis of second-order dynamics, and featured five major segments: a battery, a spark ignition engine, a lithium battery, transmission and vehicle dynamics, and a driver model. To manage the power distribution of dual power sources, the IPSO was equipped with three inputs (rotational speed, battery state-of-charge, and demanded torque) and one output (power split ratio). Five steps were developed for IPSO: (1) initialization; (2) determination of the fitness function; (3) selection and memorization; (4) modification of position and velocity; and (5) a stopping rule. Equivalent fuel consumption by the engine and motor was used as the fitness function with five particles, and the IPSO-based vehicle control unit was completed and integrated with the vehicle simulator. To quantify the energy improvement of IPSO, a four-mode rule-based control (system ready, motor only, engine only, and hybrid modes) was designed according to the engine efficiency and rotational speed. A three-loop Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (ECMS) was coded as the best case. The simulation results revealed that IPSO searches the optimal solution more efficiently than conventional PSO does. In two standard driving cycles, ECE and FTP, the improvements in the equivalent fuel consumption and energy consumption compared to baseline were (24.25%, 45.27%) and (31.85%, 56.41%), respectively, for the IPSO. The CO_2 emission for all five cases (pure engine, rule-based, PSO

  3. Energy efficiency in the British housing stock: Energy demand and the Homes Energy Efficiency Database

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamilton, Ian G.; Steadman, Philip J.; Bruhns, Harry; Summerfield, Alex J.; Lowe, Robert

    2013-01-01

    The UK Government has unveiled an ambitious retrofit programme that seeks significant improvement to the energy efficiency of the housing stock. High quality data on the energy efficiency of buildings and their related energy demand is critical to supporting and targeting investment in energy efficiency. Using existing home improvement programmes over the past 15 years, the UK Government has brought together data on energy efficiency retrofits in approximately 13 million homes into the Homes Energy Efficiency Database (HEED), along with annual metered gas and electricity use for the period of 2004–2007. This paper describes the HEED sample and assesses its representativeness in terms of dwelling characteristics, the energy demand of different energy performance levels using linked gas and electricity meter data, along with an analysis of the impact retrofit measures has on energy demand. Energy savings are shown to be associated with the installation of loft and cavity insulation, and glazing and boiler replacement. The analysis illustrates this source of ‘in-action’ data can be used to provide empirical estimates of impacts of energy efficiency retrofit on energy demand and provides a source of empirical data from which to support the development of national housing energy efficiency retrofit policies. - Highlights: • The energy efficiency level for 50% of the British housing stock is described. • Energy demand is influenced by size and age and energy performance. • Housing retrofits (e.g. cavity insulation, glazing and boiler replacements) save energy. • Historic differences in energy performance show persistent long-term energy savings

  4. Improved description of metal oxide stability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jauho, Thomas Stenbæk; Olsen, Thomas; Bligaard, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    The renormalized adiabatic PBE (rAPBE) method has recently been shown to comprise a significant improvement over the random phase approximation (RPA) for total energy calculations of simple solids and molecules. Here we consider the formation energies of 19 group I and II metal oxides and a few...... transition-metal oxides. The mean absolute error relative to experiments is 0.21 eV and 0.38 eV per oxygen atom for rAPBE and RPA, respectively, and thus the rAPBE method greatly improves the description of metal-oxygen bonds across a wide range of oxides. The failure of the RPA can be partly attributed...... to the lack of error cancellation between the correlation energy of the oxide on the one hand and the bulk metal and oxygen molecule on the other hand, which are all separately predicted much too negative by the RPA. We ascribe the improved performance of the rAPBE to its significantly better description...

  5. Present status and improvement approach of atomic energy laws and safety standards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, B. J.; An, H. J.; Kim, S. W.; Kim, C. B.; Kang, S. C.; Lee, J. I.

    2000-01-01

    Major revision to the atomic energy act, which is currently undergoing are introduced: increase of members of nuclear safety commission, adoption of standard design certification, periodic safety review, production license system of radioactive isotope facilities, preparation for implementation of IAEA convention. Improvement of the notice of ministry of science and technology are discussed in accordance with the new atomic energy act, enforcement detect, and enforcement regulations, whose revision were completed in May 2000. Allocation of the code number to the notice, development procedures for the safety and regulatory guides are also introduced

  6. Role of hydropower development for improving energy mix with reference to India

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jose, P.C.

    2010-09-15

    With more than 70% of the electricity requirement in India being contributed from thermal sources and various issues and problems such as peaking shortage, low PLF operation of many thermal generating stations etc., there is an urgent need to review the prevailing energy mix. Hydropower potential is abundantly available to the tune of about 148,700 MW and more than 75% of which remaining untapped and with all the inherent advantages associated with hydropower, the energy mix can be improved by the development of the balance huge potential.

  7. A Control Strategy for Flywheel Energy Storage System for Frequency Stability Improvement in Islanded Microgrid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Khodadoost Arani

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The Micro-Grid (MG stability is a significant issue that must be maintained in all operational modes. Usually, two control strategies can be applied to MG; V/f control and PQ control strategies. MGs with V/f control strategy should have some Distributed Generators (DGs which have fast responses versus load changes. The Flywheel Energy Storage System (FESS has this characteristic. The FESS, which converts the mechanical energy to electrical form, can generate electrical power or absorb the additional power in power systems or MGs. In this paper, the FESS structure modeled in detail and two control strategies (V/f and PQ control are applied for this application. In addition, in order to improve the MG frequency and voltage stability, two complementary controllers are proposed for the V/f control strategy; conventional PI and Fuzzy Controllers. A typical low voltage network, including FESS is simulated for four distinct scenarios in the MATLAB/ Simulink environment. It is shown that fuzzy controller has better performance than conventional PI controller in islanded microgrid.

  8. An improved energy aware distributed unequal clustering protocol for heterogeneous wireless sensor networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vrinda Gupta

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, an improved version of the energy aware distributed unequal clustering protocol (EADUC is projected. The EADUC protocol is commonly used for solving energy hole problem in multi-hop wireless sensor networks. In the EADUC, location of base station and residual energy are given importance as clustering parameters. Based on these parameters, different competition radii are assigned to nodes. Herein, a new approach has been proposed to improve the working of EADUC, by electing cluster heads considering number of nodes in the neighborhood in addition to the above two parameters. The inclusion of the neighborhood information for computation of the competition radii provides better balancing of energy in comparison with the existing approach. Furthermore, for the selection of next hop node, the relay metric is defined directly in terms of energy expense instead of only the distance information used in the EADUC and the data transmission phase has been extended in every round by performing the data collection number of times through use of major slots and mini-slots. The methodology used is of retaining the same clusters for a few rounds and is effective in reducing the clustering overhead. The performance of the proposed protocol has been evaluated under three different scenarios and compared with existing protocols through simulations. The results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the existing protocols in terms of network lifetime in all the scenarios.

  9. Process energy reduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lowthian, W.E.

    1993-01-01

    Process Energy Reduction (PER) is a demand-side energy reduction approach which complements and often supplants other traditional energy reduction methods such as conservation and heat recovery. Because the application of PER is less obvious than the traditional methods, it takes some time to learn the steps as well as practice to become proficient in its use. However, the benefit is significant, often far outweighing the traditional energy reduction approaches. Furthermore, the method usually results in a better process having less waste and pollution along with improved yields, increased capacity, and lower operating costs

  10. Design method of a power management strategy for variable battery capacities range-extended electric vehicles to improve energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du, Jiuyu; Chen, Jingfu; Song, Ziyou; Gao, Mingming; Ouyang, Minggao

    2017-01-01

    Energy management strategy and battery capacity are the primary factors for the energy efficiency of range-extended electric buses (REEBs). To improve the energy efficiency of REEBs developed by Tsinghua University, an optimal design method of global optimization-based strategy is investigated. It is real-time and adaptive to variable traction battery capacities of series REEBs. For simulation, the physical model of REEB and key components are established. The optimal strategy is first extracted by the power split ratio (PSR) from REEB simulation result with dynamic program (DP) algorithm. The power distribution map is obtained by series simulations for variable battery capacity options. The control law for developing optimal strategy are achieved by cluster regression for power distribution data. To verify the effect of the proposed energy management strategy, characteristics of powertrain, energy efficiency, operating cost, and computing time are ultimately analyzed. Simulation results show that the energy efficiency of the global optimization-based strategy presented in this paper is similar to that of the DP strategy. Therefore, the overall energy efficiency can be significantly improved compared with that of the CDCS strategy, and operating costs can be substantially reduced. The feasibility of candidate control strategies is thereby assessed via the employment of variable parameters. - Highlights: • Analysis method of powertrain energy efficiency and power distribution is proposed. • The power distribution rules of strategy with variable battery capacities are achieved. • The parametric method of proposed PSR-RB strategy is presented. • The energy efficiency of powertrain is analysis by flow analysis method. • The energy management strategy is global optimization-based and real-time.

  11. Driving Demand for Home Energy Improvements: Motivating residential customers to invest in comprehensive upgrades that eliminate energy waste, avoid high utility bills, and spur the economy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fuller, Merrian C.

    2010-09-20

    Policy makers and program designers in the U.S. and abroad are deeply concerned with the question of how to scale up energy efficiency to a level that is commensurate both to the scale of the energy and climate challenges we face, and to the potential for energy savings that has been touted for decades. When policy makers ask what energy efficiency can do, the answers usually revolve around the technical and economic potential of energy efficiency - they rarely hone in on the element of energy demand that matters most for changing energy usage in existing homes: the consumer. A growing literature is concerned with the behavioral underpinnings of energy consumption. We examine a narrower, related subject: How can millions of Americans be persuaded to divert valued time and resources into upgrading their homes to eliminate energy waste, avoid high utility bills, and spur the economy? With hundreds of millions of public dollars flowing into incentives, workforce training, and other initiatives to support comprehensive home energy improvements, it makes sense to review the history of these programs and begin gleaning best practices for encouraging comprehensive home energy improvements. Looking across 30 years of energy efficiency programs that targeted the residential market, many of the same issues that confronted past program administrators are relevant today: How do we cost-effectively motivate customers to take action? Who can we partner with to increase program participation? How do we get residential efficiency programs to scale? While there is no proven formula - and only limited success to date with reliably motivating large numbers of Americans to invest in comprehensive home energy improvements, especially if they are being asked to pay for a majority of the improvement costs - there is a rich and varied history of experiences that new programs can draw upon. Our primary audiences are policy makers and program designers - especially those that are relatively

  12. Identify: Improving industrial energy efficiency and mitigating global climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lazarus, M.; Hill, D.; Cornland, D.W.; Heaps, C.; Hippel, D. von; Williams, R.

    1997-01-01

    The use of energy in the industrial sectors of nations with both industrialized and developing economies will continue to be, a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly carbon dioxide. The patterns of industrial-sector energy use--energy provided primarily by the combustion of fossil fuels-have shifted both within the between countries in recent decades. Projections of future energy use and carbon-dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions suggest continued shifts in these patterns, as industrial production in developed countries stabilizes and declines, while industrial output in the developing world continues to expand. This expansion of industrial-sector activity and CO 2 emissions in developing countries presents both a challenge and an opportunity. To seize this opportunity and contribute to international efforts to mitigate global climate change, the United National Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) recently initiated a two-phase effort to help improve the efficiency of energy-intensive industries (iron and steel, chemicals, refining, paper and pulp, and cement) in developing countries. As part of the Phase I, the authors reviewed industrial sector scenarios and to initiated development of a software-based toolkit for identifying and assessing GHG mitigating technologies. This toolkit, called IDENTIFY, is comprised of a technology inventory and a companion economic analysis tool. In addition, UNIDO commissioned institutions in India, South Africa, and Argentina to review energy use patterns and savings opportunities in selected industries across nine developing countries, and contribute to the development of the IDENTIFY toolkit. UNIDO is now preparing to launch Phase 2, which will focus on full development and dissemination of the IDENTIFY toolkit through seminars and case studies around the world. This paper describes Phase 1 of the UNIDO project

  13. Improved Energy Recovery by Anaerobic Grey Water Sludge Treatment with Black Water

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tervahauta, T.H.; Bryant, I.M.; Hernandez Leal, L.; Buisman, C.J.N.; Zeeman, G.

    2014-01-01

    This study presents the potential of combining anaerobic grey water sludge treatment with black water in an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor to improve energy recovery within source-separated sanitation concepts. Black water and the mixture of black water and grey water sludge were

  14. A run-around heat exchanger system to improve the energy efficiency of a home appliance using hot water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Jae Sung; Jacobi, Anthony M.

    2009-01-01

    A significant portion of the energy consumed by many home appliances using hot water is used to heat cold supply water. Such home appliances generally are supplied water at a temperature lower than the ambient temperature, and the supply water is normally heated to its maximum operating temperature, often using natural gas or an electrical heater. In some cases, it is possible to pre-heat the supply water and save energy that would normally be consumed by the natural gas or electrical heater. In order to save the energy consumed by an appliance using water heater, a run-around heat exchanger system is used to transfer heat from the ambient to the water before an electrical heater is energized. A simple model to predict the performance of this system is developed and validated, and the model is used to explore design and operating issues relevant to the run-around heat exchanger system. Despite the additional power consumption by the fan and pump of the run-around heat exchanger system, the experimental data and analysis show that for some systems the overall energy efficiency of the appliance can be improved, saving about 6% of the energy used by the baseline machine.

  15. Improving energy productivity of sunflower production using data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avval, Seyed Hashem Mousavi; Rafiee, Shahin; Jafari, Ali; Mohammadi, Ali

    2011-08-15

    Efficient use of energy in agriculture is one of the conditions for sustainable agricultural production. This study applies the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to the data of 95 randomly selected farms to investigate the technical and scale efficiencies of farmers with respect to energy use for sunflower production in Golestan province, Iran. The study also helps to identify the wasteful usage and the optimum level of energy from different inputs. According to the results of DEA models, about 36% of farmers were found to be technically efficient and the mean efficiency of sunflower producers was found to be 0.87 and 0.96 under the constant and variable returns to scale assumptions respectively. The optimum energy requirement was calculated as 8448.3 MJ ha⁻¹; accordingly, a potential reduction of 10.8% (1020.3 MJ ha⁻¹) in total energy input could be achieved by raising the performance of farmers to the highest level. Applying a better machinery management technique and conservation tillage methods, application of fertilisers by performance monitoring and utilisation of alternative sources of energy such as compost and chopped residues may be the pathways for improving energy productivity and reducing the environmental footprint. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

  16. Significant improvement of optical traps by tuning standard water immersion objectives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reihani, S Nader S; Mir, Shahid A; Richardson, Andrew C; Oddershede, Lene B

    2011-01-01

    Focused infrared lasers are widely used for micromanipulation and visualization of biological specimens. An inherent practical problem is that off-the-shelf commercial microscope objectives are designed for use with visible and not infrared wavelengths. Less aberration is introduced by water immersion objectives than by oil immersion ones, however, even water immersion objectives induce significant aberration. We present a simple method to reduce the spherical aberration induced by water immersion objectives, namely by tuning the correction collar of the objective to a value that is ∼ 10% lower than the physical thickness of the coverslip. This results in marked improvements in optical trapping strengths of up to 100% laterally and 600% axially from a standard microscope objective designed for use in the visible range. The results are generally valid for any water immersion objective with any numerical aperture

  17. Low-energy extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT improves metaphyseal fracture healing in an osteoporotic rat model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gina A Mackert

    Full Text Available As result of the current demographic changes, osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures are becoming an increasing social and economic burden. In this experimental study, extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT, was evaluated as a treatment option for the improvement of osteoporotic fracture healing.A well-established fracture model in the metaphyseal tibia in the osteoporotic rat was used. 132 animals were divided into 11 groups, with 12 animals each, consisting of one sham-operated group and 10 ovariectomized (osteoporotic groups, of which 9 received ESWT treatment. Different energy flux intensities (0.15 mJ/mm2, 0.35 mJ/mm2, or 0.55 mJ/mm2 as well as different numbers of ESWT applications (once, three times, or five times throughout the 35-day healing period were applied to the osteoporotic fractures. Fracture healing was investigated quantitatively and qualitatively using micro-CT imaging, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR analysis, histomorphometric analysis and biomechanical analysis.The results of this study show a qualitative and quantitative improvement in the osteoporotic fracture healing under low-energy (energy flux intensity: 0,15 mJ/mm2 ESWT and with fewer treatment applications per healing period.In conclusion, low-energy ESWT seems to exhibit a beneficial effect on the healing of osteoporotic fractures, leading to improved biomechanical properties, enhanced callus-quantity and -quality, and an increase in the expression of bone specific transcription factors. The results suggest that low-energy ESWT, as main treatment or as adjunctive treatment in addition to a surgical intervention, may prove to be an effective, simple to use, and cost-efficient option for the qualitative and quantitative improvement of osteoporotic fracture healing.

  18. Do Energy Efficiency Standards Improve Quality? Evidence from a Revealed Preference Approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Houde, Sebastien [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Spurlock, C. Anna [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2015-06-01

    Minimum energy efficiency standards have occupied a central role in U.S. energy policy for more than three decades, but little is known about their welfare effects. In this paper, we employ a revealed preference approach to quantify the impact of past revisions in energy efficiency standards on product quality. The micro-foundation of our approach is a discrete choice model that allows us to compute a price-adjusted index of vertical quality. Focusing on the appliance market, we show that several standard revisions during the period 2001-2011 have led to an increase in quality. We also show that these standards have had a modest effect on prices, and in some cases they even led to decreases in prices. For revision events where overall quality increases and prices decrease, the consumer welfare effect of tightening the standards is unambiguously positive. Finally, we show that after controlling for the effect of improvement in energy efficiency, standards have induced an expansion of quality in the non-energy dimension. We discuss how imperfect competition can rationalize these results.

  19. Focused R&D For Electrochromic Smart Windowsa: Significant Performance and Yield Enhancements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mark Burdis; Neil Sbar

    2003-01-31

    There is a need to improve the energy efficiency of building envelopes as they are the primary factor governing the heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation requirements of buildings--influencing 53% of building energy use. In particular, windows contribute significantly to the overall energy performance of building envelopes, thus there is a need to develop advanced energy efficient window and glazing systems. Electrochromic (EC) windows represent the next generation of advanced glazing technology that will (1) reduce the energy consumed in buildings, (2) improve the overall comfort of the building occupants, and (3) improve the thermal performance of the building envelope. ''Switchable'' EC windows provide, on demand, dynamic control of visible light, solar heat gain, and glare without blocking the view. As exterior light levels change, the window's performance can be electronically adjusted to suit conditions. A schematic illustrating how SageGlass{reg_sign} electrochromic windows work is shown in Figure I.1. SageGlass{reg_sign} EC glazings offer the potential to save cooling and lighting costs, with the added benefit of improving thermal and visual comfort. Control over solar heat gain will also result in the use of smaller HVAC equipment. If a step change in the energy efficiency and performance of buildings is to be achieved, there is a clear need to bring EC technology to the marketplace. This project addresses accelerating the widespread introduction of EC windows in buildings and thus maximizing total energy savings in the U.S. and worldwide. We report on R&D activities to improve the optical performance needed to broadly penetrate the full range of architectural markets. Also, processing enhancements have been implemented to reduce manufacturing costs. Finally, tests are being conducted to demonstrate the durability of the EC device and the dual pane insulating glass unit (IGU) to be at least equal to that of conventional

  20. Prior-knowledge-independent equalization to improve battery uniformity with energy efficiency and time efficiency for lithium-ion battery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Shumei; Qiang, Jiaxi; Yang, Lin; Zhao, Xiaowei

    2016-01-01

    To improve battery uniformity as well as energy efficiency and time efficiency, a SOC (state of charge)-based equalization by AGA (adaptive genetic algorithm) is proposed on basis of two-stage DC/DC converters. The simulation results indicate that compared with FLC (fuzzy logic controller) equalization, the standard deviation of final SOC is improved by 78.7% while energy efficiency is improved by 6.01% and equalization time is decreased by 20% for AGA equalization of extreme dispersion. Additionally, AGA improves the battery uniformity by 30.77% with shortening equalization time by 16.29% and saving energy loss by 1.51% compared with FLC for equalization of regular dispersion. For further validation, the equalization optimization is verified by experiment based on the data-driven parameter identification method which is used to enhance the real-time capability of AGA. For AGA equalization of extreme dispersion, the standard deviation of final SOC is just 0.41% while equalization time prolongs only 14 min and energy efficiency is decreased by 0.81% compared with simulation results. Moreover, not only the standard deviation of final SOC is just 0.28% but also the energy efficiency is decreased by 0.69% and equalization time prolongs by 10.4 min compared with the simulation results for equalization of regular dispersion. - Highlights: • Issues of over equalization, time consumption and energy loss are addressed. • A SOC-based equalization is proposed based on adaptive genetic algorithm. • The equalization aims to improve battery uniformity, efficiency of energy and time. • Data-driven parameter identification is used to enhance the real-time capability.

  1. Improving Energy Efficiency of Micro-Networks Connected to a Smart Grid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grzegorz Błajszczak

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Technological development of distribution and transmission grids and building a so called smart grid also enable improving the efficiency of microgrids and microgenerators. Better coordination and scheduling of microgenerators operation make more effective adjustment to local conditions and achieving better overall energy efficiency possible. Due to smart communication interfaces the microgrids and microgenerators can also contribute to ancillary services.

  2. Improving the energy performance of historic buildings with architectural and cultural values

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Ernst Jan de Place

    2017-01-01

    The thermal performance of solid walls of historic buildings can be improved by external or internal insulation. External insulation is preferred from a technical perspective, but is often disregarded as many such buildings have architectural or cultural values leaving internal insulation.......g. improvement of thermal indoor climate. The paper discusses different motivating factors for improving the thermal performance of solid walls in historic buildings with architectural and cultural values. It is argued that internal insulation, provided that it can be done without resulting in critical moisture...... as the only possible solution. As internal insulation is considered a risky way of improving the thermal performance from a moisture perspective, technically feasible solutions are needed. Further, other arguments than energy saving could convince a building owner to carry out internal insulation, e...

  3. An Improved Genetic Algorithm for Optimal Stationary Energy Storage System Locating and Sizing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Wang

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The application of a stationary ultra-capacitor energy storage system (ESS in urban rail transit allows for the recuperation of vehicle braking energy for increasing energy savings as well as for a better vehicle voltage profile. This paper aims to obtain the best energy savings and voltage profile by optimizing the location and size of ultra-capacitors. This paper firstly raises the optimization objective functions from the perspectives of energy savings, regenerative braking cancellation and installation cost, respectively. Then, proper mathematical models of the DC (direct current traction power supply system are established to simulate the electrical load-flow of the traction supply network, and the optimization objections are evaluated in the example of a Chinese metro line. Ultimately, a methodology for optimal ultra-capacitor energy storage system locating and sizing is put forward based on the improved genetic algorithm. The optimized result shows that certain preferable and compromised schemes of ESSs’ location and size can be obtained, acting as a compromise between satisfying better energy savings, voltage profile and lower installation cost.

  4. Rational Formations of a Metro Train Improve Its Efficiencies of Both Traction Energy Utilization and Passenger Transport

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuesong Feng

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Based on simulations of passenger transports of two representative types of metro trains in China, this study analyzes efficiencies of energy consumption and passenger transport of a metro train in the effect of its target speed, formation scale (FS (i.e., length and mass of the formation, relative traction capacity (RTC (i.e., ratio of the motoring cars to all its cars, and so forth. It is found that increasing energy cost efficiency of a metro train with decreasing its target speed is evidently accelerated with reducing its RTC below 0.50 at the expense of obviously lowering its passenger transport efficiency. Moreover, if the passenger capacity of the train is sufficiently utilized, increasing its FS for the same RTC is easy to have its passenger transport efficiency improved significantly even for a meanwhile much decreased target speed with consuming energy less intensively. Therefore, metro trains in peak hours may take comparatively big FSs, relatively high target speeds, and RTCs over 0.50 to meet usually urgent and large-scale travel demands in such time. In contrast, trains in nonpeak hours ought to have small FSs, relatively low target speeds, and RTCs smaller than 0.50 for mainly avoiding energy waste.

  5. Forecasting of CO2 emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in China using an improved grey model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pao, Hsiao-Tien; Fu, Hsin-Chia; Tseng, Cheng-Lung

    2012-01-01

    Analyses and forecasts of carbon emissions, energy consumption and real outputs are key requirements for clean energy economy and climate change in rapid growth market such as China. This paper employs the nonlinear grey Bernoulli model (NGBM) to predict these three indicators and proposes a numerical iterative method to optimize the parameter of NGBM. The forecasting ability of NGBM with optimal parameter model, namely NGBM−OP has remarkably improved, compared to the GM and ARIMA. The MAPEs of NGBM−OP for out-of-sample (2004–2009) are ranging from 1.10 to 6.26. The prediction results show that China’s compound annual emissions, energy consumption and real GDP growth is set to 4.47%, −0.06% and 6.67%, respectively between 2011 and 2020. The co-integration results show that the long-run equilibrium relationship exists among these three indicators and emissions appear to be real output inelastic and energy consumption elastic. The estimated values cannot support an EKC hypothesis, and real output is significantly negative impact on emissions. In order to promote economic and environmental quality, the results suggest that China should adopt the dual strategy of increasing energy efficiency, reducing the loss in power transmission and distribution and stepping up energy conservation policies to reduce any unnecessary wastage of energy. -- Highlights: ► The proposed NGBM-OP has a strong forecasting ability with MAPEs less than 6.3%. ► The NGBM-OP is applied to predict emissions, energy and output during 2009–2020. ► Prediction results show China will actively conserve resources and protect the environment. ► The long-run equilibrium relationship exists between emissions, energy and output. ► Emissions appear to be output inelastic and energy consumption elastic.

  6. Thermosensitive Hydrogel Mask Significantly Improves Skin Moisture and Skin Tone; Bilateral Clinical Trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Quattrone

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective: A temperature-sensitive state-changing hydrogel mask was used in this study. Once it comes into contact with the skin and reaches the body temperature, it uniformly and quickly releases the active compounds, which possess moisturizing, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and regenerative properties. Methods: An open label clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of the test product on skin hydration, skin tone and skin ageing. Subjects applied the product to one side of their face and underwent Corneometer® and Chromameter measurements, Visual assessment of facial skin ageing and facial photography. All assessments and Self-Perception Questionnaires (SPQ were performed at baseline, after the first application of the test product and after four applications. Results: After a single treatment we observed an increase in skin moisturisation, an improvement of skin tone/luminosity and a reduction in signs of ageing, all statistically significant. After four applications a further improvement in all measured parameters was recorded. These results were confirmed by the subjects’ own perceptions, as reported in the SPQ both after one and four applications. Conclusion: The hydrogel mask tested in this study is very effective in improving skin hydration, skin radiance and luminosity, in encouraging an even skin tone and in reducing skin pigmentation.

  7. Mobile energy recording unit - the basis to improve energy productivity with principles of lean production; Mobile Energie-Erfassungseinheit (MobEE). Eine Grundlage zur Steigerung der Energieproduktivitaet auf Basis von Lean Production Prinzipien

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schnellbach, Peter [Fraunhofer IWU, Augsburg (Germany). Projektgruppe fuer Ressourceneffiziente mechatronische Verarbeitungsmaschinen; Beisbart, Ulrich [BMW Group, Muenchen (Germany). Abt. Steuerung Facility Management, Energie, Mobilitaet, Dienstleistungsmanagement; Reinhardt, Gunther [Technische Univ. Muenchen (Germany). Inst. fuer Werkzeugmaschinen und Betriebswissenschaften; RMV Augsburg (Germany). IWU Projektguppe; Schneider, Oliver

    2012-10-15

    Improvement of energy productivity in production processes will become more important in future. As one large customer, manufacturing industry has to take responsibility to make its contribution in this field. The mobile energy recording unit helps to create the necessary transparency to identify possible energy savings on the basis of lean production principles.

  8. METHODS FOR IMPROVING THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF WELL ROD PUMP UNITS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BRUNMAN1 Vladimir E.

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The concept of oil production energy efficiency improvement of good rod pumps by utilization of kinetic energy of the downward moving rod in capacitor bank is proposed. A mathematical model of the system is developed. Criteria of reduction of the peak values of current, consuming power and elimination of oscillations are obtained. It is shown that the developed system is capable of reducing the consumption of current twice and the peak power by three times. Thus it is possible to reduce operational and capital costs by reducing the cross-section of the feeder cables and decreasing the power of input transformers and diesel generator set if autonomous feeding of pumping units is used

  9. Large-scale Manufacturing of Nanoparticulate-based Lubrication Additives for Improved Energy Efficiency and Reduced Emissions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Erdemir, Ali [Argonne National Laboratory

    2013-09-26

    gas emissions was also a major reason. The transportation sector alone consumes about 13 million barrels of crude oil per day (nearly 60% of which is imported) and is responsible for about 30% of the CO{sub 2} emission. When we consider manufacturing and other energy-intensive industrial processes, the amount of petroleum being consumed due to friction and wear reaches more than 20 million barrels per day (from official energy statistics, U.S. Energy Information Administration). Frequent remanufacturing and/or replacement of worn parts due to friction-, wear-, and scuffing-related degradations also consume significant amounts of energy and give rise to additional CO{sub 2} emission. Overall, the total annual cost of friction- and wear-related energy and material losses is estimated to be rather significant (i.e., as much as 5% of the gross national products of highly industrialized nations). It is projected that more than half of the total friction- and wear-related energy losses can be recovered by developing and implementing advanced friction and wear control technologies. In transportation vehicles alone, 10% to 15% of the fuel energy is spent to overcome friction. If we can cut down the friction- and wear-related energy losses by half, then we can potentially save up to 1.5 million barrels of petroleum per day. Also, less friction and wear would mean less energy consumption as well as less carbon emissions and hazardous byproducts being generated and released to the environment. New and more robust anti-friction and -wear control technologies may thus have a significant positive impact on improving the efficiency and environmental cleanliness of the current legacy fleet and future transportation systems. Effective control of friction in other industrial sectors such as manufacturing, power generation, mining and oil exploration, and agricultural and earthmoving machinery may bring more energy savings. Therefore, this project was timely and responsive to the energy

  10. Efficient Use of Geothermal Energy in Spas - Call for Improvements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Straka, W.; Ponweiser, K.; Gollob, K.; Götzl, G.; Schneider, J. F.

    2009-04-01

    European partners contributed to the attempt to develop the energy flow calculation model designed for said spa into a numerical planning tool with broad applicability to other technical boundary conditions. This aim could not yet be fully achieved with the given means, by virtue of the fact that huge differences exist among spas, regarding technical design (sometimes accumulations of ad-hoc solutions to past technical problems) as well as characteristic energy demand of the various functional units of the investigated facilities. What could be achieved, though, was a better understanding how the communication between clients and consultants shall be conducted and what steps have to be taken in order to reach the original goal in a subsequent project. Furthermore, it was the ideational aim of our work to set up a network of established players, capable of influencing national developments, and make it a proponent of the envisaged improvements in their home countries and beyond. Among the recommended measures to improve on the energy management of existing thermal spas, on the one hand, there are those that only specialized knowledge can reveal or the proper application of which only painstaking monitoring and calculation can ascertain and which, therefore, will not easily be at the hand of many planners. These include, for example, combining geothermal heat with advanced heating technology (gas condensing boiler, cogeneration plant) for peak load conditions, deciding on the kind of advanced technology to be used (condensing boiler or cogeneration plus heat pump), making consistent said technology with the temperature control system (e.g. substitution of bypass design of heat exchanger control by volume flow control); introducing solar energy, in particular, has to be carefully designed. On the other hand, there are some improvements to be called for, which are meaningful and applicable even as belated additions, and in cases would, on top of this, be obvious to most non

  11. Surface energy and radiation balance systems - General description and improvements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fritschen, Leo J.; Simpson, James R.

    1989-01-01

    Surface evaluation of sensible and latent heat flux densities and the components of the radiation balance were desired for various vegetative surfaces during the ASCOT84 experiment to compare with modeled results and to relate these values to drainage winds. Five battery operated data systems equipped with sensors to determine the above values were operated for 105 station days during the ASCOT84 experiment. The Bowen ratio energy balance technique was used to partition the available energy into the sensible and latent heat flux densities. A description of the sensors and battery operated equipment used to collect and process the data is presented. In addition, improvements and modifications made since the 1984 experiment are given. Details of calculations of soil heat flow at the surface and an alternate method to calculate sensible and latent heat flux densities are provided.

  12. Improving the energy efficiency of sparse linear system solvers on multicore and manycore systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anzt, H; Quintana-Ortí, E S

    2014-06-28

    While most recent breakthroughs in scientific research rely on complex simulations carried out in large-scale supercomputers, the power draft and energy spent for this purpose is increasingly becoming a limiting factor to this trend. In this paper, we provide an overview of the current status in energy-efficient scientific computing by reviewing different technologies used to monitor power draft as well as power- and energy-saving mechanisms available in commodity hardware. For the particular domain of sparse linear algebra, we analyse the energy efficiency of a broad collection of hardware architectures and investigate how algorithmic and implementation modifications can improve the energy performance of sparse linear system solvers, without negatively impacting their performance. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  13. Overheating and Insufficient Heating Problems in Low Energy Houses up to Now Call for Improvements in Future

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Tine Steen

    2011-01-01

    Requirements for improved energy performance have shifted major focus on energy calculations in the design process. Experience from a Danish research project on low energy homes built today, shows that more attention has to be paid on indoor climate and specially temperature control issues...

  14. Replica Exchange Gaussian Accelerated Molecular Dynamics: Improved Enhanced Sampling and Free Energy Calculation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yu-Ming M; McCammon, J Andrew; Miao, Yinglong

    2018-04-10

    Through adding a harmonic boost potential to smooth the system potential energy surface, Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics (GaMD) provides enhanced sampling and free energy calculation of biomolecules without the need of predefined reaction coordinates. This work continues to improve the acceleration power and energy reweighting of the GaMD by combining the GaMD with replica exchange algorithms. Two versions of replica exchange GaMD (rex-GaMD) are presented: force constant rex-GaMD and threshold energy rex-GaMD. During simulations of force constant rex-GaMD, the boost potential can be exchanged between replicas of different harmonic force constants with fixed threshold energy. However, the algorithm of threshold energy rex-GaMD tends to switch the threshold energy between lower and upper bounds for generating different levels of boost potential. Testing simulations on three model systems, including the alanine dipeptide, chignolin, and HIV protease, demonstrate that through continuous exchanges of the boost potential, the rex-GaMD simulations not only enhance the conformational transitions of the systems but also narrow down the distribution width of the applied boost potential for accurate energetic reweighting to recover biomolecular free energy profiles.

  15. Improving regulatory effectiveness in Federal/State siting actions. State perspectives on energy facility siting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stevens, D.W.; Helminski, E.L.

    1978-03-01

    The National Governors' Association, through its Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Management, has been concerned with the growing administrative difficulties, both at the federal and state levels, of certifying sites for new major energy facilities. This concern led, early in 1977, to the creation of a Subcommittee on Energy Facility Siting to comprehensively analyze current conditions and determine how basic improvements might be made to the process. The report is meant to further clarify the issues that confront States and the Federal government in the siting of energy facilities

  16. Energy Management Programmes for Industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-09-05

    The IEA Policy Pathway publications provide details on how to implement specific recommendations drawn from the IEA 25 Energy Efficiency Policy Recommendations. This Policy Pathway, jointly produced by the International Energy Agency and the Institute for Industrial Productivity, develops the critical steps for policy makers implementing energy management programmes for industry. Optimising energy use in industry is essential to improve industrial competitiveness and achieve wider societal goals such as energy security, economic recovery and development, climate change mitigation and environmental protection. While there is significant potential to decrease energy consumption in this sector, opportunities to improve energy efficiency are still under-exploited. Energy management programmes have shown to be instrumental in addressing many of the barriers that inhibit wide-scale uptake of energy management in industry. The Policy Pathway builds on lessons learned from country experiences and provides actionable guidance on how to plan and design, implement, evaluate and monitor energy management programmes for industry.

  17. Leucine supplementation improves acquired growth hormone resistance in rats with protein-energy malnutrition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Xuejin; Tian, Feng; Wang, Xinying; Zhao, Jie; Wan, Xiao; Zhang, Li; Wu, Chao; Li, Ning; Li, Jieshou

    2015-01-01

    Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) can lead to growth hormone (GH) resistance. Leucine supplementation diets have been shown to increase protein synthesis in muscles. Our study aimed at investigating if long-term leucine supplementation could modulate GH-insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 system function and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)-related signal transduction in skeletal muscles in a rat model of severe malnutrition. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 50; weight, 302 ± 5 g) were divided into 5 treatment groups, including 2 control groups (a normal control group that was fed chow and ad libitum water [CON, n = 10] and a malnourished control group [MC, n = 10] that was fed a 50% chow diet). After undergoing a weight loss stage for 4 weeks, rats received either the chow diet (MC-CON, n = 10), the chow diet supplemented with low-dose leucine (MC-L, n = 10), or the chow diet supplemented with high-dose leucine (MC-H, n = 10) for 2 weeks. The muscle masses of the gastrocnemius, soleus, and extensor digitorum longus were significantly reduced in the MC group. Re-feeding increased muscle mass, especially in the MC-L and MC-H groups. In the MC group, serum IGF-1, IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)-3, and hepatic growth hormone receptor (GHR) levels were significantly decreased and phosphorylation of the downstream anabolic signaling effectors protein kinase B (Akt), mTOR, and ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (S6K1) were significantly lower than in other groups. However, serum IGF-1 and IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-3 concentrations and hepatic growth hormone receptor (GHR) levels were significantly higher in the MC-L and MC-H groups than in the MC-CON group, and serum IGFBP-1 levels was significantly reduced in the MC-L and MC-H groups. These changes were consistent with those observed for hepatic mRNA expression levels. Phosphorylation of the downstream anabolic signaling effectors Akt, mTOR, and S6K1 were also significantly higher in the MC-L and MC-H groups than in the MC

  18. G20 Clean Energy, and Energy Efficiency Deployment and Policy Progress

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2011-07-01

    G-20 Clean Energy, and Energy Efficiency Deployment and Policy Progress, a report prepared by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in collaboration with the G-20 Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Working Group, provides an overview of clean energy and energy efficiency technology deployment and summarises support policies in place across G-20 countries. The report highlights that while clean energy technology deployment has made steady progress and energy efficiency improvements have been made, continued reliance on fossil fuels to meet growth in global energy demand presents a significant challenge. Scaling-up the deployment of renewable energy, in addition to improving end-use efficiency, enhancing the efficiency of fossil fuel based power generation, and supporting the widespread deployment of CCS will, therefore, also be crucial aspects of the transition to a cleaner energy future. Because the G-20 group of countries represent close to 80% of energy-related CO2 emissions, by developing and deploying energy efficiency and clean energy technologies, they are presented with a unique opportunity to make collective progress in transitioning the global energy system. IEA Deputy Executive Director Richard Jones emphasised the importance of G-20 efforts, saying, 'The IEA welcomes this important collaboration with the G-20. Enhanced deployment of clean energy technologies and of energy efficiency improvements offers energy security and environmental benefits. It will also enable cost savings over the medium and long term -- an aspect that is particularly relevant at a time of economic uncertainty. We believe that enhanced policy assessment and analysis, building on this initial report, will enable governments to take more cost effective and efficient policy decisions.' This report was issued on the authority of the IEA Executive Director, it does not necessarily represent the views of IEA Member countries or the G20.

  19. G20 Clean Energy, and Energy Efficiency Deployment and Policy Progress

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2011-07-01

    G-20 Clean Energy, and Energy Efficiency Deployment and Policy Progress, a report prepared by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in collaboration with the G-20 Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Working Group, provides an overview of clean energy and energy efficiency technology deployment and summarises support policies in place across G-20 countries. The report highlights that while clean energy technology deployment has made steady progress and energy efficiency improvements have been made, continued reliance on fossil fuels to meet growth in global energy demand presents a significant challenge. Scaling-up the deployment of renewable energy, in addition to improving end-use efficiency, enhancing the efficiency of fossil fuel based power generation, and supporting the widespread deployment of CCS will, therefore, also be crucial aspects of the transition to a cleaner energy future. Because the G-20 group of countries represent close to 80% of energy-related CO2 emissions, by developing and deploying energy efficiency and clean energy technologies, they are presented with a unique opportunity to make collective progress in transitioning the global energy system. IEA Deputy Executive Director Richard Jones emphasised the importance of G-20 efforts, saying, 'The IEA welcomes this important collaboration with the G-20. Enhanced deployment of clean energy technologies and of energy efficiency improvements offers energy security and environmental benefits. It will also enable cost savings over the medium and long term -- an aspect that is particularly relevant at a time of economic uncertainty. We believe that enhanced policy assessment and analysis, building on this initial report, will enable governments to take more cost effective and efficient policy decisions.' This report was issued on the authority of the IEA Executive Director, it does not necessarily represent the views of IEA Member countries or the G20.

  20. Infrastructure improvement project for rationalization of international energy use. Survey project on energy conservation in chief industries in ASEAN countries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-03-01

    With objectives to understand ASEAN countries for their current situation in energy consumption in the typical factories and businesses in their chief industries, prepare appropriate advices on energy saving methods, and establish energy inspection means, surveys were carried out working with experts in the ASEAN countries. In the workshop held in Singapore in November 2000, the textile factory, Arab-Malaysia Development Berhad was selected for Malaysia, on which the survey was performed from January 15 through 19, 2001. Energy saving proposals were submitted based on the survey results. For Indonesia, the paper and pulp mill, P.T. Kertas Leces (Persoro) Pulp Paper Mill was selected, on which the survey was performed from January 22 through 26, 2001. Based on the survey results, the energy saving means and their effects, necessary investment amount, and amortization period were prepared. For Brunei, the cement factory, Butra Djajanti Cement SDN BHD was surveyed, whereas improvements of the facilities were proposed. (NEDO)

  1. Relative significance of heat transfer processes to quantify tradeoffs between complexity and accuracy of energy simulations with a building energy use patterns classification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heidarinejad, Mohammad

    This dissertation develops rapid and accurate building energy simulations based on a building classification that identifies and focuses modeling efforts on most significant heat transfer processes. The building classification identifies energy use patterns and their contributing parameters for a portfolio of buildings. The dissertation hypothesis is "Building classification can provide minimal required inputs for rapid and accurate energy simulations for a large number of buildings". The critical literature review indicated there is lack of studies to (1) Consider synoptic point of view rather than the case study approach, (2) Analyze influence of different granularities of energy use, (3) Identify key variables based on the heat transfer processes, and (4) Automate the procedure to quantify model complexity with accuracy. Therefore, three dissertation objectives are designed to test out the dissertation hypothesis: (1) Develop different classes of buildings based on their energy use patterns, (2) Develop different building energy simulation approaches for the identified classes of buildings to quantify tradeoffs between model accuracy and complexity, (3) Demonstrate building simulation approaches for case studies. Penn State's and Harvard's campus buildings as well as high performance LEED NC office buildings are test beds for this study to develop different classes of buildings. The campus buildings include detailed chilled water, electricity, and steam data, enabling to classify buildings into externally-load, internally-load, or mixed-load dominated. The energy use of the internally-load buildings is primarily a function of the internal loads and their schedules. Externally-load dominated buildings tend to have an energy use pattern that is a function of building construction materials and outdoor weather conditions. However, most of the commercial medium-sized office buildings have a mixed-load pattern, meaning the HVAC system and operation schedule dictate

  2. Significantly Elevated Dielectric and Energy Storage Traits in Boron Nitride Filled Polymer Nano-composites with Topological Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Yefeng; Zhang, Jianxiong; Hu, Jianbing; Li, Shichun; Peng, Cheng

    2018-03-01

    Interface induced polarization has a prominent influence on dielectric properties of 0-3 type polymer based composites containing Si-based semi-conductors. The disadvantages of composites were higher dielectric loss, lower breakdown strength and energy storage density, although higher permittivity was achieved. In this work, dielectric, conductive, breakdown and energy storage properties of four nano-composites have been researched. Based on the cooperation of fluoropolymer/alpha-SiC layer and fluoropolymer/hexagonal-BN layer, it was confirmed constructing the heterogeneous layer-by-layer composite structure rather than homogeneous mono-layer structure could significantly reduce dielectric loss, promote breakdown strength and increase energy storage density. The former worked for a larger dielectric response and the latter layer acted as a robust barrier of charge carrier transfer. The best nano-composite could possess a permittivity of 43@100 Hz ( 3.3 times of polymer), loss of 0.07@100 Hz ( 37% of polymer), discharged energy density of 2.23 J/cm3@249 kV/cm ( 10 times of polymer) and discharged energy efficiency of 54%@249 kV/cm ( 5 times of polymer). This work might enlighten a facile route to achieve the promising high energy storage composite dielectrics by constructing the layer-by-layer topological structure.

  3. An overview of the United States Department of Energy plant lifetime improvement program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosinski, S.T.; Clauss, J.M.; Harrison, D.L.

    1993-01-01

    Today, 109 nuclear power plants provide over 20 percent of the electrical energy generated in the US. The operating license of the first of these plants will expire in the year 2000; one third of the operating licenses will expire by 2010 and the remaining plant licenses are scheduled to expire by 2033. The National Energy Strategy assumes that 70 percent of these plants will continue to operate beyond their current license expiration to assist in ensuring an adequate, diverse, and environmentally acceptable energy supply for economic growth. In order to preserve this energy resource in the US three major tasks must be successfully completed: (1) establishment of the regulations, technical standards, and procedures for the preparation and review of a license renewal application; (2) development, verification, and validation of the various technical criteria and bases for needed monitoring, refurbishment, or replacement of plant equipment; and (3) demonstration of the regulatory process. Since 1985, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has been working with the nuclear industry and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to establish and demonstrate the option to extend the life of nuclear power plants through the renewal of operating licenses. This paper focuses primarily on DOE's Plant Lifetime Improvement (PLIM) Program efforts to develop the technical criteria and bases for effective aging management and lifetime improvement for continued operation of nuclear power plants. This paper describes current projects to resolve generic technical issues, including degradation of long-lived components, reactor pressure vessel (RPV) embrittlement management approaches, and analytical methodologies to characterize RPV integrity

  4. A Metamaterial-Inspired Approach to RF Energy Harvesting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fowler, Clayton; Zhou, Jiangfeng

    2016-03-01

    We demonstrate an RF energy harvesting rectenna design based on a metamaterial perfect absorber (MPA). With the embedded Schottky diodes, the rectenna converts captured RF energy to DC currents. The Fabry-Perot cavity resonance of the MPA greatly improves the amount of energy captured and hence improves the rectification efficiency. Furthermore, the FP resonance exhibits a high Q-factor and significantly increases the voltage across the Schottky diodes. This leads to a factor of 16 improvement of RF-DC conversion efficiency at ambient intensity level.

  5. Energy Cooperation in Ultradense Network Powered by Renewable Energy Based on Cluster and Learning Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunhong Duo

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available A new method about renewable energy cooperation among small base stations (SBSs is proposed, which is for maximizing the energy efficiency in ultradense network (UDN. In UDN each SBS is equipped with energy harvesting (EH unit, and the energy arrival times are modeled as a Poisson counting process. Firstly, SBSs of large traffic demands are selected as the clustering centers, and then all SBSs are clustered using dynamic k-means algorithm. Secondly, SBSs coordinate their renewable energy within each formed cluster. The process of energy cooperation among SBSs is considered as Markov decision process. Q-learning algorithm is utilized to optimize energy cooperation. In the algorithm there are four different actions and their corresponding reward functions. Q-learning explores the action as much as possible and predicts better action by calculating reward. In addition, ε greedy policy is used to ensure the algorithm convergence. Finally, simulation results show that the new method reduces data dimension and improves calculation speed, which furthermore improves the utilization of renewable energy and promotes the performance of UDN. Through online optimization, the proposed method can significantly improve the energy utilization rate and data transmission rate.

  6. Identify: Improving industrial energy efficiency and mitigating global climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lazarus, M.; Hill, D.; Cornland, D.W.; Heaps, C.; Hippel, D. von; Williams, R.

    1997-07-01

    The use of energy in the industrial sectors of nations with both industrialized and developing economies will continue to be, a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly carbon dioxide. The patterns of industrial-sector energy use--energy provided primarily by the combustion of fossil fuels-have shifted both within the between countries in recent decades. Projections of future energy use and carbon-dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions suggest continued shifts in these patterns, as industrial production in developed countries stabilizes and declines, while industrial output in the developing world continues to expand. This expansion of industrial-sector activity and CO{sub 2} emissions in developing countries presents both a challenge and an opportunity. To seize this opportunity and contribute to international efforts to mitigate global climate change, the United National Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) recently initiated a two-phase effort to help improve the efficiency of energy-intensive industries (iron and steel, chemicals, refining, paper and pulp, and cement) in developing countries. As part of the Phase I, the authors reviewed industrial sector scenarios and to initiated development of a software-based toolkit for identifying and assessing GHG mitigating technologies. This toolkit, called IDENTIFY, is comprised of a technology inventory and a companion economic analysis tool. In addition, UNIDO commissioned institutions in India, South Africa, and Argentina to review energy use patterns and savings opportunities in selected industries across nine developing countries, and contribute to the development of the IDENTIFY toolkit. UNIDO is now preparing to launch Phase 2, which will focus on full development and dissemination of the IDENTIFY toolkit through seminars and case studies around the world. This paper describes Phase 1 of the UNIDO project.

  7. Joint Optimized CPU and Networking Control Scheme for Improved Energy Efficiency in Video Streaming on Mobile Devices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung-Woong Jo

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Video streaming service is one of the most popular applications for mobile users. However, mobile video streaming services consume a lot of energy, resulting in a reduced battery life. This is a critical problem that results in a degraded user’s quality of experience (QoE. Therefore, in this paper, a joint optimization scheme that controls both the central processing unit (CPU and wireless networking of the video streaming process for improved energy efficiency on mobile devices is proposed. For this purpose, the energy consumption of the network interface and CPU is analyzed, and based on the energy consumption profile a joint optimization problem is formulated to maximize the energy efficiency of the mobile device. The proposed algorithm adaptively adjusts the number of chunks to be downloaded and decoded in each packet. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively improve the energy efficiency when compared with the existing algorithms.

  8. SMES [Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage] systems applications to improve quality service

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Esteban, P.; Gutierrez-Iglesias, J.L. [ASINEL (Spain); Bautista, A. [IBERDROLA (Spain); Rodriguez, J.M.; Urretavizcaya, E. [Red Electrica de Espana (Spain)

    1997-12-31

    This article presents the contribution of SMES (Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage) systems to improvement quality of service, either as a mitigating element or as a power support for critical loads. It also describes these systems and its operation. Finally, a description is shown of the state of the art of this technology in Spain, as developed until now in the AMAS500 project. (Author)

  9. Boise, Idaho: Improving Air Quality through Alternative Fuels & Reduced Vehicular Travel (City Energy: From Data to Decisions)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Strategic Priorities and Impact Analysis Team, Office of Strategic Programs

    2017-11-01

    This fact sheet "Boise, Idaho: Improving Air Quality through Alternative Fuels & Reduced Vehicular Travel" explains how the City of Boise used data from the U.S. Department of Energy's Cities Leading through Energy Analysis and Planning (Cities-LEAP) and the State and Local Energy Data (SLED) programs to inform its city energy planning. It is one of ten fact sheets in the "City Energy: From Data to Decisions" series.

  10. An improved market penetration model for wind energy technology forecasting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lund, P.D.

    1995-01-01

    An improved market penetration model with application to wind energy forecasting is presented. In the model, a technology diffusion model and manufacturing learning curve are combined. Based on a 85% progress ratio that was found for European wind manufactures and on wind market statistics, an additional wind power capacity of ca 4 GW is needed in Europe to reach a 30 % price reduction. A full breakthrough to low-cost utility bulk power markets could be achieved at a 24 GW level. (author)

  11. An improved market penetration model for wind energy technology forecasting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lund, P D [Helsinki Univ. of Technology, Espoo (Finland). Advanced Energy Systems

    1996-12-31

    An improved market penetration model with application to wind energy forecasting is presented. In the model, a technology diffusion model and manufacturing learning curve are combined. Based on a 85% progress ratio that was found for European wind manufactures and on wind market statistics, an additional wind power capacity of ca 4 GW is needed in Europe to reach a 30 % price reduction. A full breakthrough to low-cost utility bulk power markets could be achieved at a 24 GW level. (author)

  12. An improved market penetration model for wind energy technology forecasting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lund, P.D. [Helsinki Univ. of Technology, Espoo (Finland). Advanced Energy Systems

    1995-12-31

    An improved market penetration model with application to wind energy forecasting is presented. In the model, a technology diffusion model and manufacturing learning curve are combined. Based on a 85% progress ratio that was found for European wind manufactures and on wind market statistics, an additional wind power capacity of ca 4 GW is needed in Europe to reach a 30 % price reduction. A full breakthrough to low-cost utility bulk power markets could be achieved at a 24 GW level. (author)

  13. Development of a new energy benchmark for improving the operational rating system of office buildings using various data-mining techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Hyo Seon; Lee, Minhyun; Kang, Hyuna; Hong, Taehoon; Jeong, Jaewook

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • This study developed a new energy benchmark for office buildings. • Correlation analysis, decision tree, and analysis of variance were used. • The data from 1072 office buildings in South Korea were used. • As a result, six types of energy benchmarks for office buildings were developed. • The operational rating system can be improved by using the new energy benchmark. - Abstract: As improving energy efficiency in buildings has become a global issue today, many countries have adopted the operational rating system to evaluate the energy performance of a building based on the actual energy consumption. A rational and reasonable energy benchmark can be used in the operational rating system to evaluate the energy performance of a building accurately and effectively. This study aims to develop a new energy benchmark for improving the operational rating system of office buildings. Toward this end, this study used various data-mining techniques such as correlation analysis, decision tree (DT) analysis, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Based on data from 1072 office buildings in South Korea, this study was conducted in three steps: (i) Step 1: establishment of the database; (ii) Step 2: development of the new energy benchmark; and (iii) Step 3: application of the new energy benchmark for improving the operational rating system. As a result, six types of energy benchmarks for office buildings were developed using DT analysis based on the gross floor area (GFA) and the building use ratio (BUR) of offices, and these new energy benchmarks were validated using ANOVA. To ensure the effectiveness of the new energy benchmark, it was applied to three operational rating systems for comparison: (i) the baseline system (the same energy benchmark is used for all office buildings); (ii) the conventional system (different energy benchmarks are used depending on the GFA, currently used in South Korea); and (iii) the proposed system (different energy benchmarks are

  14. Complementarity of hydro and wind power: Improving the risk profile of energy inflows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denault, Michel; Dupuis, Debbie; Couture-Cardinal, Sebastien

    2009-01-01

    The complementarity of two renewable energy sources, namely hydro and wind, is investigated. We consider the diversification effect of wind power to reduce the risk of water inflow shortages, an important energy security concern for hydropower-based economic zones (e.g. Quebec and Norway). Our risk measure is based on the probability of a production deficit, in a manner akin to the value-at-risk, simulation analysis of financial portfolios. We examine whether the risk level of a mixed hydro-and-wind portfolio of generating assets improves on the risk of an all-hydro portfolio, by relaxing the dependence on water inflows and attenuating the impact of droughts. Copulas are used to model the dependence between the two sources of energy. The data considered, over the period 1958-2003, are for the province of Quebec, which possesses large hydro and wind resources. Our results indicate that for all scenarios considered, any proportion of wind up to 30% improves the production deficit risk profile of an all-hydro system. We can also estimate the value, in TW h, of any additional one percent of wind in the portfolio. (author)

  15. Natalizumab Significantly Improves Cognitive Impairment over Three Years in MS: Pattern of Disability Progression and Preliminary MRI Findings.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flavia Mattioli

    Full Text Available Previous studies reported that Multiple Sclerosis (MS patients treated with natalizumab for one or two years exhibit a significant reduction in relapse rate and in cognitive impairment, but the long term effects on cognitive performance are unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of natalizumab on cognitive impairment in a cohort of 24 consecutive patients with relapsing remitting MS treated for 3 years. The neuropsychological tests, as well as relapse number and EDSS, were assessed at baseline and yearly for three years. The impact on cortical atrophy was also considered in a subgroup of them, and are thus to be considered as preliminary. Results showed a significant reduction in the number of impaired neuropsychological tests after three years, a significant decrease in annualized relapse rate at each time points compared to baseline and a stable EDSS. In the neuropsychological assessment, a significant improvement in memory, attention and executive function test scores was detected. Preliminary MRI data show that, while GM volume did not change at 3 years, a significantly greater parahippocampal and prefrontal gray matter density was noticed, the former correlating with neuropsychological improvement in a memory test. This study showed that therapy with Natalizumab is helpful in improving cognitive performance, and is likely to have a protective role on grey matter, over a three years follow-up.

  16. Sustainable energy for all. Technical report of task force 2 in support of doubling the global rate of energy efficiency improvement and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by 2030

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nakicenovic, Nebojsa [International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and Vienna University of Technology (Austria); Kammen, Daniel [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Jewell, Jessica [International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Austria)

    2012-04-15

    The UN Secretary General established the Sustainable Energy for All initiative in order to guide and support efforts to achieve universal access to modern energy, rapidly increase energy efficiency, and expand the use of renewable energies. Task forces were formed involving prominent energy leaders and experts from business, government, academia and civil society worldwide. The goal of the Task Forces is to inform the implementation of the initiative by identifying challenges and opportunities for achieving its objectives. This report contains the findings of Task Force Two which is dedicated energy efficiency and renewable energy objectives. The report shows that doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvements and doubling the share of energy from renewable sources by 2030 is challenging but feasible if sufficient actions are implemented. Strong and well-informed government policies as well as extensive private investment should focus on the high impact areas identified by the task force.

  17. Mems-based pzt/pzt bimorph thick film vibration energy harvester

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xu, Ruichao; Lei, Anders; Dahl-Petersen, Christian

    2011-01-01

    We describe fabrication and characterization of a significantly improved version of a MEMS-based PZT/PZT thick film bimorph vibration energy harvester with an integrated silicon proof mass. The main advantage of bimorph vibration energy harvesters is that strain energy is not lost in mechanical...... support materials since only PZT is strained, and thus it has a potential for significantly higher output power. An improved process scheme for the energy harvester resulted in a robust fabrication process with a record high fabrication yield of 98.6%. Moreover, the robust fabrication process allowed...... a high pressure treatment of the screen printed PZT thick films prior to sintering, improving the PZT thick film performance and harvester power output reaches 37.1 μW at 1 g....

  18. The impact of state energy programs and other contextual factors on U.S. buildings energy consumption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ofori-Boadu, Andrea N. Y. A.

    High energy consumption in the United States has been influenced by populations, climates, income and other contextual factors. In the past decades, U.S. energy policies have pursued energy efficiency as a national strategy for reducing U.S. environmental degradation and dependence on foreign oils. The quest for improved energy efficiency has led to the development of energy efficient technologies and programs. The implementation of energy programs in the complex U.S. socio-technical environment is believed to promote the diffusion of energy efficiency technologies. However, opponents doubt the fact that these programs have the capacity to significantly reduce U.S. energy consumption. In order to contribute to the ongoing discussion, this quantitative study investigated the relationships existing among electricity consumption/ intensity, energy programs and contextual factors in the U.S. buildings sector. Specifically, this study sought to identify the significant predictors of electricity consumption and intensity, as well as estimate the overall impact of selected energy programs on electricity consumption and intensity. Using state-level secondary data for 51 U.S. states from 2006 to 2009, seven random effects panel data regression models confirmed the existence of significant relationships among some energy programs, contextual factors, and electricity consumption/intensity. The most significant predictors of improved electricity efficiency included the price of electricity, public benefits funds program, building energy codes program, financial and informational incentives program and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Consistently, the Southern region of the U.S. was associated with high electricity consumption and intensity; while the U.S. commercial sector was the greater benefactor from energy programs. On the average, energy programs were responsible for approximately 7% of the variation observed in electricity consumption

  19. Refrigeration: Introducing energy saving opportunities for business

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2006-04-15

    In some industries, most notably food and drink and chemicals, refrigeration accounts for a significant proportion of overall site energy costs. For instance, in the industrial handling of meat, poultry and fish, it often accounts for 50% of total energy costs. In ice-cream production the proportion is 70%. In a number of commercial sectors, refrigeration also represents a significant proportion of overall energy costs. For example: Cold storage 90%; Food supermarkets 50%; Small shops with refrigerated cabinets 70% or over; Pubs and clubs 30%. Against these high costs, even a small reduction in refrigeration energy use can offer significant cost savings, resulting in increased profits. Energy saving need not be expensive. Energy savings of up to 20% can be realised in many refrigeration plant through actions that require little or no investment. In addition, improving the efficiency and reducing the load on a refrigeration plant can improve reliability and reduce the likelihood of a breakdown. Most organisations can save energy and money on refrigeration by: More efficient equipment; Good maintenance; Housekeeping and control. This publication provides an understanding of the operation of refrigeration systems, identifies where savings can be realised and will enable readers to present an informed case on energy savings to key decision makers within their organisation. (GB)

  20. A socio-technical approach to improving retail energy efficiency behaviours.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christina, Sian; Waterson, Patrick; Dainty, Andrew; Daniels, Kevin

    2015-03-01

    In recent years, the UK retail sector has made a significant contribution to societal responses on carbon reduction. We provide a novel and timely examination of environmental sustainability from a systems perspective, exploring how energy-related technologies and strategies are incorporated into organisational life. We use a longitudinal case study approach, looking at behavioural energy efficiency from within one of the UK's leading retailers. Our data covers a two-year period, with qualitative data from a total of 131 participants gathered using phased interviews and focus groups. We introduce an adapted socio-technical framework approach in order to describe an existing organisational behavioural strategy to support retail energy efficiency. Our findings point to crucial socio-technical and goal-setting factors which both impede and/or enable energy efficient behaviours, these include: tensions linked to store level perception of energy management goals; an emphasis on the importance of technology for underpinning change processes; and, the need for feedback and incentives to support the completion of energy-related tasks. We also describe the evolution of a practical operational intervention designed to address issues raised in our findings. Our study provides fresh insights into how sustainable workplace behaviours can be achieved and sustained over time. Secondly, we discuss in detail a set of issues arising from goal conflict in the workplace; these include the development of a practical energy management strategy to facilitate secondary organisational goals through job redesign. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  1. Energy supply and energy saving in Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V.M. Ilchenko

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the main problems and solutions of energy saving and energy supply in Ukraine. Low energy efficiency has become one of the main factors of the crisis in the Ukrainian economy. The most relevant scientific and methodical approaches to assessment of the level of energy consumption and saving are indicated. The comparative analysis of annual energy use has been made. A potential to solve energy supply problems is strongly correlated with the ability to ensure the innovative development of economy for efficient and economical use of existing and imported energy resources. The ways for reducing of energy resource consumption have been suggested. Creation of technological conditions for the use of alternative energy sources is considered to be rational also. The development of renewable sources of energy (alternative and renewable energy sources will provide a significant effect in reducing the use of traditional energy sources, harmful emissions and greenhouse gas. Under these conditions, increasing of energy efficiency of economy and its competitiveness can be real. Improvement of environmental and social conditions of citizens of the country will mark a positive step towards the EU, and also will cancel some problems of the future generation.

  2. Cascade Apartments: Deep Energy Multifamily Retrofit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gordon, A. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Mattheis, L. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Kunkle, R. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Howard, L. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Lubliner, M. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2014-02-01

    In December of 2009-10, King County Housing Authority (KCHA) implemented energy retrofit improvements in the Cascade multifamily community, located in Kent, Washington (marine climate.)This research effort involved significant coordination from stakeholders KCHA, WA State Department of Commerce, utility Puget Sound Energy, and Cascade tenants. This report focuses on the following three primary BA research questions : 1. What are the modeled energy savings using DOE low income weatherization approved TREAT software? 2. How did the modeled energy savings compare with measured energy savings from aggregate utility billing analysis? 3. What is the Savings to Investment Ratio (SIR) of the retrofit package after considering utility window incentives and KCHA capitol improvement funding.

  3. Improving the evidence base for energy policy: The role of systematic reviews

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sorrell, Steve

    2007-01-01

    The concept of evidence-based policy and practice (EBPP) has gained increasing prominence in the UK over the last 10 years and now plays a dominant role in a number of policy areas, including healthcare, education, social work, criminal justice and urban regeneration. But despite this substantial, influential and growing activity, the concept remains largely unknown to policymakers and researchers within the energy field. This paper defines EBPP, identifies its key features and examines the potential role of systematic reviews of evidence in a particular area of policy. It summarises the methods through which systematic reviews are achieved; discusses their advantages and limitations; identifies the particular challenges they face in the energy policy area; and assesses whether and to what extent they can usefully be applied to contemporary energy policy questions. The concept is illustrated with reference to a proposed review of evidence for a 'rebound effect' from improved energy efficiency. The paper concludes that systematic reviews may only be appropriate for a subset of energy policy questions and that research-funding priorities may need to change if their use is to become more widespread

  4. Synthesis and Summary Report on State of the Art, Drivers and Stakeholders of Energy Efficiency in Agricullture, and Potential of Energy Saving Measures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Visser, de C.L.M.; Buisonje, de F.E.; Ellen, H.H.; Stanghellini, C.; Voort, van der M.P.J.

    2012-01-01

    Improvements in the energy efficiency of agricultural production have the potential to significantly reduce energy inputs and thereby reducing production costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Energy efficiency analysis depicts the distribution of energy inputs in a given agricultural production system

  5. Improving Ventilation and Saving Energy: Laboratory Study in aModular Classroom Test Bed

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Apte, Michael G.; Buchanan, Ian S.; Faulkner, David; Fisk,William J.; Lai, Chi-Ming; Spears, Michael; Sullivan, Douglas P.

    2005-08-01

    The primary goals of this research effort were to develop, evaluate, and demonstrate a practical HVAC system for classrooms that consistently provides classrooms with the quantity of ventilation in current minimum standards, while saving energy, and reducing HVAC-related noise levels. This research was motivated by several factors, including the public benefits of energy efficiency, evidence that many classrooms are under-ventilated, and public concerns about indoor environmental quality in classrooms. This project involved the installation and verification of the performance of an Improved Heat Pump Air Conditioning (IHPAC) system, and its comparison, a standard HVAC system having an efficiency of 10 SEER. The project included the verification of the physical characteristics suitable for direct replacement of existing 10 SEER systems, quantitative demonstration of improved energy efficiency, reduced acoustic noise levels, quantitative demonstration of improved ventilation control, and verification that the system would meet temperature control demands necessary for the thermal comfort of the occupants. Results showed that the IHPAC met these goals. The IHPAC was found to be a direct bolt-on replacement for the 10 SEER system. Calculated energy efficiency improvements based on many days of classroom cooling or heating showed that the IHPAC system is about 44% more efficient during cooling and 38% more efficient during heating than the 10 SEER system. Noise reduction was dramatic, with measured A-weighed sound level for fan only operation conditions of 34.3 dB(A), a reduction of 19 dB(A) compared to the 10 SEER system. Similarly, the IHPAC stage-1 and stage-2 compressor plus fan sound levels were 40.8 dB(A) and 42.7 dB(A), reductions of 14 and 13 dB(A), respectively. Thus, the IHPAC is 20 to 35 times quieter than the 10 SEER systems depending upon the operation mode. The IHPAC system met the ventilation requirements and was able to provide consistent outside air

  6. Energy Efficiency: Finding Leadership Opportunities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William Rosehart

    2014-01-01

    buildings, and by issuing an annual “premier’s report card,” making public the progress on province-wide efficiency efforts. For a province that continues to enjoy growth in business and population, updated guidelines around new building codes have been proven to improve energy efficiency. And there remains a significant opportunity for Alberta to improve efficiency in its commercial and industrial sectors, the largest users of energy, by providing government incentives to replace ageing equipment with more efficient technology. Alberta is also well suited for a shift toward more combined heat and power generation plants, which can repurpose generated heat that is otherwise wasted, significantly reducing energy demand and costs. And in a province awash in natural gas, incentives to encourage travel using compressed or liquefied natural gas vehicles could serve to boost energy efficiency in the transportation sector as well. Alberta is fortunate in that it has abundant energy and prosperity, making improved energy efficiency a matter of choice, rather than — as in some jurisdictions — one of urgent necessity. It is, however, a choice that Alberta has enough reasons, and resources, to make. All it requires is the will.

  7. Accelerator driven reactors, - the significance of the energy distribution of spallation neutrons on the neutron statistics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fhager, V

    2000-01-01

    distribution of the spallation neutrons leads to second moments that differ significantly from the ones calculated with the average energy distribution only. With the most realistic model of the energy distributions, the second moment of the number of fissions was underestimated with 12-16%.

  8. Accelerator driven reactors, - the significance of the energy distribution of spallation neutrons on the neutron statistics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fhager, V.

    2000-01-01

    distribution of the spallation neutrons leads to second moments that differ significantly from the ones calculated with the average energy distribution only. With the most realistic model of the energy distributions, the second moment of the number of fissions was underestimated with 12-16%

  9. (e,2e) spectroscopy of solids with improved energy resolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canney, S.; Brunger, M.J.; Storer, P.J.; Utteridge, S.; Vos, M.; Weigold, E.

    1996-03-01

    A brief overview of the (e,2e) technique as applied to solids is reported, including the spectrometer used in these studies. In particular it is described how the energy resolution of the spectrometer has been improved, by a factor of two, by the addition of an electron monochromator for production of the incident electron beam. This monochromator is also discussed in some detail. Results obtained using the monochromated beam are compared with previous data collected with a standard electron-gun source. 37 refs., 9 figs

  10. Energy efficiency of mobile soft robots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shui, Langquan; Zhu, Liangliang; Yang, Zhe; Liu, Yilun; Chen, Xi

    2017-11-15

    The performance of mobile soft robots is usually characterized by their locomotion/velocity efficiency, whereas the energy efficiency is a more intrinsic and fundamental criterion for the performance evaluation of independent or integrated soft robots. In this work, a general framework is established to evaluate the energy efficiency of mobile soft robots by considering the efficiency of the energy source, actuator and locomotion, and some insights for improving the efficiency of soft robotic systems are presented. Proposed as the ratio of the desired locomotion kinetic energy to the input mechanical energy, the energy efficiency of locomotion is found to play a critical role in determining the overall energy efficiency of soft robots. Four key factors related to the locomotion energy efficiency are identified, that is, the locomotion modes, material properties, geometric sizes, and actuation states. It is found that the energy efficiency of most mobile soft robots reported in the literature is surprisingly low (mostly below 0.1%), due to the inefficient mechanical energy that essentially does not contribute to the desired locomotion. A comparison of the locomotion energy efficiency for several representative locomotion modes in the literature is presented, showing a descending ranking as: jumping ≫ fish-like swimming > snake-like slithering > rolling > rising/turning over > inchworm-like inching > quadruped gait > earthworm-like squirming. Besides, considering the same locomotion mode, soft robots with lower stiffness, higher density and larger size tend to have higher locomotion energy efficiency. Moreover, a periodic pulse actuation instead of a continuous actuation mode may significantly reduce the input mechanical energy, thus improving the locomotion energy efficiency, especially when the pulse actuation matches the resonant states of the soft robots. The results presented herein indicate a large and necessary space for improving the locomotion energy

  11. Renewable energy resources

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ellabban, Omar S.; Abu-Rub, Haitham A.; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2014-01-01

    Electric energy security is essential, yet the high cost and limited sources of fossil fuels, in addition to the need to reduce greenhouse gasses emission, have made renewable resources attractive in world energy-based economies. The potential for renewable energy resources is enormous because...... they can, in principle, exponentially exceed the world's energy demand; therefore, these types of resources will have a significant share in the future global energy portfolio, much of which is now concentrating on advancing their pool of renewable energy resources. Accordingly, this paper presents how...... renewable energy resources are currently being used, scientific developments to improve their use, their future prospects, and their deployment. Additionally, the paper represents the impact of power electronics and smart grid technologies that can enable the proportionate share of renewable energy...

  12. Policies for accelerating access to clean energy, improving health, advancing development, and mitigating climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haines, Andy; Smith, Kirk R; Anderson, Dennis; Epstein, Paul R; McMichael, Anthony J; Roberts, Ian; Wilkinson, Paul; Woodcock, James; Woods, Jeremy

    2007-10-06

    The absence of reliable access to clean energy and the services it provides imposes a large disease burden on low-income populations and impedes prospects for development. Furthermore, current patterns of fossil-fuel use cause substantial ill-health from air pollution and occupational hazards. Impending climate change, mainly driven by energy use, now also threatens health. Policies to promote access to non-polluting and sustainable sources of energy have great potential both to improve public health and to mitigate (prevent) climate disruption. There are several technological options, policy levers, and economic instruments for sectors such as power generation, transport, agriculture, and the built environment. However, barriers to change include vested interests, political inertia, inability to take meaningful action, profound global inequalities, weak technology-transfer mechanisms, and knowledge gaps that must be addressed to transform global markets. The need for policies that prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate while addressing the energy needs of disadvantaged people is a central challenge of the current era. A comprehensive programme for clean energy should optimise mitigation and, simultaneously, adaption to climate change while maximising co-benefits for health--eg, through improved air, water, and food quality. Intersectoral research and concerted action, both nationally and internationally, will be required.

  13. Improving Energy Security for Air Force Installations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schill, David

    Like civilian infrastructure, Air Force installations are dependent on electrical energy for daily operations. Energy shortages translate to decreased productivity, higher costs, and increased health risks. But for the United States military, energy shortages have the potential to become national security risks. Over ninety-five percent of the electrical energy used by the Air Force is supplied by the domestic grid, which is susceptible to shortages and disruptions. Many Air Force operations require a continuous source of energy, and while the Air Force has historically established redundant supplies of electrical energy, these back-ups are designed for short-term outages and may not provide sufficient supply for a longer, sustained power outage. Furthermore, it is the goal of the Department of Defense to produce or procure 25 percent of its facility energy from renewable sources by fiscal year 2025. In a government budget environment where decision makers are required to provide more capability with less money, it is becoming increasingly important for informed decisions regarding which energy supply options bear the most benefit for an installation. The analysis begins by exploring the field of energy supply options available to an Air Force installation. The supply options are assessed according to their ability to provide continuous and reliable energy, their applicability to unique requirements of Air Force installations, and their costs. Various methods of calculating energy usage by an installation are also addressed. The next step of this research develops a methodology and tool which assesses how an installation responds to various power outage scenarios. Lastly, various energy supply options are applied to the tool, and the results are reported in terms of cost and loss of installation capability. This approach will allow installation commanders and energy managers the ability to evaluate the cost and effectiveness of various energy investment options.

  14. Unlimited energy, restricted carbohydrate diet improves lipid parameters in obese children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunlap, Brian S; Bailes, James R

    2008-03-01

    Childhood obesity is a leading health concern. We have previously demonstrated the effectiveness of a restricted-carbohydrate, unlimited energy diet for weight reduction in elementary school-aged children. To our knowledge, there are no studies that have looked at the effect of this diet on lipid profiles in elementary school-aged children. Therefore, the objective of this pilot study was to examine the effect of a restricted-carbohydrate, unlimited protein, unlimited energy diet on lipid profiles in obese children 6 to 12 years of age. Overweight children (body mass index >97%) referred to our obesity clinic were treated with a restricted-carbohydrate (unlimited protein, and unlimited energy diet. Weight, height, body mass index, and fasting lipid profiles were obtained at baseline and at 10 weeks on each patient. Twenty-seven patients were enrolled in our study, with a total of 18 patients returning for our 10 week follow-up (67%). The study group included 10 males and 8 females, with an age range of 6 to 12 years. Both total serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels showed a significant reduction; 24.2 (P = 0.018) and 56.9 (P = 0.015) mg/dL, respectively. We have demonstrated a significant decrease in total cholesterol and triglycerides in elementary school-aged children after 10 weeks of a restricted-carbohydrate, unlimited protein, and unlimited energy diet. We suggest that this diet may decrease cardiovascular risk factors in obese children. Long-term studies will be needed to substantiate these data.

  15. Fiscal 2000 achievement report. Model project for international energy consumption efficiency improvement (Model project for improvement of boiler and turbine efficiency); 2000 nendo seika hokoku. Kokusai energy shohi koritsuka tou model jigyo (Boira tabin koritsu kojo model jigyo)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-12-01

    A project was implemented for Japan to transfer its energy conservation technologies for helping Indonesia conserve energy and reduce CO2 emissions, which occurred at Muara Karang Thermal Power Plant of an Indonesian power company named PT PJB. Items to be introduced are condenser tubes (material change from cupro-nickel to titanium), ball cleaning equipment, turbine gland seal improvement, air preheater improvement, thermal efficiency management system, and so forth. In this fiscal year, turbine gland seals and air preheater elements were manufactured, and the thermal efficiency management system was designed. As an dissemination activity, 10 engineers were invited to Japan from the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, PT PLN, and PT PJB. They attended a training program lasting approximately two weeks, which included study tours to the factories actually building the equipment to be introduced and field/classroom training/education on thermal efficiency management and others. The engineers actively performed their boiler improvement work back in Indonesia. (NEDO)

  16. Stuart Energy annual report 2004

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-01-01

    Stuart Energy is a leading global provider of integrated solutions for distributed hydrogen infrastructure requirements based on water electrolysis. Their product line includes integrated, turn-key solutions for onsite hydrogen production, compression, storage, fuel dispensing and distributed power generation. The company integrates its proprietary hydrogen generation systems with other leading hydrogen products from its partners. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004, Stuart Energy delivered significant growth in its hydrogen markets, industrial power and transportation. Strong results were delivered in core areas such as accelerated sales growth, gross margin improvements, significant cost reductions, disciplined product development and improved financial strength. This report summarized the company's energy resource activities and presented an operations review as well as consolidated financial statements and common share information. This included the utility's assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and cash flows. Revenue and expenditure statements were summarized by source. tabs., figs

  17. Good Practices in Free-energy Calculations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pohorille, Andrew; Jarzynski, Christopher; Chipot, Christopher

    2013-01-01

    As access to computational resources continues to increase, free-energy calculations have emerged as a powerful tool that can play a predictive role in drug design. Yet, in a number of instances, the reliability of these calculations can be improved significantly if a number of precepts, or good practices are followed. For the most part, the theory upon which these good practices rely has been known for many years, but often overlooked, or simply ignored. In other cases, the theoretical developments are too recent for their potential to be fully grasped and merged into popular platforms for the computation of free-energy differences. The current best practices for carrying out free-energy calculations will be reviewed demonstrating that, at little to no additional cost, free-energy estimates could be markedly improved and bounded by meaningful error estimates. In energy perturbation and nonequilibrium work methods, monitoring the probability distributions that underlie the transformation between the states of interest, performing the calculation bidirectionally, stratifying the reaction pathway and choosing the most appropriate paradigms and algorithms for transforming between states offer significant gains in both accuracy and precision. In thermodynamic integration and probability distribution (histogramming) methods, properly designed adaptive techniques yield nearly uniform sampling of the relevant degrees of freedom and, by doing so, could markedly improve efficiency and accuracy of free energy calculations without incurring any additional computational expense.

  18. Spontaneous Resolution of Long-Standing Macular Detachment due to Optic Disc Pit with Significant Visual Improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parikakis, Efstratios A; Chatziralli, Irini P; Peponis, Vasileios G; Karagiannis, Dimitrios; Stratos, Aimilianos; Tsiotra, Vasileia A; Mitropoulos, Panagiotis G

    2014-01-01

    To report a case of spontaneous resolution of a long-standing serous macular detachment associated with an optic disc pit, leading to significant visual improvement. A 63-year-old female presented with a 6-month history of blurred vision and micropsia in her left eye. Her best-corrected visual acuity was 6/24 in the left eye, and fundoscopy revealed serous macular detachment associated with optic disc pit, which was confirmed by optical coherence tomography (OCT). The patient was offered vitrectomy as a treatment alternative, but she preferred to be reviewed conservatively. Three years after initial presentation, neither macular detachment nor subretinal fluid was evident in OCT, while the inner segment/outer segment (IS/OS) junction line was intact. Her visual acuity was improved from 6/24 to 6/12 in her left eye, remaining stable at the 6-month follow-up after resolution. We present a case of spontaneous resolution of a long-standing macular detachment associated with an optic disc pit with significant visual improvement, postulating that the integrity of the IS/OS junction line may be a prognostic factor for final visual acuity and suggesting OCT as an indicator of visual prognosis and the probable necessity of a surgical management.

  19. Spontaneous Resolution ofLong-Standing Macular Detachment due to Optic Disc Pit with Significant Visual Improvement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Efstratios A. Parikakis

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To report a case of spontaneous resolution of a long-standing serous macular detachment associated with an optic disc pit, leading to significant visual improvement. Case Presentation: A 63-year-old female presented with a 6-month history of blurred vision and micropsia in her left eye. Her best-corrected visual acuity was 6/24 in the left eye, and fundoscopy revealed serous macular detachment associated with optic disc pit, which was confirmed by optical coherence tomography (OCT. The patient was offered vitrectomy as a treatment alternative, but she preferred to be reviewed conservatively. Three years after initial presentation, neither macular detachment nor subretinal fluid was evident in OCT, while the inner segment/outer segment (IS/OS junction line was intact. Her visual acuity was improved from 6/24 to 6/12 in her left eye, remaining stable at the 6-month follow-up after resolution. Conclusion: We present a case of spontaneous resolution of a long-standing macular detachment associated with an optic disc pit with significant visual improvement, postulating that the integrity of the IS/OS junction line may be a prognostic factor for final visual acuity and suggesting OCT as an indicator of visual prognosis and the probable necessity of a surgical management.

  20. Dynamic Response of Inextensible Beams by Improved Energy Balance Method

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sfahani, M. G.; Barari, Amin; Omidvar, M.

    2011-01-01

    An improved He's energy balance method (EBM) for solving non-linear oscillatory differential equation using a new trial function is presented. The problem considered represents the governing equations of the non-linear, large-amplitude free vibrations of a slender cantilever beam...... with a rotationally flexible root and carrying a lumped mass at an intermediate position along its span. Based on the simple EBM, the variational integral of the non-linear conservative system is established, and the Fourier series expansion is employed to address the governing algebraic equations. An alternate...