The modern water-saving agricultural technology: Progress and focus

African Journals Online (AJOL)

GREGORY

2010-09-13

Sep 13, 2010 ... saving agricultural technology, which include modern biological water-saving technology, unconventional ... and innovation, water, nutrient migration theory, regula- .... urban sewage of more than 50%; Mexico City, 90% of.

Resources for National Water Savings for Outdoor Water Use

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Melody, Moya [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Stratton, Hannah [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Williams, Alison [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Dunham, Camilla [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2014-05-01

In support of efforts by the U.S. Environmental Agency's (EPA's) WaterSense program to develop a spreadsheet model for calculating the national water and financial savings attributable to WaterSense certification and labeling of weather-based irrigation controllers, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reviewed reports, technical data, and other information related to outdoor water use and irrigation controllers. In this document we categorize and describe the reviewed references, highlighting pertinent data. We relied on these references when developing model parameters and calculating controller savings. We grouped resources into three major categories: landscapes (section 1); irrigation devices (section 2); and analytical and modeling efforts (section 3). Each category is subdivided further as described in its section. References are listed in order of date of publication, most recent first.

Energy Savings and Breakeven Costs for Residential Heat Pump Water Heaters in the United States

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maguire, Jeff [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Burch, Jay [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Merrigan, Tim [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Ong, Sean [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2013-07-01

Heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) have recently re-emerged in the U.S. residential water heating market and have the potential to provide homeowners with significant energy savings. However, there are questions as to the actual performance and energy savings potential of these units, in particular in regards to the heat pump's performance in unconditioned space and the impact of the heat pump on space heating and cooling loads when it is located in conditioned space. To help answer these questions, NREL performed simulations of a HPWH in both conditioned and unconditioned space at over 900 locations across the continental United States and Hawaii. Simulations included a Building America benchmark home so that any interaction between the HPWH and the home's HVAC equipment could be captured. Comparisons were performed to typical gas and electric water heaters to determine the energy savings potential and cost effectiveness of a HPWH relative to these technologies. HPWHs were found to have a significant source energy savings potential when replacing typical electric water heaters, but only saved source energy relative to gas water heater in the most favorable installation locations in the southern United States. When replacing an electric water heater, the HPWH is likely to break even in California, the southern United States, and parts of the northeast in most situations. However, the HPWH will only break even when replacing a gas water heater in a few southern states.

Energy Savings and Breakeven Cost for Residential Heat Pump Water Heaters in the United States

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maguire, J.; Burch, J.; Merrigan, T.; Ong, S.

2013-07-01

Heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) have recently reemerged in the U.S. residential water heating market and have the potential to provide homeowners with significant energy savings. However, there are questions as to the actual performance and energy savings potential of these units, in particular in regards to the heat pump's performance in unconditioned space and the impact of the heat pump on space heating and cooling loads when it is located in conditioned space. To help answer these questions, simulations were performed of a HPWH in both conditioned and unconditioned space at over 900 locations across the continental United States and Hawaii. Simulations included a Building America benchmark home so that any interaction between the HPWH and the home's HVAC equipment could be captured. Comparisons were performed to typical gas and electric water heaters to determine the energy savings potential and cost effectiveness of a HPWH relative to these technologies. HPWHs were found to have a significant source energy savings potential when replacing typical electric water heaters, but only saved source energy relative to gas water heater in the most favorable installation locations in the southern US. When replacing an electric water heater, the HPWH is likely to break even in California, the southern US, and parts of the northeast in most situations. However, the HPWH will only break even when replacing a gas water heater in a few southern states.

Water Savings of Crop Redistribution in the United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyle Frankel Davis

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Demographic growth, changes in diet, and reliance on first-generation biofuels are increasing the human demand for agricultural products, thereby enhancing the human pressure on global freshwater resources. Recent research on the food-water nexus has highlighted how some major agricultural regions of the world lack the water resources required to sustain current growth trends in crop production. To meet the increasing need for agricultural commodities with limited water resources, the water use efficiency of the agricultural sector must be improved. In this regard, recent work indicates that the often overlooked strategy of changing the crop distribution within presently cultivated areas offers promise. Here we investigate the extent to which water in the United States could be saved while improving yields simply by replacing the existing crops with more suitable ones. We propose crop replacement criteria that achieve this goal while preserving crop diversity, economic value, nitrogen fixation, and food protein production. We find that in the United States, these criteria would greatly improve calorie (+46% and protein (+34% production and economic value (+208%, with 5% water savings with respect to the present crop distribution. Interestingly, greater water savings could be achieved in water-stressed agricultural regions of the US such as California (56% water savings, and other western states.

Evaluation of Water consumption and savings achieved in Datacenters through Air side Economization

Science.gov (United States)

Mishra, Ravi

Recent researches and a few facility owners have focused on eliminating the chiller plant altogether by implementing 'Evaporative Cooling', as an alternative or augmentation to compressor-based air conditioning since the energy consumption is dominated by the compressor work (around 41%) in the chiller plant. Because evaporative cooling systems consume water, when evaluating the energy savings potential of these systems, it is imperative to consider not just their impacts on electricity use, but also their impacts on water consumption as well since Joe Kava, Google's head of data center operations, was quoted as saying that water is the "big elephant in the room" for data center companies. The objective of this study was to calculate the savings achieved in water consumption when these evaporative cooling systems were completely or partially marginalized when the facility is strictly working in the Economizer mode also known as 'free cooling' considering other modes of cooling required only for a part of the time when outside temperature, humidity and pollutant level were unfavorable causing improper functioning and reliability issues. The analysis was done on ASHRAE climatic zones with the help of TMY-3 weather data.

The modern water-saving agricultural technology: Progress and focus

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Based on the analysis of water-saving agricultural technology development status and trends in China, and in combination with the development and the needs of modern water-saving agricultural technology, we have put forward a future research emphasis and developing direction of modern watersaving agricultural ...

Water savings through off-farm employment?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wachong Castro, V.; Heerink, N.; Shi, X.; Qu, W.

2010-01-01

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to gain more insight into the relationship between off-farm employment of rural households and water-saving investments and irrigation water use in rural China. Design/methodology/approach – Data from a survey held among 317 households in Minle County, Zhangye

How Much Water Can We Save by Achieving Renewable Portfolio Standards in the Southwest United States?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuzhen Feng

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Electricity in the Southwestern United States is primarily generated with water intensive steam turbines. If energy demand continues to rise this will lead to a further rise in water demand. A comprehensive understanding of water consumption and withdrawal for utility scale generation of electricity is necessary before any improvements in the water efficiency of such systems in arid environments can be made. This study estimated and compared the water usage associated with thermoelectric generation (i.e., natural gas, coal, and solar energy, in the five driest Colorado River Basin states: Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and California. This study also examined and compared each state’s Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS and how this might impact water savings. Results showed that each state’s current RPS goals would reduce the water that is consumed by the generation of electricity. However, the amount of water savings will vary on a state by state basis. In order to reduce water consumption, replacing thermal electric generation with photovoltaic (PV solar can be significant and should be encouraged. The amount of water saved will vary, however, depending on the state’s choice of coal or natural gas.

Water saving in lowland rice production: an experimental and modeling study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Belder, P.

2005-01-01

Increasing demand for rice and decreasing water diversions to agriculture, urge for higher water productivity in rice production systems. One way to deal with this challenge is using water-saving regimes on field scale. The main objective of this study was to quantify the effects of water-saving

A sub-tank water-saving drinking water station

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ting

2017-05-01

amount of water consumption, the drinking water station is different from the ordinary drinking water station repeatedly boil, greatly saving energy, embodies the idea of energy saving.

User behaviour impact on energy savings potential

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rose, Jørgen

2014-01-01

and the residents' behaviour and if these defaults do not reflect actual circumstances, it can result in non-realisation of expected energy savings. Furthermore, a risk also exists that residents' behaviour change after the energy upgrading, e.g. to obtain improved comfort than what was possible before......, 3) Domestic hot water consumption and 4) Air change rate. Based on the analysis, a methodology is established that can be used to make more realistic and accurate predictions of expected energy savings associated with energy upgrading taking into account user behaviour....... the upgrading and this could lead to further discrepancies between the calculated and the actual energy savings. This paper presents an analysis on how residents’ behaviour and the use of standard assumptions may influence expected energy savings. The analysis is performed on two typical single-family houses...

Exploring options for water savings in lowland rice using a modelling approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Belder, P.; Bouman, B.A.M.; Spiertz, J.H.J.

2007-01-01

Water-saving irrigation regimes are needed to deal with a reduced availability of water for rice production. Two important water-saving technologies at field scale are alternately submerged¿nonsubmerged (SNS) and flush irrigated (FI) rice. SNS allows dry periods between submerged soil conditions,

Options for Water, Energy and Chemical Savings for Finitex, Cape Town

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schneider, Zsig; Wenzel, Henrik

An analysis of the options identified for saving of water, energy and chemicals was conducted at Finitex, Cape Town on the 18th October 2002. Cost savings were calculated from an estimation of the reduction in cost of water, energy and chemical usage associated with various interventions. Capital...

The socioeconomic impact of energy saving renovation measures in urban buildings

OpenAIRE

Mikulić, Davor; Rašić Bakarić, Ivana; Slijepčević, Sunčana

2016-01-01

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the role of measures oriented to energy savings in residential buildings in the economic development at the regional level. The aim of the paper is to estimate overall socio-economic impact of energy saving renovation measures in the Croatian urban areas. Impact assessment is based on input–output methodology which is able to quantify direct and indirect effects of investment in the energy saving projects on the economic activity and employment...

Health belief model and reasoned action theory in predicting water saving behaviors in yazd, iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Morowatisharifabad, Mohammad Ali; Momayyezi, Mahdieh; Ghaneian, Mohammad Taghi

2012-01-01

People's behaviors and intentions about healthy behaviors depend on their beliefs, values, and knowledge about the issue. Various models of health education are used in deter¬mining predictors of different healthy behaviors but their efficacy in cultural behaviors, such as water saving behaviors, are not studied. The study was conducted to explain water saving beha¬viors in Yazd, Iran on the basis of Health Belief Model and Reasoned Action Theory. The cross-sectional study used random cluster sampling to recruit 200 heads of households to collect the data. The survey questionnaire was tested for its content validity and reliability. Analysis of data included descriptive statistics, simple correlation, hierarchical multiple regression. Simple correlations between water saving behaviors and Reasoned Action Theory and Health Belief Model constructs were statistically significant. Health Belief Model and Reasoned Action Theory constructs explained 20.80% and 8.40% of the variances in water saving beha-viors, respectively. Perceived barriers were the strongest Predictor. Additionally, there was a sta¬tistically positive correlation between water saving behaviors and intention. In designing interventions aimed at water waste prevention, barriers of water saving behaviors should be addressed first, followed by people's attitude towards water saving. Health Belief Model constructs, with the exception of perceived severity and benefits, is more powerful than is Reasoned Action Theory in predicting water saving behavior and may be used as a framework for educational interventions aimed at improving water saving behaviors.

Health Belief Model and Reasoned Action Theory in Predicting Water Saving Behaviors in Yazd, Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Taghi Ghaneian

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Background: People's behaviors and intentions about healthy behaviors depend on their beliefs, values, and knowledge about the issue. Various models of health education are used in deter-mining predictors of different healthy behaviors but their efficacy in cultural behaviors, such as water saving behaviors, are not studied. The study was conducted to explain water saving beha-viors in Yazd, Iran on the basis of Health Belief Model and Reasoned Action Theory. Methods: The cross-sectional study used random cluster sampling to recruit 200 heads of households to collect the data. The survey questionnaire was tested for its content validity and reliability. Analysis of data included descriptive statistics, simple correlation, hierarchical multiple regression. Results: Simple correlations between water saving behaviors and Reasoned Action Theory and Health Belief Model constructs were statistically significant. Health Belief Model and Reasoned Action Theory constructs explained 20.80% and 8.40% of the variances in water saving beha-viors, respectively. Perceived barriers were the strongest Predictor. Additionally, there was a sta-tistically positive correlation between water saving behaviors and intention. Conclusion: In designing interventions aimed at water waste prevention, barriers of water saving behaviors should be addressed first, followed by people's attitude towards water saving. Health Belief Model constructs, with the exception of perceived severity and benefits, is more powerful than is Reasoned Action Theory in predicting water saving behavior and may be used as a framework for educational interventions aimed at improving water saving behaviors.

Modelling the impact of social network on energy savings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du, Feng; Zhang, Jiangfeng; Li, Hailong; Yan, Jinyue; Galloway, Stuart; Lo, Kwok L.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Energy saving propagation along a social network is modelled. • This model consists of a time evolving weighted directed network. • Network weights and information decay are applied in savings calculation. - Abstract: It is noted that human behaviour changes can have a significant impact on energy consumption, however, qualitative study on such an impact is still very limited, and it is necessary to develop the corresponding mathematical models to describe how much energy savings can be achieved through human engagement. In this paper a mathematical model of human behavioural dynamic interactions on a social network is derived to calculate energy savings. This model consists of a weighted directed network with time evolving information on each node. Energy savings from the whole network is expressed as mathematical expectation from probability theory. This expected energy savings model includes both direct and indirect energy savings of individuals in the network. The savings model is obtained by network weights and modified by the decay of information. Expected energy savings are calculated for cases where individuals in the social network are treated as a single information source or multiple sources. This model is tested on a social network consisting of 40 people. The results show that the strength of relations between individuals is more important to information diffusion than the number of connections individuals have. The expected energy savings of optimally chosen node can be 25.32% more than randomly chosen nodes at the end of the second month for the case of single information source in the network, and 16.96% more than random nodes for the case of multiple information sources. This illustrates that the model presented in this paper can be used to determine which individuals will have the most influence on the social network, which in turn provides a useful guide to identify targeted customers in energy efficiency technology rollout

BEST Winery Guidebook: Benchmarking and Energy and Water SavingsTool for the Wine Industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galitsky, Christina; Worrell, Ernst; Radspieler, Anthony; Healy,Patrick; Zechiel, Susanne

2005-10-15

Not all industrial facilities have the staff or the opportunity to perform a detailed audit of their operations. The lack of knowledge of energy efficiency opportunities provides an important barrier to improving efficiency. Benchmarking has demonstrated to help energy users understand energy use and the potential for energy efficiency improvement, reducing the information barrier. In California, the wine making industry is not only one of the economic pillars of the economy; it is also a large energy consumer, with a considerable potential for energy-efficiency improvement. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Fetzer Vineyards developed an integrated benchmarking and self-assessment tool for the California wine industry called ''BEST''(Benchmarking and Energy and water Savings Tool) Winery. BEST Winery enables a winery to compare its energy efficiency to a best practice winery, accounting for differences in product mix and other characteristics of the winery. The tool enables the user to evaluate the impact of implementing energy and water efficiency measures. The tool facilitates strategic planning of efficiency measures, based on the estimated impact of the measures, their costs and savings. BEST Winery is available as a software tool in an Excel environment. This report serves as background material, documenting assumptions and information on the included energy and water efficiency measures. It also serves as a user guide for the software package.

SWEEP - Save Water & Energy Education Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sullivan, Gregory P.; Elliott, Douglas B.; Hillman, Tim C.; Hadley, Adam; Ledbetter, Marc R.; Payson, David R.

2001-05-03

The objective of this study was to develop, monitor, analyze, and report on an integrated resource-conservation program highlighting efficient residential appliances and fixtures. The sites of study were 50 homes in two water-constrained communities located in Oregon. The program was designed to maximize water savings to these communities and to serve as a model for other communities seeking an integrated approach to energy and water resource efficiency. The program included the installation and in-place evaluation of energy- and water-efficient devices including the following: horizontal axis clothes washers (and the matching clothes dryers), resource-efficient dishwashers, an innovative dual flush low-flow toilet, low-flow showerheads, and faucet aerators. The significance of this activity lies in its integrated approach and unique metering evaluation of individual end-use, aggregated residential total use, and system-wide energy and water benefits.

Investigating the impact of training on water consumption saving in Khorramabad in 2015

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Bazdar

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Background: In the water demand management there is a certain relationship between attitudes, beliefs, actual behavior of consumers and water consumption. There are many factors in a positive attitude towards water use. By providing the right information should changed the beliefs and attitudes of citizens towards drinking water habits. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of training on water consumption in the Khorramabad city in 1394. Methods: This study was conducted in the Lorestan province and in the Khorramabad city. That the effect of training on water saving was evaluated for 60 households with high water consumption levels. The selected households were randomly assigned to 2 groups: control and treatment. In the treatment group was taught how to properly use in a regular basis and periodically meter reading for both groups took .This study was performed for 6 months in summer and autumn in 1394. Results: The results of this study showed that households in 1393 and 1394 respectively in the control group consumed an average per capita consumption of 60.78 ± 253.7 and 62.35 ± 208 liters per day per person. The average consumption per capita in 93 and 94 in the treatment group was respectively 192.14 ±51.2 and 171.9 ± 48.57 liters per day per person. As well as due to intervention education decrease 9-11% water consumption. Conclusion: The basic results of this study to raise public awareness about the water crisis, stresses and the importance of water using education can affect to water use. It can also promote a culture of right consumption and to change people’s behavior towards water use.

"Water Is Life"--Farmer Rationales and Water Saving in Khorezm, Uzbekistan: A Lifeworld Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Oberkircher, Lisa; Hornidge, Anna-Katharina

2011-01-01

Khorezm Province is located in the Amu Darya lowlands of Uzbekistan, where unsustainable use of irrigation water has led to the Aral Sea crisis. This study deals with the question of how farmers in Khorezm perceive water and its management and how this facilitates or prevents water conservation, or "water saving," in irrigated…

Savings impact of a corporate energy manager

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sikorski, B.D.; O'Donnell, B.A.

1999-01-01

This paper discusses the cost savings impact of employing an energy manager with a 16,000-employee corporation. The corporation, Canada's second largest airline, is currently operating nearly 3,000,000 ft 2 of mixed-use facilities spread across the country, with an annual energy budget for ground facilities of over Cdn $4,000,000. This paper outlines the methodology used by the energy manager to deploy an energy management program over a two-year period between April 1995 and May 1997. The paper examines the successes and the lessons learned during the period and summarizes the costs and benefits of the program. The energy manager position was responsible for developing an energy history database with more than 100 active accounts and for monitoring and verifying energy savings. The energy manager implemented many relatively low-cost energy conservation measures, as well as some capital projects, during the first two years of the program. In total, these measures provided energy cost savings of $210,000 per year, or 5% of the total budget. In each case, technologies installed as part of the energy retrofit projects provided not only cost savings but also better control, reduced maintenance, and improved working conditions for employees

Economic evaluation of water loss saving due to the biological ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper focuses on water loss saving as the benefit derived from biological control of this plant between 1990 and 2013 at New Year's Dam, Alicedale, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Estimates of water loss due to evapotranspiration from water hyacinth vary significantly; therefore, the study used three different rates, high, ...

Numerical assessment of water-saving irrigation on the water cycle at the oasis of the Manas River Basin

OpenAIRE

he

2018-01-01

As the birthplace of water-saving technology under mulch drip irrigation in China, the Manas River Basin (MRB) has developed into the largest oasis farming area in Xinjiang and the fourth largest irrigated agricultural area in China. This study presents systematic evaluation the effect of water-saving technologies on precipitation, runoff, infiltration and evapotranspiration in this basin. A model of the regional water cycle was developed for quantitatively assessing groundwater balance and g...

Economic assessment of different mulches in conventional and water-saving rice production systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Jabran, Khawar; Hussain, Mubshar; Fahad, Shah; Farooq, Muhammad; Bajwa, Ali Ahsan; Alharrby, Hesham; Nasim, Wajid

2016-05-01

Water-saving rice production systems including alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and aerobic rice (AR) are being increasingly adopted by growers due to global water crises. Application of natural and artificial mulches may further improve water economy of water-saving rice production systems. Conventionally flooded rice (CFR) system has been rarely compared with AWD and AR in terms of economic returns. In this 2-year field study, we compared CFR with AWD and AR (with and without straw and plastic mulches) for the cost of production and economic benefits. Results indicated that CFR had a higher production cost than AWD and AR. However, application of mulches increased the cost of production of AWD and AR production systems where plastic mulch was expensive than straw mulch. Although the mulching increased the cost of production for AWD and AR, the gross income of these systems was also improved significantly. The gross income from mulched plots of AWD and AR was higher than non-mulched plots of the same systems. In conclusion, AWD and AR effectively reduce cost of production by economizing the water use. However, the use of natural and artificial mulches in such water-saving environments further increased the economic returns. The maximized economic returns by using straw mulch in water-saving rice production systems definitely have pragmatic implications for sustainable agriculture.

Methodology for the National Water Savings Model and Spreadsheet Tool Commercial/Institutional

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chan, Peter [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Long, Tim [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Williams, Alison [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Melody, Moya [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2012-01-01

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has developed a mathematical model to quantify the water and monetary savings attributable to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) WaterSense labeling program for commercial and institutional products. The National Water Savings–Commercial/Institutional (NWS-CI) model is a spreadsheet tool with which the EPA can evaluate the success of its program for encouraging buyers in the commercial and institutional (CI) sectors to purchase more water-efficient products. WaterSense has begun by focusing on three water-using products commonly used in the CI sectors: flushometer valve toilets, urinals, and pre-rinse spray valves. To estimate the savings attributable to WaterSense for each of the three products, LBNL applies an accounting method to national product shipments and lifetimes to estimate the shipments of each product.

Simulation of Crop Growth and Water-Saving Irrigation Scenarios for Lettuce: A Monsoon-Climate Case Study in Kampong Chhnang, Cambodia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pinnara Ket

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Setting up water-saving irrigation strategies is a major challenge farmers face, in order to adapt to climate change and to improve water-use efficiency in crop productions. Currently, the production of vegetables, such as lettuce, poses a greater challenge in managing effective water irrigation, due to their sensitivity to water shortage. Crop growth models, such as AquaCrop, play an important role in exploring and providing effective irrigation strategies under various environmental conditions. The objectives of this study were (i to parameterise the AquaCrop model for lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. crispa L. using data from farmers’ fields in Cambodia, and (ii to assess the impact of two distinct full and deficit irrigation scenarios in silico, using AquaCrop, under two contrasting soil types in the Cambodian climate. Field observations of biomass and canopy cover during the growing season of 2017 were used to adjust the crop growth parameters of the model. The results confirmed the ability of AquaCrop to correctly simulate lettuce growth. The irrigation scenario analysis suggested that deficit irrigation is a “silver bullet” water saving strategy that can save 20–60% of water compared to full irrigation scenarios in the conditions of this study.

N balance of different N application rate of winter wheat under water-saving condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Shijuan; Zhu Yeping; Sun Kaimeng; E Yue

2003-01-01

N uptake and N balance of different N rate applied to wheat under water-saving condition were investigated with 15 N tracer technique and the dynamic N uptake of economic N treatment under two irrigation conditions was compared. The results showed that (1) compared with conventional n treatment, the N loss of economic N treatment reduced while NUE and N residue in soil improved under water-saving condition; (2) Use efficiency of fertilizer applied as basal fertilizer was higher than that as top-dressing fertilizer under water-saving condition; (3) The fertilizer N residue rate was from 29% to 41%, and 60% of N residue, which distributed in 1 m depth soil concentrated in 0-20 cm surface layer; (4) In whole growing stage of wheat, fertilizer N hadn't leach to 130 cm depth; (5) NUE of economic N treatment under conventional irrigation decreased by 16.6% compared with the same n treatment under water-saving condition

Impact of Extended Daylight Saving Time on National Energy Consumption Report to Congress

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belzer, D. B.; Hadley, S. W.; Chin, S-M.

2008-10-01

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. No. 109-58; EPAct 2005) amended the Uniform Time Act of 1966 (Pub. L. No. 89-387) to increase the portion of the year that is subject to Daylight Saving Time. (15 U.S.C. 260a note) EPAct 2005 extended the duration of Daylight Saving Time in the spring by changing its start date from the first Sunday in April to the second Sunday in March, and in the fall by changing its end date from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in November. (15 U.S.C. 260a note) EPAct 2005 also called for the Department of Energy to evaluate the impact of Extended Daylight Saving Time on energy consumption in the United States and to submit a report to Congress. (15 U.S.C. 260a note) This report presents the results of impacts of Extended Daylight Saving Time on the national energy consumption in the United States. The key findings are: (1) The total electricity savings of Extended Daylight Saving Time were about 1.3 Tera Watt-hour (TWh). This corresponds to 0.5 percent per each day of Extended Daylight Saving Time, or 0.03 percent of electricity consumption over the year. In reference, the total 2007 electricity consumption in the United States was 3,900 TWh. (2) In terms of national primary energy consumption, the electricity savings translate to a reduction of 17 Trillion Btu (TBtu) over the spring and fall Extended Daylight Saving Time periods, or roughly 0.02 percent of total U.S. energy consumption during 2007 of 101,000 TBtu. (3) During Extended Daylight Saving Time, electricity savings generally occurred over a three- to five-hour period in the evening with small increases in usage during the early-morning hours. On a daily percentage basis, electricity savings were slightly greater during the March (spring) extension of Extended Daylight Saving Time than the November (fall) extension. On a regional basis, some southern portions of the United States exhibited slightly smaller impacts of Extended Daylight Saving Time on energy savings

The Life Cycle CO2 (LCCO2 Evaluation of Retrofits for Water-Saving Fittings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yasutoshi Shimizu

2013-05-01

Full Text Available As part of measures being taken against global warming, the reduction of CO2 emissions by retrofitting for water-saving fittings in homes is spreading throughout the world. However, although this retrofitting reduces the environmental impact at the use stage, it generates new impacts at the production and disposal stages. In addition, there has been little research that discusses the reduction in environmental impact obtained by retrofitting from the viewpoint of the overall life cycle of such fittings. In this paper, an evaluation of the environmental impact of retrofitting in terms of the entire life cycle was carried out for toilet bowls and showerheads. The findings show that even for a toilet bowl that generates a large environmental load at the production stage, there is no overall increase in the environmental impact by retrofitting for the average usable life of 20 years.

Sino-US cooperation in water saving technologies: essential international problems

Science.gov (United States)

The United States and China share many agricultural problems, but one of great importance is the need to produce more crop yield in the face of water scarcity. Common recognition of this problem led to the development of a joint Sino-US Water Saving Technologies Flagship project within the larger US...

[Water-saving mechanisms of intercropping system in improving cropland water use efficiency].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Feng-Yun; Wu, Pu-Te; Zhao, Xi-Ning; Cheng, Xue-Feng

2012-05-01

Based on the multi-disciplinary researches, and in terms of the transformation efficiency of surface water to soil water, availability of cropland soil water, crop canopy structure, total irrigation volume needed on a given area, and crop yield, this paper discussed the water-saving mechanisms of intercropping system in improving cropland water use efficiency. Intercropping system could promote the full use of cropland water by plant roots, increase the water storage in root zone, reduce the inter-row evaporation and control excessive transpiration, and create a special microclimate advantageous to the plant growth and development. In addition, intercropping system could optimize source-sink relationship, provide a sound foundation for intensively utilizing resources temporally and spatially, and increase the crop yield per unit area greatly without increase of water consumption, so as to promote the crop water use efficiency effectively.

Review of Literature for Inputs to the National Water Savings Model and Spreadsheet Tool-Commercial/Institutional

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whitehead, Camilla Dunham; Melody, Moya; Lutz, James

2009-05-29

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is developing a computer model and spreadsheet tool for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help estimate the water savings attributable to their WaterSense program. WaterSense has developed a labeling program for three types of plumbing fixtures commonly used in commercial and institutional settings: flushometer valve toilets, urinals, and pre-rinse spray valves. This National Water Savings-Commercial/Institutional (NWS-CI) model is patterned after the National Water Savings-Residential model, which was completed in 2008. Calculating the quantity of water and money saved through the WaterSense labeling program requires three primary inputs: (1) the quantity of a given product in use; (2) the frequency with which units of the product are replaced or are installed in new construction; and (3) the number of times or the duration the product is used in various settings. To obtain the information required for developing the NWS-CI model, LBNL reviewed various resources pertaining to the three WaterSense-labeled commercial/institutional products. The data gathered ranged from the number of commercial buildings in the United States to numbers of employees in various sectors of the economy and plumbing codes for commercial buildings. This document summarizes information obtained about the three products' attributes, quantities, and use in commercial and institutional settings that is needed to estimate how much water EPA's WaterSense program saves.

Exploring Environmental Awareness and Behavior among Guests at Hotels That Apply Water-Saving Measures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ariadna Gabarda-Mallorquí

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate guest profiles at a hotel that has created a best-practices water management model to determine how different types of guests contribute to saving water during their stay. To do this, we analyzed levels of environmental awareness and pro-environmental behavior among the guests. Information was gathered through 648 structured surveys with guests at Hotel Samba in the Spanish seaside resort of Lloret de Mar between September 2015 and August 2016. Cluster analysis revealed four profiles of guests with different sociodemographic characteristics and different levels of awareness and proactivity in relation to water conservation. We combined our findings to develop a framework that illustrates how the two dimensions of environmental awareness and pro-environmental behavior are related in this setting. This article provides new insights into how hotel guests’ environmental awareness and engagement can influence a hotel’s water-saving efforts. These insights should help hotel operators to devise new, guest-centered strategies for saving water.

Centrifugal compressor efficiency improvement and its environmental impact in waste water treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viholainen, J.; Grönman, K.; Jaatinen-Värri, A.; Grönman, A.; Ukkonen, P.; Luoranen, M.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Energy performance and environmental impact of the compressor operation was studied. • Diffusers can offer significant energy savings in aeration compressor tasks. • Diffusers used in compressors reduce the environmental impact of the machine use. • The influence of additional material and diffuser manufacturing is insignificant. - Abstract: Energy costs typically dominate the life-cycle costs of centrifugal compressors used in various industrial and municipal processes, making the compressor an attractive target for energy efficiency improvements. This study considers the achievable energy savings of using three different diffuser types in a centrifugal compressor supporting a typical end-use process in a waste water treatment plant. The effect of the energy efficiency improvements on the annual energy use and the environmental impacts are demonstrated with energy calculations and life-cycle assessment considering the selected compressor task in the waste water aeration. Besides the achievable energy saving benefits in the wastewater aeration process, the presented study shows the influence of the additional material needed in the diffuser manufacturing on the total greenhouse gas emissions of the compressor life-cycle. According to the calculations and assessment results, the studied diffuser types have a significant effect on the compressor energy use and environmental impacts when the compressor is operated in the aeration task. The achievable annual energy savings in this case were 2.5–4.9% in comparison with the baseline scenario. Also, the influence of the additional material and energy use for manufacturing the diffuser are insignificant compared with the avoided greenhouse gas reduction potential

The modern water-saving agricultural technology: Progress and focus

African Journals Online (AJOL)

GREGORY

2010-09-13

Sep 13, 2010 ... fastest 100-year in human history, in which the world population has .... achieving modern water-saving high-yield and quality type from .... Information technology, intelligent technology and 3S technology ... perfor-mance and longer service life. .... using artificial neural network technology and data commu-.

The impact on energy consumption of daylight saving clock changes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hill, S.I.; Desobry, F. [Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge (United Kingdom); Garnsey, E.W. [Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge (United Kingdom); Chong, Y.-F. [IPA Energy and Water Consulting (United Kingdom)

2010-09-15

The focus of this work is an investigation of the effect of prevailing time regime on energy consumption. In particular we perform analysis demonstrating potential energy savings which could be obtained were Great Britain to maintain daylight savings time (DST) over winter, instead of reverting to Greenwich mean time (GMT). We review the literature on the effect of DST on energy consumption and show that this indicates a justification for considering the issue. Our headline result is in agreement with many related studies in that advancing the clock by an hour in winter would lead to energy savings of at least 0.3% of daily demand in Great Britain. In deriving this result we have adopted methodologies currently used in load prediction, in particular Support Vector Regression, to estimate energy demand on a half-hourly basis. Corresponding cost savings are found to be higher (due to the nonlinear increase of costs) and we find them to be on the order of 0.6% over the months considered. In terms of environmental impact we find the saving to be approximately equivalent to 450,000 ton of CO{sub 2}. In deriving these results we adopt a conservative approach such that we consider them lower bounds on any true savings. (author)

The impact on energy consumption of daylight saving clock changes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, S.I.; Desobry, F.; Garnsey, E.W.; Chong, Y.-F.

2010-01-01

The focus of this work is an investigation of the effect of prevailing time regime on energy consumption. In particular we perform analysis demonstrating potential energy savings which could be obtained were Great Britain to maintain daylight savings time (DST) over winter, instead of reverting to Greenwich mean time (GMT). We review the literature on the effect of DST on energy consumption and show that this indicates a justification for considering the issue. Our headline result is in agreement with many related studies in that advancing the clock by an hour in winter would lead to energy savings of at least 0.3% of daily demand in Great Britain. In deriving this result we have adopted methodologies currently used in load prediction, in particular Support Vector Regression, to estimate energy demand on a half-hourly basis. Corresponding cost savings are found to be higher (due to the nonlinear increase of costs) and we find them to be on the order of 0.6% over the months considered. In terms of environmental impact we find the saving to be approximately equivalent to 450,000 ton of CO 2 . In deriving these results we adopt a conservative approach such that we consider them lower bounds on any true savings.

Cropping pattern adjustment in China's grain production and its impact on land and water use

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Tian-xiang; Zhu, Jing; Balezentis, Tomas

2016-01-01

This paper aims at decomposing China's grain output changes into three terms, namely area sown effect, pure yield effect, and cropping pattern adjustment effect. Furthermore, the paper analyses the impact of shifts in cropping pattern on water and land use in China's grain production. An index...... adjustments). However, these effects vary across regions: Southeast China experienced land-saving and water-using changes, while other regions underwent land- and water-saving changes. In general, China's grain output growth has increased the total amount of land and water needed, implying more severe...... played an important role in promoting China's grain production, with a contribution of over 15 per cent during 2003-2012. Moreover, such changes enabled to save about 6.8 million hectares of sown areas and 31.06 billion m3 of water in grain production (if compared to the case without cropping pattern...

SWEEP - Save Water and Energy Education Program; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sullivan, Gregory P; Elliott, Douglas B; Hillman, Tim C; Hadley, Adam; Ledbetter, Marc R; Payson, David R

2001-01-01

The objective of this study was to develop, monitor, analyze, and report on an integrated resource-conservation program highlighting efficient residential appliances and fixtures. The sites of study were 50 homes in two water-constrained communities located in Oregon. The program was designed to maximize water savings to these communities and to serve as a model for other communities seeking an integrated approach to energy and water resource efficiency. The program included the installation and in-place evaluation of energy- and water-efficient devices including the following: horizontal axis clothes washers (and the matching clothes dryers), resource-efficient dishwashers, an innovative dual flush low-flow toilet, low-flow showerheads, and faucet aerators. The significance of this activity lies in its integrated approach and unique metering evaluation of individual end-use, aggregated residential total use, and system-wide energy and water benefits

Water and energy saving at Dutch pastry factory Verkade; Koekjesbakker bespaart water en energie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Gool, J. (ed.)

2003-11-01

A pastry factory (Verkade in Zaandam, Netherlands) produces 27,000 ton of cookies and biscuits, using 2.2 million m{sup 3} natural gas, 6.7 million kWh and 67,000 m{sup 3} water. By means of new cooling systems a considerable amount of energy and water is saved. [Dutch] Verkade in Zaandam produceert jaarlijks 27.000 ton biscuit, waarvoor 2,2 miljoen m{sup 3} gas, 6,7 miljoen kilowattuur en 67.000 m{sup 3} water nodig is. Dankzij vernieuwde koelsystemen is het water- en energieverbruik flink gedaald.

Water savings from reduced alfalfa cropping in California's Upper San Joaquin Valley

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, K. K.; Gray, J.

2017-12-01

Water and food and forage security are inextricably linked. In fact, 90% of global freshwater is consumed for food production. Food demand increases as populations grow and diets change, making water increasingly scarce. This tension is particularly acute, contentious, and popularly appreciated in California's Central Valley, which is one of the most important non-grain cropping areas in the United States. While the water-intensive production of tree nuts like almonds and pistachios has received the most popular attention, it is California's nation-leading alfalfa production that consumes the most water. Alfalfa, the "Queen of Forages" is the preferred feedstock for California's prodigious dairy industry. It is grown year-round, and single fields can be harvested more than four times a year; a practice which can require in excess of 1.5 m of irrigation water. Given the water scarcity in the region, the production of alfalfa is under increasing scrutiny with respect to long-term sustainability. However, the potential water savings associated with alternative crops, and various levels of alfalfa replacement have not been quantified. Here, we address that knowledge gap by simulating the ecohydrology of the Upper San Joaquin's cropping system under various scenarios of alfalfa crop replacement with crops of comparable economic value. Specifically, we use the SWAT model to evaluate the water savings that would be realized at 33%, 66%, and 100% alfalfa replacement with economically comparable, but more water efficient crops such as tomatoes. Our results provide an important quantification of the potential water savings under alternative cropping systems that, importantly, also addresses the economic concerns of farmers. Results like these provide critical guidance to farmers and land/water decision makers as they plan for a more sustainable and productive agricultural future.

Water Saving and Cost Analysis of Large-Scale Implementation of Domestic Rain Water Harvesting in Minor Mediterranean Islands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto Campisano

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a novel methodology to evaluate the benefits of large-scale installation of domestic Rain Water Harvesting (RWH systems in multi-story buildings. The methodology was specifically developed for application to small settlements of the minor Mediterranean islands characterized by sharp fluctuations in precipitation and water demands between winter and summer periods. The methodology is based on the combined use of regressive models for water saving evaluation and of geospatial analysis tools for semi-automatic collection of spatial information at the building/household level. An application to the old town of Lipari (Aeolian islands showed potential for high yearly water savings (between 30% and 50%, with return on investment in less than 15 years for about 50% of the installed RWH systems.

Nuclear recycling: costs, savings, and safeguards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spinrad, B.I.

1985-01-01

This chapter discusses the economics, physical and chemical processes, and safety of nuclear fuel recycling. The spent fuel must be chemically reprocessed in order to recover uranium and plutonium. Topics considered include indifference costs, recycling in light water reactors (LWRs), plutonium in fast reactors, the choice between recycling and storage, safeguards, and weapons proliferation. It is shown that the economics of recycling nuclear fuel involves the actual costs and savings of the recycling operation in terms of money spent, made, and saved, and the impact of the recycling on the future cost of uranium

Saving water? : analysis of options for rice-based farms in Tamil Nadu, India

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Senthilkumar, K.

2008-01-01

Keywords: Modified rice cultivation, Water-saving, Farm typology, Technology adoption, Policy interventions, Farmers livelihoods, Resource use efficiency and Linear programming.

The looming water crisis and water-intensive nature of rice cultivation are driving the search for alternative

Spending to save

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Anders

2013-01-01

the energy distribution companies meet their overall saving obligation, the net savings impact are about a third of the savings reported by the obligated parties. Further it was found that while energy savings in the public and business sector have a high net impact, some subsidies given under the EEO...... perspective. The evaluation has resulted in noticeable adjustments of the design of the Danish EEO, e.g. introduction of a 1 year payback-time limit for projects receiving subsidies, a minimum baseline for insulation products, and specification of documentation requirements....

Energy and Economic Impacts of U.S. Federal Energy and Water Conservation Standards Adopted From 1987 through 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meyers, Stephen [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Williams, Alison [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Chan, Peter [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2013-04-01

This paper presents estimates of the key impacts of Federal energy and water conservation standards adopted from 1987 through 2012. The standards for consumer products and commercial and industrial equipment include those set by legislation as well as standards adopted by DOE through rulemaking. In 2012, the standards saved an estimated 3.6 quads of primary energy, which is equivalent to 3% of total U.S. energy consumption. The savings in operating costs for households and businesses totaled $51.4 billion. The average household saved $347 in operating costs as a result of residential and plumbing product standards. The estimated reduction in CO2 emissions associated with the standards in 2012 was 198 million metric tons, which is equivalent to 3% of total U.S. CO2 emissions. The estimated cumulative energy savings over the period 1990-2070 amount to 179 quads. Accounting for the increased upfront costs of more-efficient products and the operating cost (energy and water) savings over the products’ lifetime, the standards have a past and projected cumulative net present value (NPV) of consumer benefit of between $1,104 billion and $1,390 billion, using 7 percent and 3 percent discount rates, respectively. The water conservation standards, together with energy conservation standards that also save water, reduced water use by 1.8 trillion gallons in 2012, and will achieve cumulative water savings by 2040 of 54 trillion gallons. The estimated consumer savings in 2012 from reduced water use amounted to $13 billon.

Energy and Economic Impacts of U.S. Federal Energy and Water Conservation Standards Adopted From 1987 Through 2015

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meyers, Stephen [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Williams, Alison [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Chan, Peter [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Price, Sarah [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2016-02-17

This paper presents estimates of the key impacts of Federal energy and water conservation standards adopted from 1987 through 2015. The standards for consumer products and commercial and industrial equipment include those set by legislation as well as standards adopted by DOE through rulemaking. In 2015, the standards saved an estimated 4.49 quads of primary energy, which is equivalent to 5% of total U.S. energy consumption. The savings in operating costs for households and businesses totaled $63.4 billion. The average household saved $320 in operating costs as a result of residential appliance standards. The estimated reduction in CO2 emissions associated with the standards in 2015 was 238 million metric tons, which is equivalent to 4.3% of total U.S. CO2 emissions. The estimated cumulative energy savings over the period 1990-2090 amount to 216.9 quads. Accounting for the increased upfront costs of more-efficient products and the operating cost (energy and water) savings over the products’ lifetime, the standards have a cumulative net present value (NPV) of consumer benefit of between $1,627 billion and $1,887 billion, using 7 percent and 3 percent discount rates, respectively. The water conservation standards, together with energy conservation standards that also save water, reduced water use by 1.9 trillion gallons in 2015 and estimated cumulative water savings by 2090 amount to 55 trillion gallons. The estimated consumer savings in 2015 from reduced water use amounted to $12 billon.

Energy and Economic Impacts of U.S. Federal Energy and Water Conservation Standards Adopted From 1987 Through 2013

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meyers, Stephen; Williams, Alison; Chan, Peter

2014-06-30

This paper presents estimates of the key impacts of Federal energy and water conservation standards adopted from 1987 through 2013. The standards for consumer products and commercial and industrial equipment include those set by legislation as well as standards adopted by DOE through rulemaking. In 2013, the standards saved an estimated 4.05 quads of primary energy, which is equivalent to 4% of total U.S. energy consumption. The savings in operating costs for households and businesses totaled $56 billion. The average household saved $361 in operating costs as a result of residential and plumbing product standards. The estimated reduction in CO{sub 2} emissions associated with the standards in 2013 was 218 million metric tons, which is equivalent to 4% of total U.S. CO{sub 2} emissions. The estimated cumulative energy savings over the period 1990-2090 amount to 181 quads. Accounting for the increased upfront costs of more-efficient products and the operating cost (energy and water) savings over the products’ lifetime, the standards have a past and projected cumulative net present value (NPV) of consumer benefit of between $1,271 billion and $1,487 billion, using 7 percent and 3 percent discount rates, respectively. The water conservation standards, together with energy conservation standards that also save water, reduced water use by 1.9 trillion gallons in 2013, and will achieve cumulative water savings by 2090 of 55 trillion gallons. The estimated consumer savings in 2013 from reduced water use amounted to $16 billon.

Freshwater savings from marine protein consumption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gephart, Jessica A; Pace, Michael L; D’Odorico, Paolo

2014-01-01

Marine fisheries provide an essential source of protein for many people around the world. Unlike alternative terrestrial sources of protein, marine fish production requires little to no freshwater inputs. Consuming marine fish protein instead of terrestrial protein therefore represents freshwater savings (equivalent to an avoided water cost) and contributes to a low water footprint diet. These water savings are realized by the producers of alternative protein sources, rather than the consumers of marine protein. This study quantifies freshwater savings from marine fish consumption around the world by estimating the water footprint of replacing marine fish with terrestrial protein based on current consumption patterns. An estimated 7 600 km 3  yr −1 of water is used for human food production. Replacing marine protein with terrestrial protein would require an additional 350 km 3  yr −1 of water, meaning that marine protein provides current water savings of 4.6%. The importance of these freshwater savings is highly uneven around the globe, with savings ranging from as little as 0 to as much as 50%. The largest savings as a per cent of current water footprints occur in Asia, Oceania, and several coastal African nations. The greatest national water savings from marine fish protein occur in Southeast Asia and the United States. As the human population increases, future water savings from marine fish consumption will be increasingly important to food and water security and depend on sustainable harvest of capture fisheries and low water footprint growth of marine aquaculture. (paper)

Managing water pressure for water savings in developing countries

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2014-03-03

Mar 3, 2014 ... effort into providing customers with a reliable level of service, often via poor water ... budgets. There are many factors contributing to water losses in water .... given relationship does not reflect the impact of pressure on.

Evaluation of water saving measures for mid-sized tourist lodging units: the case of Samos Island, Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eleftheria E. Klontza

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Hotel sector causes significant environmental stress in both natural and built up areas due to their consumption of water and energy. In addition, the production of large volumes of liquid and solid waste results in a significant environmental footprint. The use of water and energy by hotels is strongly linked (e.g. energy is consumed for hot water, operation of the pool, preparation of meals, etc. and usually referred to as the water – energy nexus. Thus, for big consumers like hotels, water and energy consumption should be addressed collectively as water-saving measures can lead to a reduction in energy consumption. The aim of this study is to assess the environmental performance of mid-sized hotel units by analyzing and quantifying their use of water. An analysis using a two-step approach was made of 8 accommodation facilities located on Samos Island, Greece: (i a mapping of water use by adopting an end-use approach, and then (ii an assessment of saving practices using three main criteria: savings, cost of investment and payback time. The preliminary results indicate that for small sized lodging units, water consumed inside the guest rooms accounts for the majority of all the water used and low-cost water saving measures and actions can reduce the pressure on water resources without disturbing guests, while increasing the financial profitability of a hotel.

Energy saving and cost saving cooling; Energie und Kosten sparende Kuehlung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koenig, Klaus W. [Architektur- und Fachpressebuero Klaus W. Koenig, Ueberlingen (Germany)

2012-07-01

In the case of cost reduction, energy conservation and resource savings, rain water is an ideal medium offering more advantages in comparison to the cooling with drinking water. There are no fees for the drinking water and drainage of rain water. It is not necessary to soften rain water so that further operational costs for the treatment and drainage of waste water can be saved. The avoidance of the related material flows and necessary energy is a practiced environmental protection and climate protection.

Energy efficiency improvement and fuel savings in water heaters using baffles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moeini Sedeh, Mahmoud; Khodadadi, J.M.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Thermal efficiency improved by simple/novel design of baffles inside water reservoir. ► Noticeable steady-state natural gas savings of about 5%. ► Extensive 3-D numerical investigations followed by experimental verifications. ► Baffle designs prototyped in identical water heaters for ANSI/US DOE test protocols. ► Numerical/experimental results verified thermal efficiency improvement and fuel savings. -- Abstract: Thermal efficiency improvement of a water heater was investigated numerically and experimentally in response to presence of a baffle, particularly designed for modifying the flow field within the water reservoir and enhancing heat transfer extracted into the water tank. A residential natural gas-fired water heater was selected for modifying its water tank through introducing a baffle for lowering natural gas consumption by 5% as a target. Based on the geometric features of the selected water heater, three-dimensional models of the water heater subsections were developed. Upon detailed studies of flow and heat transfer in each subsection, various sub-models were integrated to a complete model of the water heater. Thermal performance of the selected water heater was investigated numerically using computational fluid dynamics analysis. Prior to baffle design process and in order to verify the developed model of the water heater, time-dependent numerically-predicted temperatures were compared to the experimentally-measured temperatures under the same conditions at six (6) different locations inside the water tank and good agreement was observed. Upon verifying the numerical model, the fluid flow and heat transfer patterns were characterized for the selected water heater. The overall design of the baffle and its location and orientation were finalized based on the numerical results and a set of parametric studies. Finally, two baffle designs were proposed, with the second design being an optimized version of the first design. The

The economic impact of energy saving retrofits of residential and public buildings in Croatia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikulić, Davor; Bakarić, Ivana Rašić; Slijepčević, Sunčana

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to estimunate the impact of energy saving investment in residential and public buildings in Croatia for the period 2015–2020. The aim is to assess the overall socio-economic impact of energy saving renovation measures defined in Croatian strategic documents in terms of the direct, indirect and induced growth of gross value added, employment and government revenues. An estimate of the avoided costs of air pollution is also included. The overall economic impact assessment is based on an input-output methodology. From the point of view of individual investors, the benefits in terms of reduced future expenses related to energy products are usually below energy efficient renovation investment costs, making an investment financially viable only if government support is provided. If the benefits for society as a whole are included, energy efficient renovation could be assessed as viable even in the short-run. Energy saving retrofits of residential and public buildings positively contribute to economic growth, employment and protection of the environment. Because of economic growth, the tax revenues induced by these investments could compensate for government expenditures, and the overall impact on the public deficit is expected to be neutral even in the short-run. - Highlights: •Estimate of the overall socioeconomic impact of energy saving renovation measures on national economy. •Energy efficient renovation if not subsidised is not financially viable from the owner perspective. •Total social benefits are higher than social costs due to positive externalities. •Impact of subsidies on public deficit is neutral even in the short run.

Water saving in IC wafer washing process; IC wafer senjo deno sessui taisaku

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harada, H. [Mitsubishi Corp., Tokyo (Japan); Araki, M.; Nakazawa, T.

1997-11-30

This paper reports features of a wafer washing technology, a new IC wafer washing process, its pure water saving effect, and a `QC washing` which has pure water saving effect in the wafer washing. Wafer washing processes generally include the SC1 process (using ammonia + hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution) purposed for removing contamination due to ultrafine particles, the SC2 process (using hydrochloric acid + hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution) purposed for removing contamination due to heavy metals, the piranha washing process (using hot sulfuric acid + hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution) purposed for removing contamination due to organic matters, and the DHF (using dilute hydrofluoric acid) purposed for removing natural oxide films. Natural oxide films are now remained as surface protection films, by which surface contamination has been reduced remarkably. A high-temperature washing chemical circulating and filtering technology developed in Japan has brought about a reform in wafer washing processes having been used previously. Spin washing is used as a water saving measure, in which washing chemicals or pure water are sprayed onto one each of wafers which is spin-rotated, allowing washing and rinsing to be made with small amount of washing chemicals and pure water. The QC washing is a method to replace tank interior with pure was as quick as possible in order to increase the rinsing effect. 7 refs., 5 figs.

Self-supporting power plant. Capturing evaporated water and save energy a new source of water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daal, Ludwin; Vos, Frank de [KEMA Netherlands BV, Arnhem (Netherlands). Process and Cooling Water; KEMA Energy Consulting Co.Ltd, Beijing (China); Wageningen Univ. (Netherlands). Environmental Systems Analysis; Heijboer, Rob [KEMA Netherlands BV, Arnhem (Netherlands). Process and Cooling Water; Bekker, Bert [KEMA Energy Consulting Co.Ltd, Beijing (China); Gao, Xiu Xiu [Wageningen Univ. (Netherlands). Environmental Systems Analysis

2013-07-01

One of the major challenges of this century is the provision of water for a growing population and industry. The shortage in water resources in arid areas requires the availability of more efficient and cheaper water production processes. In some arid regions water is even more important than electricity. A large source of water is found in the form of evaporated water emitted from different industrial processes. If for example 20% of the evaporated water from the flue gas stream of a coal fired power plant would be captured, the plant would be self-supporting from a process water point of view. This is about 30m{sup 3} of water per hour. The results of the proof of principle project (2001-2008) show that >40% recovery can be achieved. Also an overall energy efficiency improvement can be achieved for industrial plants that reheat their flue gases. Calculations show that this can be about 1% overall efficiency for a coal fired power plant utilizing flue gas reheating. With an installed capacity of more than 600GWe in China, this energy saving results in a very large economic and fuel (coal) impact. This energy efficiency will most likely be the driving force to implement the technology in both water rich and water poor regions. For the capture of evaporated water no chemicals are used, there is no waste water formed and corrosion attack in stacks is mitigated. These results have led to the set up of a large international project named CapWa which aims to produce a membrane modular system suitable for industrial applications within 2-3years. The produced demin water from this system should be competitive with existing demin water technologies. The starting point will be the water vapour selective composite membranes that are developed in the proof of principle project. The CapWa project started in 2010 and consists of 14 partners of which 9 from the EU, 3 from the African continent and 2 from the Middle East.

Energy Saving in an ETC Solar System to Produce High Temperature Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos J. Porras-Prieto

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The use of solar water heating systems (SWHS based on evacuated tube collectors (ETC has experienced rapid growth in the residential sector. In contrast, the implementation of these systems in the industrial sector is very limited, due in part to the demand of a higher temperature in water. Taking into account that the final energy of the industrial sector is similar to the residential sector, to increase the generation of renewable energy and energy saving in cities, efforts in this sector should be redoubled. Therefore, the present work characterises the behaviour of a SWHS-ETC with active circulation to produce hot water at 90 °C, determining its performance, energy saving and profitability in different scenarios in Europe. The annual energy savings generated by the SWHS Range between 741 and 435 kWh m−2 (reduction of emissions between 215 and 88 kg CO2 m−2. The results of the analysis of profitability, studying the variation of the conventional energy price, the cost of the investment, the useful life and the energy supplied, in thousands of scenarios, are a valuable tool for correct decision making, as they can be of great utility to increase the implementation of these systems in the industrial sector.

Economic and Environmental Impact of Energy Saving in Healthcare Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justo García-Sanz-Calcedo

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to estimate the economic and environmental impacts of energy consumption derived from healthcare buildings and proposes several energy-saving options in the sector. An experimental energy consumption study was development between 2005 and 2013 in 12 hospitals and 70 healthcare centres in Spain, built between 1980 and 2005 through audits carried out between 2005 and 2012, performed by the Extremadura Energy Agency. The study focused on electric energy, HVAC, DWH, lighting systems, renewable energies, maintenance strategy, thermal insulation, and optimal building size. Specifically, the following parameters were evaluated: energy savings, investment emission of CO2, NO2, and SO2 gases, and payback. The results revealed that through an appropriate energy management of healthcare buildings it is possible to save up to 8.60 kWh/m2 per year, for buildings of less than 5000 m2 (with no beds, which represents an expense of 1.55 €/m2. In healthcare buildings larger than 5000 m2 (with beds, it was possible to save up to 6.88 kWh/m2 per year, which represents an expense of 1.25 €/m2.

Energy savings in the Danish building stock until 2050

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wittchen, Kim Bjarne; Kragh, Jesper

2014-01-01

are energy upgraded according to the requirements stipulated in the Danish Building Regulations 2010. Furthermore, scenario analyses was made for the potential impact on the energy consumption of introducing different levels of tightening of the energy requirements for existing buildings in the Danish...... Building Regulations. Compliance with the requirements in the Danish Building Regulations will potentially result in energy savings for space heating and domestic hot water around 30 % until 2050. Further tightening of the component insulation level requirements will only result in marginally higher......A study has been conducted analysing the energy savings for space heating and domestic hot water in the Danish building stock due to renovation of building components at the end of their service life. The purpose of the study was to estimate the energy savings until 2050 as building components...

Water Impact Prediction Tool for Recoverable Rockets

Science.gov (United States)

Rooker, William; Glaese, John; Clayton, Joe

2011-01-01

Reusing components from a rocket launch can be cost saving. NASA's space shuttle system has reusable components that return to the Earth and impact the ocean. A primary example is the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) that descends on parachutes to the Earth after separation and impacts the ocean. Water impact generates significant structural loads that can damage the booster, so it is important to study this event in detail in the design of the recovery system. Some recent examples of damage due to water impact include the Ares I-X First Stage deformation as seen in Figure 1 and the loss of the SpaceX Falcon 9 First Stage.To ensure that a component can be recovered or that the design of the recovery system is adequate, an adequate set of structural loads is necessary for use in failure assessments. However, this task is difficult since there are many conditions that affect how a component impacts the water and the resulting structural loading that a component sees. These conditions include the angle of impact with respect to the water, the horizontal and vertical velocities, the rotation rate, the wave height and speed, and many others. There have been attempts to simulate water impact. One approach is to analyze water impact using explicit finite element techniques such as those employed by the LS-Dyna tool [1]. Though very detailed, this approach is time consuming and would not be suitable for running Monte Carlo or optimization analyses. The purpose of this paper is to describe a multi-body simulation tool that runs quickly and that captures the environments a component might see. The simulation incorporates the air and water interaction with the component, the component dynamics (i.e. modes and mode shapes), any applicable parachutes and lines, the interaction of winds and gusts, and the wave height and speed. It is capable of quickly conducting Monte Carlo studies to better capture the environments and genetic algorithm optimizations to reproduce a

Cost-savings for biosimilars in the United States: a theoretical framework and budget impact case study application using filgrastim.

Science.gov (United States)

Grewal, Simrun; Ramsey, Scott; Balu, Sanjeev; Carlson, Josh J

2018-05-18

Biosimilars can directly reduce the cost of treating patients for whom a reference biologic is indicated by offering a highly similar, lower priced alternative. We examine factors related to biosimilar regulatory approval, uptake, pricing, and financing and the potential impact on drug expenditures in the U.S. We developed a framework to illustrate how key factors including regulatory policies, provider and patient perception, pricing, and payer policies impact biosimilar cost-savings. Further, we developed a budget impact cost model to estimate savings from filgrastim biosimilars under various scenarios. The model uses publicly available data on disease incidence, treatment patterns, market share, and drug prices to estimate the cost-savings over a 5-year time horizon. We estimate five-year cost savings of $256 million, of which 18% ($47 million) are from reduced patient out-of-pocket costs, 34% ($86 million) are savings to commercial payers, and 48% ($123 million) are savings for Medicare. Additional scenarios demonstrate the impact of uncertain factors, including price, uptake, and financing policies. A variety or interrelated factors influence the development, uptake, and cost-savings for Biosimilars use in the U.S. The filgrastim case is a useful example that illustrates these factors and the potential magnitude of costs savings.

Evaluation of some water saving devices in urban areas: A case study from the Sultanate of Oman

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hayder A. Abdel Rahman

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Water Saving Devices (WSDs sustain demands for potable water, soften impacts on supply systems and inflict a positive effect on wastewater treatment systems. This study evaluated the effect of some WSDs in Oman. A questionnaire survey and some case studies were used. The survey results revealed that the pipe line system network for water supply accounted for about 67.7%, whereas the rest mainly use tankers. Around 37.2% of the participants received consumed 25000 - 45000 liters per household per month. Case studies showed no significant difference in household water usage before and after installation of WSDs due to pre-installed aerators. Toilet bags and dual flush toilets were not effective promoting users to flush. However, WSDs were significantly effective in restaurants, mosques, hotels and government buildings. Water consumption in shopping centres and hospitals slightly decreased. Retrofitting programs that involve replacement of existing plumbing equipment and residential water audit programs are recommended.

Potential for Potable Water Savings in Buildings by Using Stormwater Harvested from Porous Pavements

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Lucas Niehuns Antunes

2016-03-01

Full Text Available There is a growing concern about the scarcity of water resources due to population growth and increased demand for potable water. Thus, the rational use of water has become necessary for the conservation of such resources. The objective of this study is to estimate the potential for potable water savings in buildings of different sectors—residential, public and commercial—in the city of Florianópolis, southern Brazil, by using stormwater harvested from porous pavements. Models were constructed to assess infiltration and rainwater quality; samples of stormwater from a local road were collected to evaluate its quality; and computer simulation was performed to assess the potential for potable water savings and rainwater tank sizing. Draining asphalt concrete slabs with two types of modifiers were used, i.e., tire rubber and SBS polymer—styrene-butadiene-styrene. The Netuno computer programme was used to simulate the potential for potable water savings considering the use of rainwater for non-potable uses such as flushing toilets and urinals, cleaning external areas, and garden watering. Average stormwater infiltration was 85.4%. It was observed that stormwater is not completely pure. From the models, the pH was 5.4 and the concentrations of ammonia, phosphorus, nitrite, and dissolved oxygen were 0.41, 0.14, 0.002, and 9.0 mg/L, respectively. The results for the stormwater runoff of a paved road were 0.23, 0.11, 0.12, 0.08, 1.41, 2.11, 0.02, and 9.0 mg/L for the parameters aluminium, ammonia, copper, chromium, iron, phosphorus, nitrite, and dissolved oxygen, respectively; and the pH was 6.7. In the city of Florianópolis, which has a surface area of paved roads of approximately 11,044,216 m², the potential for potable water savings ranged from 1.2% to 19.4% in the residential sector, 2.1% to 75.7% in the public sector and 6.5% to 70.0% in the commercial sector.

Exploring Northwest China's agricultural water-saving strategy: analysis of water use efficiency based on an SE-DEA model conducted in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.

Science.gov (United States)

Mu, L; Fang, L; Wang, H; Chen, L; Yang, Y; Qu, X J; Wang, C Y; Yuan, Y; Wang, S B; Wang, Y N

Worldwide, water scarcity threatens delivery of water to urban centers. Increasing water use efficiency (WUE) is often recommended to reduce water demand, especially in water-scarce areas. In this paper, agricultural water use efficiency (AWUE) is examined using the super-efficient data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach in Xi'an in Northwest China at a temporal and spatial level. The grey systems analysis technique was then adopted to identify the factors that influenced the efficiency differentials under the shortage of water resources. From the perspective of temporal scales, the AWUE increased year by year during 2004-2012, and the highest (2.05) was obtained in 2009. Additionally, the AWUE was the best in the urban area at the spatial scale. Moreover, the key influencing factors of the AWUE are the financial situations and agricultural water-saving technology. Finally, we identified several knowledge gaps and proposed water-saving strategies for increasing AWUE and reducing its water demand by: (1) improving irrigation practices (timing and amounts) based on compatible water-saving techniques; (2) maximizing regional WUE by managing water resources and allocation at regional scales as well as enhancing coordination among Chinese water governance institutes.

Effects of Biochar on the Net Greenhouse Gas Emissions under Continuous Flooding and Water-Saving Irrigation Conditions in Paddy Soils

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Le Qi

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In this study, we investigated the greenhouse gas emission under different application of biochar in the conditions of continuous flooding and water-saving irrigation in paddy fields, whereas, plant and soil carbon sequestration were considered in the calculation of net greenhouse gas emissions. The emission rates of methane (CH4, carbon dioxide (CO2, and nitrous oxide (N2O gases were simultaneously monitored once every 7–10 days using the closed-chamber method. As a whole, the net greenhouse gas emission in the water-saving irrigation was more than that of the continuous flooding irrigation conditions. Compared with the water-saving irrigation, the continuous flooding irrigation significantly increased the CH4 in the control (CK and chemical fertilizer treatments (NPK. The CO2 emissions increased in each treatment of the water-saving irrigation condition, especially in the chemical fertilizer treatments (NPKFW. Similarly, the soil N2O emission was very sensitive to the water-saving irrigation condition. An interesting finding is that the biochar application in soils cut down the soil N2O emission more significantly than NPKFW in the water-saving irrigation condition while the effect of biochar increased under the continuous flooding irrigation condition.

Factors Affecting Chinese Farmers' Decisions to Adopt a Water-Saving Technology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Herzfeld, T.; Glauben, T.; Zhang, Y.; Hu, B.

2008-01-01

Chinese farm households (N = 240) were interviewed to understand some of the factors affecting their adoption of a water-saving technology called the Ground Cover Rice Production System (GCRPS). A logit model was established on the basis of a survey to estimate the determinants of adoption and to

Marginal costs of water savings from cooling system retrofits: a case study for Texas power plants

Science.gov (United States)

Loew, Aviva; Jaramillo, Paulina; Zhai, Haibo

2016-10-01

The water demands of power plant cooling systems may strain water supply and make power generation vulnerable to water scarcity. Cooling systems range in their rates of water use, capital investment, and annual costs. Using Texas as a case study, we examined the cost of retrofitting existing coal and natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) power plants with alternative cooling systems, either wet recirculating towers or air-cooled condensers for dry cooling. We applied a power plant assessment tool to model existing power plants in terms of their key plant attributes and site-specific meteorological conditions and then estimated operation characteristics of retrofitted plants and retrofit costs. We determined the anticipated annual reductions in water withdrawals and the cost-per-gallon of water saved by retrofits in both deterministic and probabilistic forms. The results demonstrate that replacing once-through cooling at coal-fired power plants with wet recirculating towers has the lowest cost per reduced water withdrawals, on average. The average marginal cost of water withdrawal savings for dry-cooling retrofits at coal-fired plants is approximately 0.68 cents per gallon, while the marginal recirculating retrofit cost is 0.008 cents per gallon. For NGCC plants, the average marginal costs of water withdrawal savings for dry-cooling and recirculating towers are 1.78 and 0.037 cents per gallon, respectively.

Save water, save money

Science.gov (United States)

,; Fairfax County, VA

1977-01-01

The United States uses huge quantities of water. In 1976, for example, it was estimated that for each person in the U.S., about 2,000 gallons of water were used daily in homes, offices, farms, and factories. This means that roughly 420 billion gallons of water were pumped, piped, or diverted each day—about 15 percent more than in 1970. By the year 2000, our daily water needs will probably exceed 800 billion gallons.

The impact of daylight saving time on electricity consumption: Evidence from southern Norway and Sweden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mirza, Faisal Mehmood, E-mail: faisal.mirza@umb.no [Department of Economics and Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), P.O. Box 5003, 1432 As (Norway); Bergland, Olvar, E-mail: olvar.bergland@umb.no [Department of Economics and Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), P.O. Box 5003, 1432 As (Norway)

2011-06-15

This paper examines the impact of daylight saving time (DST) on electricity consumption in southern Norway and Sweden. As DST was implemented in both the countries in 1980, we do not have a clear counterfactual in the form of a control period to identify the impact of DST directly with before and after or with and without analysis. This problem in the study is resolved by using 'equivalent day normalization technique' to identify the impact of DST. The difference-in-difference (DID) average treatment effects model suggests an annual reduction of at least 1.0 percent in electricity consumption for both Norway and Sweden due to DST. The average annual electricity consumption reduction corresponding to DST effects equals 519 and 882 GWh for southern Norway and Sweden, resulting in an annual financial saving of 16.1 million Euros and 30.1 million Euros, respectively. The distribution of treatment effects across different hours of the day indicates a small but significant reduction in electricity consumption during the morning and a steep decline during the evening hours in both countries. - Highlights: > We assess the impact of DST on electricity consumption in southern Norway and Sweden. > DST reduces electricity consumption by 1.3 percent in both countries. > The impact is smaller during the morning hours but larger during evening hours. > Respective annual financial savings equal Euro 16.1 and 30.1 million for Norway and Sweden. > Average annual electricity savings equal 519 and 882 GWh for two countries, respectively.

The impact of daylight saving time on electricity consumption: Evidence from southern Norway and Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mirza, Faisal Mehmood; Bergland, Olvar

2011-01-01

This paper examines the impact of daylight saving time (DST) on electricity consumption in southern Norway and Sweden. As DST was implemented in both the countries in 1980, we do not have a clear counterfactual in the form of a control period to identify the impact of DST directly with before and after or with and without analysis. This problem in the study is resolved by using 'equivalent day normalization technique' to identify the impact of DST. The difference-in-difference (DID) average treatment effects model suggests an annual reduction of at least 1.0 percent in electricity consumption for both Norway and Sweden due to DST. The average annual electricity consumption reduction corresponding to DST effects equals 519 and 882 GWh for southern Norway and Sweden, resulting in an annual financial saving of 16.1 million Euros and 30.1 million Euros, respectively. The distribution of treatment effects across different hours of the day indicates a small but significant reduction in electricity consumption during the morning and a steep decline during the evening hours in both countries. - Highlights: → We assess the impact of DST on electricity consumption in southern Norway and Sweden. → DST reduces electricity consumption by 1.3 percent in both countries. → The impact is smaller during the morning hours but larger during evening hours. → Respective annual financial savings equal Euro 16.1 and 30.1 million for Norway and Sweden. → Average annual electricity savings equal 519 and 882 GWh for two countries, respectively.

Save water or save wildlife? Water use and conservation in the central Sierran foothill oak woodlands of California, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lynn Huntsinger

2017-06-01

Full Text Available More frequent drought is projected for California. As water supplies constrict, and urban growth and out-migration spread to rural areas, trade-offs in water use for agriculture, biodiversity conservation, fire hazard reduction, residential development, and quality of life will be exacerbated. The California Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus, state listed as "Threatened," depends on leaks from antiquated irrigation district irrigation systems for much of its remnant small wetland habitat in the north central Sierra Nevada foothills. Residents of the 1295 km² foothill habitat distribution of the Black Rail were surveyed about water use. Results show that the most Black Rail habitat is owned by those purchasing water to irrigate pasture, a use that commonly creates wetlands from leaks and tailwater. Promoting wildlife, agricultural production, and preventing wildfire are common resident goals that call for abundant and inexpensive water; social and economic pressures encourage reduction in water use and the repair of leaks that benefit wildlife and greenery. Broad inflexible state interventions to curtail water use are likely to create a multitude of unintended consequences, including loss of biodiversity and environmental quality, and alienation of residents as valued ecosystem services literally dry up. Adaptive and proactive policies are needed that consider the linkages in the social-ecological system, are sensitive to local conditions, prevent landscape dewatering, and recognize the beneficial use of water to support ecosystem services such as wildlife habitat. Much Black Rail habitat is anthropogenic, created at the nexus of local governance, plentiful water, agricultural practices, historical events, and changing land uses. This history should be recognized and leveraged rather than ignored in a rush to "save" water by unraveling the social-ecological system that created the landscape. Policy and governance needs to identify

Save water to save carbon and money: developing abatement costs for expanded greenhouse gas reduction portfolios.

Science.gov (United States)

Stokes, Jennifer R; Hendrickson, Thomas P; Horvath, Arpad

2014-12-02

The water-energy nexus is of growing interest for researchers and policy makers because the two critical resources are interdependent. Their provision and consumption contribute to climate change through the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs). This research considers the potential for conserving both energy and water resources by measuring the life-cycle economic efficiency of greenhouse gas reductions through the water loss control technologies of pressure management and leak management. These costs are compared to other GHG abatement technologies: lighting, building insulation, electricity generation, and passenger transportation. Each cost is calculated using a bottom-up approach where regional and temporal variations for three different California water utilities are applied to all alternatives. The costs and abatement potential for each technology are displayed on an environmental abatement cost curve. The results reveal that water loss control can reduce GHGs at lower cost than other technologies and well below California's expected carbon trading price floor. One utility with an energy-intensive water supply could abate 135,000 Mg of GHGs between 2014 and 2035 and save--rather than spend--more than $130/Mg using the water loss control strategies evaluated. Water loss control technologies therefore should be considered in GHG abatement portfolios for utilities and policy makers.

Financial Impact of Cancer Drug Wastage and Potential Cost Savings From Mitigation Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Caitlyn Y W; Cheung, Matthew C; Charbonneau, Lauren F; Prica, Anca; Ng, Pamela; Chan, Kelvin K W

2017-07-01

Cancer drug wastage occurs when a parenteral drug within a fixed vial is not administered fully to a patient. This study investigated the extent of drug wastage, the financial impact on the hospital budget, and the cost savings associated with current mitigation strategies. We conducted a cross-sectional study in three University of Toronto-affiliated hospitals of various sizes. We recorded the actual amount of drug wasted over a 2-week period while using current mitigation strategies. Single-dose vial cancer drugs with the highest wastage potentials were identified (14 drugs). To calculate the hypothetical drug wastage with no mitigation strategies, we determined how many vials of drugs would be needed to fill a single prescription. The total drug costs over the 2 weeks ranged from $50,257 to $716,983 in the three institutions. With existing mitigation strategies, the actual drug wastage over the 2 weeks ranged from $928 to $5,472, which was approximately 1% to 2% of the total drug costs. In the hypothetical model with no mitigation strategies implemented, the projected drug cost wastage would have been $11,232 to $149,131, which accounted for 16% to 18% of the total drug costs. As a result, the potential annual savings while using current mitigation strategies range from 15% to 17%. The financial impact of drug wastage is substantial. Mitigation strategies lead to substantial cost savings, with the opportunity to reinvest those savings. More research is needed to determine the appropriate methods to minimize risk to patients while using the cost-saving mitigation strategies.

THE IMPACT OF LIBERALIZED FINANCIAL SYSTEM ON SAVINGS, INVESTMENT AND GROWTH IN NIGERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MATTHEW, A. Oluwatoyin

2011-12-01

Full Text Available For the past twenty years, an enhanced financial sectoral deregulation has been a major economic tool in the agenda of most less developed economies and Nigeria is no exception. The discouraging level of growth with reference to the savings and investment culture of the people and government involvement in these economies has call to question whether financial sector liberalization have an impact on savings and investment in the economy and by extension on the level of growth and development of such economies. This study attempted to take a cursory look at the issue by examining the impact of financial system liberalization on savings and investment and by extension growth and development in Nigeria between 1997 and 2008. Some of the policy recommendations centred on the government creating an enabling environment for private investment to thrive. This will go a long way in helping to promote private investment with significant benefits in the long run for growth and development to the advantage of the citizenry and the economy at large.

Impact of daylight saving time on the Chilean residential consumption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verdejo, Humberto; Becker, Cristhian; Echiburu, Diego; Escudero, William; Fucks, Emiliano

2016-01-01

Since 1970 Chile has had a Daylight Saving Time (DST) policy in order to reduce residential electricity consumption in the country. The time change was set for the first time by executive decree in 1970, and since that date it was applied every year without great changes until 2010. Since then, and to date, decrees have been set in order to increase the duration of the DST, arguing that there are reasons associated with energy savings that justify the extension of the measure that has been adopted by the authority in recent years. In the present study the impact of the application of DST in terms of decreased household electricity consumption is analyzed using two complementary methods, one based on a heuristic approach and the other using an econometric model. The results indicate that there is indeed a marginally small reduction in residential electricity consumption, although these results are not homogeneous throughout the country. - Highlights: • The impact of the application of DST is analyzed in Chilean distribution networks. • The results indicate that there is indeed a marginally small reduction in residential electricity consumption. • A total energy reduction is estimated based on the proposed methodology.

Identifying the Physical Properties of Showers That Influence User Satisfaction to Aid in Developing Water-Saving Showers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minami Okamoto

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This research was conducted with the goal of clarifying the required conditions of water-saving showerheads. In order to this, the research analyzes the mutual relationship between water usage flow, the level of satisfaction and the physical properties of spray of showerheads. The physical properties of spray were measured using physical properties test apparatus of standard or scheme for water-saving showerheads issued in several water-saving countries, and satisfaction evaluation data was acquired through bathing experiments. The evaluated showerheads were separated into three groups according to usage water flow and the level of satisfaction. The relationships between usage water flow, the level of satisfaction and physical properties were compared. The results identified that Spray Force and Spray Force-per-Hole were physical properties that influence usage water flow. Spray force-per-hole, water volume ratio in Spray Patterns within φ 100 and φ 150, Temperature Drop and Spray Angle were identified as physical properties that influenced the level of satisfaction. The level of satisfaction and usage water flow has a spurious correlation through the physical properties of Spray Force-per-Hole and Temperature Drop. It is possible to improve the level of satisfaction independent of amount of water usage through designs that set an appropriate value for water volume ratio and Spray Angle for Spray Patterns within φ 100 and φ 150.

Nuclear fuel saving assessment of poison-free control in LWRs [light water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abu-Zaied, G.

1988-01-01

If neutron losses to control absorbers are to be eliminated, an alternative reactivity control system has to be introduced. Due to improved neutron economy, the fuel utilization of these other alternatives is better than for a conventional poison-controlled PWR [pressurized water reactor]. It is the objective in this work to assess the uranium savings attributable to reactivity control without poison. An investigation into the savings due to the elimination of PWR control by neutron capture has been carried out. The most important finding was that up to a 30% savings in natural uranium can be achieved if fuel to moderator ratio, V f /V m , of SSC [spectral-shift-control] core at EOC [end of cycle] is similar to the standard core V f /V m

Increasing water productivity, nitrogen economy, and grain yield of rice by water saving irrigation and fertilizer-N management.

Science.gov (United States)

Aziz, Omar; Hussain, Saddam; Rizwan, Muhammad; Riaz, Muhammad; Bashir, Saqib; Lin, Lirong; Mehmood, Sajid; Imran, Muhammad; Yaseen, Rizwan; Lu, Guoan

2018-06-01

The looming water resources worldwide necessitate the development of water-saving technologies in rice production. An open greenhouse experiment was conducted on rice during the summer season of 2016 at Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China, in order to study the influence of irrigation methods and nitrogen (N) inputs on water productivity, N economy, and grain yield of rice. Two irrigation methods, viz. conventional irrigation (CI) and "thin-shallow-moist-dry" irrigation (TSMDI), and three levels of nitrogen, viz. 0 kg N ha -1 (N 0 ), 90 kg N ha -1 (N 1 ), and 180 kg N ha -1 (N 2 ), were examined with three replications. Study data indicated that no significant water by nitrogen interaction on grain yield, biomass, water productivity, N uptake, NUE, and fertilizer N balance was observed. Results revealed that TSMDI method showed significantly higher water productivity and irrigation water applications were reduced by 17.49% in TSMDI compared to CI. Thus, TSMDI enhanced root growth and offered significantly greater water saving along with getting more grain yield compared to CI. Nitrogen tracer ( 15 N) technique accurately assessed the absorption and distribution of added N in the soil crop environment and divulge higher nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) influenced by TSMDI. At the same N inputs, the TSMDI was the optimal method to minimize nitrogen leaching loss by decreasing water leakage about 18.63%, which are beneficial for the ecological environment.

Comparing Sprinkler and Surface Irrigation for Wheat Using Multi-Criteria Analysis: Water Saving vs. Economic Returns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanaa Darouich

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Coping with water scarcity using supplemental irrigation of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. in the semi-arid northeast Syria is a great challenge for sustainable water use in agriculture. Graded borders and set sprinkler systems were compared using multi-criteria analysis. Alternative solutions for surface irrigation and for sprinkler systems were developed with the SADREG and the PROASPER design models, respectively. For each alternative, two deficit irrigation strategies were considered, which were characterized using indicators relative to irrigation water use, yields and water productivity, including farm economic returns. Alternatives were ranked considering two contrasting priorities: economic returns and water saving. A first step in ranking led to a selection of graded borders with and without precise land levelling and of solid set and semi-permanent sprinkler systems. Precise-levelled borders were better for water saving, while non-precise ones ranked higher for economic returns. Semi-permanent set systems have been shown to be better in economic terms and similar to solid set systems when water saving is prioritized. Semi-permanent sprinkler systems rank first when comparing all type of systems together regardless of the considered deficit irrigation strategy. Likely, border irrigation is appropriate when wheat is in rotation with cotton if the latter is surface irrigated. When peace becomes effective, appropriate economic incentives and training for farmers are required to implement innovative approaches.

Impact of Hybrid Water Supply on the Centralised Water System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Sitzenfrei

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Traditional (technical concepts to ensure a reliable water supply, a safe handling of wastewater and flood protection are increasingly criticised as outdated and unsustainable. These so-called centralised urban water systems are further maladapted to upcoming challenges because of their long lifespan in combination with their short-sighted planning and design. A combination of (existing centralised and decentralised infrastructure is expected to be more reliable and sustainable. However, the impact of increasing implementation of decentralised technologies on the local technical performance in sewer or water supply networks and the interaction with the urban form has rarely been addressed in the literature. In this work, an approach which couples the UrbanBEATS model for the planning of decentralised strategies together with a water supply modelling approach is developed and applied to a demonstration case. With this novel approach, critical but also favourable areas for such implementations can be identified. For example, low density areas, which have high potential for rainwater harvesting, can result in local water quality problems in the supply network when further reducing usually low pipe velocities in these areas. On the contrary, in high demand areas (e.g., high density urban forms there is less effect of rainwater harvesting due to the limited available space. In these high density areas, water efficiency measures result in the highest savings in water volume, but do not cause significant problems in the technical performance of the potable water supply network. For a more generalised and case-independent conclusion, further analyses are performed for semi-virtual benchmark networks to answer the question of an appropriate representation of the water distribution system in a computational model for such an analysis. Inappropriate hydraulic model assumptions and characteristics were identified for the stated problem, which have more

Impact of a University-Based Outpatient Telemedicine Program on Time Savings, Travel Costs, and Environmental Pollutants.

Science.gov (United States)

Dullet, Navjit W; Geraghty, Estella M; Kaufman, Taylor; Kissee, Jamie L; King, Jesse; Dharmar, Madan; Smith, Anthony C; Marcin, James P

2017-04-01

The objective of this study was to estimate travel-related and environmental savings resulting from the use of telemedicine for outpatient specialty consultations with a university telemedicine program. The study was designed to retrospectively analyze the telemedicine consultation database at the University of California Davis Health System (UCDHS) between July 1996 and December 2013. Travel distances and travel times were calculated between the patient home, the telemedicine clinic, and the UCDHS in-person clinic. Travel cost savings and environmental impact were calculated by determining differences in mileage reimbursement rate and emissions between those incurred in attending telemedicine appointments and those that would have been incurred if a visit to the hub site had been necessary. There were 19,246 consultations identified among 11,281 unique patients. Telemedicine visits resulted in a total travel distance savings of 5,345,602 miles, a total travel time savings of 4,708,891 minutes or 8.96 years, and a total direct travel cost savings of $2,882,056. The mean per-consultation round-trip distance savings were 278 miles, average travel time savings were 245 minutes, and average cost savings were $156. Telemedicine consultations resulted in a total emissions savings of 1969 metric tons of CO 2 , 50 metric tons of CO, 3.7 metric tons of NO x , and 5.5 metric tons of volatile organic compounds. This study demonstrates the positive impact of a health system's outpatient telemedicine program on patient travel time, patient travel costs, and environmental pollutants. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A comparative analysis of the epidemiological impact and disease cost-savings of HPV vaccines in France

Science.gov (United States)

Bresse, Xavier; Adam, Marjorie; Largeron, Nathalie; Roze, Stephane; Marty, Remi

2013-01-01

The aim was to compare the epidemiological and economic impact of 16/18 bivalent and 6/11/16/18 quadrivalent HPV vaccination in France, considering differences in licensed outcomes, protection against non-vaccine HPV types and prevention of HPV-6/11-related diseases. The differential impact of the two vaccines was evaluated using a published model adapted to the French setting. The target population was females aged 14–23 y and the time horizon was 100 y. A total of eight different scenarios compared vaccination impact in terms of reduction in HPV-16/18-associated carcinomas (cervical, vulvar, vaginal, anal, penile and head and neck), HPV-6/11-related genital warts and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, and incremental reduction in cervical cancer due to potential cross-protection. Quadrivalent vaccine was associated with total discounted cost savings ranging from EUR 544–1,020 million vs. EUR 177–538 million with the bivalent vaccination (100-y time horizon). Genital wart prevention thanks to quadrivalent HPV vaccination accounted for EUR 306–380 million savings (37–56% of costs saved). In contrast, the maximal assumed cross-protection against cervical cancer resulted in EUR 13–33 million savings (4%). Prevention of vulvar, vaginal and anal cancers accounted for additional EUR 71–89 million savings (13%). In France, the quadrivalent HPV vaccination would result in significant incremental epidemiological and economic benefits vs. the bivalent vaccination, driven primarily by prevention of genital. The present analysis is the first in the French setting to consider the impact of HPV vaccination on all HPV diseases and non-vaccine types. PMID:23563511

Consumer impacts on dividends from solar water heating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hill, F.; Levermore, G. [University of Manchester, Manchester (United Kingdom); Lynch, H. [Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth, University of East London, London (United Kingdom)

2011-01-15

Common domestic solar water heating system usage patterns were investigated by a survey of 55 installations. These usage patterns were modelled by simulation based on the actual occupants' use of boiler or other auxiliary heating control strategies. These strategies were not optimal, as often assumed. The effectiveness of the technology was found to be highly sensitive to the time settings used for auxiliary water heating, and the 65% of solar householders using their boilers in the mornings were found to be forgoing 75% of their potential savings. Additionally, 92% of consumers were found to be small households, whose potential savings were only 23% of those of larger households, which use more hot water. Overall the majority (at least 60%) of the systems surveyed were found to be achieving no more than 6% of their potential savings. Incorporating consideration of Legionella issues, results indicate that if solar thermal technology is to deliver its potential to CO2 reduction targets: solar householders must avoid any use of their auxiliary water heating systems before the end of the main warmth of the day, grants for solar technology should be focused on households with higher hot water demands, and particularly on those that are dependent on electricity for water heating, health and safety requirements for hot water storage must be reviewed and, if possible, required temperatures should be set at a lower level, so that carbon savings from solar water heating may be optimized.

Performance analysis of proposed hybrid air conditioning and humidification–dehumidification systems for energy saving and water production in hot and dry climatic regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nada, S.A.; Elattar, H.F.; Fouda, A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Integrative air-conditioning (A/C) and humidification–dehumidification desalination systems are proposed. • Effects of operating parameters on the proposed systems are investigated. • System configurations that have the highest fresh water production rate, power saving and total cost saving are identified. - Abstract: Performance of integrative air-conditioning (A/C) and humidification–dehumidification desalination systems proposed for hot and dry climatic regions is theoretically investigated. The proposed systems aim to energy saving and systems utilization in fresh water production. Four systems with evaporative cooler and heat recovery units located at different locations are proposed, analyzed and evaluated at different operating parameters (fresh air ratio, supply air temperature and outside air wet bulb temperature). Other two basic systems are used as reference systems in proposed systems assessment. Fresh water production rate, A/C cooling capacity, A/C electrical power consumption, saving in power consumptions and total cost saving (TCS) parameters are used for systems evaluations and comparisons. The results show that (i) the fresh water production rates of the proposed systems increase with increasing fresh air ratio, supply air temperature and outdoor wet bulb temperature, (ii) powers saving of the proposed systems increase with increasing fresh air ratio and supply air temperature and decreasing of the outdoor air wet bulb temperature, (iii) locating the evaporative cooling after the fresh air mixing remarkably increases water production rate, and (vi) incorporating heat recovery in the air conditioning systems with evaporative cooling may adversely affect both of the water production rate and the total cost saving of the system. Comparison study has been presented to identify systems configurations that have the highest fresh water production rate, highest power saving and highest total cost saving. Numerical correlations for

Private Sector Savings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pitonáková Renáta

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The majority of household savings are in the form of bank deposits. It is therefore of interest for credit institutions to tailor their deposit policy for getting finances from non-banking entities and to provide the private sector with the loans that are necessary for investment activities and consumption. This paper deals with the determinants of the saving rate of the private sector of Slovakia. Economic, financial and demographic variables influence savings. Growth of income per capita, private disposable income, elderly dependency ratio, real interest rate and inflation have a positive impact on savings, while increases in public savings indicate a crowding out effect. The inflation rate implies precautionary savings, and dependency ratio savings for bequest. There are also implications for governing institutions deciding on the implementation of appropriate fiscal and monetary operations.

Energy and water saving measures at the Arloev sugar mill. Final report; Energi- och vattenbesparande aatgaerder vid Arloevs Sockerbruk. Slutrapport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wamsler, M. [AAF-Processdesign AB, Malmoe (Sweden)

2001-10-01

The project comprised several, mutually dependent, sub-projects; mapping, investigation of ways to reduce water consumption, membrane tests aiming to find ways to recover sugar, and pinch analysis to evaluate the possibilities for improved process integration. This final report deals with the overall project results. Identified savings opportunities and savings potentials are presented. The presented measures represent an overall optimisation based on the results of all the project parts. Already during the project, measures have been implemented that are calculated to save 65 000 m{sup 3} water annually, corresponding to 10 % of the total water consumption. This saving is in level with the goals for the project. In the table below, these and additional measures are presented with a total savings potential at approximately 200 000 m{sup 3} /year water. The project will then achieve a saving of just below 35 % of present water consumption. Also in the membrane study the results surpassed the expectations. It was found that with nano filtering a sugar concentration of more than 10 %(W) could be reached in the retentate at a flux 50al/m{sup 2}h. The total sugar losses were less than 5 %, i.e. 95 % should be possible to recover. In total, a savings potential of more than 300 tonnes sugar per year is indicated. The Energy savings in the project are calculated to 7,4 GWh/year, of which 0,2 GWh/year by reduced water consumption, 0,6 GWh/year by water recovery, 1,4 GWh/year by membrane technology and 5,2aGWh/year as a result of process integration. This should be compared to the target 2,5 GWh/year. Hence, the results are almost three times the expected. The savings in monetary terms are estimated at just under SEK 5 million per year. The investment is roughly estimated at between SEK 5 and 6 million, of which SEK 4 million for the membrane equipment and SEK 0,5 million for a process water buffer tank. The remaining investment costs cover heat exchangers, control equipment

Impacts of Water Quality on Residential Water Heating Equipment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Widder, Sarah H.; Baechler, Michael C.

2013-11-01

Water heating is a ubiquitous energy use in all residential housing, accounting for 17.7% of residential energy use (EIA 2012). Today, there are many efficient water heating options available for every fuel type, from electric and gas to more unconventional fuel types like propane, solar, and fuel oil. Which water heating option is the best choice for a given household will depend on a number of factors, including average daily hot water use (total gallons per day), hot water draw patterns (close together or spread out), the hot water distribution system (compact or distributed), installation constraints (such as space, electrical service, or venting accommodations) and fuel-type availability and cost. While in general more efficient water heaters are more expensive than conventional water heating technologies, the savings in energy use and, thus, utility bills can recoup the additional upfront investment and make an efficient water heater a good investment over time in most situations, although the specific payback period for a given installation will vary widely. However, the expected lifetime of a water heater in a given installation can dramatically influence the cost effectiveness and savings potential of a water heater and should be considered, along with water use characteristics, fuel availability and cost, and specific home characteristics when selecting the optimum water heating equipment for a particular installation. This report provides recommendations for selecting and maintaining water heating equipment based on local water quality characteristics.

The impact of translucent fabric shades and control strategies on energy savings and visual quality

Science.gov (United States)

Wankanapon, Pimonmart

Translucent fabric shades provide opportunities for building occupants to control sunlight penetration for heat reduction, thermal comfort, and visual quality. Regulating shades affects building energy and can potentially reduce the size of mechanical cooling systems. Shades are not normally included in energy model studies during the design process, even though shades potential impact energy use. This is because the occupants normally leave shades closed a large fraction of the time, but models are generally performed with no shades. Automatic shade control is now available, so it is necessary to understand the impact of shades on visual quality and their energy saving potential in order to optimize their overall performance. There are very limited studies that have address shades and their integrated performance on energy consumption and visual quality. Most of these do not reflected modern shade types and their application. The goals of this study are: First, to determine the impact of shades on total, heating, cooling and lighting energy savings with different design and operation parameters. Second, to study and develop different automatic shade control strategies to promote and optimize energy savings and visual quality. A simulation-based approach using EnergyPlus in a parametric study provide better understanding energy savings under different shade conditions. The parametric runs addressed various building parameters such as geometry, orientation, site climate, glazing/shade properties, and shade control strategies with integrated lighting control. The impact of shades was determined for total building and space heating, cooling and lighting energy savings. The effect of shades on visual quality was studied using EnergyPlus, AGI32 and DAYSIM for several indices such as daylight glare index (DGI), work plane illuminance, luminance ratios and view. Different shade control strategies and integrated lighting control were considered with two translucent fabric

Saving Water Means Saving Life

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

韩文盛

2005-01-01

On the""""""""World Water Day"""""""" (March 22, 2005) the United Nations began an """"""""International Decade for Action: Water for Life"""""""" to focus the world's attention on water resources. """"""""Water is essential for life"""""""", said the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annanin, in an address prepared for the ceremony. """"""""This is an urgent matter of human development and human dignity."""""""" Is this matter so important to the Chinese people? What can be done to help solve the water resources problem in China? Please write down your views in a composition in no less than 200 words.

Scale Effects of Water Saving on Irrigation Efficiency: Case Study of a Rice-Based Groundwater Irrigation System on the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haorui Chen

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This research analyzed the scale effect of water saving in Bielahonghe (BLH Basin, a rice-cultivating district on the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China. Water budgets with different surface irrigation water supply ratios and water-saving measures were simulated with a semi-distributed water balance model. PFnws, representing the ratio of rice evapotranspiration to net water supply (the total amount of irrigation and precipitation minus the amount of water reused, was employed to assess the water use efficiency. Seven spatial scales (noted from S1 to S7, ranging from a single field (317.87 ha to the whole basin (about 100,800 ha were determined. PFnws values were quantified across scales and several water-saving measures, including water-saving irrigation regimes, canal lining, and a reduction of the surface water supply ratio (SWSR. The results indicated that PFnws increased with scale and could be calculated by a fitted power function (PFnws = 0.736Area0.033, R2 = 0.58. Furthermore, PFnws increased most prominently when the scale increased from S1 to S2. The water-saving irrigation regime (WSIR had the most substantial water-saving effect (WSE at S1. Specifically, PFnws improved by 21.2% at S1 when high-intensity WSIR was applied. Additionally, the WSE values of S3 and S5 were slightly higher than at other scales when the branch canal water delivery coefficient increased from 0.65 to 0.80 through canal lining. Furthermore, the PFnws at each scale varied with SWSR. Specifically, PFnws from S3 to S7 improved as SWSR decreased from 0.4 to 0.3 but remained approximately constant when SWSR decreased from 0.3 to 0.

Electric portfolio modeling with stochastic water - climate interactions: Implications for co-management of water and electric utilities

Science.gov (United States)

Woldeyesus, Tibebe Argaw

Water supply constraints can significantly restrict electric power generation, and such constraints are expected to worsen with future climate change. The overarching goal of this thesis is to incorporate stochastic water-climate interactions into electricity portfolio models and evaluate various pathways for water savings in co-managed water-electric utilities. Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) is used as a case study to explore the above issues. The thesis consists of three objectives: Characterize seasonality of water withdrawal intensity factors (WWIF) for electric power generation and develop a risk assessment framework due to water shortages; Incorporate water constraints into electricity portfolio models and evaluate the impact of varying capital investments (both power generation and cooling technologies) on water use and greenhouse gas emissions; Compare the unit cost and overall water savings from both water and electric sectors in co-managed utilities to facilitate overall water management. This thesis provided the first discovery and characterization of seasonality of WWIF with distinct summertime and wintertime variations of +/-17% compared to the power plant average (0.64gal/kwh) which itself is found to be significantly higher than the literature average (0.53gal/kwh). Both the streamflow and WWIF are found to be highly correlated with monthly average temperature (r-sq = 89%) and monthly precipitation (r-sq of 38%) enabling stochastic simulation of future WWIF under moderate climate change scenario. Future risk to electric power generation also showed the risk to be underestimated significantly when using either the literature average or the power plant average WWIF. Seasonal variation in WWIF along with seasonality in streamflow, electricity demand and other municipal water demands along with storage are shown to be important factors for more realistic risk estimation. The unlimited investment in power generation and/or cooling technologies is also

Basin Irrigation Design with Multi-Criteria Analysis Focusing on Water Saving and Economic Returns: Application to Wheat in Hetao, Yellow River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qingfeng Miao

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The sustainability of the Hetao Irrigation System, located in the water scarce upper Yellow River basin, is a priority considering the need for water saving, increased water productivity, and higher farmers’ incomes. The upgrading of basin irrigation, the main irrigation method, is essential and includes the adoption of precise land levelling, cut-off management, improved water distribution uniformity, and adequate irrigation scheduling. With this objective, the current study focuses on upgrading wheat basin irrigation through improved design using a decision support system (DSS model, which considers land parcels characteristics, crop irrigation scheduling, soil infiltration, hydraulic simulation, and environmental and economic impacts. Its use includes outlining water saving scenarios and ranking alternative designs through multi-criteria analysis considering the priorities of stakeholders. The best alternatives concern flat level basins with a 100 and 200 m length and inflow rates between 2 and 4 L s−1 m−1. The total irrigation cost of designed projects, including the cost of the autumn irrigation, varies between 2400 and 3300 Yuan ha−1; the major cost component is land levelling, corresponding to 33–46% of total irrigation costs. The economic land productivity is about 18,000 Yuan ha−1. The DSS modelling defined guidelines to be applied by an extension service aimed at implementing better performing irrigation practices, and encouraged a good interaction between farmers and the Water Users Association, thus making easier the implementation of appropriate irrigation management programs.

Estimates of Savings Achievable from Irrigation Controller

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williams, Alison; Fuchs, Heidi; Whitehead, Camilla Dunham

2014-03-28

This paper performs a literature review and meta-analysis of water savings from several types of advanced irrigation controllers: rain sensors (RS), weather-based irrigation controllers (WBIC), and soil moisture sensors (SMS).The purpose of this work is to derive average water savings per controller type, based to the extent possible on all available data. After a preliminary data scrubbing, we utilized a series of analytical filters to develop our best estimate of average savings. We applied filters to remove data that might bias the sample such as data self-reported by manufacturers, data resulting from studies focusing on high-water users, or data presented in a non-comparable format such as based on total household water use instead of outdoor water use. Because the resulting number of studies was too small to be statistically significant when broken down by controller type, this paper represents a survey and synthesis of available data rather than a definitive statement regarding whether the estimated water savings are representative.

Saving water to save the environment: Contrasting the effectiveness of environmental and monetary appeals in a residential water saving intervention

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tijs, M.S.; Karremans, J.C.T.M.; Veling, H.P.; Lange, M.A. de; Meegeren, P. van; Lion, R.

2017-01-01

To convince people to reduce their energy consumption, two types of persuasive appeals often are used by environmental organizations: Monetary appeals (i.e., 'conserving energy will save you money') and environmental appeals (i.e., 'conserving energy will protect the environment'). In this field

Myths and Maths of Water Efficiency: An Analytical Framework to Assess the Real Outcome of Water Saving Technologies in Irrigation

OpenAIRE

Gomez Gomez, Carlos Mario; Perez Blanco, Carlos Dionisio

2013-01-01

Greening the economy is mostly about improving water governance and not only about putting the existing resource saving technical alternatives into practice. Focusing in the second and forgetting the first risks finishing with a highly efficient use of water services at the level of each individual user but demanding an unsustainable amount of water for the entire economy. This might be happening already in many places with the so-called modernization of irrigated agriculture: the world’s lar...

China’s Water-Saving Irrigation Management System: Policy, Implementation, and Challenge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liuyang Yao

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In response to the increased competition for water, the Chinese government has determined to promote water-saving irrigation (WSI followed by a range of institutional arrangements and policy goals. Three management mechanisms are analyzed in this study in terms of effectiveness, including the top-down regulation mechanism using direct control or economic instruments, the design-bid funding mechanism mobilizing local governments by competitive grants program, and the bottom-up participation mechanism transferring more irrigation management responsibilities to end-users. Although the WSI management has achieved notable improvements by the combination of different mechanisms, conflicts among different policy goals, uneven distribution of financial resources, and insufficient participation from water users caused the difficulty in aligning stakeholders’ incentives. Approaches are needed to enable sustainable management by coordinating incentives from different stakeholders in the management, as well as incorporating end water users to assist decision-making.

Review of the Fuel Saving, Life Cycle GHG Emission, and Ownership Cost Impacts of Lightweighting Vehicles with Different Powertrains.

Science.gov (United States)

Luk, Jason M; Kim, Hyung Chul; De Kleine, Robert; Wallington, Timothy J; MacLean, Heather L

2017-08-01

The literature analyzing the fuel saving, life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, and ownership cost impacts of lightweighting vehicles with different powertrains is reviewed. Vehicles with lower powertrain efficiencies have higher fuel consumption. Thus, fuel savings from lightweighting internal combustion engine vehicles can be higher than those of hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles. However, the impact of fuel savings on life cycle costs and GHG emissions depends on fuel prices, fuel carbon intensities and fuel storage requirements. Battery electric vehicle fuel savings enable reduction of battery size without sacrificing driving range. This reduces the battery production cost and mass, the latter results in further fuel savings. The carbon intensity of electricity varies widely and is a major source of uncertainty when evaluating the benefits of fuel savings. Hybrid electric vehicles use gasoline more efficiently than internal combustion engine vehicles and do not require large plug-in batteries. Therefore, the benefits of lightweighting depend on the vehicle powertrain. We discuss the value proposition of the use of lightweight materials and alternative powertrains. Future assessments of the benefits of vehicle lightweighting should capture the unique characteristics of emerging vehicle powertrains.

The Impact of Sustainable Development Technology on a Small Economy-The Case of Energy-Saving Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiding; Huang, Qinghua; Huang, Weilun; Li, Xue

2018-02-08

We investigated the impact of a sustainable development technology on the macroeconomic variables in a small economy utilizing a case study with a stochastically improving energy saving technology and a stochastically increasing energy price. The results show the technological displacement effects of energy saving technology are stronger, but there are more ambiguous instantaneous returns to physical capital. However, the energy saving technology's displacement effects might not affect the conditions under which the Harberger-Laursen-Metzler (HLM) effect holds. The effects of rising energy prices on bonds are stronger, and there are more ambiguous instantaneous returns, but the conditions under which the HLM effect holds are different.

The Impact of Sustainable Development Technology on a Small Economy—The Case of Energy-Saving Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiding Chen

2018-02-01

Full Text Available We investigated the impact of a sustainable development technology on the macroeconomic variables in a small economy utilizing a case study with a stochastically improving energy saving technology and a stochastically increasing energy price. The results show the technological displacement effects of energy saving technology are stronger, but there are more ambiguous instantaneous returns to physical capital. However, the energy saving technology’s displacement effects might not affect the conditions under which the Harberger-Laursen-Metzler (HLM effect holds. The effects of rising energy prices on bonds are stronger, and there are more ambiguous instantaneous returns, but the conditions under which the HLM effect holds are different.

The Impact of Sustainable Development Technology on a Small Economy—The Case of Energy-Saving Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Qinghua; Huang, Weilun; Li, Xue

2018-01-01

We investigated the impact of a sustainable development technology on the macroeconomic variables in a small economy utilizing a case study with a stochastically improving energy saving technology and a stochastically increasing energy price. The results show the technological displacement effects of energy saving technology are stronger, but there are more ambiguous instantaneous returns to physical capital. However, the energy saving technology’s displacement effects might not affect the conditions under which the Harberger-Laursen-Metzler (HLM) effect holds. The effects of rising energy prices on bonds are stronger, and there are more ambiguous instantaneous returns, but the conditions under which the HLM effect holds are different. PMID:29419788

Systems assessment of water savings impact of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) utilizing wirelessly networked Sense•Decide•Act•Communicate (SDAC) systems.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Campbell, Jonathan T.; Baynes, Edward E., Jr.; Aguirre,Carlos (University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX); Jordan, Jon (University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ); Giacomelli, Gene (University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ); Waggoner, Justin (New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM); Loest, Clint (New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM); Szumel, Leo; Nakaoka, Tyler; Pate, Ronald C.; Berry, Nina M.; Pohl, Phillip Isabio; Aguirre, Francisco Luis (Invernaderos y Maquinaria Aguirre, Cd., Aldama, Chihuahua, Mexico); Aguilar, Jose (University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX); Gupta, Vipin P.; Ochoa, Juan (University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX); Davis, Jesse Zehring; Ramos, Damian (University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX)

2005-02-01

Reducing agricultural water use in arid regions while maintaining or improving economic productivity of the agriculture sector is a major challenge. Controlled environment agriculture (CEA, or, greenhouse agriculture) affords advantages in direct resource use (less land and water required) and productivity (i.e., much higher product yield and quality per unit of resources used) relative to conventional open-field practices. These advantages come at the price of higher operating complexity and costs per acre. The challenge is to implement and apply CEA such that the productivity and resource use advantages will sufficiently outweigh the higher operating costs to provide for overall benefit and viability. This project undertook an investigation of CEA for livestock forage production as a water-saving alternative to open-field forage production in arid regions. Forage production is a large consumer of fresh water in many arid regions of the world, including the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. With increasing competition among uses (agriculture, municipalities, industry, recreation, ecosystems, etc.) for limited fresh water supplies, agricultural practice alternatives that can potentially maintain or enhance productivity while reducing water use warrant consideration. The project established a pilot forage production greenhouse facility in southern New Mexico based on a relatively modest and passive (no active heating or cooling) system design pioneered in Chihuahua, Mexico. Experimental operations were initiated in August 2004 and carried over into early-FY05 to collect data and make initial assessments of operational and technical system performance, assess forage nutrition content and suitability for livestock, identify areas needing improvement, and make initial assessment of overall feasibility. The effort was supported through the joint leveraging of late-start FY04 LDRD funds and bundled CY2004 project funding from the New Mexico Small Business Technical

Energy saving analysis on mine-water source heat pump in a residential district of Henan province, central China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hong; Duan, Huanlin; Chen, Aidong

2018-02-01

In this paper, the mine-water source heat pump system is proposed in residential buildings of a mining community. The coefficient of performance (COP) and the efficiency of exergy are analyzed. The results show that the COP and exergy efficiency of the mine-water source heat pump are improved, the exergy efficiency of mine-water source heat pump is more than 10% higher than that of the air source heat pump.The electric power conservation measure of “peak load shifting” is also emphasized in this article. It shows that itis a very considerable cost in the electric saving by adopting the trough period electricity to produce hot water. Due to the proper temperature of mine water, the mine-watersource heat pump unit is more efficient and stable in performance, which further shows the advantage of mine-water source heat pump in energy saving and environmental protection. It provides reference to the design of similar heat pump system as well.

An Information Framework for Facilitating Cost Saving of Environmental Impacts in the Coal Mining Industry in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mashudu D. Mbedzi

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Coal-mining contributes much to the economic welfare of a country. Yet it brings along a number of challenges, notably environmental impacts which include water pollution in a water scarce country such as South Africa. This research is conducted in two phases. The first phase intends to establish environmental and other challenges brought about by the coal-mining industry through a comprehensive analysis of available literature. Combatting these challenges is costly; consequently, our work investigates how established management accounting tools and techniques such as Environmental Management Accounting (EMA, Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA and Life Cycle Costing (LCC may facilitate cost savings for the companies involved. These techniques promote increased transparency of material usage by tracing and quantifying the flows and inventories of materials within the coal-mining industry in physical and monetary terms, hence hidden costs are elicited. The researchers postulate that an Information Framework integrating these aspects may be the way forward. To this end existing frameworks in the literature are identified. A number of research questions embodying the above aspects are defined and the objective is to define a conceptual framework to facilitate cost savings for coal-mining companies. The main contribution of this work is an information framework presented towards the end of this article. The second phase of the research will involve fieldwork in the form of a survey among stakeholders in industry to validate the conceptual framework.

Energy-Saving Optimization of Water Supply Pumping Station Life Cycle Based on BIM Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Qun, Miao; Wang, Jiayuan; Liu, Chao

2017-12-01

In the urban water supply system, pump station is the main unit of energy consumption. In the background of pushing forward the informatization in China, using BIM technology in design, construction and operations of water supply pumping station, can break through the limitations of the traditional model and effectively achieve the goal of energy conservation and emissions reduction. This work researches the way to solve energy-saving optimization problems in the process of whole life cycle of water supply pumping station based on BIM technology, and put forward the feasible strategies of BIM application in order to realize the healthy and sustainable development goals by establishing the BIM model of water supply pumping station of Qingdao Guzhenkou water supply project.

A procedure for analysing energy savings in multiple small solar water heaters installed in low-income housing in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giglio, Thalita; Lamberts, Roberto; Barbosa, Miriam; Urbano, Mariana

2014-01-01

Due to government subsidies, Brazil has witnessed an increase in the installation and use of small solar water heating systems in low-income housing projects. Although the initiative has reduced the load curve during peak times due to the reduced use of electric showerheads, measurement and verification (M and V) are needed to validate the savings. M and V procedures should take into account the social and economic variability of low-income housing developments. To improve M and V in low-income housing projects, this paper presents a methodology for identifying homogeneous subgroups based on their energy-saving potential. This research strategy involved a cluster analysis designed to improve the understanding of what energy savers and other influencing factors exist. A case study in Londrina Brazil was undertaken with 200 low-income families. Five clusters, created based on savings potential, were defined. The results showed that only two clusters demonstrated good electricity savings, representing 47% of families. However, two clusters, or 37%, did not provide satisfactory savings, and the other 16% did not provide any consumption history due to previous use of illegal city electricity connection practices. Therefore, studies confirm the need for a detailed measurement of the representative subgroups to assess the influence of human behaviour on potential SWHS-induced savings. - Highlights: • M and V is necessary to improve solar collector-area-based subsidy programmes. • M and V in large-scale sample should contemplate the social and economic variability. • Samples with homogeneous subgroups contribute to a consistent energy-saving M and V. • Solar Water Heaters in some cases may not offer energy saving in a low-income context. • SWH performance decreases with low educational level and difficulty of operation

The impact of water use fees on dispatching and water requirements for water-cooled power plants in Texas.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Kelly T; Blackhurst, Michael F; King, Carey W; Webber, Michael E

2014-06-17

We utilize a unit commitment and dispatch model to estimate how water use fees on power generators would affect dispatching and water requirements by the power sector in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' (ERCOT) electric grid. Fees ranging from 10 to 1000 USD per acre-foot were separately applied to water withdrawals and consumption. Fees were chosen to be comparable in cost to a range of water supply projects proposed in the Texas Water Development Board's State Water Plan to meet demand through 2050. We found that these fees can reduce water withdrawals and consumption for cooling thermoelectric power plants in ERCOT by as much as 75% and 23%, respectively. To achieve these water savings, wholesale electricity generation costs might increase as much as 120% based on 2011 fuel costs and generation characteristics. We estimate that water saved through these fees is not as cost-effective as conventional long-term water supply projects. However, the electric grid offers short-term flexibility that conventional water supply projects do not. Furthermore, this manuscript discusses conditions under which the grid could be effective at "supplying" water, particularly during emergency drought conditions, by changing its operational conditions.

Impact of watercourse lining on water conservation in the gadeji minor command, sindh pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solangi, G.S.; Panhawar, S.; Katbar, N.M.; Khokhar, J.I.

2018-01-01

Looming water scarcity could be curtailed with intelligent water losses control. Present study was designed to assess the relative effect of watercourse lining in prospect of seepage minimization. Qualitative as well as quantitative analysis was undertaken using water conveyance efficiency, annual water saving, increase in cropping intensities, time and land saving along with labor saving indictors over Gadeji minor in Sindh, Pakistan. Primary data was collected from field measurements while secondary data was gathered from NPIW (National Program for Improvement of Watercourses), Irrigation Department, personal interviews and site survey. The analysis revealed that lining of 30 percent initial portion of watercourses resulted average annual water saving of 10.32 hectare-m. Similarly, the cropping intensity increased 15% in Rabi and 14 percent in Kharif seasons. Crop yield increased by 17 percent for wheat crop, 14% for cottoncrop, 12 percent for sugarcane, 17 percent for chilies, 11% for onion crop and 20% for rice crop after lining the selected watercourses. Thus, it is concluded that watercourse lining has noticeable effect for seepage control which yielded a significant water saving. In future, economic viability of watercourse lining may be assessed for obtaining optimum benefits. (author)

Impact of Watercourse Lining on Water Conservation in the Gadeji Minor Command, Sindh, Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghulam Shabir Solangi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Looming water scarcity could be curtailed with intelligent water losses control. Present study was designed to assess the relative effect of watercourse lining in prospect of seepage minimization. Qualitative as well as quantitative analysis was undertaken using water conveyance efficiency, annual water saving, increase in cropping intensities, time and land saving along with labor saving indictors over Gadeji minor in Sindh, Pakistan. Primary data was collected from field measurements while secondary data was gathered from NPIW (National Program for Improvement of Watercourses, Irrigation Department, personal interviews and site survey. The analysis revealed that lining of 30% initial portion of watercourses resulted average annual water saving of 10.32 hectare-m. Similarly, the cropping intensity increased 15% in Rabi and 14% in Kharif seasons. Crop yield increased by 17% for wheat crop, 14% for cottoncrop, 12% for sugarcane, 17% for chilies, 11% for onion crop and 20% for rice crop after lining the selected watercourses. Thus, it is concluded that watercourse lining has noticeable effect for seepage control which yielded a significant water saving. In future, economic viability of watercourse lining may be assessed for obtaining optimum benefits.

Analysis of impact of daylight time savings on energy use of buildings in Kuwait

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krarti, Moncef, E-mail: moncef.krarti@colorado.ed [CEAE Department, CB 428, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Hajiah, Ali [Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Safat (Kuwait)

2011-05-15

In this paper, a detailed simulation-based analysis is conducted to assess the impact of adopting Daylight Saving Time (DST) on the electrical energy use and peak demand in Kuwait. The analysis focused on the impact of DST in the building sector since it represents 90% of electrical energy usage of Kuwait. The simulation results indicate that the adoption of DST has mixed impacts for Kuwait. While the commercial and the governmental sectors may benefit from the DST, the private residences and apartment buildings can see both their annual energy use and peak demand increase slightly by adopting DST. The overall impact of the DST implementation is rather minimal with a slight increase energy use of about 0.07% and a slight reduction in peak demand of 0.14% or about 12 MW based on 2005 electrical peak demand for Kuwait. - Research highlights: {yields} A detailed simulation-based analysis is conducted to assess the impact of adopting Daylight Saving Time (DST) on the electrical energy use and peak demand in Kuwait. {yields} The analysis focused on the impact of DST in the building sector since it represents 90% of electrical energy usage of Kuwait. {yields} It is found that while the commercial and the governmental building sectors may benefit from DST, the private residences and apartment buildings can see both their annual energy use and peak demand increase slightly by adopting DST. {yields} Since the residential sector represents the majority of the electrical load in Kuwait, DST adoption was found to cause slight increase in annual electrical energy use by about 0.07% and a slight reduction in electrical peak electrical demand by about 0.14%.

Analysis of impact of daylight time savings on energy use of buildings in Kuwait

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krarti, Moncef; Hajiah, Ali

2011-01-01

In this paper, a detailed simulation-based analysis is conducted to assess the impact of adopting Daylight Saving Time (DST) on the electrical energy use and peak demand in Kuwait. The analysis focused on the impact of DST in the building sector since it represents 90% of electrical energy usage of Kuwait. The simulation results indicate that the adoption of DST has mixed impacts for Kuwait. While the commercial and the governmental sectors may benefit from the DST, the private residences and apartment buildings can see both their annual energy use and peak demand increase slightly by adopting DST. The overall impact of the DST implementation is rather minimal with a slight increase energy use of about 0.07% and a slight reduction in peak demand of 0.14% or about 12 MW based on 2005 electrical peak demand for Kuwait. - Research highlights: → A detailed simulation-based analysis is conducted to assess the impact of adopting Daylight Saving Time (DST) on the electrical energy use and peak demand in Kuwait. → The analysis focused on the impact of DST in the building sector since it represents 90% of electrical energy usage of Kuwait. → It is found that while the commercial and the governmental building sectors may benefit from DST, the private residences and apartment buildings can see both their annual energy use and peak demand increase slightly by adopting DST. → Since the residential sector represents the majority of the electrical load in Kuwait, DST adoption was found to cause slight increase in annual electrical energy use by about 0.07% and a slight reduction in electrical peak electrical demand by about 0.14%.

Can a change in cropping patterns produce water savings and social gains: A case study from the Fergana Valley, Central Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karimov Akmal Kh.

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The study examines possible water savings by replacing alfalfa with winter wheat in the Fergana Valley, located upstream of the Syrdarya River in Central Asia. Agricultural reforms since the 1990s have promoted this change in cropping patterns in the Central Asian states to enhance food security and social benefits. The water use of alfalfa, winter wheat/fallow, and winter wheat/green gram (double cropping systems is compared for high-deficit, low-deficit, and full irrigation scenarios using hydrological modeling with the HYDRUS-1D software package. Modeling results indicate that replacing alfalfa with winter wheat in the Fergana Valley released significant water resources, mainly by reducing productive crop transpiration when abandoning alfalfa in favor of alternative cropping systems. However, the winter wheat/fallow cropping system caused high evaporation losses from fallow land after harvesting of winter wheat. Double cropping (i.e., the cultivation of green gram as a short duration summer crop after winter wheat harvesting reduced evaporation losses, enhanced crop output and hence food security, while generating water savings that make more water available for other productive uses. Beyond water savings, this paper also discusses the economic and social gains that double cropping produces for the public within a broader developmental context.

Experimental And Numerical Investigation Of The Flow Analysis Of The Water-Saving Safety Valve

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammed Safa Kamer

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract In this study an auto-mechanical safety valve was designed and manufactured in order to prevent possible wastage of water and water raid after instantaneous water cuts during water usage in places where water use is widespread. Safety valve is activated and it switches off the line when water is cut off when mains pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure and as it does not allow water to pass when it comes back it saves water and prevents the formation of raids. An experiment set was conducted in order to measure the pressure drop between the inlet and outlet of the safety valve and it was found that with the increased flow rate the pressure drop increases. The three-dimensional flow analysis of the safety valve was carried out with Ansys-Fluent software package and the results obtained were compared with experimental data and a good harmony was achieved.

Shared Urban Greywater Recycling Systems: Water Resource Savings and Economic Investment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dexter V.L. Hunt

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The water industry is becoming increasingly aware of the risks associated with urban supplies not meeting demands by 2050. Greywater (GW recycling for non-potable uses (e.g., urinal and toilet flushing provides an urban water management strategy to help alleviate this risk by reducing main water demands. This paper proposes an innovative cross connected system that collects GW from residential buildings and recycles it for toilet/urinal flushing in both residential and office buildings. The capital cost (CAPEX, operational cost (OPEX and water saving potential are calculated for individual and shared residential and office buildings in an urban mixed-use regeneration area in the UK, assuming two different treatment processes; a membrane bioreactor (MBR and a vertical flow constructed wetland (VFCW. The Net Present Value (NPV method was used to compare the financial performance of each considered scenario, from where it was found that a shared GW recycling system (MBR was the most economically viable option. The sensitivity of this financial model was assessed, considering four parameters (i.e., water supply and sewerage charges, discount rate(s, service life and improved technological efficiency, e.g., low flush toilets, low shower heads, etc., from where it was found that shared GW systems performed best in the long-term.

Evaluation of Water Efficiency in Green Building in Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng-Li Cheng

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Low carbon policies, including those aimed at increasing water efficiency, have been adopted as a crucial strategy for combating global warming and climate change. The green building evaluation system used in Taiwan was first applied in 1999 and initially utilized a building’s water efficiency as the threshold index for determining the building’s environmental impact. Since 1999, more than a thousand buildings have been certified as green buildings using this evaluation system. The quantitative effects of water conservation efforts should be provided to policy makers as a form of positive feedback. To that end, the present study offers a calculation process for estimating the quantitative volume of water saved by practical green buildings. The baseline water usage for all kinds of buildings was determined to serve as the criterion for determining the water-saving efficiency of individual buildings. An investigation of the average water-saving rate from 2000 to 2013 for 1320 buildings certified as green buildings was also conducted to validate the estimation results and found that these green buildings saved an average of approximately 37.6% compared to the baseline water usage rate for all buildings. Water savings will inevitably follow from the use of water-saving appliances or water-saving designs for buildings. The proposed calculation process can be used to clarify the relationships between specific water-saving concepts and the real water usage efficiency of green buildings.

Saving Lives at Birth; development of a retrospective theory of change, impact framework and prioritised metrics.

Science.gov (United States)

Lalli, Marek; Ruysen, Harriet; Blencowe, Hannah; Yee, Kristen; Clune, Karen; DeSilva, Mary; Leffler, Marissa; Hillman, Emily; El-Noush, Haitham; Mulligan, Jo; Murray, Jeffrey C; Silver, Karlee; Lawn, Joy E

2018-01-29

Grand Challenges for international health and development initiatives have received substantial funding to tackle unsolved problems; however, evidence of their effectiveness in achieving change is lacking. A theory of change may provide a useful tool to track progress towards desired outcomes. The Saving Lives at Birth partnership aims to address inequities in maternal-newborn survival through the provision of strategic investments for the development, testing and transition-to-scale of ground-breaking prevention and treatment approaches with the potential to leapfrog conventional healthcare approaches in low resource settings. We aimed to develop a theory of change and impact framework with prioritised metrics to map the initiative's contribution towards overall goals, and to measure progress towards improved outcomes around the time of birth. A theory of change and impact framework was developed retrospectively, drawing on expertise across the partnership and stakeholders. This included a document and literature review, and wide consultation, with feedback from stakeholders at all stages. Possible indicators were reviewed from global maternal-newborn health-related partner initiatives, priority indicator lists, and project indicators from current innovators. These indicators were scored across five domains to prioritise those most relevant and feasible for Saving Lives at Birth. These results informed the identification of the prioritised metrics for the initiative. The pathway to scale through Saving Lives at Birth is articulated through a theory of change and impact framework, which also highlight the roles of different actors involved in the programme. A prioritised metrics toolkit, including ten core impact indicators and five additional process indicators, complement the theory of change. The retrospective nature of this development enabled structured reflection of the program mechanics, allowing for inclusion of learning from the first four rounds of the

Dingxi Prefecture of Gansu Province's Development of Rainwater Collection and Water-Saving Irrigation to Combat the Arid Environment

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Zhang, Xiaojun; Dong, Suocheng; Wang, Haiying; Liu, Guihuan; Li, Shuang

2005-01-01

.... At the same time, in the long-time practice, Dingxi has taken the rainwater collection and water-saving irrigation as the link for improving eco-environment and increasing field's productivity...

Concepts. Environmental care through energy saving

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wagner, G.

1987-04-01

Energy saving is an important ingredient of a preventive energy policy. It helps to reduce pollutants which are one essential source of damage done to air, water and soil. But even the environmentally damaging side effects of energy production, storage and distribution can be cut down through energy saving.

The estimated impact of California’s urban water conservation mandate on electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Spang, Edward S.; Holguin, Andrew J.; Loge, Frank J.

2018-01-01

In April 2015, the Governor of California mandated a 25% statewide reduction in water consumption (relative to 2013 levels) by urban water suppliers. The more than 400 public water agencies affected by the regulation were also required to report monthly progress towards the conservation goal to the State Water Resources Control Board. This paper uses the reported data to assess how the water utilities have responded to this mandate and to estimate the electricity savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions associated with reduced operation of urban water infrastructure systems. The results show that California succeeded in saving 524 000 million gallons (MG) of water (a 24.5% decrease relative to the 2013 baseline) over the mandate period, which translates into 1830 GWh total electricity savings, and a GHG emissions reduction of 521 000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (MT CO2e). For comparison, the total electricity savings linked to water conservation are approximately 11% greater than the savings achieved by the investor-owned electricity utilities’ efficiency programs for roughly the same time period, and the GHG savings represent the equivalent of taking about 111 000 cars off the road for a year. These indirect, large-scale electricity and GHG savings were achieved at costs that were competitive with existing programs that target electricity and GHG savings directly and independently. Finally, given the breadth of the results produced, we built a companion website, called ‘H2Open’ (https://cwee.shinyapps.io/greengov/), to this research effort that allows users to view and explore the data and results across scales, from individual water utilities to the statewide summary.

10 CFR 436.21 - Savings-to-investment ratio.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... is the ratio of the present value savings to the present value costs of an energy or water conservation measure. The numerator of the ratio is the present value of net savings in energy or water and non... conservation measure. The denominator of the ratio is the present value of the net increase in investment and...

Impact of daylight savings time on spontaneous pregnancy loss in in vitro fertilization patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Constance; Politch, Joseph A; Cullerton, Evan; Go, Kathryn; Pang, Samuel; Kuohung, Wendy

2017-01-01

Transition into daylight savings time (DST) has studied negative impacts on health, but little is known regarding impact on fertility. This retrospective cohort study evaluates DST impact on pregnancy and pregnancy loss rates in 1,654 autologous in vitro fertilization cycles (2009 to 2012). Study groups were identified based on the relationship of DST to embryo transfer. Pregnancy rates were similar in Spring and Fall (41.4%, 42.2%). Pregnancy loss rates were also comparable between Spring and Fall (15.5%, 17.1%), but rates of loss were significantly higher in Spring when DST occurred after embryo transfer (24.3%). Loss was marked in patients with a history of prior spontaneous pregnancy loss (60.5%).

The impact of the daylight saving time on electricity consumption-A case study from Jordan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Awad Momani, Mohammad; Yatim, Baharudin; Ali, Mohd Alauddin Mohd

2009-01-01

The paper examines the impact of daylight saving time (DST) on electricity consumption in Jordan. Two types of analysis were done: the first analysis examines the impact of DST on the lighting loads based on a survey study made for residential and commercial sectors. The second examines the impact of DST on the over all electricity generation through analyzing the daily load curves (DLCs) before and after the DST onset and removal in 2000 and 2007. The results show that the application of DST during the year 2000 saves the electricity used for illumination by -0.73% but it increases the overall generation at the onset and removal of DST by 0.5% and 1.4% due to increase in the heating and cooling loads. The analysis of DLCs during the year 2007 shows similar effects as in the year 2000 except during the early morning period at the DST onset where DST decreases the demand during this time. The analysis shows that DST decreases the electricity demand at DST onset by 0.2% and increases it at DST removal by 0.3%. A possible decrease in the electricity consumption may take place if the DST is implemented from April to end of August.

Residential energy use in Mexico: Structure, evolution, environmental impacts, and savings potential

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masera, O.; Friedmann, R.; deBuen, O.

1993-05-01

This article examines the characteristics of residential energy use in Mexico, its environmental impacts, and the savings potential of the major end-uses. The main options and barriers to increase the efficiency of energy use are discussed. The energy analysis is based on a disaggregation of residential energy use by end-uses. The dynamics of the evolution of the residential energy sector during the past 20 years are also addressed when the information is available. Major areas for research and for innovative decision-making are identified and prioritized.

Forecasting the demand on solar water heating systems and their energy savings potential during the period 2001-2005 in Jordan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kablan, M.M.

2003-01-01

Jordan is an example of a developing country that depends almost exclusively on imported oil. Luckily, Jordan is blessed with good solar energy resources. However, only 24% of Jordanian families are installing solar water heating systems (SWHS). The objective of this research is to forecast the yearly demand on SWHS by the household sector during the period 2001-2005 and to compute the potential energy savings throughout the investigated period due to the use of SWHS. It is found that the net energy collected over the entire investigated period is about 1454.4 million kW h. In addition, the capital savings over the entire investigated period is estimated to be 46.28 million US$ if SWHS are used to heat water instead of the commonly used LPG gas cookers. The results of the research may assist decision makers in the energy sector to implement more comprehensive plans that encourage more families to install SWHS and save on imported oil

Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) of paddy fields: A water-saving technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salim, M.; Shehzad, F.D.

2008-01-01

Rice productivity in Pakistan is lower than in various rice-producing countries of the World. One of the major reasons of low productivity is the shortage of water. It is, therefore, imperative to increase water-use efficiency. Various studies in China and elsewhere have revealed that continuous flooding is not necessary for getting high yield of rice. In China, lot of effort has been made to develop water- saving rice-production technologies. The most important of these is alternate wetting and drying (AWD) of rice-fields, instead of keeping them continuously flooded or submerged. In the present article, salient advantages and disadvantages have been discussed. The advantages include less water-use for paddy-production, high paddy-productivity, and improvement in the environment, with enhanced efficiency of nutrient-use, better utilization of rainwater, less infestation/ population of insect pests. The technology may affect the grain-quality of Basmati rice in Pakistan. It is suggested that studies. on various aspects of the technology should be carried out, in various ecological zones and in different soil-types. The adoption of the technology may prove helpful to enhance rice-productivity and improve the rural economy in Pakistan. (author)

The EU must triple its energy saving policy effect

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wesselink, B.; Eichhammer, W.; Harmsen, R.

2010-01-01

The impact of EU energy savings policy must triple to achieve the bloc’s 2020 energy savings goal. But such efforts could get a much better foundation if European leaders set a binding energy consumption target, rather than the current indicative savings target. The evidence for such

A multi-stakeholder partnership for the dissemination of alternate wetting and drying water-saving technology for rice farmers in the Philippines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florencia G. Palis

2017-09-01

Full Text Available To address issues of water scarcity and food security for sustainable rice farming and increasing production, a water-saving technology called alternate wetting and drying (AWD was disseminated in the Philippines. This study assessed the impact of facilitating a network of stakeholders on disseminating AWD in irrigated rice systems in the Philippines. It used both qualitative and quantitative data collected from 2002 to 2012 in study sites in the country. Engaging multi-stakeholders in adaptive research, training, and dissemination facilitated the process of more interaction by partners. All partners joined a knowledge and dissemination alliance for scaling out AWD activities. This in turn effected a policy outcome, and the synergetic interactions of each partner within and outside the current network fast-tracked the dissemination process and adoption of AWD by farmers. The AWD practice resulted in an increase in irrigated rice area but not necessarily in rice production and farmers’ income. It also reduced labor and fuel consumption, especially in deep-well irrigation systems.

Saving Energy. Managing School Facilities, Guide 3.

Science.gov (United States)

Department for Education and Employment, London (England). Architects and Building Branch.

This guide offers information on how schools can implement an energy saving action plan to reduce their energy costs. Various low-cost energy-saving measures are recommended covering heating levels and heating systems, electricity demand reduction and lighting, ventilation, hot water usage, and swimming pool energy management. Additional…

Saved СО 2 emissions by using renewable sources for hot water yield in Bulgarian dairy farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Georgiev

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract. In 2014 – 2015 installations for hot water yield from renewable energy sources were built and tested in three dairy farms in Bulgaria. These replace the traditionally used electricity on farms with the aim of decarbonising the energy production. The newly built installations contain three modules for heat yield – from recuperation of the heat from the milked milk, from the solar energy and from wood pellets. In the course of one year the energy obtained from the renewable sources has been measured and assessed. The present article assesses the ecological benefits of the separate renewable sources which are used to reduce СО2 emissions, the main greenhouse gas. For this purpose, the method of environmental life cycle analysis (LCA and assessment of heat/hot water generating systems was used. Coefficients for calculating the primary energy of the saved or replaced energy, as well as their respective carbon ratios, specific for Bulgaria, were used. The results obtained are related to identifying the specific quantities of saved CO2 emissions from the renewable sources used on the experimental farms. It has been found that about 52-57% of CO2 savings are due to the pellets used, 34-42% to the solar heat collectors and about 9% to the recuperated heat from the produced milk.

Agricultural interventions for water saving and crop yield improvement, in a Mediterranean area - an experimental design

Science.gov (United States)

Morianou, Giasemi; Kourgialas, Nektarios; Psarras, George; Koubouris, George; Arampatzis, George; Karatzas, George; Pavlidou, Elisavet

2017-04-01

This work is a part of LIFE+ AGROCLIMAWATER project and the aim is to improve the water efficiency, increase the adaptive capacity of tree corps and save water, in a Mediterranean area, under different climatic conditions and agricultural practices. The experimental design as well as preliminary results at farm and river basin scales are presented in this work. Specifically, ten (10) pilot farms, both organic and conventional ones have been selected in the sub-basin of Platanias in western Crete - Greece. These ten pilot farms were selected representing the most typical crops in Platanias area (olive trees and citrus trees), as well as the typical soil, landscape and agricultural practices differentiation for each crop (field slope, water availability, soil type, management regime). From the ten pilot farms, eight were olive farms and the rest two citrus. This proportion correspond adequacy to the presentence of olive and citrus crops in the extended area of Platanias prefecture. Each of the ten pilot farm has been divided in two parts, the first one will be used as a control part, while the other one as the demonstration part where the interventions will be applied. The action plans for each selected farm are based on the following groups of possible interventions: a) reduction of water evaporation losses from soil surface, b) reduction of transpiration water losses through winter pruning and summer pruning, c) reduction of deep percolation water and nutrient losses, d) reduction of surface runoff, e) measures in order to maximize the efficiency of irrigation and f) rationalization of fertilizers and agrochemicals utilized. Preliminary results indicate that water saving and crop yield can be significantly improved based on the above innervations both at farm and river basin scale.

TVA reaps big savings by letting powerplant work to outside firms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

This abstract is the entire text of the article. In a report to Congress, the Tennessee Valley Authority says its shift to full reliance on outside contractors for powerplant construction and modification work saved a net $54M in the first half of 1992. TVA says that total savings from lower overhead and increased efficiency were $75M, but that was partially offset by $21M in one-time mobilization/de-mobilization charges. TVA has a budget of $1.7B this year for new plant and equipment. That will rise to over $2B in the next two years. About 70% of the work involves nuclear plant work. Several members of Congress from the area criticized TVA in mid-1991 when it cut more than 5,000 hourly construction jobs and several hundred salaried construction jobs. The agency said the cuts let it concentrate on power production and promised to make semi-annual reports to Congress detailing the results of contracting out. In the agency's first report, TVA Chairman John Waters says that it saved $19.2M in personnel costs and staff overhead over the six-month period ending June 30, 1992. At the same time, $21.8M was saved through increased construction efficiency and productivity. Waters also says that the switch caused minimal impact on the local work force. Contractors employed 6,166 craft workers on their TVA projects at mid-year, compared with the 5,200 dropped by the agency in mid-1991

Cost-savings of community water fluoridation program; Kerman, Iran, 2016

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Eskandarizadeh

2017-04-01

CONCLUSION: This study indicates significant annual savings from CWFP; additional savings could be achieved if this program is implemented in other regions. We could also receive even more if this program is integrated with other public oral health programs such as screening school children, community dentistry and oral health education.

International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol: Concepts and Options for Determining Energy and Water Savings, Volume I (Revised)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2002-03-01

This protocol serves as a framework to determine energy and water savings resulting from the implementation of an energy efficiency program. It is also intended to help monitor the performance of renewable energy systems and to enhance indoor environmental quality in buildings.

Federal Aviation Administration retained savings program proposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hostick, D.J.; Larson, L.L.; Hostick, C.J.

1998-03-01

Federal legislation allows federal agencies to retain up to 50% of the savings associated with implementing energy efficiency and water conservation measures and practices. Given budget pressures to reduce expenditures, the use of retained savings to fund additional projects represents a source of funds outside of the traditional budget cycle. The Southwest Region Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has tasked Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to develop a model retained savings program for Southwest Region FAA use and as a prototype for consideration by the FAA. PNNL recommends the following steps be taken in developing a Southwest Region FAA retained savings program: Establish a retained savings mechanism. Determine the level at which the retained savings should be consolidated into a fund. The preliminary recommendation is to establish a revolving efficiency loan fund at the regional level. Such a mechanism allows some consolidation of savings to fund larger projects, while maintaining a sense of facility ownership in that the funds will remain within the region

Hybrid coolers allow important water saving; Les refroidisseurs ''hybrides'' permettent des economies d'eau importantes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bitsch, V. [Societe Jaeggi-France (France)

2005-03-01

Air cooling systems used with refrigerating machineries are in general highly water and electricity consuming. The use of 'hybrid' systems having the characteristics of both close-cycle evaporative systems and dry coolers allow important water saving. This article presents the operation principle and characteristics of such cooling systems. (J.S.)

Private savings and financial modernization in Mexico, 1988-95

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julio Lopez G.

2000-09-01

Full Text Available The evolution of private savings has attracted a lot of attention in the controversy about the origins of Mexico's 1995 crisis. In this paper the authors analyze the evolution of private savings in Mexico using the theory of effective demand as a framework and making use of econometric estimates. In this context, they analyze the impact of the financial reforms, and in particular the effect of liberalization and deregulation of the financial system on private savings in Mexico from 1980 to 1995. The authors formulate an explanation of the determinants of private savingsand the impact of the strategy of "financial modernization" on private savings, by specifying a model that allows to identify the influence of monetary and credit policies on savings. Then they carry out econometric estimates that lend empirical support to the main conclusions of the theoretical analysis. Their econometric work confirm notably that private savings has been low due to a series of changes in monetary policy that favored the contraction of private demand and led to greater foreign indebtedness.

The Impact of Process Scaling on Scratchpad Memory Energy Savings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bennion Redd

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Scratchpad memories have been shown to reduce power consumption, but the different characteristics of nanometer scale processes, such as increased leakage power, motivate an examination of how the benefits of these memories change with process scaling. Process and application characteristics affect the amount of energy saved by a scratchpad memory. Increases in leakage as a percentage of total power particularly impact applications that rarely access memory. This study examines how the benefits of scratchpad memories have changed in newer processes, based on the measured performance of the WIMS (Wireless Integrated MicroSystems microcontroller implemented in 180- and 65-nm processes and upon simulations of this microcontroller implemented in a 32-nm process. The results demonstrate that scratchpad memories will continue to improve the power dissipation of many applications, given the leakage anticipated in the foreseeable future.

Chapter 10: Peak Demand and Time-Differentiated Energy Savings Cross-Cutting Protocol. The Uniform Methods Project: Methods for Determining Energy Efficiency Savings for Specific Measures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurnik, Charles W [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Stern, Frank [Navigant, Boulder, CO (United States); Spencer, Justin [Navigant, Boulder, CO (United States)

2017-10-03

Savings from electric energy efficiency measures and programs are often expressed in terms of annual energy and presented as kilowatt-hours per year (kWh/year). However, for a full assessment of the value of these savings, it is usually necessary to consider the measure or program's impact on peak demand as well as time-differentiated energy savings. This cross-cutting protocol describes methods for estimating the peak demand and time-differentiated energy impacts of measures implemented through energy efficiency programs.

Potential for Water Savings by Defoliation of Saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) by Saltcedar Beetles (Diorhabda carinulata) in the Upper Colorado River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Nagler, P. L.; Nguyen, U.; Bateman, H. L.; Jarchow, C.; van Riper, C., III; Waugh, W.; Glenn, E.

2016-12-01

Northern saltcedar beetles (Diorhabda carinata) have spread widely in riparian zones on the Colorado Plateau since their initial release in 2002. One goal of the releases was to reduce water consumption by saltcedar in order to conserve water through reduction of evapotranspiration (ET). The beetle moved south on the Virgin River and reached Big Bend State Park in Nevada in 2014, an expansion rate of 60 km/year. This is important because the beetle's photoperiod requirement for diapause was expected to prevent them from moving south of 37°N latitude, where endangered southwest willow flycatcher habitat occurs. In addition to focusing on the rate of dispersal of the beetles, we used remote sensing estimates of ET at 13 sites on the Colorado, San Juan, Virgin and Dolores rivers and their tributaries to estimate riparian zone ET before and after beetle releases. We estimate that water savings from 2007-2015 was 31.5 million m3/yr (25,547 acre-ft/yr), amounting to 0.258 % of annual river flow from the Upper Colorado River Basin to the Lower Basin. Reasons for the relatively low potential water savings are: 1) baseline ET before beetle release was modest (0.472 m/yr); 2) reduction in ET was low (0.061 m/yr) because saltcedar stands tended to recover after defoliation; 3) riparian ET even in the absence of beetles was only 1.8 % of river flows, calculated as the before beetle average annual ET (472 mm/yr) times the total area of saltcedar (51,588 ha) divided by the combined total average annual flows (1964-2015) from the upper to lower catchment areas of the Colorado River Basin at the USGS gages (12,215 million m3/yr or 9.90 million acre-ft). Further research is suggested to concentrate on the ecological impacts (both positive and negative) of beetles on riparian zones and on identifying management options to maximize riparian health.

Characterization of mercury species in brown and white rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown in water-saving paddies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rothenberg, Sarah E., E-mail: rothenberg.sarah@gmail.com [State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46 Guanshui Lu, Guiyang 550002 (China); Feng Xinbin, E-mail: fengxinbin@vip.skleg.cn [State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46 Guanshui Lu, Guiyang 550002 (China); Dong Bin, E-mail: dongbin@whu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072 (China); Shang Lihai, E-mail: shanglihai@vip.gyig.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46 Guanshui Lu, Guiyang 550002 (China); Yin Runsheng, E-mail: yinrunsheng2002@163.com [State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46 Guanshui Lu, Guiyang 550002 (China); Yuan Xiaobo, E-mail: xiantao_131@163.com [College of Resources and the Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716 (China)

2011-05-15

In China, total Hg (Hg{sub T}) and methylmercury (MeHg) were quantified in rice grain grown in three sites using water-saving rice cultivation methods, and in one Hg-contaminated site, where rice was grown under flooded conditions. Polished white rice concentrations of Hg{sub T} (water-saving: 3.3 {+-} 1.6 ng/g; flooded: 110 {+-} 9.2 ng/g) and MeHg (water-saving 1.3 {+-} 0.56 ng/g; flooded: 12 {+-} 2.4 ng/g) were positively correlated with root-soil Hg{sub T} and MeHg contents (Hg{sub T}: r{sup 2} = 0.97, MeHg: r{sup 2} = 0.87, p < 0.05 for both), which suggested a portion of Hg species in rice grain was derived from the soil, and translocation of Hg species from soil to rice grain was independent of irrigation practices and Hg levels, although other factors may be important. Concentrations of Hg{sub T} and other trace elements were significantly higher in unmilled brown rice (p < 0.05), while MeHg content was similar (p > 0.20), indicating MeHg infiltrated the endosperm (i.e., white rice) more efficiently than inorganic Hg(II). - Highlights: > First time that Hg{sub T} and MeHg were characterized in both brown and white rice. > MeHg translocation into the endosperm was more efficient than inorganic Hg(II). > In this respect, MeHg behaved like dimethylarsinic acid and organic Se species. > In white rice, Hg{sub T} and MeHg were positively correlated with soil Hg{sub T} and MeHg. > Uptake rates of Hg{sub T} and MeHg were independent of irrigation methods and Hg content. - Methylmercury was more efficiently translocated to the endosperm than inorganic mercury.

Saving electricity in a hurry - update 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pasquier, Sara Bryan

2011-06-15

As demonstrated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami-triggered blackouts in Japan, electricity shortfalls can happen anytime and anywhere. Countries can minimise the negative economic, social and environmental impacts of such electricity shortfalls by developing emergency energy-saving strategies before a crisis occurs. This new IEA report highlights preliminary findings and conclusions from electricity shortfalls in Japan, the United States, New Zealand, South Africa and Chile. It draws on recent analysis to: reinforce well-established guidelines on diagnosing electricity shortfalls, identifying energy-saving opportunities and selecting a package of energy-saving measures; and highlight proven practice for implementing emergency energy-saving programmes. This paper will be valuable to government, academic, private-sector and civil-society stakeholders who inform, develop and implement electricity policy in general, and emergency energy-saving programmes in particular.

Taxation and the household saving rate: evidence from OECD countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vito Tanzi

2000-03-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes anew the relationship between taxation and the household saving rate. On the basis of standard savings and tax revenue data from a sample of OECD countries, it provides compelling empirical evidence of a powerful impact of taxes on household savings. In particular, income taxes are shown to affect negatively the household saving rate much more than consumption taxes.

casual relationship between gross domestic saving and economic

African Journals Online (AJOL)

TOSHIBA

private saving has both direct and indirect effects on economic growth. ... sector have a bigger impact on GDP than gross domestic savings. ... Development economists have been concerned for decades about the crucial role of ..... higher investment and higher economic growth is not supported by East African countries.

Active vs. Passive Decisions and Crowdout in Retirement Savings Accounts: Evidence from Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Torben Heien; Leth-Petersen, Søren; Chetty, Raj

2012-01-01

Do retirement savings policies – such as tax subsidies or employer-provided pension plans – increase total saving for retirement or simply induce shifting across accounts? We revisit this classic question using 45 million observations on savings for the population of Denmark. We find that a policy......'s impact on total savings depends critically on whether it changes savings rates by active or passive choice. Tax subsidies, which rely upon individuals to take an action to raise savings, have small impacts on total wealth. We estimate that each $1 of tax expenditure on subsidies increases total saving...... by 1 cent. In contrast, policies that raise savings automatically even if individuals take no action – such as employer-provided pensions or automatic contributions to retirement accounts – increase wealth accumulation substantially. Price subsidies only affect the behavior of active savers who respond...

Customer-economics of residential photovoltaic systems (Part 1): The impact of high renewable energy penetrations on electricity bill savings with net metering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darghouth, Naïm R.; Barbose, Galen; Wiser, Ryan H.

2014-01-01

Residential photovoltaic (PV) systems in the US are often compensated at the customer's underlying retail electricity rate through net metering. Given the uncertainty in future retail rates and the inherent links between rates and the customer–economics of behind-the-meter PV, there is growing interest in understanding how potential changes in rates may impact the value of bill savings from PV. In this article, we first use a production cost and capacity expansion model to project California hourly wholesale electricity market prices under two potential electricity market scenarios, including a reference and a 33% renewables scenario. Second, based on the wholesale electricity market prices generated by the model, we develop retail rates (i.e., flat, time-of-use, and real-time pricing) for each future scenario based on standard retail rate design principles. Finally, based on these retail rates, the bill savings from PV is estimated for 226 California residential customers under two types of net metering, for each scenario. We find that high renewable penetrations can drive substantial changes in residential retail rates and that these changes, together with variations in retail rate structures and PV compensation mechanisms, interact to place substantial uncertainty on the future value of bill savings from residential PV. - Highlights: • We investigate the impact of high renewables on customer economics of solar. • We model three types of residential retail electricity rates. • Based on the rates, we calculate the bill savings from photovoltaic (PV) generation. • High renewables penetration can lead to lower bill savings with time-varying rates. • There is substantial uncertainty in the future bill savings from residential PV

Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Financial Sector Reforms on Savings Mobilization in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enobong Udoh

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This paper examines whether Nigeria witnessed considerable savings mobilization amidst financial sector reforms from 2007 to 2015 using the estimation method of Autoregressive Distributed Lag. Unlike previous papers in this area that mostly focused on interest rates liberalization thesis, this paper goes deeper by looking at financial reforms across money, capital and foreign exchange markets. The estimation results show that there are still structural rigidities in the money, foreign exchange and equity markets nexus. In that, the following variables that proxy financial sector reforms namely treasury bill yield, interest rate spread, market capitalization ratio and currency in circulation ratio (which proxy technological modernization of payment systems all went against a priori expectation. However, financial reforms had one success story in credit/loans advances to private/public sectors (financial deepening which posted its correct economic sign. In sum, except for the financial deepening variable it can be safely concluded that financial reforms in Nigeria is yet to positively impact savings mobilization. The regulatory and reform authorities must show effectiveness in reforms implementation.

The potential for energy savings when reducing the water consumption in a kraft pulp mill

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wising, Ulrika; Berntsson, Thore [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Science; Stuart, Paul [Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal (Canada). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2004-05-01

In this paper an existing pulp and paper mill has been studied in a systematic way regarding the reduction of water consumption, and the resulting increased potential for energy integration. It has been found that when the mill's hot water consumption is decreased, the live steam demand for the mill also decreases. Also when decreasing the hot water consumption, the quantity and temperature of available excess heat increases. This excess heat can be used for evaporation, thereby reducing the live steam demand further by up to 1.5 GJ/t. A pinch analysis was performed at an existing mill and it was found that if pinch violations are removed, the hot water consumption is not an important factor any more. Removing all the pinch violations and using the remaining excess heat for evaporation yields a significantly larger energy savings for the mill (4.0 GJ/t). From an economic optimum perspective it is probably most profitable to do a combination of reducing water consumption, removing pinch violations, and use the remaining excess heat for evaporation.

Impacts of climate change on the municipal water management system in the Kingdom of Bahrain: Vulnerability assessment and adaptation options

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waleed K. Al-Zubari

Full Text Available An assessment of the vulnerability of the municipal water management system to the impacts of climate change in the Kingdom of Bahrain, manifested by the increase in demands due to increase in temperatures, is conducted using a dynamic mathematical model representing the water sector in the kingdom. The model is developed using WEAP software and was calibrated and validated by historical matching utilizing data for the period 2000–2012. The model is used in the evaluation of the municipal water sector performance in terms of municipal water demands and their associated cost without and with climate change impacts scenarios for the period 2012–2030. The impact of climate change on the municipal water system is quantified as the difference between the two scenarios in three selected cost indicators: financial (production, conveyance and distribution costs, economic (natural gas asset consumption by desalination plants, and environmental (CO2 emissions by desalination plants. The vulnerability assessment indicated that the current municipal water management system in Bahrain is generally inefficient and associated with relatively high costs, which are expected to increase with time under the current policies and management approach focusing on supply-side management. The increase in temperature will increase these already high costs, and would exacerbate the water management challenges in Bahrain. However, these mounting challenges also present an opportune moment for Bahrain to review its current water resources management approaches and practices and to integrate climate change adaptation measures into its water planning and policies. In order to build an adaptive management capacity of the municipal water management system in Bahrain, a number of management interventions are proposed and evaluated, individually and combined, for their effectiveness in enhancing the efficiency of the management system using the developed dynamic model. These

Development of a Computer-based Benchmarking and Analytical Tool. Benchmarking and Energy & Water Savings Tool in Dairy Plants (BEST-Dairy)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Tengfang [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Flapper, Joris [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Ke, Jing [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Kramer, Klaas [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Sathaye, Jayant [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2012-02-01

The overall goal of the project is to develop a computer-based benchmarking and energy and water savings tool (BEST-Dairy) for use in the California dairy industry – including four dairy processes – cheese, fluid milk, butter, and milk powder.

Effects of water-saving irrigation practices and drought resistant rice variety on greenhouse gas emissions from a no-till paddy in the central lowlands of China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Ying; Ge, Junzhu; Tian, Shaoyang; Li, Shuya [MOA Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Cultivation (The Middle Reaches of Yangtze River), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070 (China); College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070 (China); Nguy-Robertson, Anthony L. [Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-0973 (United States); Zhan, Ming, E-mail: zhanming@mail.hzau.edu.cn [MOA Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Cultivation (The Middle Reaches of Yangtze River), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070 (China); College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070 (China); Cao, Cougui, E-mail: ccgui@mail.hzau.edu.cn [MOA Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Cultivation (The Middle Reaches of Yangtze River), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070 (China); College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070 (China)

2015-02-01

As pressure on water resources increases, alternative practices to conserve water in paddies have been developed. Few studies have simultaneously examined the effectiveness of different water regimes on conserving water, mitigating greenhouse gases (GHG), and maintaining yields in rice production. This study, which was conducted during the drought of 2013, examined all three factors using a split-plot experiment with two rice varieties in a no-till paddy managed under three different water regimes: 1) continuous flooding (CF), 2) flooded and wet intermittent irrigation (FWI), and 3) flooded and dry intermittent irrigation (FDI). The Methane (CH{sub 4}) and nitrous oxide (N{sub 2}O) emissions were measured using static chamber-gas measurements, and the carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions were monitored using a soil CO{sub 2} flux system (LI-8100). Compared with CF, FWI and FDI irrigation strategies reduced CH{sub 4} emissions by 60% and 83%, respectively. In contrast, CO{sub 2} and N{sub 2}O fluxes increased by 65% and 9%, respectively, under FWI watering regime and by 104% and 11%, respectively, under FDI managed plots. Although CO{sub 2} and N{sub 2}O emissions increased, the global warming potential (GWP) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) of all three GHG decreased by up to 25% and 29% (p < 0.01), respectively, using water-saving irrigation strategies. The rice variety also affected yields and GHG emissions in response to different water regimes. The drought-resistance rice variety (HY3) was observed to maintain yields, conserve water, and reduce GHG under the FWI irrigation management compared with the typical variety (FYY299) planted in the region. The FYY299 only had significantly lower GWP and GHGI when the yield was reduced under FDI water regime. In conclusion, FWI irrigation strategy could be an effective option for simultaneously saving water and mitigating GWP without reducing rice yields using drought-resistant rice varieties, such as HY3

Unilever chooses a reverse osmosis system to improve efficiency and save energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon

2006-11-15

Rising energy prices have created new energy efficiency practices at Unilever's plant in Rexdale, Ontario. In order to meet an aggressive goal of reducing energy consumption by at least 6 per cent per year, the plant's energy team has implemented and documented 120 projects since 1999, saving more than $4.2 million in energy costs while eliminating 23,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The team recently consulted with GE Water and Process Technologies to investigate efficiency measures for their steam plant operations. After analyzing the cost of purchasing and treating water used to produce the 218 million pounds of steam that the plant uses each year, GE recommended a reverse osmosis (RO) system to replace the water softeners and chloride anion de-alkalizers that treated the municipal water used throughout the plant. RO is a mechanical process involving the reversal of flow through a semi-permeable membrane from a high salinity solution to a high purity stream on the opposite side of the membrane. Pressure is used as the driving force for the separation. A turnkey system was installed at the plant in 2005, which also recycles process water captured throughout the plant for use as boiler make-up. The RO feed water allows the boilers to operate at 100 feedwater cycles instead of 10, dramatically increasing energy efficiency. By converting to the RO system, the plant is now consuming 13 million gallons less of municipal water and 8 per cent less natural gas, for a total savings of $68,000 and $299,000 respectively per year. The plant is also saving $11,700 in boiler chemicals and $22,000 in commodity softening chemicals. The RO system has also qualified the Rexdale plant for a $50,000 incentive grant from the City of Toronto for decreased water consumption. It was concluded that while the project has provided financial benefit to Unilever, the company is equally proud of the environmental benefits of the system, which both reduces chemical use and the

Effects of water-saving irrigation on emissions of greenhouse gases and prokaryotic communities in rice paddy soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Jae-Hyung; Choi, Min-Young; Kim, Byung-Yong; Lee, Jong-Sik; Song, Jaekyeong; Kim, Gun-Yeob; Weon, Hang-Yeon

2014-08-01

The effects of water-saving irrigation on emissions of greenhouse gases and soil prokaryotic communities were investigated in an experimental rice field. The water layer was kept at 1-2 cm in the water-saving (WS) irrigation treatment and at 6 cm in the continuous flooding (CF) irrigation treatment. WS irrigation decreased CH(4) emissions by 78 % and increased N(2)O emissions by 533 %, resulting in 78 % reduction of global warming potential compared to the CF irrigation. WS irrigation did not affect the abundance or phylogenetic distribution of bacterial/archaeal 16S rRNA genes and the abundance of bacterial/archaeal 16S rRNAs. The transcript abundance of CH(4) emission-related genes generally followed CH(4) emission patterns, but the difference in abundance between mcrA transcripts and amoA/pmoA transcripts best described the differences in CH(4) emissions between the two irrigation practices. WS irrigation increased the relative abundance of 16S rRNAs and functional gene transcripts associated with Anaeromyxobacter and Methylocystis spp., suggesting that their activities might be important in emissions of the greenhouse gases. The N(2)O emission patterns were not reflected in the abundance of N(2)O emission-related genes and transcripts. We showed that the alternative irrigation practice was effective for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from rice fields and that it did not affect the overall size and structure of the soil prokaryotic community but did affect the activity of some groups.

Conceptual provisions of the implementation of energy saving measures in the residential facilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meshcheryakova Tatiana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Research purpose is identification of sales problems of energy saving actions for residential sector of economy, including with use of the power service contract. The choice of the object of the study is related to the general issues on energy saving of residential facilities and increasing the number of unresolved problems. Unfortunately, the efficiency of energy consumption of housing stock is extremely low that directly leads to an increase in citizens’ payments for public utilities (housing and communal services. There are many problems associated with the aging of fixed assets: it becomes especially evident in winter seasons. The level of quality of delivery, distribution and consumption of expensive heat resources that has the greatest impact on a residence comfort and sometimes human life and health, is very low. Our population faces to year overheating or freezing, to leakages through worn pipes and the subsequent disconnection of water and heat. Despite the public declaration of the of the active processes of modernization of the housing municipal economy in the Russian Federation, the implementation of the necessary energy-saving elements in the housing sector is evolving very slowly. The article presents conceptual positions, which will bring the issues related to energy saving and efficiency to a new level.

Plant osmoregulation as an emergent water-saving adaptation under salt-stress conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Perri, S.; Entekhabi, D.; Molini, A.

2017-12-01

emerges as a water-saving behavior similar to the strategies that xerophytes use to cope with aridity. Possible anatomical and morphological adaptations to long-term salinity exposure are addressed through an analysis of transpiration patterns for different values of root and leaf density and for diverse levels of salt-tolerance.

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

Effects of heat and electricity saving measures in district-heated multistory residential buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Truong, Nguyen Le; Dodoo, Ambrose; Gustavsson, Leif

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We analyzed the potential for energy savings in district heated buildings. • Measures that reduce more peak load production give higher primary energy savings. • Efficient appliances increase heat demand but give net primary energy savings. • Efficient appliances give the largest net primary energy savings. - Abstract: The effects of heat and electricity saving measures in district-heated buildings can be complex because these depend not only on how energy is used on the demand side but also on how energy is provided from the supply side. In this study, we analyze the effects of heat and electricity saving measures in multistory concrete-framed and wood-framed versions of an existing district-heated building and examine the impacts of the reduced energy demand on different district heat (DH) production configurations. The energy saving measures considered are for domestic hot water reduction, building thermal envelope improvement, ventilation heat recovery (VHR), and household electricity savings. Our analysis is based on a measured heat load profile of an existing DH production system in Växjö, Sweden. Based on the measured heat load profile, we model three minimum-cost DH production system using plausible environmental and socio-political scenarios. Then, we investigate the primary energy implications of the energy saving measures applied to the two versions of the existing building, taking into account the changed DH demand, changed cogenerated electricity, and changed electricity use due to heat and electricity saving measures. Our results show that the difference between the final and primary energy savings of the concrete-framed and wood-framed versions of the case-study building is minor. The primary energy efficiency of the energy saving measures depends on the type of measure and on the composition of the DH production system. Of the various energy saving measures explored, electricity savings give the highest primary energy savings

Understanding the spectrum of residential energy-saving behaviours: French evidence using disaggregated data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belaïd, Fateh; Garcia, Thomas

2016-01-01

Analysing household energy-saving behaviours is crucial to improve energy consumption predictions and energy policy making. How should we quantitatively measure them? What are their determinants? This study explores the main factors influencing residential energy-saving behaviours based on a bottom-up multivariate statistical approach using data from the recent French PHEBUS survey. Firstly, we assess energy-saving behaviours on a one-dimension scale using IRT. Secondly, we use linear regression with an innovative variable selection method via adaptive lasso to tease out the effects of both macro and micro factors on the behavioural score. The results highlight the impact of five main attributes incentivizing energy-saving behaviours based on cross-variable analyses: energy price, household income, education level, age of head of household and dwelling energy performance. In addition, our results suggest that the analysis of the inverted U-shape impact of age enables the expansion of the energy consumption life cycle theory to energy-saving behaviours. - Highlights: • We examine the main factors influencing residential energy-saving behaviours. • We use data from the recent French PHEBUS survey. • We use IRT to assess energy-saving behaviours on a one-dimension scale. • We use linear regression with an innovative variable selection method via adaptive lasso. • We highlight the impact of five main attributes incentivizing energy-saving behaviours.

Saving Grace - A Climate Change Documentary Education Program

Science.gov (United States)

Byrne, J. M.; McDaniel, S.; Graham, J.; Little, L.; Hoggan, J. C.

2012-12-01

Saving Grace conveys climate change knowledge from the best international scientists and social scientists using a series of new media formats. An Education and Communication Plan (ECP) has been developed to disseminate climate change knowledge on impacts, mitigation and adaptation for individuals, and for all sectors of society. The research team is seeking contacts with science and social science colleagues around the world to provide the knowledge base for the ECP. Poverty enslaves…and climate change has, and will, spread and deepen poverty to hundreds of millions of people, primarily in the developing world. And make no mistake; we are enslaving hundreds of millions of people in a depressing and debilitating poverty that in numbers will far surpass the horrors of the slave trade of past centuries. Saving Grace is the story of that poverty - and minimizing that poverty. Saving Grace stars the best of the world's climate researchers. Saving Grace presents the science; who, where and why of greenhouse gases that drive climate change; current and projected impacts of a changing climate around the world; and most important, solutions to the climate change challenges we face.

Enersave API: Android-based power-saving framework for mobile devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.M. Muharum

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Power consumption is a major factor to be taken into consideration when using mobile devices in the IoT field. Good Power management requires proper understanding of the way in which it is being consumed by the end-devices. This paper is a continuation of the work in Ref. [1] and proposes an energy saving API for the Android Operating System in order to help developers turn their applications into energy-aware ones. The main features heavily used for building smart applications, greatly impact battery life of Android devices and which have been taken into consideration are: Screen brightness, Colour scheme, CPU frequency, 2G/3G network, Maps, Low power localisation, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The assessment of the power-saving API has been performed on real Android devices and also compared to the most powerful power-saving applications – DU Battery Saver and Battery Saver 2016 – currently available on the Android market. Comparisons demonstrate that the Enersave API has a significant impact on power saving when incorporated in android applications. While DU Battery Saver and Battery Saver 2016 help saving 22.2% and 40.5% of the battery power respectively, the incorporation of the Enersave API in android applications can help save 84.6% of battery power.

Burned forests impact water supplies

Science.gov (United States)

Dennis W. Hallema; Ge Sun; Peter V. Caldwell; Steven P. Norman; Erika C. Cohen; Yongqiang Liu; Kevin D. Bladon; Steven G. McNulty

2018-01-01

Wildland fire impacts on surface freshwater resources have not previously been measured, nor factored into regional water management strategies. But, large wildland fires are increasing and raise concerns about fire impacts on potable water. Here we synthesize longterm records of wildland fire, climate, and river flow for 168 locations across the United States. We show...

209 Effect of Cooperatives on the Savings Behaviour of Members in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

First Lady

2013-01-28

Jan 28, 2013 ... impacted positively on the savings behavior of members. .... On a second side, savings can be actively planned in binding agreements, like .... theory based on the permanent income over the life-cycle of a household, and.

Water-saving analysis on an effective water reuse system in biodiesel feedstock production based on Chlorella zofingiensis fed-batch cultivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Kang; Qin, Lei; Wang, Zhongming; Feng, Wei; Feng, Pingzhong; Zhu, Shunni; Xu, Jingliang; Yuan, Zhenhong

2015-01-01

The micralgae-based biofuel obtained from dairy wastewater (DWW) is considered a promising source of energy. However, this process consumes water due to the concentration of wastewater being normally too high for some micoralgae cultivation, and dilution is always needed. In this work, the cultivation of microalgae has been examined in non-recirculated water (NR) and recirculated water systems (R). The growth of Chlorella zofingiensis and the nutrient removal of DWW have been recorded. The comparison indicates the R had a little more advantage in biomass and lipid output (1.55, 0.22 g, respectively) than the NR (1.51, 0.20 g, respectively). However, the total chemical oxygen demand (COD), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), and total phosphorus (TP) removals of the R were lower than those of the NR system during the culture. The highest removal of total COD, TKN, and TP were 85.05%, 93.64%, and 98.45%, respectively. Furthermore, no significant difference has been observed in the higher heating value and lipid content of the biomass of the R and NR. The results show the R can save 30% of the total water input during the culture. All above results indicate the R system has great potential in industry.

Household Savings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Browning, Martin; Lusardi, Annamaria

suggested in the informal saving literature can be captured in the standard optimizing model. Particular attention is given to recent work on the precautionary motive and its implications for saving and consumption behavior. We also discuss the "behavioral" or "psychological" approach that eschews the use......In this survey, we review the recent theoretical and empirical literature on household saving and consumption. The discussion is structured around a list of motives for saving and how well the standard theory captures these motives. We show that almost all of the motives for saving that have been...

Saving in cycles: how to get people to save more money.

Science.gov (United States)

Tam, Leona; Dholakia, Utpal

2014-02-01

Low personal savings rates are an important social issue in the United States. We propose and test one particular method to get people to save more money that is based on the cyclical time orientation. In contrast to conventional, popular methods that encourage individuals to ignore past mistakes, focus on the future, and set goals to save money, our proposed method frames the savings task in cyclical terms, emphasizing the present. Across the studies, individuals who used our proposed cyclical savings method, compared with individuals who used a linear savings method, provided an average of 74% higher savings estimates and saved an average of 78% more money. We also found that the cyclical savings method was more efficacious because it increased implementation planning and lowered future optimism regarding saving money.

Chinese hotel general managers' perspectives on energy-saving practices

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yidan

As hotels' concern about sustainability and budget-control is growing steadily, energy-saving issues have become one of the important management concerns hospitality industry face. By executing proper energy-saving practices, previous scholars believed that hotel operation costs can decrease dramatically. Moreover, they believed that conducting energy-saving practices may eventually help the hotel to gain other benefits such as an improved reputation and stronger competitive advantage. The energy-saving issue also has become a critical management problem for the hotel industry in China. Previous research has not investigated energy-saving in China's hotel segment. To achieve a better understanding of the importance of energy-saving, this document attempts to present some insights into China's energy-saving practices in the tourist accommodations sector. Results of the study show the Chinese general managers' attitudes toward energy-saving issues and the differences among the diverse hotel managers who responded to the study. Study results indicate that in China, most of the hotels' energy bills decrease due to the implementation of energy-saving equipments. General managers of hotels in operation for a shorter period of time are typically responsible for making decisions about energy-saving issues; older hotels are used to choosing corporate level concerning to this issue. Larger Chinese hotels generally have official energy-saving usage training sessions for employees, but smaller Chinese hotels sometimes overlook the importance of employee training. The study also found that for the Chinese hospitality industry, energy-saving practices related to electricity are the most efficient and common way to save energy, but older hotels also should pay attention to other ways of saving energy such as water conservation or heating/cooling system.

Indirect economic impacts in water supplies augmented with desalinated water

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rygaard, Martin; Arvin, Erik; Binning, Philip John

2010-01-01

Several goals can be considered when optimizing blends from multiple water resources for urban water supplies. Concentration-response relationships from the literature indicate that a changed water quality can cause impacts on health, lifetime of consumer goods and use of water additives like...... going from fresh water based to desalinated water supply. Large uncertainties prevent the current results from being used for or against desalination as an option for Copenhagen's water supply. In the future, more impacts and an uncertainty analysis will be added to the assessment....... softeners. This paper describes potential economic consequences of diluting Copenhagen's drinking water with desalinated water. With a mineral content at 50% of current levels, dental caries and cardiovascular diseases are expected to increase by 51 and 23% respectively. Meanwhile, the number of dish...

Energy saving analysis and management modeling based on index decomposition analysis integrated energy saving potential method: Application to complex chemical processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geng, Zhiqiang; Gao, Huachao; Wang, Yanqing; Han, Yongming; Zhu, Qunxiong

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The integrated framework that combines IDA with energy-saving potential method is proposed. • Energy saving analysis and management framework of complex chemical processes is obtained. • This proposed method is efficient in energy optimization and carbon emissions of complex chemical processes. - Abstract: Energy saving and management of complex chemical processes play a crucial role in the sustainable development procedure. In order to analyze the effect of the technology, management level, and production structure having on energy efficiency and energy saving potential, this paper proposed a novel integrated framework that combines index decomposition analysis (IDA) with energy saving potential method. The IDA method can obtain the level of energy activity, energy hierarchy and energy intensity effectively based on data-drive to reflect the impact of energy usage. The energy saving potential method can verify the correctness of the improvement direction proposed by the IDA method. Meanwhile, energy efficiency improvement, energy consumption reduction and energy savings can be visually discovered by the proposed framework. The demonstration analysis of ethylene production has verified the practicality of the proposed method. Moreover, we can obtain the corresponding improvement for the ethylene production based on the demonstration analysis. The energy efficiency index and the energy saving potential of these worst months can be increased by 6.7% and 7.4%, respectively. And the carbon emissions can be reduced by 7.4–8.2%.

Estimate of Cost-Effective Potential for Minimum Efficiency Performance Standards in 13 Major World Economies Energy Savings, Environmental and Financial Impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Letschert, Virginie E. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Bojda, Nicholas [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Ke, Jing [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); McNeil, Michael A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2012-07-01

This study analyzes the financial impacts on consumers of minimum efficiency performance standards (MEPS) for appliances that could be implemented in 13 major economies around the world. We use the Bottom-Up Energy Analysis System (BUENAS), developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), to analyze various appliance efficiency target levels to estimate the net present value (NPV) of policies designed to provide maximum energy savings while not penalizing consumers financially. These policies constitute what we call the “cost-effective potential” (CEP) scenario. The CEP scenario is designed to answer the question: How high can we raise the efficiency bar in mandatory programs while still saving consumers money?

Replacement or additional purchase: The impact of energy-efficient appliances on household electricity saving under public pressures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mizobuchi, Kenichi; Takeuchi, Kenji

2016-01-01

This study examined the influence of additional and replacement purchases of energy-efficient air-conditioners on power savings. We used a questionnaire survey and measured electricity use data from 339 Japanese households, collected from two city areas with different level of government-requested electricity-saving rates, namely, Osaka (10%) and Matsuyama (5%). The main findings of our study are as follows: (1) Households that purchased energy-efficient air-conditioners saved more electricity than those that did not. (2) “Additional-purchase households” showed significant energy savings, whereas “replacement households” did not. The rebound effect may negate the energy-saving effects of a new air-conditioner. (3) Altruistic attitude is associated with more active participation in power saving. (4) Households in Osaka saved more electricity than those in Matsuyama, probably because the government call to save electricity was more forceful. - Highlights: •Energy efficient air conditioner purchases affect household power savings. •Additional air conditioner purchase led to significant energy savings. •Replacement units did not produce more savings than non-purchase. • “Electricity conservation directives” amount had a significant power-saving effect. •Altruistic households were more likely to cooperate with power-saving requests.

Low interest rates - do they revise household saving motives in the Euro area?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarzyna Kochaniak

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the impact of decreasing MFI interest rates on household deposits and saving goals in 12 Monetary Union member countries in the years 2009-2015. It analyses tendencies in household deposits (overnight, with agreed maturity and redeemable at notice, and attempts to link them with certain household saving motives (target, retirement and precautionary. The paper identifies those deposit categories which appeared as sensitive to declining interest rates and indicates the Eurozone countries whose populations are expected to revise their savings plans. Precise implications are drawn for target saving motives of households in Austria, Cyprus and Malta. However, in the case of two other motives, the analysis does not conclude on the impact of decreasing MFI interest rates.

Raising household saving: does financial education work?

Science.gov (United States)

Gale, William G; Harris, Benjamin H; Levine, Ruth

2012-01-01

This article highlights the prevalence and economic outcomes of financial illiteracy among American households, and reviews previous research that examines how improving financial literacy affects household saving. Analysis of the research literature suggests that previous financial literacy efforts have yielded mixed results. Evidence suggests that interventions provided for employees in the workplace have helped increase household saving, but estimates of the magnitude of the impact vary widely. For financial education initiatives targeted to other groups, the evidence is much more ambiguous, suggesting a need for more econometrically rigorous evaluations.

Impacts of Commercial Building Controls on Energy Savings and Peak Load Reduction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernandez, Nicholas E.P. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Katipamula, Srinivas [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Wang, Weimin [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Xie, YuLong [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zhao, Mingjie [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Corbin, Charles D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2017-05-30

Commercial buildings in the United States use about 18 Quadrillion British thermal units (Quads) of primary energy annually . Studies have shown that as much as 30% of building energy consumption can be avoided by using more accurate sensing, using existing controls better, and deploying advanced controls; hence, the motivation for the work described in this report. Studies also have shown that 10% to 20% of the commercial building peak load can be temporarily managed/curtailed to provide grid services. Although many studies have indicated significant potential for reducing the energy consumption in commercial buildings, very few have documented the actual savings. The studies that did so only provided savings at the whole building level, which makes it difficult to assess the savings potential of each individual measure deployed.

Directions of organisational and low-cost energy saving of engineering enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dzhedzhula Viacheslav V.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article analyses directions of energy saving of industrial enterprises. Taking into account the tendency to continuous growth of cost of energy resources, introduction of measures that would allow reduction of energy consumption of enterprises is an urgent task. One of the most important obstacles in the process of introduction of energy efficient solutions are fund limits and low awareness of owners and managers of industrial enterprises. The article offers a new classification of energy saving measures: apart from traditional expense and organisation measures it introduces the low-cost measures notion. It offers to consider low-cost those measures that are realised by the enterprise by means of own funds, moreover, their repayment term is not more than one year. It offers analytical expression for identification of annual funds saving from introduction of low-cost measures. It considers the process of identification of saving of funds from introduction of some of the main low-cost measures in detail: replacement of lighting units, balancing of ventilation networks and elimination of water leakages from pipelines and water supply equipment. Based on the analysis of bibliography information the article provides a list of main measures on energy saving, which could be referred to the low-cost ones. The proposed approaches would allow paying more attention to practical aspects of realisation of the concept of energy saving in the industry.

Energy Saver: Tips on Saving Money & Energy at Home

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2017-09-01

Provides consumers with home energy and money savings tips such as insulation, weatherization, heating, cooling, water heating, energy efficient windows, landscaping, lighting, and energy efficient appliances.

Energy Savers: Tips on Saving Money & Energy at Home

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2011-12-01

Provides consumers with home energy and money savings tips such as insulation, weatherization, heating, cooling, water heating, energy efficient windows, landscaping, lighting, and energy efficient appliances.

Energy Savers: Tips on Saving Money & Energy at Home

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2014-05-01

Provides consumers with home energy and money savings tips such as insulation, weatherization, heating, cooling, water heating, energy efficient windows, landscaping, lighting, and energy efficient appliances.

Energy Savers Tips on Saving Energy& Money at Home

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2003-06-01

Provides consumers with home energy and money savings tips such as insulation, weatherization, heating, cooling, water heating, energy efficient windows, landscaping, lighting, and energy efficient appliances

Tip Saves Energy, Money for Pennsylvania Plant

Science.gov (United States)

A wastewater treatment plant in Berks County, Pennsylvania is saving nearly $45,000 a year and reducing hundreds of metric tons of greenhouse gases since employing an energy conservation tip offered by the Water Protection Division in EPA’s R3 and PADEP.

Identification and assessment of potential water quality impact factors for drinking-water reservoirs.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Qing; Deng, Jinsong; Wang, Ke; Lin, Yi; Li, Jun; Gan, Muye; Ma, Ligang; Hong, Yang

2014-06-10

Various reservoirs have been serving as the most important drinking water sources in Zhejiang Province, China, due to the uneven distribution of precipitation and severe river pollution. Unfortunately, rapid urbanization and industrialization have been continuously challenging the water quality of the drinking-water reservoirs. The identification and assessment of potential impacts is indispensable in water resource management and protection. This study investigates the drinking water reservoirs in Zhejiang Province to better understand the potential impact on water quality. Altogether seventy-three typical drinking reservoirs in Zhejiang Province encompassing various water storage levels were selected and evaluated. Using fifty-two reservoirs as training samples, the classification and regression tree (CART) method and sixteen comprehensive variables, including six sub-sets (land use, population, socio-economy, geographical features, inherent characteristics, and climate), were adopted to establish a decision-making model for identifying and assessing their potential impacts on drinking-water quality. The water quality class of the remaining twenty-one reservoirs was then predicted and tested based on the decision-making model, resulting in a water quality class attribution accuracy of 81.0%. Based on the decision rules and quantitative importance of the independent variables, industrial emissions was identified as the most important factor influencing the water quality of reservoirs; land use and human habitation also had a substantial impact on water quality. The results of this study provide insights into the factors impacting the water quality of reservoirs as well as basic information for protecting reservoir water resources.

Saving on natural resources with SRO - desalination of industrial waste water for reuse at ESKOM Tutuka (two years operating experience)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walt, Mike van der; Wessels, A.

2001-07-01

Natural resources are protected and saved with the new spiral reverse osmosis (SRO) plant at the Eskom Tutuka power station in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. 7,000 m{sup 3}/day of saline underground mine water blended with 5,400 m{sup 3}/day of cooling water blowdown is pretreated and desalinated before the product water is returned to the cooling water circuit. Weir Envig designed, constructed, installed and commissioned the plant in phases between August 1998 and April 1999 with innovative use of existing infrastructure and phased removal of the live, ageing electrodialysis reversal plant. The plant performance during two years of operation is presented, which demonstrates that good pretreatment and cleaning system design allows SRO to produce consistent high-quality water from this difficult and varying feed. The result is a coal mine with no effluent problems, a new source of water for the power station and a treatment plant, which produces significantly better condenser cooling water and maintain zero liquid discharge. (orig.)

Economic Energy Savings Potential in Federal Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, Daryl R.; Dirks, James A.; Hunt, Diane M.

2000-09-04

The primary objective of this study was to estimate the current life-cycle cost-effective (i.e., economic) energy savings potential in Federal buildings and the corresponding capital investment required to achieve these savings, with Federal financing. Estimates were developed for major categories of energy efficiency measures such as building envelope, heating system, cooling system, and lighting. The analysis was based on conditions (building stock and characteristics, retrofit technologies, interest rates, energy prices, etc.) existing in the late 1990s. The potential impact of changes to any of these factors in the future was not considered.

Measuring the impact of urban policies on transportation energy saving using a land use-transport model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masanobu Kii

2014-03-01

This study demonstrates the applicability of a land-use transport model to the assessment of urban policies for building smart communities. First, we outline a model that explicitly formulates the actors' location-related decisions and travel behavior. Second, we apply this model to two urban policies – road pricing and land-use regulation – to assess their long-term impact on energy saving and sustainability using the case of a simplified synthetic city. Our study verifies that, under assumed conditions, the model has the capacity to assess urban policies on energy use and sustainability in a consistent fashion.

Thermosyphon Cooler Hybrid System for Water Savings in an Energy-Efficient HPC Data Center: Modeling and Installation: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carter, Thomas; Liu, Zan; Sickinger, David; Regimbal, Kevin; Martinez, David

2017-02-01

The Thermosyphon Cooler Hybrid System (TCHS) integrates the control of a dry heat rejection device, the thermosyphon cooler (TSC), with an open cooling tower. A combination of equipment and controls, this new heat rejection system embraces the 'smart use of water,' using evaporative cooling when it is most advantageous and then saving water and modulating toward increased dry sensible cooling as system operations and ambient weather conditions permit. Innovative fan control strategies ensure the most economical balance between water savings and parasitic fan energy. The unique low-pressure-drop design of the TSC allows water to be cooled directly by the TSC evaporator without risk of bursting tubes in subfreezing ambient conditions. Johnson Controls partnered with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories to deploy the TSC as a test bed at NREL's high-performance computing (HPC) data center in the first half of 2016. Located in NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF), this HPC data center has achieved an annualized average power usage effectiveness rating of 1.06 or better since 2012. Warm-water liquid cooling is used to capture heat generated by computer systems direct to water; that waste heat is either reused as the primary heat source in the ESIF building or rejected using evaporative cooling. This data center is the single largest source of water and power demand on the NREL campus, using about 7,600 m3 (2.0 million gal) of water during the past year with an hourly average IT load of nearly 1 MW (3.4 million Btu/h) -- so dramatically reducing water use while continuing efficient data center operations is of significant interest. Because Sandia's climate is similar to NREL's, this new heat rejection system being deployed at NREL has gained interest at Sandia. Sandia's data centers utilize an hourly average of 8.5 MW (29 million Btu/h) and are also one of the largest consumers of

The Effect of Alternative Savings Approaches on College Aid. Opportunity and Ownership Facts. Number 15

Science.gov (United States)

Maag, Elaine

2009-01-01

To pay for college, many low- and moderate-income students and their families rely on financial aid and savings. How students and families save--and in whose name--affects both the tax consequences and the impact of savings on financial aid. Choosing the wrong way to save can raise the out-of-pocket costs of college by thousands of dollars.…

Alleviating Pressure on Water Resources: A new approach could be attempted

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Shikun; Wang, Yubao; Wang, Feifei; Liu, Jing; Luan, Xiaobo; Li, Xiaolei; Zhou, Tianwa; Wu, Pute

2015-09-01

Water and food safety are two major challenges which the world faces today. Traditional water management focuses on the reduction of water use through improvements in water saving technologies. However, quantitative research is needed to evaluate the effects of changing food consumption patterns on water resources. Here we report the water saving effects of changing diet pattern of the major crops and animal products in mainland China. By using the concepts of water footprint (WF) per weight unit and per calorie unit, provided by 13 primary crop and animal products, the WFs of the 13 agricultural products in each province are compared, and their water/energy conversion efficiencies are analyzed. Then, impacts of different scenarios of changing diet pattern on water consumption were explored. Results show that there are obvious differences between the WF per weight and calorie unit provided by crop and animal products due to the nutritional properties of the agricultural products. Promoting water savings from the food consumption side could give a positive feedback on water consumption. Scenario analysis of adjustments to the diet pattern proves that it is potentially feasible to reach the objective of alleviating stress on water resources while guaranteeing nutritional value of the residents.

Interval Optimization Model Considering Terrestrial Ecological Impacts for Water Rights Transfer from Agriculture to Industry in Ningxia, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Lian; Li, Chunhui; Cai, Yanpeng; Wang, Xuan

2017-06-14

In this study, an interval optimization model is developed to maximize the benefits of a water rights transfer system that comprises industry and agriculture sectors in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China. The model is subjected to a number of constraints including water saving potential from agriculture and ecological groundwater levels. Ecological groundwater levels serve as performance indicators of terrestrial ecology. The interval method is applied to present the uncertainty of parameters in the model. Two scenarios regarding dual industrial development targets (planned and unplanned ones) are used to investigate the difference in potential benefits of water rights transfer. Runoff of the Yellow River as the source of water rights fluctuates significantly in different years. Thus, compensation fees for agriculture are calculated to reflect the influence of differences in the runoff. Results show that there are more available water rights to transfer for industrial development. The benefits are considerable but unbalanced between buyers and sellers. The government should establish a water market that is freer and promote the interest of agriculture and farmers. Though there has been some success of water rights transfer, the ecological impacts and the relationship between sellers and buyers require additional studies.

The risk of divorce and household saving behavior

OpenAIRE

Libertad González; Berkay Özcan

2008-01-01

We analyze the impact of an increase in the risk of divorce on the saving behaviour of married couples. From a theoretical perspective, the expected sign of the effect is ambiguous. We take advantage of the legalization of divorce in Ireland in 1996 as an exogenous increase in the likelihood of marital dissolution. We analyze the saving behaviour over time of couples who were married before the law was passed. We propose a difference-in-differences approach where we use as comparison groups e...

Effect of crosstalk on component savings in multi-core fiber networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nooruzzaman, Md; Morioka, Toshio

2017-01-01

We estimate potential component savings in MCF-based networks by using shortest path traffic routing and compare them with the current SCF-based systems. We also investigate the potential impact of various inter-core crosstalk values on the number of needed transponders in MCF networks.......We estimate potential component savings in MCF-based networks by using shortest path traffic routing and compare them with the current SCF-based systems. We also investigate the potential impact of various inter-core crosstalk values on the number of needed transponders in MCF networks....

Underground coal mine subsidence impacts on surface water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stump, D.E. Jr.

1992-01-01

This paper reports that subsidence from underground coal mining alters surface water discharge and availability. The magnitude and areal extent of these impacts are dependent on many factors, including the amount of subsidence, topography, geology, climate, surface water - ground water interactions, and fractures in the overburden. There alterations may have positive and/or negative impacts. One of the most significant surface water impacts occurred in July 1957 near West Pittston, Pennsylvania. Subsidence in the Knox Mine under the Coxton Yards of the Lehigh Valley Railroad allowed part of the discharge in the Susquehanna River to flow into the mine and create a crater 200 feet in diameter and 300 feet deep. Fourteen railroad gondola cars fell into the hole which was eventually filled with rock, sand, and gravel. Other surface water impacts from subsidence may include the loss of water to the ground water system, the gaining of water from the ground water system, the creation of flooded subsidence troughs, the increasing of impoundment storage capacity, the relocation of water sources (springs), and the alteration of surface drainage patterns

An energy saving system for hospital laundries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katsanis, J.S.; Tsarabaris, P.T.; Polykrati, A.D.; Proios, A.N. [National Technical Univ. of Athens, Athens (Greece). School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Koufakis, E.I. [Public Power Corp. S.A., Crete (Greece)

2009-07-01

Hospital laundries are one of the largest consumers of water and electrical and thermal energy. This paper examined the energy savings achieved by a system using the hot wastewater from the washing process. Hospital laundries consume thermal energy using steam, which is produced in boilers by burning diesel oil or natural gas. Electrical energy for the mechanical drives, ventilation and also the lighting required in the laundry area are big consumers of energy. The paper presented the proposed system and discussed the parameters of the system and system dimensioning. The paper also provided and discussed an interpretation of steam and energy savings. The proposed system was considered to be economically viable, simple in its construction, installation and operation. From the application of the suggested system, the cost savings resulted in a satisfactory payback period for the capital invested of approximately three to five years. 14 refs., 4 tabs., 2 figs.

Measuring the Impact of Convenient Water Supply on Household Time Use in Rural Ethiopia

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, J.; Masuda, Y.; Fortmann, L.; Smith-Nilson, M.; Gugerty, M.

2012-12-01

What is the impact of providing convenient water supply on water carriers' pattern of time use? How much of the freed time is re-allocated to paid market work, education (for girls), agricultural labor, or leisure? Do women report spending more time on activities they enjoy? Does convenient water supply lead to a re-allocation of leisure time to other household members? These questions are an important, but largely missing, piece of the economic evidence base for investment in the water supply sector. Cairncross and Valdmanis (2007) observe that "given the relevance of the time-saving benefit to water supply policy and the fact that the benefit is usually uppermost in the mind of the consumer, it is remarkable how few data have been collected on the amounts of time spent collecting water". We address this gap by measuring changes in time use among female water carriers before and after new water systems are installed in three rural villages in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. The timing of completion of the projects in the three villages was staggered over time for logistical reasons, so our quasi-experimental design allows us to control for any region-wide changes in time use. Because of low literacy levels, we used a pictorial time use elicitation approach based on respondents' recall of the previous day as well as the standard questions used in the DHS and LSMS ("how many minutes..."). We measured time use for all household members over the age of 10. We use this unique panel dataset with both pre- and post-project time use data to examine not only the effect on water carriers' time use but also any intra-household reallocation of time savings. In total, we interviewed 454 randomly-selected households in the three villages over three rainy seasons, and collected time use information on 1,590 household members. Primary water carriers spend (pre-project) an average of 110 minutes per day collecting water, roughly representative of water collection times reported in

Does Daylight Saving Save Energy? A Meta-Analysis

OpenAIRE

Havránek, Tomáš; Herman, Dominik; Irsova, Zuzana

2016-01-01

The original rationale for adopting daylight saving time (DST) was energy savings. Modern research studies, however, question the magnitude and even direction of the effect of DST on energy consumption. Representing the first meta-analysis in this literature, we collect 162 estimates from 44 studies and find that the mean reported estimate indicates modest energy savings: 0.34% during the days when DST applies. The literature is not affected by publication bias, but the results vary systemati...

Uranium savings on a once through PWR fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cupo, J.V.

1980-01-01

A number of alternatives which have the greatest potential for near term savings with minimum plant and fuel modifications have been examined at Westinghouse as part of continued internal assessment and part of NASAP study conducted for DOE pertaining to uranium utilization in a once through PWR fuel cycle. The alternatives which could be retrofitted to existing reactors were examined in more detail in the evaluation since they would have the greater near term impact on U savings

Reduction of plant water consumption through anti-transpirants foliar application in tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Science.gov (United States)

Optimizing water use efficiency (WUE) is a crucial goal. However, water savings must not be made at the expense of yield and fruit quality in order to secure economical sustainability for producers. The impact of different anti-transpirants (ATS) on WUE, water consumption (WC), net carbon assimilati...

Impact analysis of government investment on water projects in the arid Gansu Province of China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhan; Deng, Xiangzheng; Li, Xiubin; Zhou, Qing; Yan, Haiming

In this paper, we introduced three-nested Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) production function into a static Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model. Through four levels of factor productivity, we constructed three nested production function of land use productivity in the conceptual modeling frameworks. The first level of factor productivity is generated by the basic value-added land. On the second level, factor productivity in each sector is generated by human activities that presents human intervention to the first level of factor productivity. On the third level of factor productivity, water allocation reshapes the non-linear structure of transaction among first and second levels. From the perspective of resource utilization, we examined the economic efficiency of water allocation. The scenario-based empirical analysis results show that the three-nested CES production function within CGE model is well-behaved to present the economy system of the case study area. Firstly, water scarcity harmed economic production. Government investment on water projects in Gansu thereby had impacts on economic outcomes. Secondly, huge governmental financing on water projects bring depreciation of present value of social welfare. Moreover, water use for environment adaptation pressures on water supply. The theoretical water price can be sharply increased due to the increasing costs of factor inputs. Thirdly, water use efficiency can be improved by water projects, typically can be benefited from the expansion of water-saving irrigation areas even in those expanding dry area in Gansu. Therefore, increasing governmental financing on water projects can depreciate present value of social welfare but benefit economic efficiency for future generation.

Time-Saving Innovations, Time Allocation, and Energy Use: Evidence from Canadian Households

OpenAIRE

Brencic, Vera; Young, Denise

2009-01-01

Time and energy are major inputs into the production of household goods and services. The introduction of time-saving innovations allows households to change their activity patterns and to reallocate their time across competing activities. As a result, the market penetration of time-saving technologies for general household use is expected to have a two-fold impact on energy use in the residential sector. Firstly, increased use of time-saving technologies for basic household chores (cooking, ...

Deconstructing Demand: The Anthropogenic and Climatic Drivers of Urban Water Consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Hemati, Azadeh; Rippy, Megan A; Grant, Stanley B; Davis, Kristen; Feldman, David

2016-12-06

Cities in drought prone regions of the world such as South East Australia are faced with escalating water scarcity and security challenges. Here we use 72 years of urban water consumption data from Melbourne, Australia, a city that recently overcame a 12 year "Millennium Drought", to evaluate (1) the relative importance of climatic and anthropogenic drivers of urban water demand (using wavelet-based approaches) and (2) the relative contribution of various water saving strategies to demand reduction during the Millennium Drought. Our analysis points to conservation as a dominant driver of urban water savings (69%), followed by nonrevenue water reduction (e.g., reduced meter error and leaks in the potable distribution system; 29%), and potable substitution with alternative sources like rain or recycled water (3%). Per-capita consumption exhibited both climatic and anthropogenic signatures, with rainfall and temperature explaining approximately 55% of the variance. Anthropogenic controls were also strong (up to 45% variance explained). These controls were nonstationary and frequency-specific, with conservation measures like outdoor water restrictions impacting seasonal water use and technological innovation/changing social norms impacting lower frequency (baseline) use. The above-noted nonstationarity implies that wavelets, which do not assume stationarity, show promise for use in future predictive models of demand.

Orion Ground Test Article Water Impact Tests: Photogrammetric Evaluation of Impact Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Vassilakos, Gregory J.; Mark, Stephen D.

2018-01-01

The Ground Test Article (GTA) is an early production version of the Orion Crew Module (CM). The structural design of the Orion CM is being developed based on LS-DYNA water landing simulations. As part of the process of confirming the accuracy of LS-DYNA water landing simulations, the GTA water impact test series was conducted at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) to gather data for comparison with simulations. The simulation of the GTA water impact tests requires the accurate determination of the impact conditions. To accomplish this, the GTA was outfitted with an array of photogrammetry targets. The photogrammetry system utilizes images from two cameras with a specialized tracking software to determine time histories for the 3-D coordinates of each target. The impact conditions can then be determined from the target location data.

Impact of Water Withdrawals from Groundwater and Surface Water on Continental Water Storage Variations

Science.gov (United States)

Doell, Petra; Hoffmann-Dobrev, Heike; Portmann, Felix T.; Siebert, Stefan; Eicker, Annette; Rodell, Matthew; Strassberg, Gil

2011-01-01

Humans have strongly impacted the global water cycle, not only water flows but also water storage. We have performed a first global-scale analysis of the impact of water withdrawals on water storage variations, using the global water resources and use model WaterGAP. This required estimation of fractions of total water withdrawals from groundwater, considering five water use sectors. According to our assessment, the source of 35% of the water withdrawn worldwide (4300 cubic km/yr during 1998-2002) is groundwater. Groundwater contributes 42%, 36% and 27% of water used for irrigation, households and manufacturing, respectively, while we assume that only surface water is used for livestock and for cooling of thermal power plants. Consumptive water use was 1400 cubic km/yr during 1998-2002. It is the sum of the net abstraction of 250 cubic km/yr of groundwater (taking into account evapotranspiration and return flows of withdrawn surface water and groundwater) and the net abstraction of 1150 km3/yr of surface water. Computed net abstractions indicate, for the first time at the global scale, where and when human water withdrawals decrease or increase groundwater or surface water storage. In regions with extensive surface water irrigation, such as Southern China, net abstractions from groundwater are negative, i.e. groundwater is recharged by irrigation. The opposite is true for areas dominated by groundwater irrigation, such as in the High Plains aquifer of the central USA, where net abstraction of surface water is negative because return flow of withdrawn groundwater recharges the surface water compartments. In intensively irrigated areas, the amplitude of seasonal total water storage variations is generally increased due to human water use; however, in some areas, it is decreased. For the High Plains aquifer and the whole Mississippi basin, modeled groundwater and total water storage variations were compared with estimates of groundwater storage variations based on

KOEFISIEN TANAMAN PADI SAWAH PADA SISTEM IRIGASI HEMAT AIR Crop Coefficient for Paddy Rice Field under Water Saving Irrigation Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joko Sujono

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Traditional irrigation for paddy rice is the leading of consumer of water, about 80 % of the water resource availabilityused for irrigation purpose. This phenomenon is related to the way how to estimate the crop water requirement where crop coefficient for paddy rice (k (Prosida is always greater than one starting from planting up to nearly harvesting. In this research, a number of water saving irrigations (WSI systems for paddy rice cultivation using pots such asalternate wetting and drying (AWD, shallow water depth with wetting and drying (SWD, semi-dry cultivation (SDC, system of rice intensification (SRI, and  AWD with mulch (AWD-Mul were applied. The amount of irrigated water and when it should be irrigated depend on evapotranspiration rate, soil moisture condition and the WSI system used. For this purpose, daily measurement of the pot weight was carried out. Crop coefficient (k  is then caluculated as a cratio between crop and reference evapotranspiration computed using Penman-Montheit  method. Results show that up to 45 days after transplanting, the k of WSI treatments were around half of the k (Prosida values currently used for computing the water requirement, whereas at the productive stage the k of WSI systems were relatively equal (AWD, SDC to or greater (SRI, SWD than the k (Prosida. Based on the the k values, the AWD and the SDC systems could save much water compared to the SRI or the SWD. Water saving could be increased by applying the AWD with mulch. ABSTRAK Irigasi padi sawah dengan sistem tradisional merupakan sistem irigasi  yang boros air, hampir 80 % sumber air yang ada untuk irigasi. Hal ini tidak terlepas dari perhitungan kebutuhan air tanaman dengan nilai koefisien tanaman (k menurut Standar Perencanaan Irigasi (Prosida selalu lebih besar dari satu mulai dari tanam hingga menjelang panen.Dalam penelitian ini beberapa metoda budidaya padi hemat air seperti alternate wetting and drying (AWD, shallow water depth

Dryland Agrivoltaics: A novel approach to collocating food production and solar renewable energy to maximize food production, water savings, and energy generation

Science.gov (United States)

Barron-Gafford, G.; Escobedo, E. B.; Smith, J.; Raub, H.; Jimenez, J. R.; Sutter, L., Jr.; Barnett-Moreno, I.; Blackett, D. T.; Thompson, M. S.; Minor, R. L.; Pavao-Zuckerman, M.

2017-12-01

Conventional understanding of land use asserts an inherent "zero-sum-game" of competition between renewable energy and agricultural food production. This discourse is so fundamentally entrenched that it drives most current policy around conservation practices, land and water allotments for agriculture, and permitting for large-scale renewable energy installations. We are investigating a novel approach to solve a problem key to our environment and economy in drylands by creating a hybrid of collocated "green" agriculture and "grey" solar photovoltaic (PV) infrastructure to maximize agricultural production while improving renewable energy production. We are monitoring atmospheric microclimatic conditions, soil moisture, plant ecophysiological function, and biomass production within both this novel "agrivoltaics" ecosystem and in traditional PV installations and agricultural settings (control plot) to quantify tradeoffs associated with this approach. We have found that levels of soil moisture remained higher after each irrigation event within the soils under the agrivoltaics installation than the traditional agricultural setting due to the shading provided by the PV panels overhead. We initiated a drought treatment, which underscored the water-savings under the agrivoltaics installation and increased water use efficiency in this system. We hypothesized that we will see more temperature and drought stresses on photosynthetic capacity and water use efficiency in the control plants relative to the agrivoltaic installation, and we found that several food crops either experienced significantly more production within the agrivoltaics area, whereas others resulted in nearly equal production but at significant water savings. Combined with localized cooling of the PV panels resulting from the transpiration from the vegetative "understory", we are finding a win-win-win at the food-water-energy nexus. photo credit: Bob Demers/UANews

Water in Tektites and Impact Glasses by FTIR Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Beran, Anton; Koeberl, Christian

1997-03-01

To improve the scarce data base of water content in tektites and impact glasses, we analyzed 26 tektites from all four strewn fields and 25 impact glass samples for their water content. We used the fourier transformed IR (FTIR) spectrometry method, which permits measurement of areas of about 40 mm in diameter. Our results show that the tektites have water contents ranging from 0.002 to 0.030 wt% (average 0.014+/-0.008 wt%). Ivory Coast tektites have the lowest water abundances (0.002-0.003 wt%), and Muong Nong-type indochinites and some North American tektites having the highest contents (up to about 0.03 wt%). Impact glass samples (from the Zhamanshin, Aouelloul, and Rio Cuarto craters) yielded water contents of 0.008 to 0.13 wt% H2O. Typical impact glasses from the Aouelloul and Zhamanshin craters have low water contents (0.008 to 0.063 wt%). Libyan Desert Glasses and Rio Cuarto glasses have higher water contents (about 0.11 wt%). We also analyzed glasses of unknown origin (e.g., urengoites; glass fragments from Tikal), which showed very low water contents, in agreement with an origin by impact. Our data confirm that all tektites found on land have very low water contents (<0.03 wt% water), while impact glasses have slightly higher water contents. Both glass types are very dry compared to volcanic glasses. This study confirms that the low water contents (<0.05 wt%) of such glasses can be considered good evidence for an origin by impact.

Societal value of generic medicines beyond cost-saving through reduced prices.

Science.gov (United States)

Dylst, Pieter; Vulto, Arnold; Simoens, Steven

2015-01-01

This paper aims to provide an overview of the added societal value of generic medicines beyond their cost-saving potential through reduced prices. In addition, an observational case study will document the impact of generic entry on access to pharmacotherapy in The Netherlands and an illustrative exercise was carried out to highlight the budget impact of generic entry. A narrative literature review was carried out to explore the impact of generic medicines on access to pharmacotherapy, innovation and medication adherence. Data from the Medicines and Medical Devices Information Project database in The Netherlands were used for the case study in which the impact of generic medicine entrance on the budget and the number of users was calculated as an illustrative exercise. Generic medicines have an additional societal value beyond their cost-saving potential through reduced prices. Generic medicines increase access to pharmacotherapy, provide a stimulus for innovation by both originator companies and generic companies and, under the right circumstances, have a positive impact on medication adherence. Generic medicines offer more to society than just their cost-saving potential through reduced prices. As such, governments must not focus only on the prices of generic medicines as this will threaten their long-term sustainability. Governments must therefore act appropriately and implement a coherent set of policies to increase the use of generic medicines.

Potential Cost Savings Ideas for FAA and Users

Science.gov (United States)

1997-06-04

The intent of this paper is to catalogue potential cost-savings ideas which : impact both the FAA and the aviation community. These ideas have come from : various sources including MITRE, Coopers & Lybrand (C&L), FAA studies, General : Accounting Off...

Commercial Integrated Heat Pump with Thermal Storage --Demonstrate Greater than 50% Average Annual Energy Savings, Compared with Baseline Heat Pump and Water Heater (Go/No-Go) FY16 4th Quarter Milestone Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shen, Bo [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Baxter, Van D. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Rice, C. Keith [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Abu-Heiba, Ahmad [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2017-03-01

For this study, we authored a new air source integrated heat pump (AS-IHP) model in EnergyPlus, and conducted building energy simulations to demonstrate greater than 50% average energy savings, in comparison to a baseline heat pump with electric water heater, over 10 US cities, based on the EnergyPlus quick-service restaurant template building. We also assessed water heating energy saving potentials using ASIHP versus gas heating, and pointed out climate zones where AS-IHPs are promising.

THE SAVINGS-TRADE-FISCAL GAP MODEL: APPLICATION IN SELECTED WEST AFRICAN STATES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Efayena Oba Obukohwo

2017-07-01

Full Text Available With most African economies experiencing adverse economic misalignment in recent times, the need of enhancing the growth process cannot be overemphasized. Using a typical Savings-Trade-Fiscal Gap Model, the paper employed panel data estimation method to examine the impact of savings, trade and fiscal gap on economic growth of 15 West African countries. The paper finds a negative relationship between net trade and economic growth, while savings and government expenditure impacts positively on economic performance. The paper thus, among recommended that it is appropriate for all countries to eliminate fiscal dominance from monetary policy-making, reduce public debt and establish institutions that promote and encourage counter-cyclical fiscal policy, develop their financial systems, establish credibility in fiscal and monetary policy-making as well as encourage trade.

PV water pumping systems for grassland and farmland conservation

OpenAIRE

Campana, Pietro Elia

2013-01-01

Grassland degradation is considered as one of the worst environmental and economic problems in China because of the negative impacts on water and food security. The application of the photovoltaic water pumping (PVWP) technology for irrigation is an innovative and sustainable solution to curb the progress of grassland desertification and to promote the conservation of farmland in remote areas. The combination of PVWP with water saving irrigation techniques and the sustainable management of th...

User's Manual for BEST-Dairy: Benchmarking and Energy/water-Saving Tool (BEST) for the Dairy Processing Industry (Version 1.2)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, T.; Ke, J.; Sathaye, J.

2011-04-20

This User's Manual summarizes the background information of the Benchmarking and Energy/water-Saving Tool (BEST) for the Dairy Processing Industry (Version 1.2, 2011), including'Read Me' portion of the tool, the sections of Introduction, and Instructions for the BEST-Dairy tool that is developed and distributed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).

Daylight Saving Time Transitions and Road Traffic Accidents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tuuli Lahti

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Circadian rhythm disruptions may have harmful impacts on health. Circadian rhythm disruptions caused by jet lag compromise the quality and amount of sleep and may lead to a variety of symptoms such as fatigue, headache, and loss of attention and alertness. Even a minor change in time schedule may cause considerable stress for the body. Transitions into and out of daylight saving time alter the social and environmental timing twice a year. According to earlier studies, this change in time-schedule leads to sleep disruption and fragmentation of the circadian rhythm. Since sleep deprivation decreases motivation, attention, and alertness, transitions into and out of daylight saving time may increase the amount of accidents during the following days after the transition. We studied the amount of road traffic accidents one week before and one week after transitions into and out of daylight saving time during years from 1981 to 2006. Our results demonstrated that transitions into and out of daylight saving time did not increase the number of traffic road accidents.

The determinants of household energy-saving behavior: Survey and comparison in five major Asian cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hori, Shiro; Kondo, Kayoko; Nogata, Daisuke; Ben, Han

2013-01-01

It is difficult to control household energy consumption through regulation. From a policy standpoint, it is particularly challenging to identify the factors that influence people’s actions. Moreover, whatever these factors are, they are unlikely to uniformly span multiple cities in the Asian region. In this paper, we conduct a survey of energy-saving behavior to clarify the differences among such factors across five major Asian cities. The results from these surveys in Dalian, Chongqing, Fukuoka, Bangkok, and Ho Chi Minh indicate that global warming consciousness, environmental behavior, and social interaction significantly affect energy-saving behavior. Income and age also had weak positive effects on energy-saving behaviors. Social interaction was strongly linked to energy-saving behaviors, particularly in the rural areas of Dalian and Chongqing. This result indicates that community-based activities impact energy-saving behaviors. - Highlights: ► We conduct a survey of energy saving behavior in household in major Asian cities. ► We identify the factors that influence people's actions. ► Global warming consciousness and social interaction affect people behavior. ► This indicates community-based activities impact energy-saving behaviors in Asia.

Organic fertilizer application increases the soil respiration and net ecosystem carbon dioxide absorption of paddy fields under water-saving irrigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shihong; Xiao, Ya Nan; Xu, Junzeng

2018-04-01

Quantifying carbon sequestration in paddy soil is necessary to understand the effect of agricultural practices on carbon cycles. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of organic fertilizer addition (MF) on the soil respiration and net ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) absorption of paddy fields under water-saving irrigation (CI) in the Taihu Lake Region of China during the 2014 and 2015 rice-growing seasons. Compared with the traditional fertilizer and water management (FC), the joint regulation of CI and MF (CM) significantly increased the rice yields and irrigation water use efficiencies of paddy fields by 4.02~5.08 and 83.54~109.97% (p < 0.05). The effects of organic fertilizer addition on soil respiration and net ecosystem CO 2 absorption rates showed inter-annual differences. CM paddy fields showed a higher soil respiration and net CO 2 absorption rates during some periods of the rice growth stage in the first year and during most periods of the rice growth stage in the second year. These fields also had significantly higher total CO 2 emission through soil respiration (total R soil ) and total net CO 2 absorption compared with FC paddy fields (p < 0.05). The total R soil and net ecosystem CO 2 absorption of CM paddy fields were 67.39~91.55 and 129.41~113.75 mol m -2 , which were 27.66~135.52 and 12.96~31.66% higher than those of FC paddy fields. The interaction between water and fertilizer management had significant effects on total net ecosystem CO 2 absorption. The frequent alternate wet-dry cycles of CI paddy fields increased the soil respiration and reduced the net CO 2 absorption. Organic fertilizer promoted the soil respiration of paddy soil but also increased its net CO 2 absorption and organic carbon content. Therefore, the joint regulation of water-saving irrigation and organic fertilizer is an effective measure for maintaining yield, increasing irrigation water use efficiency, mitigating CO 2 emission, and promoting paddy

Water Penetration through a Superhydrophobic Mesh During a Drop Impact

Science.gov (United States)

Ryu, Seunggeol; Sen, Prosenjit; Nam, Youngsuk; Lee, Choongyeop

2017-01-01

When a water drop impacts a mesh having submillimeter pores, a part of the drop penetrates through the mesh if the impact velocity is sufficiently large. Here we show that different surface wettability, i.e., hydrophobicity and superhydrophobicity, leads to different water penetration dynamics on a mesh during drop impact. We show, despite the water repellence of a superhydrophobic surface, that water can penetrate a superhydrophobic mesh more easily (i.e., at a lower impact velocity) over a hydrophobic mesh via a penetration mechanism unique to a superhydrophobic mesh. On a superhydrophobic mesh, the water penetration can occur during the drop recoil stage, which appears at a lower impact velocity than the critical impact velocity for water penetration right upon impact. We propose that this unique water penetration on a superhydrophobic mesh can be attributed to the combination of the hydrodynamic focusing and the momentum transfer from the water drop when it is about to bounce off the surface, at which point the water drop retrieves most of its kinetic energy due to the negligible friction on superhydrophobic surfaces.

Using the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) to Model mHealth Impact on Neonatal Survival in Resource-Limited Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Jo, Youngji; Labrique, Alain B.; Lefevre, Amnesty E.; Mehl, Garrett; Pfaff, Teresa; Walker, Neff; Friberg, Ingrid K.

2014-01-01

While the importance of mHealth scale-up has been broadly emphasized in the mHealth community, it is necessary to guide scale up efforts and investment in ways to help achieve the mortality reduction targets set by global calls to action such as the Millennium Development Goals, not merely to expand programs. We used the Lives Saved Tool (LiST)–an evidence-based modeling software–to identify priority areas for maternal and neonatal health services, by formulating six individual and combined interventions scenarios for two countries, Bangladesh and Uganda. Our findings show that skilled birth attendance and increased facility delivery as targets for mHealth strategies are likely to provide the biggest mortality impact relative to other intervention scenarios. Although further validation of this model is desirable, tools such as LiST can help us leverage the benefit of mHealth by articulating the most appropriate delivery points in the continuum of care to save lives. PMID:25014008

Using the lives saved tool (LiST to model mHealth impact on neonatal survival in resource-limited settings.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Youngji Jo

Full Text Available While the importance of mHealth scale-up has been broadly emphasized in the mHealth community, it is necessary to guide scale up efforts and investment in ways to help achieve the mortality reduction targets set by global calls to action such as the Millennium Development Goals, not merely to expand programs. We used the Lives Saved Tool (LiST--an evidence-based modeling software--to identify priority areas for maternal and neonatal health services, by formulating six individual and combined interventions scenarios for two countries, Bangladesh and Uganda. Our findings show that skilled birth attendance and increased facility delivery as targets for mHealth strategies are likely to provide the biggest mortality impact relative to other intervention scenarios. Although further validation of this model is desirable, tools such as LiST can help us leverage the benefit of mHealth by articulating the most appropriate delivery points in the continuum of care to save lives.

The potential and reality of the solar water heater programme in South African townships: Lessons from the City of Tshwane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curry, Claire; Cherni, Judith A.; Mapako, Maxwell

2017-01-01

The South African solar water heater (SWH) programme is part of national policy to improve the country's electricity security, an innovative strategy to provide indigent households with free solar water heaters. The study assesses the effects of the government programme for poor townships on reduction of household electricity consumption, decline in energy poverty, and reduction in CO2 emissions; and estimates the impact of SWH on reducing electricity demand nationwide. It reports results from fieldwork carried out in the City of Tshwane to measure both quantitatively and qualitatively the success of the project's deployment in townships. Although households register average savings of 27% on their monthly electricity bills and off-peak electricity demand has reduced significantly in the area, a variety of problems prevented the project from attaining the desired level of impact. Difficulties encountered include technical faults with the heaters combined with nonavailability of maintenance; a rise in water consumption; lack of community engagement leading to apathy; and dearth of owner training leading to underuse. The gap between inflated estimates and real savings is discussed. Expanding the programme could generate jobs but significant challenges remain. - Highlights: • The government's aim of saving electricity and reducing utility bills partly achieved. • Savings of electricity are estimated at about 25% less than the potential saving. • Wrong assumption that peak time is only 1 h produced savings 5 times larger. • ESKOM & government overlooked providing Information on the SWH to the householders. • No maintenance led to abandonment by many or water leaking increasing utility bills.

Recording and Audit of Resource Saving Innovations at Modern Industrial Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. M.

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Resource saving and energy saving are essential components of “energy security” problem in all the countries, which raises the importance of analysis and revision of approaches to organization of recording and audit of resource saving innovations at industrial companies. The article’s objective is to study organization of recording and audit of resource saving technologies at industrial companies. A review of resource saving purposes and methods is given. For accounting purposes, innovations in resource saving are recorded now as intangible assets. Recording of resource saving innovations and technologies at industrial companies is confined to recording of transactions on creation or acquisition of patent rights objects and intellectual property objects. The author’s approach to organization of audit by the conformity of resource saving innovations with M. Porter’s test is proposed. Data showing success story of a Ukrainian company manufacturing polyurethane foam sealant PENADO in the aerosol dispenser is used to confirm that Ukraine does have potentials to introduce and utilize resource saving technologies, including energy saving ones. The proposed model for recording and audit of resource saving innovations should be used in strategic planning of resource saving innovations at the companies incorporated in industrial groups or holdings. Using this model, a company can reveal and assess the mismatch between amounts of resources that can be allocated in innovation and real capacities for introducing innovative resource saving technologies, and factors having the strongest impact on recourse saving innovations at companies incorporated in one financial and industrial group or holding. The proposed model accounts for the specific operative conditions in holdings and tough conditions for business operation of industrial companies in Ukraine.

Saving the Planet’s Climate or Water Resources? The Trade-Off between Carbon and Water Footprints of European Biofuels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus Berger

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Little information regarding the global water footprint of biofuels consumed in Europe is available. Therefore, the ultimate origin of feedstock underlying European biodiesel and bioethanol consumption was investigated and combined with the irrigation requirements of different crops in different countries. A (blue water consumption of 1.9 m3 in 12 countries per GJ of European biodiesel and 3.3 m3 in 23 countries per GJ of bioethanol was determined. Even though this represents an increase by a factor of 60 and 40 compared to fossil diesel and gasoline, these figures are low compared to global average data. The assessment of local consequences has shown that the irrigation of sunflower seed in Spain causes 50% of the impacts resulting from biodiesel—even though it constitutes only 0.9% of the feedstock. In case of bioethanol production, the irrigation of sugar cane in Egypt, which constitutes only 0.7% of the underlying feedstock, causes 20% of the impacts. In a case study on passenger cars, it was shown that biofuels can reduce the global warming potential by circa 50% along the product life cycle. However, the price of this improvement is an approximate 19 times increased water consumption, and resulting local impacts are even more severe.

Saving can save from death anxiety: mortality salience and financial decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaleskiewicz, Tomasz; Gasiorowska, Agata; Kesebir, Pelin

2013-01-01

Four studies tested the idea that saving money can buffer death anxiety and constitute a more effective buffer than spending money. Saving can relieve future-related anxiety and provide people with a sense of control over their fate, thereby rendering death thoughts less threatening. Study 1 found that participants primed with both saving and spending reported lower death fear than controls. Saving primes, however, were associated with significantly lower death fear than spending primes. Study 2 demonstrated that mortality primes increase the attractiveness of more frugal behaviors in save-or-spend dilemmas. Studies 3 and 4 found, in two different cultures (Polish and American), that the activation of death thoughts prompts people to allocate money to saving as opposed to spending. Overall, these studies provided evidence that saving protects from existential anxiety, and probably more so than spending.

Saving can save from death anxiety: mortality salience and financial decision-making.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz Zaleskiewicz

Full Text Available Four studies tested the idea that saving money can buffer death anxiety and constitute a more effective buffer than spending money. Saving can relieve future-related anxiety and provide people with a sense of control over their fate, thereby rendering death thoughts less threatening. Study 1 found that participants primed with both saving and spending reported lower death fear than controls. Saving primes, however, were associated with significantly lower death fear than spending primes. Study 2 demonstrated that mortality primes increase the attractiveness of more frugal behaviors in save-or-spend dilemmas. Studies 3 and 4 found, in two different cultures (Polish and American, that the activation of death thoughts prompts people to allocate money to saving as opposed to spending. Overall, these studies provided evidence that saving protects from existential anxiety, and probably more so than spending.

Chair time saving method for treatment of an impacted maxillary central incisor with 15-month follow-up

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeed Noorollahian

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Maxillary permanent incisors have a major role in facial esthetics. Impaction of them has great adverse effect on smile and causes serious concerns in patient and parents. Physical barriers (e.g., overretained primary teeth, supernumerary teeth, and pathologic lesions, space problems, developmental abnormalities, altered eruption sequence, trauma, palatal clefts, and genetics can act as etiologic factors. Currently, the conventional technique to treatment of impacted teeth consists of a combined orthodontic and surgical approach, to guide the impacted teeth in a constant position and surrounded by normal hard and soft tissues. Treatment is challenging because of some limitations such as patient's age, cooperation, anchorage, and mechanotherapy possibilities. Hence, sophisticated treatment planning is crucial. A 9-year-old girl with horizontally impacted maxillary left central incisor treated with surgical exposure and closed orthodontic forced eruption with 2 × 4 partial setup fixed appliances. Force was applied with 0.014 inch nickel–titanium wire as elastic overlay and handmade ligated bracket. To save chair time in each appointment, the overlay was activated by twisting of ligature wire extensions around it. After 16-month treatment, impacted incisor emerged in oral cavity, with accepted alignment and inclination. Handmade ligated bracket with ligature wire extensions is useful for the treatment of impacted teeth. Due to easy activation of overlay in this method, chair time become short in each appointment.

The Economics of Groundwater Replenishment for Reliable Urban Water Supply

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Gao

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the potential economic benefits of water banking in aquifers to meet drought and emergency supplies for cities where the population is growing and changing climate has reduced the availability of water. A simplified case study based on the city of Perth, Australia was used to estimate the savings that could be achieved by water banking. Scenarios for investment in seawater desalination plants and groundwater replenishment were considered over a 20 year period of growing demand, using a Monte Carlo analysis that embedded the Markov model. An optimisation algorithm identified the minimum cost solutions that met specified criteria for supply reliability. The impact of depreciation of recharge credits was explored. The results revealed savings of more than A$1B (~US$1B or 37% to 33% of supply augmentation costs by including water banking in aquifers for 95% and 99.5% reliability of supply respectively. When the hypothetically assumed recharge credit depreciation rate was increased from 1% p.a. to 10% p.a. savings were still 33% to 31% for the same reliabilities. These preliminary results show that water banking in aquifers has potential to offer a highly attractive solution for efficiently increasing the security of urban water supplies where aquifers are suitable.

The Water Reuse project: Sustainable waste water re-use technologies for irrigated land in NIS and southern European states; project overview and results.

Science.gov (United States)

van den Elsen, E.; Doerr, S.; Ritsema, C. J.

2009-04-01

In irrigated areas in the New Independent States (NIS) and southern European States, inefficient use of conventional water resources occurs through incomplete wetting of soils, which causes accelerated runoff and preferential flow, and also through excessive evaporation associated with unhindered capillary rise. Furthermore, a largely unexploited potential exists to save conventional irrigation water by supplementation with organic-rich waste water, which, if used appropriately, can also lead to improvements to soil physical properties and soil nutrient and organic matter content. This project aims to (a) reduce irrigation water losses by developing, evaluating and promoting techniques that improve the wetting properties of soils, and (b) investigate the use of organic-rich waste water as a non-conventional water resource in irrigation and, in addition, as a tool in improving soil physical properties and soil nutrient and organic matter content. Key activities include (i) identifying, for the NIS and southern European partner countries, the soil type/land use combinations, for which the above approaches are expected to be most effective and their implementation most feasible, using physical and socio-economic research methods, and (ii) examining the water saving potential, physical, biological and chemical effects on soils of the above approaches, and also their impact on performance. Expected outputs include techniques for sustainable improvements in soil wettability management as a novel approach in water saving, detailed evaluation of the prospects and effects of using supplemental organic-rich waste waters in irrigation, an advanced process-based numerical hydrological model, fully adapted to quantify and upscale resulting water savings and nutrient and potential contaminant fluxes for irrigated areas, and identification of suitable areas in the NIS and Mediterranean (in soil, land use, legislative and socio-economic terms) for implementation.

Low Savings Rates in the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas: The Role of the Political Instability-Income Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abu Nurudeen

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This paper employs PCSE, OLS and TSLS with random effects to investigate the impact of the political instabilityincome interaction on savings in ECOWAS countries during the period 1996-2012. The empirical evidence illustrates that higher political stability is associated with higher savings and income levels moderate the adverse effect of political instability on savings, indicating that the impact of political instability on savings is higher in low income ECOWAS countries, but lesser at higher levels of income. The paper recommends the promotion of political stability via increases in incomes to raise savings in the ECOWAS region.

The impact on air quality of energy saving measures in the major cities signatories of the Covenant of Mayors initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Monforti-Ferrario, Fabio; Kona, Albana; Peduzzi, Emanuela; Pernigotti, Denise; Pisoni, Enrico

2018-06-08

This study is a first attempt to evaluate how the major efforts made by several European cities in the frame of the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) initiative can impact the air pollution levels in the participating cities. CoM is by no mean one of the major cities initiatives aimed at mitigating climate change, supporting local authorities in the implementation of their climate action plans. Energy savings measures reported in the CoM cities' action plans have been analysed from the air quality perspective in order to find quantitative relations in the way local authorities deal with mitigation and how these practices are expected to have consequences on the air quality at urban level and finally positively impacting the citizens' health. In the paper, the air quality 2713 energy saving measures proposed by 146 cities located in 23 countries in the frame of the CoM are selected and their co-benefits for air quality and public health estimated by means of SHERPA, a fast modelling tool that mimics the behaviour of a full physically-based Chemical Transport Model. Besides evaluating the overall benefits of this subset of mitigation measures for the air quality, the study also investigates the relevance of some factors such as the implementation sector, the city size and the pollution levels in achieving the highest possible co-benefits. The results presented refer to the special field covered by the study, i.e. energy saving measures and are not automatically referable to other types of measures. Nevertheless, they clearly show how climate mitigation and air quality policies are deeply interconnected at the urban level. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The Impact of Social and Financial Education on Savings Attitudes and Behavior Among Primary School Children in Uganda

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Supanantaroek, Suthinee; Lensink, Robert; Hansen, Nina

2017-01-01

Background: Saving plays a crucial role in the process of economic growth. However, one main reason why poor people often do not save is that they lack financial knowledge. Improving the savings culture of children through financial education is a promising way to develop savings attitudes and

Testing the Financial Capability Framework: Findings from YouthSave-Impact Study Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Kagotho, Njeri; Ssewamala, Fred M; Patak-Pietrafesa, Michele; Byansi, William

2018-01-01

In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), youths (23 years or younger)-who account for almost half the population-are particularly vulnerable to poverty and exclusion from financial markets and intermediaries. In addition, a significant factor in the financial instability of the region appears to be the economic functioning of its youths. In recent years, social work interventions throughout the region have focused on investing in the economic functioning of youths. This study looked at baseline data from one such intervention in Kenya (N = 3,965), using the financial capabilities framework to evaluate the factors related to youths' saving behaviors. Authors investigated the association between youths' financial literacy (that is, knowledge, socialization), financial access, and financial capabilities and savings behaviors. Results indicate that adolescents who rate themselves as financially literate and those living in close proximity to a bank are more likely to report higher capabilities. Furthermore, financial capabilities in turn partially mediate the relationship between financial literacy, access, and savings. Overall, the study's findings point to the positive effect of enhanced financial capabilities among youths and offer support for asset-based interventions targeting youths in SSA. © 2017 National Association of Social Workers.

Energy Savings Lifetimes and Persistence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoffman, Ian M. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Schiller, Steven R. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Todd, Annika [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Billingsley, Megan A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Goldman, Charles A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Schwartz, Lisa C. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2016-02-01

This technical brief explains the concepts of energy savings lifetimes and savings persistence and discusses how program administrators use these factors to calculate savings for efficiency measures, programs and portfolios. Savings lifetime is the length of time that one or more energy efficiency measures or activities save energy, and savings persistence is the change in savings throughout the functional life of a given efficiency measure or activity. Savings lifetimes are essential for assessing the lifecycle benefits and cost effectiveness of efficiency activities and for forecasting loads in resource planning. The brief also provides estimates of savings lifetimes derived from a national collection of costs and savings for electric efficiency programs and portfolios.

Collection of Condensate Water: Global Potential and Water Quality Impacts

KAUST Repository

Loveless, Kolin Joseph; Farooq, Aamir; Ghaffour, NorEddine

2012-01-01

. Technologies that can supply fresh water at a reduced cost are therefore becoming increasingly important and the impact of such technologies can be substantial. This paper considers the collection of condensate water from large air conditioning units as a

Quantification of energy savings from Ireland's Home Energy Saving scheme. An ex post billing analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scheer, J.; Clancy, M.; Ni Hogain, S. [Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Wilton Park House, Wilton Terrace, Dublin 2 (Ireland)

2013-02-15

efficiency and use through heating controls), suggests a technical reduction potential of 5,676 kWh per dwelling. Equating this with the gas reduction in the sample suggests a shortfall of approximately 36{+-}8 % between technical potential and measured savings. This shortfall includes the effects of direct and indirect rebound effects, variations in ex ante assumptions and achieved u values and efficiencies for upgraded dwellings. The profile of household characteristics in the HES sample is influenced by the self-selected nature of scheme participants. Self-selection bias and other possible biases in the sample data impact on the validity of the comparison. Data limitations for individual households across explanatory variables in the control and treatment groups precluded corrections for these biases in the sample; however, the profiles of separate comparable data sets were used where possible to quantify the differences in the explanatory variables and how these might impact on the measured energy saving with reference to the relevant effects identified in the literature.

Evaluating the Effects of Child Savings Accounts Program Participation on Parental Well-Being

Science.gov (United States)

Okech, David

2012-01-01

Objectives: Using baseline and second wave data, the study evaluated the impact of child savings accounts participation on parenting stress, personal mastery, and economic strain with N = 381 lower income parents who decided to join and those who did not join in a child development savings account program. Methods: Structural equation modeling for…

Would Current International Space Station (ISS) Recycling Life Support Systems Save Mass on a Mars Transit?

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Harry W.

2017-01-01

The oxygen and water are recycled on the International Space Station (ISS) to save the cost of launching their mass into orbit. Usually recycling systems are justified by showing that their launch mass would be much lower than the mass of the oxygen or water they produce. Short missions such as Apollo or space shuttle directly provide stored oxygen and water, since the needed total mass of oxygen and water is much less than that of there cycling equipment. Ten year or longer missions such as the ISS or a future moon base easily save mass by recycling while short missions of days or weeks do not. Mars transit and long Mars surface missions have an intermediate duration, typically one to one and a half years. Some of the current ISS recycling systems would save mass if used on a Mars transit but others would not.

Water footprint of European cars: potential impacts of water consumption along automobile life cycles.

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Markus; Warsen, Jens; Krinke, Stephan; Bach, Vanessa; Finkbeiner, Matthias

2012-04-03

Due to global increase of freshwater scarcity, knowledge about water consumption in product life cycles is important. This study analyzes water consumption and the resulting impacts of Volkswagen's car models Polo, Golf, and Passat and represents the first application of impact-oriented water footprint methods on complex industrial products. Freshwater consumption throughout the cars' life cycles is allocated to material groups and assigned to countries according to import mix shares or location of production sites. Based on these regionalized water inventories, consequences for human health, ecosystems, and resources are determined by using recently developed impact assessment methods. Water consumption along the life cycles of the three cars ranges from 52 to 83 m(3)/car, of which more than 95% is consumed in the production phase, mainly resulting from producing iron, steel, precious metals, and polymers. Results show that water consumption takes place in 43 countries worldwide and that only 10% is consumed directly at Volkswagen's production sites. Although impacts on health tend to be dominated by water consumption in South Africa and Mozambique, resulting from the production of precious metals and aluminum, consequences for ecosystems and resources are mainly caused by water consumption of material production in Europe.

Impact of daylight saving time on road traffic collision risk: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, Rachel N; Sarma, Kiran M

2017-07-02

Bills have been put forward in the UK and Republic of Ireland proposing a move to Central European Time (CET). Proponents argue that such a change will have benefits for road safety, with daylight being shifted from the morning, when collision risk is lower, to the evening, when risk is higher. Studies examining the impact of daylight saving time (DST) on road traffic collision risk can help inform the debate on the potential road safety benefits of a move to CET. The objective of this systematic review was to examine the impact of DST on collision risk. Major electronic databases were searched, with no restrictions as to date of publication (the last search was performed in January 2017). Access to unpublished reports was requested through an international expert group. Studies that provided a quantitative analysis of the effect of DST on road safety-related outcomes were included. The primary outcomes of interest were road traffic collisions, injuries and fatalities. Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. Seventeen examined the short-term impact of transitions around DST and 12 examined long-term effects. Findings from the short-term studies were inconsistent. The long-term findings suggested a positive effect of DST. However, this cannot be attributed solely to DST, as a range of road collision risk factors vary over time. The evidence from this review cannot support or refute the assertion that a permanent shift in light from morning to evening will have a road safety benefit. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Saving Energy and Money: A Lesson in Computer Power Management

Science.gov (United States)

Lazaros, Edward J.; Hua, David

2012-01-01

In this activity, students will develop an understanding of the economic impact of technology by estimating the cost savings of power management strategies in the classroom. Students will learn how to adjust computer display settings to influence the impact that the computer has on the financial burden to the school. They will use mathematics to…

Environmental impacts of a large-scale incinerator with mixed MSW of high water content from a LCA perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Lou, Ziyang; Bilitewski, Bernd; Zhu, Nanwen; Chai, Xiaoli; Li, Bing; Zhao, Youcai

2015-04-01

Large-scale incinerators are applied widely as a result of the heavy burden of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated, while strong opposition is arising from the public living nearby. A large-scale working incineration plant of 1500 ton/day was chosen for evaluation using life cycle assessment. It was found that the corresponding human toxicity impacts via soil (HTs), human toxicity impacts via water (HTw) and human toxicity impacts via air (HTa) categories are 0.213, 2.171, and 0.012 personal equivalents (PE), and global warming (GW100) and nutrient enrichment (NE) impacts are 0.002 and 0.001 PE per ton of waste burned for this plant. Heavy metals in flue gas, such as Hg and Pb, are the two dominant contributors to the toxicity impact categories, and energy recovery could reduce the GW100 and NE greatly. The corresponding HTs, HTw and HTa decrease to 0.087, 0.911 and 0.008 PE, and GW100 turns into savings of -0.007 PE due to the increase of the heating value from 3935 to 5811 kJ/kg, if a trommel screener of 40 mm mesh size is used to pre-separate MSW. MSW sorting and the reduction of water content by physical pressure might be two promising pre-treatment methods to improve the combustion performance, and the application of stricter standards for leachate discharge and the flue gas purification process are two critical factors for improvement of the environmental profile identified in this work. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Exploring the time-saving bias: How drivers misestimate time saved when increasing speed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eyal Peer

2010-12-01

Full Text Available According to the time-saving bias, drivers underestimate the time saved when increasing from a low speed and overestimate the time saved when increasing from a relatively high speed. Previous research used a specific type of task --- drivers were asked to estimate time saved when increasing speed and to give a numeric response --- to show this. The present research conducted two studies with multiple questions to show that the time-saving bias occurs in other tasks. Study 1 found that drivers committed the time-saving bias when asked to estimate (a the time saved when increasing speed or (b the distance that can be completed at a given time when increasing speed or (c the speed required to complete a given distance in decreasing times. Study 2 showed no major differences in estimations of time saved compared to estimations of the remaining journey time and also between responses given on a numeric scale versus a visual analog scale. Study 3 tested two possible explanations for the time-saving bias: a Proportion heuristic and a Differences heuristic. Some evidence was found for use of the latter.

Could the Hokusai Impact Have Delivered Mercury's Water Ice?

Science.gov (United States)

Ernst, C. M.; Chabot, N. L.; Barnouin, O. S.

2018-05-01

Hokusai is the best candidate source crater for Mercury’s water-ice inventory if it was primarily delivered by a single impact event. The Hokusai impact could account for the inventory of water ice on Mercury for impact velocities <30 km/s.

Impact on a utility, utility customers and the environment of an ensemble of solar domestic hot water systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cragan, K.E.; Klein, S.A.; Beckman, W.A.

1995-01-01

The benefits of the installation of a large number of solar domestic hot water (SDHW) systems are identified and quantified. The benefits of SDHW systems include reduced energy use, reduced electrical demand, and reduced pollution. The avoided emissions, capacity contribution, energy and demand savings were evaluated using the power generation schedules, emissions data and annual hourly load profiles from a Wisconsin utility. It is shown that each six square meter solar water heater system can save annually: 3,560 kWh of energy, 0.66 kW of peak demand, and over four tons of pollution

Income inequality, status seeking, and savings rates in Canada

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Bilson Darku

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This paper uses Canadian provincial-level data and a variant of James uesenberry’s relative income hypothesis proposed by Frank et al. (2010 to examine the relationship between income inequality and savings rates. The theory predicts that increased expenditure of top income earners leads those just below them in the income scale to spend more as well, then the next group also spends more, and so on. This phenomenon is due to people’s status seeking behaviour. Hence, increased income inequality will trigger increases in consumption by individuals in all income groups, which in turn leads to declining personal savings rates. The empirical analysis based on this theory led to some interesting findings. First, at the national level, increased income inequality has a significant negative effect on personal savings rates. At the provincial level, the relationship also emerges in eight of ten provinces. Second, both the national and provincial results imply that growth in per capita income that worsens income inequality impacts negatively on personal savings rates. I interpret the results as evidence that social factors such as status-seeking generate consumption interdependence and are significant determinants of consumption and savings decisions of Canadians.

Theory of energy level and its application in water-loop heat pump system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Qi Dong

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Novel theory of saving energy and its application in water loop heat pump. • Reverse energy caused by units to water loop and its solution. • New method for determining the energy-saving range of water loop heat pump. • Capacity model of auxiliary heat source and its size for all building types. • Advice for reducing total energy consumption of water loop heat pump. - Abstract: It is a difficult problem to how to determine the reverse energy caused by units to water loop when a water-loop heat pump (WLHP) is in cooling and heating simultaneous mode, which not only has a great impact on energy-saving rate but also decides the use of auxiliary heat source in winter. This paper presents a theory of energy level to improve the research on WLHP system by using the relationship among building, circulating water and units. In this theory, the circulating water replaces building load as a new method to convert the reverse energy into energy change of circulating water and the equation of energy level also is built to determine the energy-saving range of WLHP system and report the capacity model of auxiliary heat source for all building types. An office building with different auxiliary powers is tested to analyze system operation characteristic and the effect of auxiliary heat source on unit and system and the results validate previous conclusions and suggest that an energy balance should be considered between units and auxiliary power to improve overall operation.

Determinants and policy implications for household electricity-saving behaviour: Evidence from Beijing, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhaohua; Zhang Bin; Yin Jianhua; Zhang Yixiang

2011-01-01

This research sets out to explore the possibilities for further saving in household electricity consumption through a study of the residents' willingness and behavioural characteristics in electricity saving, as applied within a Chinese context. Based on an extensive literature review, the authors argue that economic benefits, policy and social norms, and past experience may have a positive correlation with household electricity-saving behaviour, while the discomfort caused by electricity-saving activities, may exert a negative effect on it. Through a sample of 816 randomly selected residents in Beijing, the propositions are examined using logit regression analysis. The conclusions support the ideas, concerning both the positive influence of economic benefits, policy and social norms, and past experience as they affect broader electricity-saving behaviour, and the negative influence of the discomfort caused by electricity-saving activities. Finally, some inferences are drawn, and suggestions are offered for policy makers and further studies. - Highlights: → We develop a logistic regression to investigate household electricity saving behaviour. → Determinants for household electricity saving are verified with a questionnaire survey. → Environmental awareness does not impact on household electricity saving directly. → It is prerequisite to focus on both financial subsidy and technology improvement. → Tiered price reform is considered an effective policy for electricity saving.

Impact of emerging clean vehicle system on water stress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai, Hua; Hu, Xiaojun; Xu, Ming

2013-01-01

Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • Clean vehicles may increase US water consumption up to 2810 billion gallons/year. • Large-scale clean vehicle adoption could lead to severe regional water stress. • Fuel choice for clean vehicle is crucial in minimizing regional water stress. • Regional optimization illustrated the importance of regional consideration. - Abstract: While clean vehicles (i.e., vehicles powered by alternative fuels other than fossil fuels) offer great potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from gasoline-based vehicles, the associated impact on water resources has not yet been fully assessed. This research provides a systematic evaluation of the impact of a fully implemented clean vehicle system on national and state-level water demand and water stress. On the national level, based on existing policies, transitioning the current gasoline-based transportation into one with clean vehicles will increase national annual water consumption by 1950–2810 billion gallons of water, depending on the market penetration of electric vehicles. On the state level, variances of water efficiency in producing different fuels are significant. The fuel choice for clean vehicle development is especially crucial for minimizing water stress increase in states with already high water stress, high travel demands, and significant variations in water efficiency in producing different alternative fuels. Current development of clean vehicle infrastructure, however, has not reflected these state-level variations. This study takes an optimization approach to further evaluate impacts on state-level water stress from a fully implemented clean vehicle system and identified potential roles (fuel producer or consumer) states may play in real world clean vehicle development scenario. With an objective of minimizing overall water stress impact, our optimization model aims to provide an analytical framework to better assess impacts on state-level water

The Water Efficiency Paradox, a study of Central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Merks, Joreen; Bastiaanssen, Wim

2017-04-01

Water scarcity is a rapidly growing concern in the semi-arid areas of Central Asia. Water savings and efficiency improvement programs are promoted as a possibility to save the Aral Sea. The Aral Seas lost 92% of its volume between 1960 and 2009. Projects on rehabilitating the Aral Sea and increasing the efficiency of water use in the irrigation sector are, however, not making progress. In Central Asia, 90% of the water withdrawal is allocated to agriculture. Irrigation efficiency programs often disregard the downstream connectivity of the water flow path. Not all water being applied is consumed by crop evapotranspiration and in fact an equally great portion of water returns back into the river basin system and is reused downstream. This cascade effect implies that results in one location can induce a scarcity of water in another location. The cascade effect in the Syr Darya has been studied by means of the Aral Sea Basin Management Model (ASBMM) designed by SIC-ICWC and remote sensing data produced by UNESCO-IHE. We will demonstrate the impact of increasing irrigation efficiency locally on the overall water consumption in the basin. We will show that efficiency increases with larger areas, and that there are caps to the maximum efficiency at basin scale. Increasing efficiency is thus not self-evident. Classical solutions on promoting increase of efficiency and water savings are therefore outdated and misleads stakeholders. We will look into the misconceptions and challenges in the communication between researchers and policy makers regarding increasing efficiency.

Energy saving certificates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-11-01

The French ministry of economy, finances and industry and the French agency of environment and energy mastery (Ademe) have organized on November 8, 2005, a colloquium for the presentation of the energy saving certificates, a new tool to oblige the energy suppliers to encourage their clients to make energy savings. This document gathers the transparencies presented at this colloquium about the following topics: state-of-the-art and presentation of the energy saving certificates system: presentation of the EEC system, presentation of the EEC standard operations; the energy saving certificates in Europe today: energy efficiency commitment in UK, Italian white certificate scheme, perspectives of the different European systems. (J.S.)

Estimating the environmental impact of home energy visits and extent of behaviour change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Revell, Kristy

2014-01-01

The objective of this study was to estimate the environmental impact of a home energy visit programme, known as RE:NEW, that was delivered in London, in the United Kingdom. These home energy visits intended to encourage reductions in household carbon emissions and water consumption through the installation of small energy saving measures (such as radiator panels, in-home energy displays and low-flow shower heads), further significant energy saving measures (loft and cavity wall insulation) and behaviour change advice. The environmental impact of the programme was estimated in terms of carbon emissions abated and on average, for each household in the study, a visit led to an average carbon abatement of 146 kgCO 2 . The majority of this was achieved through the installation of small energy saving measures. The impact of the visits on the installation of significant measures was negligible, as was the impact on behaviour change. Therefore, these visits did not overcome the barriers required to generate behaviour change or the barriers to the installation of more significant energy saving measures. Given this, a number of recommendations are proposed in this paper, which could increase the efficacy of these home energy visits. - Highlights: • The environmental impact of the RE:NEW home energy visit programme is estimated. • Visits do not generate significant pro-environmental behaviour change. • Visits do not overcome the barriers to the installation loft and wall insulation. • Small energy saving measures yield carbon savings of 145 kgCO 2 /year. • The average carbon abatement per household was estimated to be 146 kgCO 2 /year

Are extreme hydro-meteorological events a prerequisite for extreme water quality impacts? Exploring climate impacts on inland and coastal waters

Science.gov (United States)

Michalak, A. M.; Balaji, V.; Del Giudice, D.; Sinha, E.; Zhou, Y.; Ho, J. C.

2017-12-01

Questions surrounding water sustainability, climate change, and extreme events are often framed around water quantity - whether too much or too little. The massive impacts of extreme water quality impairments are equally compelling, however. Recent years have provided a host of compelling examples, with unprecedented harmful algal blooms developing along the West coast, in Utah Lake, in Lake Erie, and off the Florida coast, and huge hypoxic dead zones continuing to form in regions such as Lake Erie, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico. Linkages between climate change, extreme events, and water quality impacts are not well understood, however. Several factors explain this lack of understanding, including the relative complexity of underlying processes, the spatial and temporal scale mismatch between hydrologists and climatologists, and observational uncertainty leading to ambiguities in the historical record. Here, we draw on a number of recent studies that aim to quantitatively link meteorological variability and water quality impacts to test the hypothesis that extreme water quality impairments are the result of extreme hydro-meteorological events. We find that extreme hydro-meteorological events are neither always a necessary nor a sufficient condition for the occurrence of extreme water quality impacts. Rather, extreme water quality impairments often occur in situations where multiple contributing factors compound, which complicates both attribution of historical events and the ability to predict the future incidence of such events. Given the critical societal importance of water quality projections, a concerted program of uncertainty reduction encompassing observational and modeling components will be needed to examine situations where extreme weather plays an important, but not solitary, role in the chain of cause and effect.

Heat savings in energy systems with substantial distributed generation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard, PA

2003-01-01

In Denmark, the integration of wind power is affected by a large amount of cogeneration of heat and power. With ancillary services supplied by large-scale condensation and combined heat and power (CHP) plants, a certain degree of large-scale generation is required regardless of momentary wind input......, if a certain production is required regardless of whether over-all electricity generation is sufficient. This article analyses this and although heat savings do have a negative impact on the amount of wind power the system may integrate a given moment in certain cases, associated fuel savings are notable...

Value drivers: an approach for estimating health and disease management program savings.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, V L; Becker, Edmund R; Howard, David H

2013-12-01

Health and disease management (HDM) programs have faced challenges in documenting savings related to their implementation. The objective of this eliminate study was to describe OptumHealth's (Optum) methods for estimating anticipated savings from HDM programs using Value Drivers. Optum's general methodology was reviewed, along with details of 5 high-use Value Drivers. The results showed that the Value Driver approach offers an innovative method for estimating savings associated with HDM programs. The authors demonstrated how real-time savings can be estimated for 5 Value Drivers commonly used in HDM programs: (1) use of beta-blockers in treatment of heart disease, (2) discharge planning for high-risk patients, (3) decision support related to chronic low back pain, (4) obesity management, and (5) securing transportation for primary care. The validity of savings estimates is dependent on the type of evidence used to gauge the intervention effect, generating changes in utilization and, ultimately, costs. The savings estimates derived from the Value Driver method are generally reasonable to conservative and provide a valuable framework for estimating financial impacts from evidence-based interventions.

Renewable energy for Canada's northern communities - quantifying potential fuel savings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brothers, C.

1998-01-01

The probable impact of renewable energy technologies on fuel consumption in Canada's remote northern communities was discussed. These communities currently meet their electricity requirements using expensive diesel powered generators. It was noted that change to renewable energy in Canada's remote communities will only be made if the economic benefits can be clearly demonstrated. A study was conducted in Cambridge Bay, Northwest Territories, in which electrical load requirements and wind and solar resource data from the community was acquired to estimate savings in diesel fuel consumption for various renewable energy technologies. Wind was found to provide the most fuel displacement and was considered to be the most appropriate technology for these communities. A photovoltaic (PV) system of equivalent size would have significantly less impact on fuel savings in a community like Cambridge Bay, in part because a PV system would be poorly correlated on a seasonal basis with the energy requirements of the community. A wind-diesel system would be the most advantageous in terms of fuel savings due to its relatively high capacity factor, and due to the fact that is it is available year around. 4 refs., 1 tab., 4 figs

REMINDER Saved Leave Scheme (SLS) : Transfer of leave to saved leave accounts

CERN Multimedia

HR Division

2002-01-01

Under the provisions of the voluntary saved leave scheme (SLS), a maximum total of 10 days'*) annual and compensatory leave (excluding saved leave accumulated in accordance with the provisions of Administrative Circular No. 22B) can be transferred to the saved leave account at the end of the leave year (30 September). We remind you that, since last year, unused leave of all those taking part in the saved leave scheme at the closure of the leave-year accounts is transferred automatically to the saved leave account on that date. Therefore, staff members have no administrative steps to take. In addition, the transfer, which eliminates the risk of omitting to request leave transfers and rules out calculation errors in transfer requests, will be clearly shown in the list of leave transactions that can be consulted in EDH from October 2002 onwards. Furthermore, this automatic leave transfer optimizes staff members' chances of benefiting from a saved leave bonus provided that they are still participants in the schem...

Perceived agricultural runoff impact on drinking water.

Science.gov (United States)

Crampton, Andrea; Ragusa, Angela T

2014-09-01

Agricultural runoff into surface water is a problem in Australia, as it is in arguably all agriculturally active countries. While farm practices and resource management measures are employed to reduce downstream effects, they are often either technically insufficient or practically unsustainable. Therefore, consumers may still be exposed to agrichemicals whenever they turn on the tap. For rural residents surrounded by agriculture, the link between agriculture and water quality is easy to make and thus informed decisions about water consumption are possible. Urban residents, however, are removed from agricultural activity and indeed drinking water sources. Urban and rural residents were interviewed to identify perceptions of agriculture's impact on drinking water. Rural residents thought agriculture could impact their water quality and, in many cases, actively avoided it, often preferring tank to surface water sources. Urban residents generally did not perceive agriculture to pose health risks to their drinking water. Although there are more agricultural contaminants recognised in the latest Australian Drinking Water Guidelines than previously, we argue this is insufficient to enhance consumer protection. Health authorities may better serve the public by improving their proactivity and providing communities and water utilities with the capacity to effectively monitor and address agricultural runoff.

Energy-Saving Benefits of Adiabatic Humidification in the Air Conditioning Systems of Semiconductor Cleanrooms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min-Suk Jo

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This paper aimed to evaluate the applicability of adiabatic humidification in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC systems of semiconductor cleanrooms. Accurate temperature and humidity control are essential in semiconductor cleanrooms and high energy consumption steam humidification is commonly used. Therefore, we propose an adiabatic humidification system employing a pressurized water atomizer to reduce the energy consumption. The annual energy consumption of three different HVAC systems were analyzed to evaluate the applicability of adiabatic humidification. The studied cases were as follows: (1 CASE 1: a make-up air unit (MAU with a steam humidifier, a dry cooling coil (DCC, and a fan filter unit (FFU; (2 CASE 2: a MAU with the pressurized water atomizer, a DCC, and a FFU; and (3 CASE 3: a MAU, a DCC, and a FFU, and the pressurized water atomizer installed in the return duct. The energy saving potential of adiabatic humidification over steam humidification has been proved, with savings of 8% and 23% in CASE 2 and CASE 3 compared to CASE 1, respectively. Furthermore, the pressurized water atomizer installed in the return duct exhibits greater energy saving effect than when installed in the MAU.

Environmental impact of by pass channel of surface waters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vismara, R.; Renoldi, M.; Torretta, V.

1996-01-01

In this paper are analyzed the impacts generated by surface waters drawing on river course. This impacts are generated also by reduction of water flow. This effect is most important for the presence of biological community: algae, fiches, micro invertebrates. Are also reported regional laws, water master plan of Lombardia region

Mobile financial services and financial inclusion: Is it a boon for savings mobilization?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shem Alfred Ouma

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The adoption of mobile telephony to provide financial services in Africa has become instrumental in integrating the hitherto unbanked segments of the population to the mainstream financial systems. This study sought to establish this linkage by examining whether the pervasive use of mobile telephony to provide financial services is a boon for savings mobilization in selected countries in sub Saharan Africa. The findings show that availability and usage of mobile phones to provide financial services promotes the likelihood of saving at the household level. Not only does access to mobile financial services boost the likelihood to save, but also has a significant impact on the amounts saved, perhaps due to the frequency and convenience with which such transactions can be undertaken using a mobile phone. Both forms of savings, that is, basic mobile phone savings stored in the phone and bank integrated mobile savings are likely to be promoted by use of mobile phones. Thus, growing and deepening the scope for mobile phone financial services is an avenue for promoting savings mobilization, especially among the poor and low income groups with constrained access to formal financial services.

Drinking Water - National Drinking Water Clearinghouse

Science.gov (United States)

Savings Septic Unsafe Disposable Wipe Woes FacebookLogo FOCUS AREAS Drinking Water Wastewater Training Security Conservation & Water Efficiency Water We Drink Source Water Protection SORA/COI EPA MOU CartIcon Links Listserv Educators Homeowners Operators Small Systems Drinking Water Read On Tap Latest

Water withdrawal and consumption reduction analysis for electrical energy generation system

Science.gov (United States)

Nouri, Narjes

There is an increasing concern over shrinking water resources. Water use in the energy sector primarily occurs in electricity generation. Anticipating scarcer supplies, the value of water is undoubtedly on the rise and design, implementation, and utilization of water saving mechanisms in energy generation systems are becoming inevitable. Most power plants generate power by boiling water to produce steam to spin electricity-generating turbines. Large quantities of water are often used to cool the steam in these plants. As a consequence, most fossil-based power plants in addition to consuming water, impact the water resources by raising the temperature of water withdrawn for cooling. A comprehensive study is conducted in this thesis to analyze and quantify water withdrawals and consumption of various electricity generation sources such as coal, natural gas, renewable sources, etc. Electricity generation for the state of California is studied and presented as California is facing a serious drought problem affecting more than 30 million people. Integrated planning for the interleaved energy and water sectors is essential for both water and energy savings. A linear model is developed to minimize the water consumption while considering several limitations and restrictions. California has planned to shut down some of its hydro and nuclear plants due to environmental concerns. Studies have been performed for various electricity generation and water saving scenarios including no-hydro and no-nuclear plant and the results are presented. Modifications to proposed different scenarios have been applied and discussed to meet the practical and reliability constraints.

Measuring industrial energy savings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly Kissock, J.; Eger, Carl

2008-01-01

Accurate measurement of energy savings from industrial energy efficiency projects can reduce uncertainty about the efficacy of the projects, guide the selection of future projects, improve future estimates of expected savings, promote financing of energy efficiency projects through shared-savings agreements, and improve utilization of capital resources. Many efforts to measure industrial energy savings, or simply track progress toward efficiency goals, have had difficulty incorporating changing weather and production, which are frequently major drivers of plant energy use. This paper presents a general method for measuring plant-wide industrial energy savings that takes into account changing weather and production between the pre and post-retrofit periods. In addition, the method can disaggregate savings into components, which provides additional resolution for understanding the effectiveness of individual projects when several projects are implemented together. The method uses multivariable piece-wise regression models to characterize baseline energy use, and disaggregates savings by taking the total derivative of the energy use equation. Although the method incorporates search techniques, multi-variable least-squares regression and calculus, it is easily implemented using data analysis software, and can use readily available temperature, production and utility billing data. This is important, since more complicated methods may be too complex for widespread use. The method is demonstrated using case studies of actual energy assessments. The case studies demonstrate the importance of adjusting for weather and production between the pre- and post-retrofit periods, how plant-wide savings can be disaggregated to evaluate the effectiveness of individual retrofits, how the method can identify the time-dependence of savings, and limitations of engineering models when used to estimate future savings

Energy saving potential of natural ventilation in China: The impact of ambient air pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tong, Zheming; Chen, Yujiao; Malkawi, Ali; Liu, Zhu; Freeman, Richard B.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Natural ventilation potential is affected largely by ambient air pollution in China. • NV hours of 76 Chinese cities based on weather and ambient air quality are estimated. • Cooling energy savings and carbon reductions of 35 major Chinese cities are estimated. • 8–78% of the cooling energy usage can be potentially reduced by NV. • Our findings provide guidelines to improve energy policies in China. - Abstract: Natural ventilation (NV) is a key sustainable solution for reducing the energy use in buildings, improving thermal comfort, and maintaining a healthy indoor environment. However, the energy savings and environmental benefits are affected greatly by ambient air pollution in China. Here we estimate the NV potential of all major Chinese cities based on weather, ambient air quality, building configuration, and newly constructed square footage of office buildings in the year of 2015. In general, little NV potential is observed in northern China during the winter and southern China during the summer. Kunming located in the Southwest China is the most weather-favorable city for natural ventilation, and reveals almost no loss due to air pollution. Building Energy Simulation (BES) is conducted to estimate the energy savings of natural ventilation in which ambient air pollution and total square footage at each city must be taken into account. Beijing, the capital city, displays limited per-square-meter saving potential due to the unfavorable weather and air quality for natural ventilation, but its largest total square footage of office buildings makes it become the city with the greatest energy saving opportunity in China. Our analysis shows that the aggregated energy savings potential of office buildings at 35 major Chinese cities is 112 GWh in 2015, even after allowing for a 43 GWh loss due to China’s serious air pollution issue especially in North China. 8–78% of the cooling energy consumption can be potentially reduced by natural

76 FR 16477 - General Reporting and Recordkeeping by Savings Associations and Savings and Loan Holding Companies

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-23

... Savings Associations and Savings and Loan Holding Companies AGENCY: Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS...), 12 CFR 562.4 (audit of savings association, savings and loan holding company, or affiliate), 12 CFR... the savings association), 12 CFR 584.1(f) (books and records of each savings and loan holding company...

New storm water regulations impact industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gemar, C.

1991-01-01

In November 1990, new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations aimed at governing the discharge of storm water from industrial facilities became effective. Because some industrial runoff contains toxics and other pollutants, the EPA considers storm water a major source of water contamination. The new regulations will have a profound impact on the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements for industry. This paper summarizes the new storm water regulations, focusing on the requirements for industrial facilities. It also presents suggestions for compliance

[Energy Consumption Comparison and Energy Saving Approaches for Different Wastewater Treatment Processes in a Large-scale Reclaimed Water Plant].

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Min; Li, Ya-ming; Wei, Yuan-song; Lü, Jian; Yu, Da-wei; Liu, Ji-bao; Fan, Yao-bo

2015-06-01

Energy consumption is the main performance indicator of reclaimed water plant (RWP) operation. Methods of specific energy consumption analysis, unit energy consumption analysis and redundancy analysis were applied to investigate the composition and spatio-temporal distribution of energy consumption in Qinghe RWP with inverted A2/O, A2/O and A2/O-MBR processes. And the A2/ O-MBR process was mainly analyzed to identify the main nodes and causes for high energy consumption, approaches for energy saving were explored, and the energy consumption before and after upgrading for energy saving was compared. The results showed that aeration was the key factor affecting energy consumption in both conventional and A2/O-MBR processes, accounting for 42.97% and 50.65% of total energy consumption, respectively. A pulsating aeration allowed an increasing membrane flux and remarkably reduced the energy consumption of the A2/O-MBR process while still meeting the effluent standard, e.g., the membrane flux was increased by 20%, and the energy consumptions per kiloton wastewater and kilogram COD(removed) were decreased by 42.39% to 0.53 kW-h-kg-3 and by 54.74% to 1.29 kW x h x kg(-1), respectively. The decrease of backflow ratio in the A2/O-MBR process within a certain range would not deteriorate the effluent quality due to its insignificant correlation with the effluent quality, and therefore may be considered as one of the ways for further energy saving.

Social Security and Saving: A Time-Series Econometrics Pedagogical Example (With "R" Code)

Science.gov (United States)

Wassell, Charles S., Jr.

2018-01-01

In 1974, and then again in 1996, Martin Feldstein published studies of the impact of the Social Security system on private saving in the U.S. economy. He found that Social Security depressed personal saving by a substantial amount--up to 50 percent. The author uses the Feldstein data and empirical models in this article to illustrate the steps in…

Compounding Impacts of Human-Induced Water Stress and Climate Change on Water Availability

Science.gov (United States)

Mehran, Ali; AghaKouchak, Amir; Nakhjiri, Navid; Stewardson, Michael J.; Peel, Murray C.; Phillips, Thomas J.; Wada, Yoshihide; Ravalico, Jakin K.

2017-01-01

The terrestrial phase of the water cycle can be seriously impacted by water management and human water use behavior (e.g., reservoir operation, and irrigation withdrawals). Here we outline a method for assessing water availability in a changing climate, while explicitly considering anthropogenic water demand scenarios and water supply infrastructure designed to cope with climatic extremes. The framework brings a top-down and bottom-up approach to provide localized water assessment based on local water supply infrastructure and projected water demands. When our framework is applied to southeastern Australia we find that, for some combinations of climatic change and water demand, the region could experience water stress similar or worse than the epic Millennium Drought. We show considering only the influence of future climate on water supply, and neglecting future changes in water demand and water storage augmentation might lead to opposing perspectives on future water availability. While human water use can significantly exacerbate climate change impacts on water availability, if managed well, it allows societies to react and adapt to a changing climate. The methodology we present offers a unique avenue for linking climatic and hydrologic processes to water resource supply and demand management and other human interactions.

Flood impacts on a water distribution network

Science.gov (United States)

Arrighi, Chiara; Tarani, Fabio; Vicario, Enrico; Castelli, Fabio

2017-12-01

Floods cause damage to people, buildings and infrastructures. Water distribution systems are particularly exposed, since water treatment plants are often located next to the rivers. Failure of the system leads to both direct losses, for instance damage to equipment and pipework contamination, and indirect impact, since it may lead to service disruption and thus affect populations far from the event through the functional dependencies of the network. In this work, we present an analysis of direct and indirect damages on a drinking water supply system, considering the hazard of riverine flooding as well as the exposure and vulnerability of active system components. The method is based on interweaving, through a semi-automated GIS procedure, a flood model and an EPANET-based pipe network model with a pressure-driven demand approach, which is needed when modelling water distribution networks in highly off-design conditions. Impact measures are defined and estimated so as to quantify service outage and potential pipe contamination. The method is applied to the water supply system of the city of Florence, Italy, serving approximately 380 000 inhabitants. The evaluation of flood impact on the water distribution network is carried out for different events with assigned recurrence intervals. Vulnerable elements exposed to the flood are identified and analysed in order to estimate their residual functionality and to simulate failure scenarios. Results show that in the worst failure scenario (no residual functionality of the lifting station and a 500-year flood), 420 km of pipework would require disinfection with an estimated cost of EUR 21 million, which is about 0.5 % of the direct flood losses evaluated for buildings and contents. Moreover, if flood impacts on the water distribution network are considered, the population affected by the flood is up to 3 times the population directly flooded.

How More Data About Direct and Virtual Water Use Could Help People Understand Their Water Footprints and Save More Water

Science.gov (United States)

Madel, R.; Olson-Sawyer, K.; Hanlon, P.; Rabin, K.

2017-12-01

Attari (2014) has shown through online surveys that Americans underestimate their water use, don't know what their water footprint is and don't know how much water it takes to produce food. The more people know about their water use, the better decisions they are capable of making and the more likely they are to conserve, which is especially important during periods of water stress. To increase awareness and help people decrease their daily water use, GRACE Communications Foundation created a Water Footprint Calculator [watercalculator.org] using US-oriented data and presented in US units in both English and Spanish. The calculator is based on direct water use data as well as the water consumed to create food, consumer goods and energy (also known as virtual or indirect water use). We learned that there is a lack of comparably-scaled, consumer-level virtual water research available. The direct use data gathered for the calculator came primarily from a study of residential water use in the US by Mayer et al. (1999), who conducted surveys of households in different US cities and averaged data for both inside and outside the home. The indirect use data came from various sources including the US government (USGS, EPA, EIA, NREL, Energy Star, etc.), the Water Footprint Network and the UN FAO. Much of the indirect use data was aggregated at a national level or came from combinations of various data sets. For all users, the food category accounts for the largest part of their water footprints. Gathering data of comparable scale at a personal consumption level proved to be a challenging exercise and provided several takeaways. While there is recent residential direct water use data at a consumer level, there is a lack of data at the personal, consumer level about indirect water use in manufacturing, energy production and agriculture. Because of this, we had to use national averages and generalized calculations. The resulting tool gives people a sense of the impacts of

Advertising energy saving programs: The potential environmental cost of emphasizing monetary savings.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Daniel; Bruine de Bruin, Wändi; Fischhoff, Baruch; Lave, Lester

2015-06-01

Many consumers have monetary or environmental motivations for saving energy. Indeed, saving energy produces both monetary benefits, by reducing energy bills, and environmental benefits, by reducing carbon footprints. We examined how consumers' willingness and reasons to enroll in energy-savings programs are affected by whether advertisements emphasize monetary benefits, environmental benefits, or both. From a normative perspective, having 2 noteworthy kinds of benefit should not decrease a program's attractiveness. In contrast, psychological research suggests that adding external incentives to an intrinsically motivating task may backfire. To date, however, it remains unclear whether this is the case when both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are inherent to the task, as with energy savings, and whether removing explicit mention of extrinsic motivation will reduce its importance. We found that emphasizing a program's monetary benefits reduced participants' willingness to enroll. In addition, participants' explanations about enrollment revealed less attention to environmental concerns when programs emphasized monetary savings, even when environmental savings were also emphasized. We found equal attention to monetary motivations in all conditions, revealing an asymmetric attention to monetary and environmental motives. These results also provide practical guidance regarding the positioning of energy-saving programs: emphasize intrinsic benefits; the extrinsic ones may speak for themselves. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Evaluating the benefits of digital pathology implementation: Time savings in laboratory logistics.

Science.gov (United States)

Baidoshvili, Alexi; Bucur, Anca; van Leeuwen, Jasper; van der Laak, Jeroen; Kluin, Philip; van Diest, Paul J

2018-06-20

The benefits of digital pathology for workflow improvement and thereby cost savings in pathology, at least partly outweighing investment costs, are increasingly recognized. Successful implementations in a variety of scenarios start to demonstrate cost benefits of digital pathology for both research and routine diagnostics, contributing to a sound business case encouraging further adoption. To further support new adopters, there is still a need for detailed assessment of the impact this technology has on the relevant pathology workflows with emphasis on time saving. To assess the impact of digital pathology adoption on logistic laboratory tasks (i.e. not including pathologists' time for diagnosis making) in LabPON, a large regional pathology laboratory in The Netherlands. To quantify the benefits of digitization we analyzed the differences between the traditional analog and new digital workflows, carried out detailed measurements of all relevant steps in key analog and digital processes, and compared time spent. We modeled and assessed the logistic savings in five workflows: (1) Routine diagnosis, (2) Multi-disciplinary meeting, (3) External revision requests, (4) Extra stainings and (5) External consultation. On average over 19 working hours were saved on a typical day by working digitally, with the highest savings in routine diagnosis and multi-disciplinary meeting workflows. By working digitally, a significant amount of time could be saved in a large regional pathology lab with a typical case mix. We also present the data in each workflow per task and concrete logistic steps to allow extrapolation to the context and case mix of other laboratories. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Energy Savers--Tips on Saving Energy and Money at Home (Fifth Printing)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DOE Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs

2001-01-01

Provides consumers with home energy and money savings tips such as insulation, weatherization, heating, cooling, water heating, energy efficient windows, landscaping, lighting, and energy efficient appliances

Energy Savers---Tips on Saving Energy and Money at Home (Fifth Printing)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DOE Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs

2001-08-13

Provides consumers with home energy and money savings tips such as insulation, weatherization, heating, cooling, water heating, energy efficient windows, landscaping, lighting, and energy efficient appliances.

Structured packing: an opportunity for energy savings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chavez T, R.H.; Guadarrama G, J.J.

1996-01-01

This work emphasizes the advantages about the use of structured packing. This type of packings allows by its geometry to reduce the processing time giving energy savings and throw down the production costs in several industries such as heavy water production plants, petrochemical industry and all industries involved with separation processes. There is a comparative results of energy consumption utilizing the structured vs. Raschig packings. (Author)

Three-Dimensional Simulations of Oblique Asteroid Impacts into Water

Science.gov (United States)

Gisler, G. R.; Ferguson, J. M.; Heberling, T.; Plesko, C. S.; Weaver, R.

2016-12-01

Waves generated by impacts into oceans may represent the most significant danger from near-earth asteroids and comets. For impacts near populated shores, the crown splash and subsequent waves, accompanied by sediment lofting and high winds, could be more damaging than storm surges from the strongest hurricanes. For asteroids less than 500 m in diameter that impact into deep water far from shores, the waves produced will be detectable over large distances, but probably not significantly dangerous. We present new three-dimensional simulations of oblique impacts into deep water, with trajectory angles ranging from 20 degrees to 60 degrees (where 90 degrees is vertical). These simulations are performed with the Los Alamos Rage hydrocode, and include atmospheric effects including ablation and airbursts. These oblique impact simulations are specifically performed in order to help determine whether there are additional dangers from the obliquity of impact not covered by previous two-dimensional studies. Water surface elevation profiles, surface pressures, and depth-averaged mass fluxes within the water are prepared for use in propagation studies.

Water tight.

Science.gov (United States)

Postel, S

1993-01-01

Many cities worldwide have gone beyond the limits of their water supply. Growing urban populations increase their demand for water, thereby straining local water supplies and requiring engineers to seek our even more distant water sources. It is costly to build and maintain reservoirs, canals, pumping stations, pipes, sewers, and treatment plants. Water supply activities require much energy and chemicals, thereby contributing to environmental pollution. Many cities are beginning to manage the water supply rather than trying to keep up with demand. Pumping ground water for Mexico City's 18 million residents (500,000 people added/year) surpasses natural replenishment by 50% to 80%, resulting in falling water tables and compressed aquifers. Mexico City now ambitiously promotes replacement of conventional toilets with 1.6 gallon toilets (by late 1991, this had saved almost 7.4 billion gallons of water/year). Continued high rural-urban migration and high birth rates could negate any savings, however. Waterloo, Ontario, has also used conservation efforts to manage water demand. These efforts include retrofit kits to make plumbing fixtures more efficient, efficiency standards for plumbing fixtures, and reduction of water use outdoors. San Jose, California, has distributed water savings devices to about 220,000 households with a 90% cooperation rate. Boston, Massachusetts, not only promoted water saving devices but also repaired leaks and had an information campaign. Increasing water rates to actually reflect true costs also leads to water conservation, but not all cities in developing countries use water meters. All households in Edmonton, Alberta, are metered and its water use is 1/2 of that of Calgary, where only some households are metered. Tucson, Arizona, reduced per capita water use 16% by raising water rates and curbing water use on hot days. Bogor, Indonesia, reduced water use almost 30% by increasing water rates. In the US, more and more states are mandating use

Short-term indicators. Intensities as a proxy for savings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boonekamp, P.G.M.; Gerdes, J. [ECN Policy Studies, Petten (Netherlands); Faberi, S. [Institute of Studies for the Integration of Systems ISIS, Rome (Italy)

2013-12-15

The ODYSSEE database on energy efficiency indicators (www.odyssee-indicators.org) has been set up to enable the monitoring and evaluation of realised energy efficiency improvements and related energy savings. The database covers the 27 EU countries as well as Norway and Croatia and data are available from 1990 on. This work contributes to the growing need for quantitative monitoring and evaluation of the impacts of energy policies and measures, both at the EU and national level, e.g. due to the Energy Services Directive and the proposed Energy Efficiency Directive. Because the underlying data become available only after some time, the savings figures are not always timely available. This is especially true for the ODEX efficiency indices per sector that rely on a number of indicators. Therefore, there is a need for so-called short-term indicators that become available shortly after the year has passed for which data are needed. The short term indicators do not replace the savings indicators but function as a proxy for the savings in the most recent year. This proxy value is faster available, but will be less accurate than the saving indicators themselves. The short term indicators have to be checked regularly with the ODEX indicators in order to see whether they can function still as a proxy.

l'impatto della politica fiscale e dell'inflazione sul risparmio nazionale: il caso italiano.(The impact of fiscal policy and inflation on national saving: the Italian case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. MODIGLIANI

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Oltre al reddito ci sono altri due influenze principali sul risparmio nazionale : la politica fiscale e l'inflazione . Gli autori costruiscono un modello dell'economia italiana per analizzare l'impatto di queste due variabili correlate. Si è concluso che i disavanzi pubblici del passato hanno prodotto una riduzione proporzionale del risparmio nazionale . A partire dai primi anni 1960 risparmi nazionali sono diminuiti di quasi 9 punti percentuali , di cui 3,6 punti percentuali possono essere contabilizzati da un aumento del 4 per cento nel deficit del governo . I risultati per quanto riguarda l'impatto dell'inflazione non sono definiti , e non è possibile stabilirli .Apart from income there are two other main influences on national savings: fiscal policy and inflation. The authors construct a model of the Italian economy to analyse the impact of these two related variables. It is concluded that past government deficits have produced a proportional reduction in national saving. Since the early 1960s national savings have declined by nearly 9 percentage points, of which 3.6 percentage points can be accounted for by a 4 per cent increase in the government's deficit. The results regarding the impact of inflation are not definite, and no conclusion is drawn.JEL: E21, E31, E62,

Using Landsat-based evapotranspiration data to assess the linkages between water right transfers and economic transactions in southern California

Science.gov (United States)

Senay, G. B.; Velpuri, N. M.; Schauer, M.; Friedrichs, M.; Singh, R. K.

2017-12-01

We used 31 years (1984-2014) of cloud-free Landsat data (3,396 Landsat scenes) to estimate evapotranspiration over the southwestern United States using the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model. We focused on some of California's most agriculture-intensive watersheds (8 central valley watersheds and Palo Verde Irrigation District (PVID)). Farmers in southern California (including PVID) have water rights on the Colorado River. After meeting competing demands for agriculture (irrigation) and rural domestic use, the Colorado River is diverted to meet urban water demands in southern California. Due to the population growth and increasing domestic use, farmers have entered a special agreement to transfer their water rights under the fallowing program to the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of southern California. MWD supplies water to 19 million people, more than half of California's population, and is the largest supplier of treated water in the United States. In this study, we presented the total annual volumetric water use in the Palo Verde Irrigation District since 1984 and computed historical annual crop water saved due to a fallowing program. We then converted volumetric water saved to total payouts to farmers in dollars and estimated the number of beneficiary households in the Greater Los Angeles area. It is interesting to see that nearly 120,000 acre-feet of water was transferred from PVID to MWD in 2011 and the cost of water payouts were over $20 million. This water saving met the demands of over 325,000 households in the Greater Los Angeles area. This analysis helps to a) demonstrate an approach to estimate and compare annual water use and water payments/savings using satellite data, b) monitor water rights compliance in an irrigation district, c) demonstrate the impact of water savings, and d) understand the interconnections between land-water management and socio-economic transactions across multiple spatio-temporal scales.

Evapotranspiration management based on the application of SWAT for balancing water consumption: A case study in Guantao, China

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Bin; Gan, Hong

2018-06-01

Rapid social and economic development results in increased demand for water resources. This can lead to the unsustainable development and exploitation of water resources which in turn causes significant environmental problems. Conventional water resource management approaches, such as supply and demand management strategies, frequently fail to restore regional water balance. This paper introduces the concept of water consumption balance, the balance between actual evapotranspiration (ET) and target ET, and establishes a framework to realize regional water balance. The framework consists of three stages: (1) determination of target ET and actual ET; (2) quantification of the water-saving requirements for the region; and (3) reduction of actual ET by implementing various water saving management strategies. Using this framework, a case study was conducted for Guantao County, China. The SWAT model was utilized to aid in the selection of the best water saving management strategy by comparing the ET of different irrigation methods and crop pattern adjustments. Simulation results revealed that determination of SWAT model parameters using remote sensing ET is feasible and that the model is a valuable tool for ET management. Irrigation was found to have a greater influence on the ET of winter wheat as compared to that of maize, indicating that reduction in winter wheat cultivation is the most effective way to reduce regional ET. However, the effect of water-saving irrigation methods on the reduction of ET was not obvious. This indicates that it would be difficult to achieve regional ET reduction using water-saving irrigation methods only. Furthermore, selecting the best water saving management strategy by relying solely on the amount of reduced ET was insufficient, because it ignored the impact of water conservation measures on the livelihood of the agricultural community. Incorporating these considerations with our findings, we recommend changing the current irrigation

THE 3 - IN - 1 SKYLIGHT SHADING DEVICE FOR SURABAYA INDONESIA: AN ENERGY SAVING AND CONSIDERATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danny Santoso Mintorogo

2004-01-01

Full Text Available In terms of energy saving strategies and proper use of skylight modules in architectural buildings in the tropical climate, this paper will give evidence of how appropriate use of skylight modules installed on buildings in the tropical zone compared to the ones in the subtropical climate. In the tropical humid climate, Indonesia has received huge amount of global direct and diffuse radiations on horizontal roofs throughout the year, approximately 575 watts per square meter of radiation will impact on flat roofs or skylights on a sunny day in Surabaya city. Moreover, the hot season is longer, from mid May to mid December, than the wet season. Most of the commercial and institution buildings are equipped with Western skylight styles in Surabaya without any modifications. The three-in-one skylight device is the system that will control daylight, shade direct solar heat radiation, and collect solar hot water at the same time. The concept of the three-in-one shading device has three goals: first of all, it is to shade horizontal or tiled skylight on roof providing shading devices. Secondly, the series of circular cube as shading device will bounce and scatter the direct sunlight into the space below enhancing daylight patterns. Finally, while shading and bouncing direct sunlight, those series of circular shading water pipes would also collect the solar heat radiation getting hot water. Each system works nicely to block, to scatter, and to obtain the solar heat radiation for energy saving in green architecture and clean environmental living zones.

Energy at the author's house for saving conventional fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nandwani, S.S.

2006-01-01

About 20 years ago, we decided to make our house. Being working on the utilization of solar energy and with the objective of saving maximum conventional fuel and some family budget, we dicided to make use of maximum this free and clean fuel. After buying the land with proper orientation, we installed different cheap devices and left the proper provision for another devices to installed in future. At present we solar energy mainly for cooking, water heating for bath and dish washing, drying clothes/fruits/vegetables, purification (pasteurization) of water. In addition. we also use solar cells for some electrical devices like solar radio, solar lamp for emergency, charging batteries and mobile phone etc. For our family of five persons, having 3 coloured TV, 2 computers using many hours of Internet, without any use of fuel other than electricity and sun, our electricity consumption is of the order of 270 (dry/summer)-350 (wet/rainy) kWh/month, depending on the season (US$16-21/month). This is roughly 40-50% of the electricity consumed by my other colleagues who do not use solar energy. With this saving, the initial cost of solar devices (US$1200-1400) is already recovered. In this presentation, construction and results of working of these solar thermal, electrical devices and other energy saving means at our house are mentioned.(Author)

Impacts of Combined Cooling, Heating and Power Systems, and Rainwater Harvesting on Water Demand, Carbon Dioxide, and NOx Emissions for Atlanta.

Science.gov (United States)

James, Jean-Ann; Sung, Sangwoo; Jeong, Hyunju; Broesicke, Osvaldo A; French, Steven P; Li, Duo; Crittenden, John C

2018-01-02

The purpose of this study is to explore the potential water, CO 2 and NO x emission, and cost savings that the deployment of decentralized water and energy technologies within two urban growth scenarios can achieve. We assess the effectiveness of urban growth, technological, and political strategies to reduce these burdens in the 13-county Atlanta metropolitan region. The urban growth between 2005 and 2030 was modeled for a business as usual (BAU) scenario and a more compact growth (MCG) scenario. We considered combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) systems using microturbines for our decentralized energy technology and rooftop rainwater harvesting and low flow fixtures for the decentralized water technologies. Decentralized water and energy technologies had more of an impact in reducing the CO 2 and NO x emissions and water withdrawal and consumption than an MCG growth scenario (which does not consider energy for transit). Decentralized energy can reduce the CO 2 and NO x emissions by 8% and 63%, respectively. Decentralized energy and water technologies can reduce the water withdrawal and consumption in the MCG scenario by 49% and 50% respectively. Installing CCHP systems on both the existing and new building stocks with a net metering policy could reduce the CO 2 , NO x , and water consumption by 50%, 90%, and 75% respectively.

Impact of RO-desalted water on distribution water qualities.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, J; Dietz, J; Randall, A; Hong, S

2005-01-01

A large-scale pilot distribution study was conducted to investigate the impacts of blending different source waters on distribution water qualities, with an emphasis on metal release (i.e. corrosion). The principal source waters investigated were conventionally treated ground water (G1), surface water processed by enhanced treatment (S1), and desalted seawater by reverse osmosis membranes (RO). Due to the nature of raw water quality and associated treatment processes, G1 water had high alkalinity, while S1 and RO sources were characterized as high sulfate and high chloride waters, respectively. The blending ratio of different treated waters determined the quality of finished waters. Iron release from aged cast iron pipes increased significantly when exposed to RO and S1 waters: that is, the greater iron release was experienced with alkalinity reduced below the background of G1 water. Copper release to drinking water, however, increased with increasing alkalinity and decreasing pH. Lead release, on the other hand, increased with increasing chloride and decreasing sulfate. The effect of pH and alkalinity on lead release was not clearly observed from pilot blending study. The flat and compact corrosion scales observed for lead surface exposed to S1 water may be attributable to lead concentration less than that of RO water blends.

Energy management techniques: SRP cooling water distribution system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edenfield, A.B.

1979-10-01

Cooling water for the nuclear reactors at the Savannah River Plant is supplied by a pumping and distribution system that includes about 50 miles of underground pipeline. The energy management program at SRP has thus far achieved a savings of about 5% (186 x 10 9 Btu) of the energy consumed by the electrically powered cooling water pumps; additional savings of about 14% (535 x 10 9 Btu) can be achieved by capital expenditures totaling about $3.7 million. The present cost of electricity for operation of this system is about $25 million per year. A computer model of the system was adapted and field test data were used to normalize the program to accurately represent pipeline physical characteristics. Alternate pumping schemes are analyzed to determine projected energy costs and impact on system safety and reliability

Water Matters: Assessing the Impacts of Water and Sanitation Infrastructure in the U.S./Mexico Border Region

Science.gov (United States)

Hargrove, W. L.; Del Rio, M.; Korc, M.

2017-12-01

Using Health Impact Assessment methods, we determined: 1) the impact of water and sanitation infrastructure installed about 15 years ago in two Texas border communities; 2) the impact of failing septic tanks in a neighborhood where septic systems are more than 20 years old and failing; and 3) the impacts of hauled water as the main household water source in a colonia. We obtained a total of 147 household surveys related to water and sanitation in four communities. Households who had obtained water and sanitation infrastructure had less skin problems, neuropathy, gastrointestinal illness, and stomach infections compared to an earlier time when they relied on local domestic wells or hauled water and septic tanks. Hepatitis A incidence in El Paso County, TX dropped precipitously after the implementation of water and sanitation infrastructure. Hauling water contributed to mental stress and anxiety and was risky in terms of road safety. We also assessed the economic and community development impacts of water and sanitation infrastructure. Communities benefitted from higher property values, expanded health care services, more parks and recreation, more local businesses, and improved fire safety. We argue that though water and sanitation infrastructure is a significant contributor to addressing inequities in the border region, much remains to be done to achieve water justice in this challenging region.

Rice evapotranspiration at the field and canopy scales under water-saving irrigation

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiaoyin; Xu, Junzeng; Yang, Shihong; Zhang, Jiangang

2018-04-01

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important process of land surface water and thermal cycling, with large temporal and spatial variability. To reveal the effect of water-saving irrigation (WSI) on rice ET at different spatial scales and understand the cross spatial scale difference, rice ET under WSI condition at canopy (ETCML) and field scale (ETEC) were measured simultaneously by mini-lysimeter and eddy covariance (EC) in the rice season of 2014. To overcome the shortage of energy balance deficit by EC system, and evaluate the influence of energy balance closure degree on ETEC, ETEC was corrected as {ET}_{EC}^{*} by energy balance closure correction according to the evaporative fraction. Seasonal average daily ETEC, {ET}_{EC}^{*} and ETCML of rice under WSI practice were estimated as 3.12, 4.03 and 4.35 mm day-1, smaller than the values reported in flooded paddy fields. Daily ETEC, {ET}_{EC}^{*} and ETCML varied in a similar trends and reached the maximum in late tillering, then decreased along with the crop growth in late season. The value of ETEC was much lower than ETCML, and was frequently 1-2 h lagged behind ETCML. It indicated that the energy balance deficit resulted in underestimation of crop ET by EC system. The corrected value of {ET}_{EC}^{*} matched ETCML much better than ETEC, with a smaller RMSE (0.086 mm h-1) and higher R 2 (0.843) and IOA (0.961). The time lapse between {ET}_{EC}^{*} and ETCML was mostly shortened to less than 0.5 h. The multiple stepwise regression analysis indicated that net radiation ( R n) is the dominant factor for rice ET, and soil moisture ( θ) is another significant factor ( p rice fields. The difference between ETCML and {ET}_{EC}^{*} ({ET}_{CML} - {ET}_{EC}^{*}) were significantly ( p rice ET in WSI fields, and for its cross scale conversion.

76 FR 31680 - General Reporting and Recordkeeping by Savings Associations and Savings and Loan Holding Companies

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-01

... Savings Associations and Savings and Loan Holding Companies AGENCY: Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS... Savings and Loan Holding Companies. OMB Number: 1550-0011. Form Number: N/A. Description: This information...), 12 CFR 562.4 (audit of savings association, savings and loan holding company, or affiliate), 12 CFR...

Study on energy-saving performance of a transcritical CO2 heat pump for food thermal process applications

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yefeng; Meng, Deren; Chen, Shen

2018-02-01

In food processing, there are significant simultaneous demands of cooling, warm water and hot water. Most of the heated water is used only once rather than recycled. Current heating and cooling systems consume much energy and emit lots of greenhouse gases. In order to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gases emission, a transcritical CO2 heat pump system is proposed that can supply not only cooling, but also warm water and hot water simultaneously to meet the thermal demands of food processing. Because the inlet water temperature from environment varies through a year, the energy-saving performance for different seasons is simulated. The results showed that the potential primary energy saving rate of the proposed CO2 heat pump is 50% to 60% during a year.

12 CFR 583.21 - Savings association.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... AFFECTING SAVINGS AND LOAN HOLDING COMPANIES § 583.21 Savings association. The term savings association means a Federal savings and loan association or a Federal savings bank chartered under section 5 of the Home Owners' Loan Act, a building and loan, savings and loan or homestead association or a cooperative...

Problems of Technology of Energy-Saving Buildings and Their Impact on Energy Efficiency in Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Kwasnowski, Pawel; Fedorczak-Cisak, Malgorzata; Knap, Katarzyna

2017-10-01

Introduction of EPBD in legislation of the EU member states caused that buildings must meet very stringent requirements of thermal protection and energy efficiency. On the basis of EPBD provisions, EU Member States introduce standard of NZEB (Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings). Such activities cause a need for new, innovative materials and technologies, and new approaches to design, construction and retrofitting of buildings. Indispensable is the precise coordination of the design of structure and technical installations of building, which may be provided in an integrated design process in the system BIM. Good coordination and cooperation of all contractors during the construction phase is also necessary. The article presents the problems and the new methodology for the design, construction and use of energy efficient buildings in terms of energy saving technologies, including discussion of the significant impact of the automation of technical installations on the building energy efficiency.

Foreign Direct Investment or External Debt and Domestic Saving: Which has Greater Impact on Growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Horas Djulius

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The choice taken by developing countries in meeting the lack of development funds has a varying effect. This study clarifies the role of foreign direct investment (FDI compared to foreign loans and domestic savings in short- and long-term economic growth of Indonesia. Data were obtained from World Bank and Bank Indonesia and used in error correction model to explain the linkage between predictors and economic growth. We show that in the short run, the three explanatory variables significantly affect economic growth. In the long run, compared to FDI and foreign loans, domestic savings positively and significantly affect economic growth. This study emphasizes the importance of sustaining domestic savings to maintain the stability of economic fundamentals in the long term.DOI: 10.15408/etk.v17i1.7120

Impact of backwashing procedures on deep bed filtration productivity in drinking water treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Slavik, Irene; Jehmlich, Alexander; Uhl, Wolfgang

2013-10-15

Backwash procedures for deep bed filters were evaluated and compared by means of a new integrated approach based on productivity. For this, different backwash procedures were experimentally evaluated by using a pilot plant for direct filtration. A standard backwash mode as applied in practice served as a reference and effluent turbidity was used as the criterion for filter run termination. The backwash water volumes needed, duration of the filter-to-waste period, time out of operation, total volume discharged and filter run-time were determined and used to calculate average filtration velocity and average productivity. Results for filter run-times, filter backwash volumes, and filter-to-waste volumes showed considerable differences between the backwash procedures. Thus, backwash procedures with additional clear flushing phases were characterised by an increased need for backwash water. However, this additional water consumption could not be compensated by savings during filter ripening. Compared to the reference backwash procedure, filter run-times were longer for both single-media and dual-media filters when air scour and air/water flush were optimised with respect to flow rates and the proportion of air and water. This means that drinking water production time is longer and less water is needed for filter bed cleaning. Also, backwashing with additional clear flushing phases resulted in longer filter run-times before turbidity breakthrough. However, regarding the productivity of the filtration process, it was shown that it was almost the same for all of the backwash procedures investigated in this study. Due to this unexpected finding, the relationships between filter bed cleaning, filter ripening and filtration performance were considered and important conclusions and new approaches for process optimisation and resource savings were derived. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Linking economic water use, freshwater ecosystem impacts, and virtual water trade in a Great Lakes watershed

Science.gov (United States)

Mubako, S. T.; Ruddell, B. L.; Mayer, A. S.

2013-12-01

The impact of human water uses and economic pressures on freshwater ecosystems is of growing interest for water resource management worldwide. This case study for a water-rich watershed in the Great Lakes region links the economic pressures on water resources as revealed by virtual water trade balances to the nature of the economic water use and the associated impacts on the freshwater ecosystem. A water accounting framework that combines water consumption data and economic data from input output tables is applied to quantify localized virtual water imports and exports in the Kalamazoo watershed which comprises ten counties. Water using economic activities at the county level are conformed to watershed boundaries through land use-water use relationships. The counties are part of a region implementing the Michigan Water Withdrawal Assessment Process, including new regulatory approaches for adaptive water resources management under a riparian water rights framework. The results show that at local level, there exists considerable water use intensity and virtual water trade balance disparity among the counties and between water use sectors in this watershed. The watershed is a net virtual water importer, with some counties outsourcing nearly half of their water resource impacts, and some outsourcing nearly all water resource impacts. The largest virtual water imports are associated with agriculture, thermoelectric power generation and industry, while the bulk of the exports are associated with thermoelectric power generation and commercial activities. The methodology is applicable to various spatial levels ranging from the micro sub-watershed level to the macro Great Lakes watershed region, subject to the availability of reliable water use and economic data.

Estimation of resource savings due to fly ash utilization in road construction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Subodh; Patil, C.B. [Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi 110016 (India)

2006-08-15

A methodology for estimation of natural resource savings due to fly ash utilization in road construction in India is presented. Analytical expressions for the savings of various resources namely soil, stone aggregate, stone chips, sand and cement in the embankment, granular sub-base (GSB), water bound macadam (WBM) and pavement quality concrete (PQC) layers of fly ash based road formation with flexible and rigid pavements of a given geometry have been developed. The quantity of fly ash utilized in these layers of different pavements has also been quantified. In the present study, the maximum amount of resource savings is found in GSB followed by WBM and other layers of pavement. The soil quantity saved increases asymptotically with the rise in the embankment height. The results of financial analysis based on Indian fly ash based road construction cost data indicate that the savings in construction cost decrease with the lead and the investment on this alternative is found to be financially attractive only for a lead less than 60 and 90km for flexible and rigid pavements, respectively. (author)

CFD based investigation on the impact acceleration when a gannet impacts with water during plunge diving

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, T M; Yang, X B; Liang, J H; Yao, G C; Zhao, W D

2013-01-01

Plunge diving is the most commonly used feeding method of a gannet, which can make the gannet transit from air to water rapidly and successfully. A large impact acceleration can be generated due to the air-to-water transition. However, the impact acceleration experienced by the gannet during plunge diving has not been studied. In this paper, this issue is investigated by using the CFD method. The effect of the dropping height and the water-entry inclination angle on the impact acceleration is considered. The results reveal that the impact acceleration along the longitudinal body axis increases with either of the two parameters. The peak time decreases with the dropping height. A quadratic relation is found between the peak impact acceleration and the initial water-entry velocity. According to the computation, when the dropping height is 30 m (most of gannets plunge from about this height), the peak impact acceleration can reach about 23 times the gravitational acceleration, which will exert a considerable force on the gannet body. Furthermore, the pressure distribution of different water-entry inclination angles indicates that the large pressure asymmetry caused by a small oblique angle may lead to a large impact acceleration in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal body axis and cause damage to the neck of the gannet, which partly explains the reason why a gannet performing a high plunge diving in nature enters water with a large oblique angle from the perspective of impact mechanics. The investigation on the plunge-diving behavior in this paper will inspire and promote the development of a biomimetic amphibious robot that transits from air to water with the plunge-diving mode. (paper)

Potencial da economia de água potável pelo uso de água pluvial: análise de 40 cidades da Amazônia Potential for potable water savings by using rainwater: an analysis over 40 cities in Amazon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeferson Alberto de Lima

2011-09-01

Full Text Available A escassez de água é um problema cada vez mais severo em todo o mundo devido a fatores como o consumo excessivo de água bruta, as mudanas climáticas, a poluição da água e o consumo insustentável dos recursos hídricos. Sob essas condições, formas tradicionais ou alternativas de recursos hídricos, tais como a água pluvial, estão sendo consideradas como opções atrativas para reduzir o consumo de água potável. Neste contexto, este artigo descreve o cenário de disponibilidade de água na região Amazõnica, Noroeste do Brasil, e avalia o potencial da economia de água potável para o setor residencial em 40 cidades da região. Os resultados indicam que o potencial da economia de água potável varia entre 21 e 100%, dependendo da demanda de água potável verificada nas 40 cidades, com potencial médio de 76%. A prisncipal conclusão desta pesquisa é que, se houvesse um programa do governo para promover a economia de água potável por meio da utilização da água pluvial, haveria significativa economia de água potável e, consequentemente, a preservação dos recursos hídricos na Amazõnia.Water scarcity is an increasingly severe problem worldwide due to some factors, such as the excessive consumption of raw water, climate changes, water pollution, and unsustainable water resource consumption. Under these conditions, traditional or alternative forms of water resource, such as rainwater, are being considered as attractive options to reduce potable water consumption. In this context, this paper describes the water availability scenario in the Amazon region, Brazilian Northeast, and it evaluates the potential for potable water savings estimated for the residential sector of 40 cities in the region. Results indicate that the potential for potable water savings range from 21 to 100% depending on the potable water demand verified in the 40 cities, with an average potential for potable water savings of 76%. The main conclusion is

Geology of Woman Saving Concept

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shayesteh Madani

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Money is lubricant and an instrument for economic transaction. Money social dimension has increased over time, transforming it from a sole economic instrument to a device for various transactions. Money economic value in society is indicated through different forms, one of which is saving, in the sense of money accumulation and its use under specific future circumstances. Women, who form half of the society, take specific approaches to money and savings. The current research aims to investigate the perspectives and changing attitude strategy to money and saving among married women. The participants of this study include 20 to 70 year-old employed household married women who were observed phenomenologically and interviewed qualitatively on saving through.   The findings of this study demonstrated women perspectives on various types of saving, ways of saving, transfer methods, saving consumption forms and their mechanism. It also revealed that while money is an economic instrument and possess the economic material; attitudes and acts related to money are influenced by social conditions that has consequently turned saving into a social phenomenon.

Energy performance and energy saving of life-support systems in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The contemporary automation systems of buildings ensure the most efficient control automation for heating, ventilation, lighting, hot water supply systems. This leads to significant increase of operation efficiency and reduction of energy costs. The integrated energy saving processes and functions are optimized depending ...

Airline enters 2 shared-savings deals for $1M

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barber, J.

1984-02-06

Pan American World Airways has two shared-savings agreements to reduce electricity costs at its maintenance base near Miami International Airport by 20 to 25%. The two Andover 256 energy management systems (EMS) to monitor and control lighting and cooling in four buildings are already in operation. A second phase involving solar-powered water heating systems and retrofit work to air conditioning, ventilating, and lighting systems at six other buildings is nearing completion. Pan Am will divide the projected $700,000 in annual energy savings with two investor groups for seven years, after which Pan Am can buy the equipment at fair market value, renew the contract, or have the equipment removed.

Application of water footprint combined with a unified virtual crop pattern to evaluate crop water productivity in grain production in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Y B; Wu, P T; Engel, B A; Sun, S K

2014-11-01

Water shortages are detrimental to China's grain production while food production consumes a great deal of water causing water crises and ecological impacts. Increasing crop water productivity (CWP) is critical, so China is devoting significant resources to develop water-saving agricultural systems based on crop planning and agricultural water conservation planning. A comprehensive CWP index is necessary for such planning. Existing indices such as water use efficiency (WUE) and irrigation efficiency (IE) have limitations and are not suitable for the comprehensive evaluation of CWP. The water footprint (WF) index, calculated using effective precipitation and local water use, has advantages for CWP evaluation. Due to regional differences in crop patterns making the CWP difficult to compare directly across different regions, a unified virtual crop pattern is needed to calculate the WF. This project calculated and compared the WF of each grain crop and the integrated WFs of grain products with actual and virtual crop patterns in different regions of China for 2010. The results showed that there were significant differences for the WF among different crops in the same area or among different areas for the same crop. Rice had the highest WF at 1.39 m(3)/kg, while corn had the lowest at 0.91 m(3)/kg among the main grain crops. The WF of grain products was 1.25 m(3)/kg in China. Crop patterns had an important impact on WF of grain products because significant differences in WF were found between actual and virtual crop patterns in each region. The CWP level can be determined based on the WF of a virtual crop pattern, thereby helping optimize spatial distribution of crops and develop agricultural water savings to increase CWP. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Energy saving in Swedish households. The (relative) importance of environmental attitudes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinsson, Johan; Lundqvist, Lennart J.; Sundstroem, Aksel

2011-01-01

The objectives for energy saving in the housing sector set by recent Swedish energy and climate policies are quite demanding. This article uses nation-wide Swedish survey data from 2004 to 2007 to explore the potential for achieving those targets. Earlier findings that socio-economic characteristics such as age, housing type and income are strongly linked to higher propensities to save on heating and hot water usage are confirmed by ordered logistic regression models. However, general environmental attitudes are also found to play a crucial role. When assessing the relative importance of socio-economic factors and environmental attitudes, the effect on energy saving is generally greater for the former than the latter. In addition, important interaction effects are identified. In relative terms, the effect of environmental attitudes is clearly stronger among households in apartment blocks than among those in detached housing, and stronger among households with higher income than among those with lower income. We end by discussing the implications for the selection and targeting of policy measures to tap the energy savings potential in the population. - Highlights: → We use Swedish survey data to analyse the determinants of household energy saving. → Housing type plays a crucial role for individuals' propensity to save energy. → Environmental attitudes are clearly more important in high-income households. → Environmental attitudes are clearly more important for people in apartment blocks.

Guide to resource conservation and cost savings opportunities in the dairy processing sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-12-31

This guide identifies and promotes opportunities for conserving energy and water, as well as reducing waste, in the dairy processing sector. The guide begins with an introduction and a profile of Ontario`s dairy processing sector, outlining the context for resource conservation and cost savings opportunities. It then outlines the rationale and the generic processes selected for careful examination of resource conservation and cost savings opportunities. Subsequent chapters describe the energy, water, and material resources commonly used in relation to the generic processes; the air, water, and solid waste residuals commonly derived from those processes; and new technologies with potential application in dairy processing. The generic processes covered in the guide are for fluid milk, cheese, ice cream and frozen products, cultured products such as yogurt, butter, and dried or evaporated products. The report ends with additional useful information for dairy processors.

Low velocity impact on polymer composite plates in contact with water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y Kwon

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In this study, composite materials were tested in two different environments to determine the role of Fluid Structure Interaction with composites under a low velocity impact. This was done using a low velocity impact machine and polymer composite plates. The composite is made of laminated symmetrical plain weave E-glass fabrics. The test area of the composite plates is 30.5 cm by 30.5 cm with clamped boundary conditions. The testing was done using a drop weight system to impact the center of the test area. One testing was performed with composite plates in air, called dry impact. The other testing was conducted while composite plates were submerged in water, called wet impact. A Plexiglas box in conjunction with the impact machine was used to keep the top of the composite sample dry while it was submerged in an anechoic water tank, so called water-backed air impact. Output from the tests was recorded using strain gauges and a force impact sensor. The results show that an added mass effect from the water plays a large role in the Fluid Structure Interaction with composites due to the similar densities of water and the composites. The wet impact results in a larger impact force and damage than the dry impact under the same impact condition, i.e., the same impact mass and drop height.

Water depth effects on impact loading, kinematic and physiological variables during water treadmill running.

Science.gov (United States)

Macdermid, Paul W; Wharton, Josh; Schill, Carina; Fink, Philip W

2017-07-01

The purpose of this study was to compare impact loading, kinematic and physiological responses to three different immersion depths (mid-shin, mid-thigh, and xiphoid process) while running at the same speed on a water based treadmill. Participants (N=8) ran on a water treadmill at three depths for 3min. Tri-axial accelerometers were used to identify running dynamics plus measures associated with impact loading rates, while heart rate data were logged to indicate physiological demand. Participants had greater peak impact accelerations (prunning immersed to the xiphoid process. Physiological effort determined by heart rate was also significantly less (prunning immersed to the xiphoid process. Water immersed treadmill running above the waistline alters kinematics of gait, reduces variables associated with impact, while decreasing physiological demand compared to depths below the waistline. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Save Energy: Save Money!

Science.gov (United States)

Eccli, Eugene; And Others

This publication is a collection of inexpensive energy saving tips and home improvements for home owners, particularly in low-income areas or in older homes. Section titles are: (1) Keeping Warm; (2) Getting Heat Where You Need It; (3) Using the Sun; (4) Furnaces, Stoves, and Fireplaces; (5) Insulation and Other Energy Needs; (6) Do-It-Yourself…

A method for estimating maternal and newborn lives saved from health-related investments funded by the UK government Department for International Development using the Lives Saved Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingrid K. Friberg

2017-11-01

contributed to saving 187,000 newborn lives. Conclusions It is feasible to estimate the overall contribution and impact of DFID’s investment in RMNH from currently available information on interventions and coverage from individual country offices. This utilization of LiST, with estimated population coverage based on DFID program inputs, can be applied to similar types of datasets to quantify programme impact. The global data were used to estimate DFID’s progress against the Framework for results targets to inform future programming. The identified limitations can also be considered to inform future monitoring and evaluation program design and implementation within DFID.

A method for estimating maternal and newborn lives saved from health-related investments funded by the UK government Department for International Development using the Lives Saved Tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Friberg, Ingrid K; Baschieri, Angela; Abbotts, Jo

2017-11-07

In 2010, the UK Government Department for International Development (DFID) committed through its 'Framework for results for reproductive, maternal and newborn health (RMNH)' to save 50,000 maternal lives and 250,000 newborn lives by 2015. They also committed to monitoring the performance of this portfolio of investments to demonstrate transparency and accountability. Methods currently available to directly measure lives saved are cost-, time-, and labour-intensive. The gold standard for calculating the total number of lives saved would require measuring mortality with large scale population based surveys or annual vital events surveillance. Neither is currently available in all low- and middle-income countries. Estimating the independent effect of DFID support relative to all other effects on health would also be challenging. The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) is an evidence based software for modelling the effect of changes in health intervention coverage on reproductive, maternal, newborn and child mortality. A multi-country LiST-based analysis protocol was developed to retrospectively assess the total annual number of maternal and newborn lives saved from DFID aid programming in low- and middle-income countries. Annual LiST analyses using the latest program data from DFID country offices were conducted between 2013 and 2016, estimating the annual number of maternal and neonatal lives saved across 2010-2015. For each country, independent project results were aggregated into health intervention coverage estimates, with and in the absence of DFID funding. More than 80% of reported projects were suitable for inclusion in the analysis, with 151 projects analysed in the 2016 analysis. Between 2010 and 2014, it is estimated that DFID contributed to saving the lives of 15,000 women in pregnancy and childbirth with health programming and 88,000 with family planning programming. It is estimated that DFID health programming contributed to saving 187,000 newborn lives. It is

The Risk of Divorce and Household Saving Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez, Libertad; Ozcan, Berkay

2013-01-01

We analyze the causal impact of an increase in the risk of marital dissolution on the saving behavior of married couples. We use the legalization of divorce in Ireland in 1996 as an exogenous shock to the risk of divorce. We propose several comparison groups (unaffected by the law change) that allow us to use a difference-in-differences approach.…

Contract saving schemes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ronald, R.; Smith, S.J.; Elsinga, M.; Eng, O.S.; Fox O'Mahony, L.; Wachter, S.

2012-01-01

Contractual saving schemes for housing are institutionalised savings programmes normally linked to rights to loans for home purchase. They are diverse types as they have been developed differently in each national context, but normally fall into categories of open, closed, compulsory, and ‘free

Diet change and food loss reduction: What is their combined impact on global water use and scarcity?

Science.gov (United States)

Jalava, Mika; Guillaume, Joseph H. A.; Kummu, Matti; Porkka, Miina; Siebert, Stefan; Varis, Olli

2016-03-01

There is a pressing need to improve food security and reduce environmental impacts of agricultural production globally. Two of the proposed measures are diet change from animal-based to plant-based foodstuffs and reduction of food losses and waste. These two measures are linked, as diet change affects production and consumption of foodstuffs and consequently loss processes through their different water footprints and loss percentages. This paper takes this link into account for the first time and provides an assessment of the combined potential contribution of diet change and food loss reduction for reducing water footprints and water scarcity. We apply scenarios in which we change diets to follow basic dietary recommendations, limit animal-based protein intake to 25% of total protein intake, and halve food losses to study single and combined effects of diet change and loss reduction. Dietary recommendations alone would achieve 6% and 7% reductions of blue and green water consumption, respectively, while changing diets to contain less animal products would result in savings of 11% and 18%, respectively. Halving food loss would alone achieve 12% reductions for both blue and green water. Combining the measures would reduce water consumption by 23% and 28%, respectively, lowering water scarcity in areas with a population of over 600 million. At a global scale, effects of diet change and loss reduction were synergistic with loss reductions being more effective under changed diet. This demonstrates the importance of considering the link between diet change and loss reduction in assessments of food security and resource use.

BANK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES REGARDING THE ATTRACTION OF POPULATION SAVINGS BASED ON THE "FINANCIAL SITUATION OF THE ROMANIAN HOUSEHOLDS" POLL

OpenAIRE

NICULESCU-ARON Ileana Gabriela; MIHAESCU Constanta; CAPLESCU Raluca

2012-01-01

Financing economic recovery is mainly based on the household sector savings, thus anti-crisis governmental programmes should be based on rigorous knowledge regarding saving and consumption behaviours. Selective studies allow for obtaining quick and pertinent results regarding these behaviours. The present study is based on a poll designed for assessing the level of financial education and financial situation of the population, and their impact on savings and preference for various saving inst...

REMINDER: Saved Leave Scheme (SLS)

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

Transfer of leave to saved leave accounts Under the provisions of the voluntary saved leave scheme (SLS), a maximum total of 10 days'* annual and compensatory leave (excluding saved leave accumulated in accordance with the provisions of Administrative Circular No 22B) can be transferred to the saved leave account at the end of the leave year (30 September). We remind you that unused leave of all those taking part in the saved leave scheme at the closure of the leave year accounts is transferred automatically to the saved leave account on that date. Therefore, staff members have no administrative steps to take. In addition, the transfer, which eliminates the risk of omitting to request leave transfers and rules out calculation errors in transfer requests, will be clearly shown in the list of leave transactions that can be consulted in EDH from October 2003 onwards. Furthermore, this automatic leave transfer optimizes staff members' chances of benefiting from a saved leave bonus provided that they ar...

Leak Detectives Saving Money, Water in Virginia

Science.gov (United States)

“Circuit riders” from the Virginia Rural Water Association (VRWA) are traveling to small communities across the Commonwealth using special equipment financed by EPA to locate expensive and wasteful leaks in drinking water distribution systems.

Calculations of Asteroid Impacts into Deep and Shallow Water

Science.gov (United States)

Gisler, Galen; Weaver, Robert; Gittings, Michael

2011-06-01

Contrary to received opinion, ocean impacts of small (dangerous features of ocean impacts, just as for land impacts, are the atmospheric effects. We present illustrative hydrodynamic calculations of impacts into both deep and shallow seas, and draw conclusions from a parameter study in which the size of the impactor and the depth of the sea are varied independently. For vertical impacts at 20 km/s, craters in the seafloor are produced when the water depth is less than about 5-7 times the asteroid diameter. Both the depth and the diameter of the transient crater scale with the asteroid diameter, so the volume of water excavated scales with the asteroid volume. About a third of the crater volume is vaporised, because the kinetic energy per unit mass of the asteroid is much larger than the latent heat of vaporisation of water. The vaporised water carries away a considerable fraction of the impact energy in an explosively expanding blast wave which is responsible for devastating local effects and may affect worldwide climate. Of the remaining energy, a substantial portion is used in the crown splash and the rebound jet that forms as the transient crater collapses. The collapse and rebound cycle leads to a propagating wave with a wavelength considerably shorter than classical tsunamis, being only about twice the diameter of the transient crater. Propagation of this wave is hindered somewhat because its amplitude is so large that it breaks in deep water and is strongly affected by the blast wave's perturbation of the atmosphere. Even if propagation were perfect, however, the volume of water delivered per metre of shoreline is less than was delivered by the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami for any impactor smaller than 500 m diameter in an ocean of 5 km depth or less. Near-field effects are dangerous for impactors of diameter 200 m or greater; hurricane-force winds can extend tens of kilometers from the impact point, and fallout from the initial splash can be extremely violent

31 CFR 351.47 - May I purchase definitive Series EE savings bonds through a payroll savings plan?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... savings bonds through a payroll savings plan? 351.47 Section 351.47 Money and Finance: Treasury....47 May I purchase definitive Series EE savings bonds through a payroll savings plan? You may purchase... maintains a payroll savings plan. An authorized issuing agent must issue the bonds. ...

12 CFR 561.43 - Savings association.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

..., chartered under section 5 of the Act, or a building and loan, savings and loan, or homestead association, or... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Savings association. 561.43 Section 561.43... AFFECTING ALL SAVINGS ASSOCIATIONS § 561.43 Savings association. The term savings association means a...

Virtual water trade of agri-food products: Evidence from italian-chinese relations.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamastra, Lucrezia; Miglietta, Pier Paolo; Toma, Pierluigi; De Leo, Federica; Massari, Stefania

2017-12-01

At global scale, the majority of world water withdrawal is for the agricultural sector, with differences among countries depending on the relevance of agri-food sector in the economy. Virtual water and water footprint could be useful to express the impact on the water resources of each production process and good with the objective to lead to a sustainable use of water at a global level. International trade could be connected to the virtual water flows, in fact through commodities importation, water poor countries can save their own water resources. The present paper focuses on the bilateral virtual water flows connected to the top ten agri-food products traded between Italy and China. Comparing the virtual water flow related to the top 10 agri-food products, the virtual water flow from Italy to China is bigger than the water flow in the opposite direction. Moreover, the composition of virtual water flows is different; Italy imports significant amounts of grey water from China, depending on the different environmental strategies adopted by the two selected countries. This difference could be also related to the fact that traded commodities are very different; the 91% of virtual water imported by Italy is connected to crops products, while the 95% of virtual water imported by China is related to the animal products. Considering national water saving and global water saving, appears that Italy imports virtual water from China while China exerts pressure on its water resources to supply the exports to Italy. This result at global scale implies a global water loss of 129.29millionm3 because, in general, the agri-food products are traded from the area with lower water productivity to the area with the higher water productivity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Savings Behavior and Satisfaction with Savings: A Comparison of Low- and High-Income Groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Elizabeth P.; Schumm, Walter R.

1987-01-01

Data on 1,739 married couples from 13 states were analyzed. Associations between satisfaction with savings and level of savings with measures of motivation to save, motivations to spend, and family resources were found to differ substantially between low- and high-income couples. (Author/CH)

Socio-Cultural Impact of Energy Saving: Studying the Behaviour of Elementary School Students in Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sideri Lefkeli

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Education makes it possible for students to become familiar with the rational management of energy as well as learn to implement energy saving practices in their everyday life. The study of certain student characteristics helps in the direction of applying strategies of behavioural change. The aim of this research is to record the knowledge and attitudes of elementary school students in the Prefecture of Evros with regard to energy saving. The collection of research data was done through the use of a structured and anonymous questionnaire with closed questions. The method used for the collection of the research data was cluster sampling. This involved 17 elementary schools of the continental part of the prefecture. 612 questionnaires were completed by students of the 5th and 6th grade of these schools. The evaluation of the research data showed that 69.6% of the students think that the most appropriate house temperature is 20°C with 79.1% of the students keeping the thermostat switched off while the house is aired. With regard to the use of TV, stereo, play station and PC the research showed that 93.8% of the students switch off the above devices when these are not in use. In parallel, 86.6% of the respondents usually or always switch off the lights when coming out of a room and 46.2% of the students use energy saving bulbs. Also, 93% of the students recycle because they believe that doing so contributes to the protection of the environment while 41% always chooses to walk to school. With regard to the significance of reasons concerning energy saving 85.9% thinks that energy saving is important to very important for reducing environmental pollution.

31 CFR 359.35 - May I purchase definitive Series I savings bonds through a payroll savings plan?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... savings bonds through a payroll savings plan? 359.35 Section 359.35 Money and Finance: Treasury... May I purchase definitive Series I savings bonds through a payroll savings plan? You may purchase definitive bonds through deductions from your pay if your employer maintains a payroll savings plan. An...

Saving Money or Spending Tomorrow's Money

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

罗芳梅

2017-01-01

Chinese are normally believed to be thrifty.However,economic development has had a tremendous impact upon Chinese society,uprooting the long-engraved ideas.With the emergence of the credit cards,spending tomorrow's money becomes a reality.In this way,people are in dilemma:saving money or spending tomorrow's money.Firstly,this paper focuses on the benefits of spending tomorrow's money.Secondly,it shows that spending tomorrow's money is confronted with many challenges.Finally,the paper comes up with some suggestions to solve these problems.

Life-cycle savings, bequest, and a diminishing impact of scale on growth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalgaard, Carl-Johan Lars; Jensen, Martin Kaae

2009-01-01

The present paper shows that the savings motive critically affects the size and sign of scale effects in standard endogenous growth models. If the bequest motive dominates, the scale effect is positive. If the life-cycle motive dominates, the scale effect is ambiguous and may even be negative....

Water conservation quantities vs customer opinion and satisfaction with water efficient appliances in Miami, Florida.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Mengshan; Tansel, Berrin

2013-10-15

During 2006-2007, Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA, provided incentives for low income and senior residents in single family homes for retrofitting with high efficiency fixtures. The participating residences were retrofitted with high-efficiency toilets, showerheads, and aerators. In 2012, a telephone survey was conducted to evaluate the satisfaction of the participants and the associated effects on water conservation practices. This study evaluates the attitudes and opinions of the participants relative to water use efficiency measures and the actual reduction in water consumption characteristics of the participating households. The participant characteristics were analyzed to identify correlations between the socio-demographic factors, program satisfaction and actual water savings. Approximately 65.5% of the survey respondents reported changes in their water use habits and 76.6% reported noticeable reduction in their water bills. The analyses showed that the satisfaction levels of the participants were closely correlated with the actual water savings. The results also showed that satisfaction level along with water saving potential (i.e., implementation of water efficiency devices) or change of water use habits has provided positive synergistic effect on actual water savings. The majority of the participants surveyed (81.3-89.1%) reported positive attitudes for water conservation incentive program and the benefits of the high efficiency fixtures. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effectiveness of Micro-credit Programmes Focusing on Household Income, Expenditure and Savings: Evidence From Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Choudhury Haque Ariful

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper assesses the effectiveness of microfinance on household income, expenditure and savings. The survey examined those borrowers who had successfully completed at least three cycles of a loan. A household level survey (N=3000 was carried out to collect information about individuals receiving microcredit from one of the largest NGOs, ASA. The authors employed a multiple regression and discovered that the microcredit programme of ASA has a significant positive impact on household income, expenditures and savings. Moreover, the paper reveals that the level of education plays an important and statistically significant role in increasing the household income, expenditure and savings. Hence, the ASA microcredit programme has a positive impact on reducing poverty in Bangladesh and enhancing the competitiveness of deprived rural and urban households in improving their standard of living.

Accounting for the water impacts of ethanol production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fingerman, Kevin R; Torn, Margaret S; Kammen, Daniel M; O'Hare, Michael H

2010-01-01

Biofuels account for 1-2% of global transportation fuel and their share is projected to continue rising, with potentially serious consequences for water resources. However, current literature does not present sufficient spatial resolution to characterize this localized effect. We used a coupled agro-climatic and life cycle assessment model to estimate the water resource impacts of bioenergy expansion scenarios at a county-level resolution. The study focused on the case of California, with its range of agroecological conditions, water scarcity, and aggressive alternative fuel incentive policies. Life cycle water consumption for ethanol production in California is up to 1000 times that of gasoline due to a cultivation phase that consumes over 99% of life cycle water use for agricultural biofuels. This consumption varies by up to 60% among different feedstocks and by over 350% across regions in California. Rigorous policy analysis requires spatially resolved modeling of water resource impacts and careful consideration of the various metrics that might act to constrain technology and policy options.

The impact of eliminating within-country inequality in health coverage on maternal and child mortality: a Lives Saved Tool analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrienne Clermont

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Inequality in healthcare across population groups in low-income countries is a growing topic of interest in global health. The Lives Saved Tool (LiST, which uses health intervention coverage to model maternal, neonatal, and child health outcomes such as mortality rates, can be used to analyze the impact of within-country inequality. Methods Data from nationally representative household surveys (98 surveys conducted between 1998 and 2014, disaggregated by wealth quintile, were used to create a LiST analysis that models the impact of scaling up health intervention coverage for the entire country from the national average to the rate of the top wealth quintile (richest 20% of the population. Interventions for which household survey data are available were used as proxies for other interventions that are not measured in surveys, based on co-delivery of intervention packages. Results For the 98 countries included in the analysis, 24–32% of child deaths (including 34–47% of neonatal deaths and 16–19% of post-neonatal deaths could be prevented by scaling up national coverage of key health interventions to the level of the top wealth quintile. On average, the interventions with most unequal coverage rates across wealth quintiles were those related to childbirth in health facilities and to water and sanitation infrastructure; the most equally distributed were those delivered through community-based mass campaigns, such as vaccines, vitamin A supplementation, and bednet distribution. Conclusions LiST is a powerful tool for exploring the policy and programmatic implications of within-country inequality in low-income, high-mortality-burden countries. An “Equity Tool” app has been developed within the software to make this type of analysis easily accessible to users.

Risk transfer via energy-savings insurance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mills, Evan

2003-01-01

Among the key barriers to investment in energy efficiency are uncertainties about attaining projected energy savings and potential disputes over stipulated savings. The fields of energy management and risk management are thus intertwined. While many technical methods have emerged to manage performance risks (e.g. building diagnostics and commissioning), financial methods are less developed in the energy management arena than in other segments of the economy. Energy-savings insurance (ESI) - formal insurance of predicted energy savings - transfers and spreads both types of risk over a larger pool of energy efficiency projects and reduces barriers to market entry of smaller energy service firms who lack sufficiently strong balance sheets to self-insure the savings. ESI encourages those implementing energy-saving projects to go beyond standard measures and thereby achieve more significant levels of energy savings. Insurance providers are proponents of improved savings measurement and verification techniques, as well as maintenance, thereby contributing to national energy-saving objectives. If properly applied, ESI can potentially reduce the net cost of energy-saving projects by reducing the interest rates charged by lenders, and by increasing the level of savings through quality control. Governmental agencies have been pioneers in the use of ESI and could continue to play a role

Environmental impacts and sustainability of degraded water reuse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corwin, D.L.; Bradford, S.A. [USDA ARS, Riverside, CA (United States). US Salin Laboratory

2008-09-15

Greater urban demand for finite water resources to meet domestic, agricultural, industrial, and recreational needs; increased frequency of drought resulting from erratic weather; and continued degradation of available water resources from point and nonpoint sources of pollution have focused attention on the reuse of degraded waters as a potential water source. However, short- and long-term detrimental environmental impacts and sustainability of degraded water reuse are not well known or understood. These concerns led to the organization of the 2007 ASA-CSSA-SSSA Symposium entitled Environmental Impacts and Sustainability of Degraded Water Reuse. Out of this symposium came a special collection of 4 review papers and 12 technical research papers focusing on various issues associated with the reuse of agricultural drainage water, well water generated in the production of natural gas from coalbeds, municipal wastewater and biosolids, wastewater from confined animal operations, urban runoff, and food-processing wastewater. Overviews of the papers, gaps in knowledge, and future research directions are presented. The future prognosis of degraded water reuse is promising, provided close attention is paid to managing constituents that pose short- and long-term threats to the environment and the health of humankind.

12 CFR 575.10 - Acquisition and disposition of savings associations, savings and loan holding companies, and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... associations, savings and loan holding companies, and other corporations by mutual holding companies. 575.10... COMPANIES § 575.10 Acquisition and disposition of savings associations, savings and loan holding companies... savings and loan holding company in the stock form that is not a subsidiary holding company, provided the...

Cost Analysis of Water Transport for Climate Change Impact Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Szaleniec, V.; Buytaert, W.

2012-04-01

It is expected that climate change will have a strong impact on water resources worldwide. Many studies exist that couple the output of global climate models with hydrological models to assess the impact of climate change on physical water availability. However, the water resources topology of many regions and especially that of cities can be very complex. Changes in physical water availability do therefore not translate easily into impacts on water resources for cities. This is especially the case for cities with a complex water supply topology, for instance because of geographical barriers, strong gradients in precipitation patterns, or competing water uses. In this study we explore the use of cost maps to enable the inclusion of water supply topologies in climate change impact studies. We use the city of Lima as a case study. Lima is the second largest desert city in the world. Although Peru as a whole has no water shortage, extreme gradients exist. Most of the economic activities including the city of Lima are located in the coastal desert. This region is geographically disconnected from the wet Amazon basin because of the Andes mountain range. Hence, water supply is precarious, provided by a complex combination of high mountain ecosystems including wetlands and glaciers, as well as groundwater aquifers depending on recharge from the mountains. We investigate the feasibility and costs of different water abstraction scenarios and the impact of climate change using cost functions for different resources. The option of building inter basins tunnels across the Andes is compared to the costs of desalinating seawater from the Pacific Ocean under different climate change scenarios and population growth scenarios. This approach yields recommendations for the most cost-effective options for the future.

The Monetary Policy of the NBU and its Impact on the Placement of Households’ Savings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Perepolkina Olena О.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The article researches the efficiency of implementation of monetary policy in Ukraine in the context of determining the optimal ways to place households’ savings. The prospects of making deposits in both national and foreign currency as the most common directions of savings placement are considered. The research has identified that the main risks in the placement of savings by households as deposits in the national currency are the likelihood of bankruptcy of financial institutions, imperfection of the functioning of deposit guarantee system, inflationary fluctuations, and devaluation processes of the national monetary unit. Significant deterrents to the placement of foreign currency deposits are low interest rates, a large number of restrictions in the currency regulation, and a general low level of trust in the banking system. The directions of increasing the efficiency of monetary policy are proposed, that not only will increase the attractiveness of deposits for households, but also will create the basis for macroeconomic stabilization in Ukraine.

Impact of gari consumption on the water resource of Nigeria | Adeoti ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

household level (blue water use), while water pollution impacts during processing and consumption (at households) are neglected. Using the 2007 cassava production estimates for Nigeria as baseline, the water impact related to the consumption of gari either as snack or as “eba” (gari reconstituted with hot water to form a ...

Impact analysis of a water storage tank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jhung, Myung Jo; Jo, Jong Chull; Jeong, Sang Jin

2006-01-01

This study investigates the dynamic response characteristics of a structure impacted by a high speed projectile. The impact of a 300 kg projectile on a water storage tank is simulated by the general purpose computer codes ANSYS and LS-DYNA. Several methods to simulate the impact are considered and their results are compared. Based upon this, an alternative impact analysis method that equivalent to an explicit dynamic analysis is proposed. The effect of fluid on the responses of the tank is also addressed

Predicted Versus Actual Savings for a Low-Rise Multifamily Retrofit in Boulder, Colorado

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arena, L. [Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB), Norwalk, CT (United States); Williamson, J. [Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB), Norwalk, CT (United States)

2013-11-01

To determine the most cost-effective methods of improving buildings, accurate analysis and prediction of the energy use of existing buildings is essential. However, multiple studies confirm that analysis methods tend to over-predict energy use in poorly insulated, leaky homes and thus, the savings associated with improving those homes. In this project, the Building America CARB team evaluated the retrofit of a multifamily building in Boulder, CO. The updated property is a 37 unit, 2 story apartment complex built in 1950, which underwent renovations in early 2009 to bring it into compliance with Boulder, CO's SmartRegs ordinance. Goals of the study were to: 1) evaluate predicted versus actual savings due to the improvements, 2) identify areas where the modeling assumptions may need to be changed, and 3) determine common changes made by renters that would negatively impact energy savings. Other issues that were investigated include the effects of improving building efficiency on tenant comfort, the impact on tenant turnover rates, and the potential market barriers for this type of community scale project.

Water Conservation Study, Ft. Drum, New York, Watertown, New York

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1996-01-01

The purpose of this water conservation study is to conduct a limited site survey and evaluate energy use and savings, estimate construction costs and water savings and provide a cost to savings ratio...

Water Conservation Study, Ft. Drum, New York, Watertown, New York

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1996-01-01

The purpose of this water conservation study is to conduct a limited site survey and evaluate energy use and savings, estimate construction costs and water savings and provide a cost-to-savings ratio...

Entrepreneurial Saving Practices and Reinvestment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beck, Thorsten; Pamuk, Haki; Uras, Burak R.

2017-01-01

We use a novel enterprise survey to gauge the relationship between saving instruments and entrepreneurial reinvestment. We show that while most informal saving practices are not associated with a lower likelihood of reinvestment when compared with formal saving practices, there is a significantly

Risk transfer via energy savings insurance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mills, Evan

2001-10-01

Among the key barriers to investment in energy efficiency improvements are uncertainties about attaining projected energy savings and apprehension about potential disputes over these savings. The fields of energy management and risk management are thus intertwined. While many technical methods have emerged to manage performance risks (e.g. building commissioning), financial risk transfer techniques are less developed in the energy management arena than in other more mature segments of the economy. Energy Savings Insurance (ESI) - formal insurance of predicted energy savings - is one method of transferring financial risks away from the facility owner or energy services contractor. ESI offers a number of significant advantages over other forms of financial risk transfer, e.g. savings guarantees or performance bonds. ESI providers manage risk via pre-construction design review as well as post-construction commissioning and measurement and verification of savings. We found that the two mos t common criticisms of ESI - excessive pricing and onerous exclusions - are not born out in practice. In fact, if properly applied, ESI can potentially reduce the net cost of energy savings projects by reducing the interest rates charged by lenders, and by increasing the level of savings through quality control. Debt service can also be ensured by matching loan payments to projected energy savings while designing the insurance mechanism so that payments are made by the insurer in the event of a savings shortfall. We estimate the U.S. ESI market potential of $875 million/year in premium income. From an energy-policy perspective, ESI offers a number of potential benefits: ESI transfers performance risk from the balance sheet of the entity implementing the energy savings project, thereby freeing up capital otherwise needed to ''self-insure'' the savings. ESI reduces barriers to market entry of smaller energy services firms who do not have sufficiently strong balance

Water-saving ground cover rice production system reduces net greenhouse gas fluxes in an annual rice-based cropping system

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Z.; Du, Y.; Tao, Y.; Zheng, X.; Liu, C.; Lin, S.; Butterbach-Bahl, K.

2014-11-01

To safeguard food security and preserve precious water resources, the technology of water-saving ground cover rice production system (GCRPS) is being increasingly adopted for rice cultivation. However, changes in soil water status and temperature under GCRPS may affect soil biogeochemical processes that control the biosphere-atmosphere exchanges of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The overall goal of this study is to better understand how net ecosystem greenhouse gas exchanges (NEGE) and grain yields are affected by GCRPS in an annual rice-based cropping system. Our evaluation was based on measurements of the CH4 and N2O fluxes and soil heterotrophic respiration (CO2 emissions) over a complete year, and the estimated soil carbon sequestration intensity for six different fertilizer treatments for conventional paddy and GCRPS. The fertilizer treatments included urea application and no N fertilization for both conventional paddy (CUN and CNN) and GCRPS (GUN and GNN), and solely chicken manure (GCM) and combined urea and chicken manure applications (GUM) for GCRPS. Averaging across all the fertilizer treatments, GCRPS increased annual N2O emission and grain yield by 40 and 9%, respectively, and decreased annual CH4 emission by 69%, while GCRPS did not affect soil CO2 emissions relative to the conventional paddy. The annual direct emission factors of N2O were 4.01, 0.09 and 0.50% for GUN, GCM and GUM, respectively, and 1.52% for the conventional paddy (CUN). The annual soil carbon sequestration intensity under GCRPS was estimated to be an average of -1.33 Mg C ha-1 yr-1, which is approximately 44% higher than the conventional paddy. The annual NEGE were 10.80-11.02 Mg CO2-eq ha-1 yr-1 for the conventional paddy and 3.05-9.37 Mg CO2-eq ha-1 yr-1 for the GCRPS, suggesting the potential feasibility of GCRPS in reducing net greenhouse effects from rice cultivation. Using organic fertilizers for GCRPS considerably reduced annual emissions of CH4

The Time-Saving Bias in a Firm

OpenAIRE

Zíka, Vojtěch

2015-01-01

The time-saving bias is a cognitive error which systematically influences human perception of relationship between speed and time. As a consequence they overestimate time gained/lost when accelerating/decelerating from higher speed and underestimate time gained/lost when accelerating/decelerating from lower speed. This bias is most salient in the context of a car driving where such a misperception might lead to an excessively high travelling speed. Apart from the impact on the driving safety,...

Subjective discount rates in the general population and their predictive power for energy saving behavior

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruderer Enzler, Heidi; Diekmann, Andreas; Meyer, Reto

2014-01-01

Why do people sometimes refrain from saving energy even if it would pay off in monetary terms? Subjective discount rates present one possible explanation for this lack of foresight, but little is known about their level and reliability in the general population. With regard to behavior, persons with lower discount rates are expected to accept additional costs upfront more readily than those with higher discount rates. Based on a representative nation-wide study, the Swiss Environmental Survey 2007, and a follow-up survey, our analyses reveal that on average subjective discount rates are well above market interest rates and moderately stable over a time interval of four years. Income and education are negatively correlated with discount rates. Contrary to expectations, we did not find convincing support for an impact of discount rates on energy saving behavior. - Highlights: • Results of a large panel study in Switzerland. • Mean subjective discount rates in population are well above market interest rates. • Subjective discount rates are moderately stable over four years. • Theory suggests impact of subjective discount rates on energy saving behavior. • However, subjective discount rates do not contribute to explanation of energy saving behavior

The influence of multiple goals on driving behavior: the case of safety, time saving, and fuel saving.

Science.gov (United States)

Dogan, Ebru; Steg, Linda; Delhomme, Patricia

2011-09-01

Due to the innate complexity of the task drivers have to manage multiple goals while driving and the importance of certain goals may vary over time leading to priority being given to different goals depending on the circumstances. This study aimed to investigate drivers' behavioral regulation while managing multiple goals during driving. To do so participants drove on urban and rural roads in a driving simulator while trying to manage fuel saving and time saving goals, besides the safety goals that are always present during driving. A between-subjects design was used with one group of drivers managing two goals (safety and fuel saving) and another group managing three goals (safety, fuel saving, and time saving) while driving. Participants were provided continuous feedback on the fuel saving goal via a meter on the dashboard. The results indicate that even when a fuel saving or time saving goal is salient, safety goals are still given highest priority when interactions with other road users take place and when interacting with a traffic light. Additionally, performance on the fuel saving goal diminished for the group that had to manage fuel saving and time saving together. The theoretical implications for a goal hierarchy in driving tasks and practical implications for eco-driving are discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improved Water Safety Standards May Save Lives.

Science.gov (United States)

Crowder, Bland

1982-01-01

Computer analysis of over 9,000 records of drownings and near-drownings revealed trends in water accidents. Information derived from this on-going Texas study is used as a predictive tool to help prevent drownings. For example, records of blood tests performed on water-related accident victims revealed that alcohol is a frequent culprit.…

On the methodological approaches to the study of saving behavior of the population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galina Vadimovna Belekhova

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The task to ensure effective functioning of all systems in the society and sustainable economic growth requires significant amounts of investment resources, which include savings of the population. This involves identification of the amount of funds accumulated by the population and studies of the characteristics of its saving behavior. The article reveals advantages and disadvantages of the main methodological approaches to the research in saving behavior and gives a comparative analysis of methods on the basis of official statistical information. As for Russia income is a key factor in saving behavior, the article also addresses the problem of assessing the degree of income differentiation of saving behavior. For this purpose we have used a method of household budgets sample surveys on the basis of which we have calculated and analyzed key performance indicators of savings behavior of households, including in the context of groups with different income levels. Unlike previous works on the topic, our study uses available resources (not money income as a basis for the calculation of saving behavior indicators, as they more fully characterize funds of low-income households, which are mostly represented in the budget surveys sample. The performed analysis has helped identify that the degree of the population’s savings differentiation does not yield to the incomes differentiation, and the highest levels of savings and used financial assets belong to the well-to-do group. What is more, the growth in per capita income has not encouraged the poor to save. Thus, in contrast to the well-to-do, increasing the volume of savings in the cost structure, poorer groups direct the major part of funds for consumer needs and different payments. Thus, the share of savings in the overall structure of their income remains practically unchanged. The conclusion emphasizes that sociological methods can be used to study qualitative changes in saving behavior and

Saving-enhanced memory: the benefits of saving on the learning and remembering of new information.

Science.gov (United States)

Storm, Benjamin C; Stone, Sean M

2015-02-01

With the continued integration of technology into people's lives, saving digital information has become an everyday facet of human behavior. In the present research, we examined the consequences of saving certain information on the ability to learn and remember other information. Results from three experiments showed that saving one file before studying a new file significantly improved memory for the contents of the new file. Notably, this effect was not observed when the saving process was deemed unreliable or when the contents of the to-be-saved file were not substantial enough to interfere with memory for the new file. These results suggest that saving provides a means to strategically off-load memory onto the environment in order to reduce the extent to which currently unneeded to-be-remembered information interferes with the learning and remembering of other information. © The Author(s) 2014.

Group Home Energy Efficiency Retrofit for 30% Energy Savings: Washington, D.C. (Fact Sheet)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None, None

2013-11-01

Energy efficiency retrofits (EERs) face many challenges on the path to scalability. Limited budgets, cost effectiveness, risk factors, and accessibility impact the type and the extent of measures that can be implemented feasibly to achieve energy savings goals. Group home retrofits can face additional challenges than those in single family homes - such as reduced access (occupant-in-place restrictions) and lack of incentives for occupant behavioral change. This project studies the specification, implementation, and energy savings from an EER in a group home, with an energy savings goal of 30%. This short term test report chronicles the retrofit measures specified, their projected cost-effectiveness using building energy simulations, and the short term test results that were used to characterize pre-retrofit and post-retrofit conditions. Additionally, the final report for the project will include analysis of pre- and post-retrofit performance data on whole building energy use, and an assessment of the energy impact of occupant interface with the building (i.e., window operation). Ultimately, the study's results will be used to identify cost effective EER measures that can be implemented in group homes, given constraints that are characteristic of these buildings. Results will also point towards opportunities for future energy savings.

Enhancing Resilience to Water-Related Impacts of Climate Change ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Enhancing Resilience to Water-Related Impacts of Climate Change in Uganda's ... technologies (ICTs) can be used to help communities address water stress. ... This work will support the Uganda Ministry of Water and Environment's efforts to ...

The impact of rate design and net metering on the bill savings from distributed PV for residential customers in California

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darghouth, Naim R.; Barbose, Galen; Wiser, Ryan

2011-01-01

Net metering has become a widespread mechanism in the U.S. for supporting customer adoption of distributed photovoltaics (PV), but has faced challenges as PV installations grow to a larger share of generation in a number of states. This paper examines the value of the bill savings that customers receive under net metering, and the associated role of retail rate design, based on a sample of approximately two hundred residential customers of California's two largest electric utilities. We find that the bill savings per kWh of PV electricity generated varies by more than a factor of four across the customers in the sample, which is largely attributable to the inclining block structure of the utilities' residential retail rates. We also compare the bill savings under net metering to that received under three potential alternative compensation mechanisms, based on California's Market Price Referent (MPR). We find that net metering provides significantly greater bill savings than a full MPR-based feed-in tariff, but only modestly greater savings than alternative mechanisms under which hourly or monthly net excess generation is compensated at the MPR rate. - Highlights: → We examine the value of bill savings under net metering to PV owners in California. → Bill savings per kWh of PV generation varies by a factor of four with net metering. The variation is attributable to rate design, the unique inclining block structure. → The median value of bill savings is reduced by 40-67% with MPR feed-in tariff. → The median value of bill savings is reduced by 6-12% with hourly netting.

Management of energy-save and environment on the boiler system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishiyama, Toru; Asano, Naoki; Kawasaki, Ichio

2010-02-01

Tokai Utility Center (TUC) is the facility that products and feeds steam for Tokai Reprocessing Plant (TRP), Plutonium Fuel Production Facility (PFPF), etc. The boiler system needs the management based on the law of 'Industrial safety and Health Act' and 'Act on the Regulation of Nuclear Source Material, Nuclear Fuel Material and Reactors'. In this situation, activity of preservation of environment and energy-save are carried out by means of the improvement of steam generation process and the change of additive to water. Quality assurance procedure has been applied in order to improve the boiler operation continuously. This report describes about various activities of the management, the environment, the energy-saving, and a future action. (author)

Social Capital and Savings Behavior

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Newman, Carol; Tarp, Finn; Khai, Luu Duc

In this paper, we analyze household savings in rural Vietnam paying particular attention to the factors that determine the proportion of savings held as formal deposits. Our aim is to explore the extent to which social capital can play a role in promoting formal savings behavior. Social capital...

Energy savings in CSFR - building sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobsen, F.R.

1993-01-01

The Czechoslovak/Danish project on energy savings in buildings proves that it is possible to save up to 30% of the energy in buildings. 10% can be saved at an investment of 27 bill KCS. The total investment that is needed to save 30% is 140 bill KCS. Further energy savings can be obtained through more energy efficient supply systems. Information dissemination is important for the energy saving programme as are economic incentives. Investments in energy savings should be profitable for the investor, but this is not the case in the Czech and Slovak republics today. Changes are needed. Energy prices are still to low, compared to investment costs. Financial possibilities are not satisfactory for private investors. Price systems are not favourable to investment in energy savings. Training is needed for boiler men and energy consultants. Legislation is essential for the support of the full range of activities in the energy sector. Research and Development activities must back up the development of the sector. Pilot projects can illuminate the savings potential. The production of technical equipment for control and metering and production of insulation materials must be promoted. (AB)

Use of cooling ponds and hydraulic turbines to save SRP energy consumption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, J.B.

1980-01-01

A substantial amount of energy can be saved by using cooling ponds to supply C and K reactors with cooling water. Hydraulic turbines between the reactor and the cooling pond can recover some of the power used to pump cooling water to the reactors. Cooling ponds would also reduce effluent temperature in the swamps adjacent to the Savannah River. Cooling ponds are evaluated in this memorandum

Impact of urban sprawl on water quality in eastern Massachusetts, USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Jun; Xia, Zong-Guo; Clarke, Keith C; Frei, Allan

2007-08-01

A study of water quality, land use, and population variations over the past three decades was conducted in eastern Massachusetts to examine the impact of urban sprawl on water quality using geographic information system and statistical analyses. Since 1970, eastern Massachusetts has experienced pronounced urban sprawl, which has a substantial impact on water quality. High spatial correlations are found between water quality indicators (especially specific conductance, dissolved ions, including Ca, Mg, Na, and Cl, and dissolved solid) and urban sprawl indicators. Urbanized watersheds with high population density, high percentage of developed land use, and low per capita developed land use tended to have high concentrations of water pollutants. The impact of urban sprawl also shows clear spatial difference between suburban areas and central cities: The central cities experienced lower increases over time in specific conductance concentration, compared to suburban and rural areas. The impact of urban sprawl on water quality is attributed to the combined effects of population and land-use change. Per capita developed land use is a very important indicator for studying the impact of urban sprawl and improving land use and watershed management, because inclusion of this indicator can better explain the temporal and spatial variations of more water quality parameters than using individual land use or/and population density.

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.

The methodology for the evaluation of the energy saving by the daylight saving time in Mexico; Metodologia para la evaluacion del ahorro de energia debido al cambio de horario durante la epoca del verano

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramos Niembro, Gaudencio [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Cuernavaca (Mexico)

1996-12-31

A description is made of the methodology for the evaluation of energy saving by the daylight saving time in Mexico. A mathematical model was developed that would allow the quantitative evaluation of the energy saving by the daylight saving time, through measurements of the consumption of different users from the domestic commercial and industrial sector, considering the various variables that impact the consumption [Espanol] Se describe la metodologia para la evalucion del ahorro de energia por el cambio de horario de verano en Mexico. Se desarrollo un modelo matematico que permitiera evaluar cuantitativamente el ahorro de energia debido al cambio de horario durante la epoca de verano, atraves de mediciones de consumos de los diferentes usuarios de los sectores domestico, comercial e industrial, considerando las diversas variables que impactan en el consumo

The methodology for the evaluation of the energy saving by the daylight saving time in Mexico; Metodologia para la evaluacion del ahorro de energia debido al cambio de horario durante la epoca del verano

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramos Niembro, Gaudencio [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Cuernavaca (Mexico)

1997-12-31

A description is made of the methodology for the evaluation of energy saving by the daylight saving time in Mexico. A mathematical model was developed that would allow the quantitative evaluation of the energy saving by the daylight saving time, through measurements of the consumption of different users from the domestic commercial and industrial sector, considering the various variables that impact the consumption [Espanol] Se describe la metodologia para la evalucion del ahorro de energia por el cambio de horario de verano en Mexico. Se desarrollo un modelo matematico que permitiera evaluar cuantitativamente el ahorro de energia debido al cambio de horario durante la epoca de verano, atraves de mediciones de consumos de los diferentes usuarios de los sectores domestico, comercial e industrial, considerando las diversas variables que impactan en el consumo

Hydrological impacts of global land cover change and human water use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. H. C. Bosmans

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Human impacts on global terrestrial hydrology have been accelerating during the 20th century. These human impacts include the effects of reservoir building and human water use, as well as land cover change. To date, many global studies have focussed on human water use, but only a few focus on or include the impact of land cover change. Here we use PCR-GLOBWB, a combined global hydrological and water resources model, to assess the impacts of land cover change as well as human water use globally in different climatic zones. Our results show that land cover change has a strong effect on the global hydrological cycle, on the same order of magnitude as the effect of human water use (applying irrigation, abstracting water, for industrial use for example, including reservoirs, etc.. When globally averaged, changing the land cover from that of 1850 to that of 2000 increases discharge through reduced evapotranspiration. The effect of land cover change shows large spatial variability in magnitude and sign of change depending on, for example, the specific land cover change and climate zone. Overall, land cover effects on evapotranspiration are largest for the transition of tall natural vegetation to crops in energy-limited equatorial and warm temperate regions. In contrast, the inclusion of irrigation, water abstraction and reservoirs reduces global discharge through enhanced evaporation over irrigated areas and reservoirs as well as through water consumption. Hence, in some areas land cover change and water distribution both reduce discharge, while in other areas the effects may partly cancel out. The relative importance of both types of impacts varies spatially across climatic zones. From this study we conclude that land cover change needs to be considered when studying anthropogenic impacts on water resources.

Life cycle environmental impacts of domestic solar water heaters in Turkey: The effect of different climatic regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Uctug, Fehmi Gorkem; Azapagic, Adisa

2018-05-01

Solar water heating (SWH) systems could help reduce environmental impacts from energy use but their performance and impacts depend on the climate. This paper considers how these vary for residential SWH across four different climatic regions in Turkey, ranging from hot to cold climates. Life cycle assessment was used for these purposes. The results suggest that in the hotter regions, the impacts of SWH are 1.5-2 times lower than those of natural gas boilers. A similar trend was observed in the two colder regions except for acidification, which was four times higher than that of the boiler. The raw materials and electricity required for the manufacturing of the systems were found to be the most important contributors to the impacts. Recycling the major components instead of landfilling reduced human toxicity potential by 50% but had only a small effect (5%) on the other impacts. The impacts were highly sensitive to the type of material used for the construction of the hot storage tank, but were not affected by transport and end-of life recycling. The only exception to the latter is human toxicity potential which decreased significantly with greater recycling. Extrapolating the results at the national level showed that SWH systems could reduce the annual greenhouse gas emissions in Turkey by 790kt CO 2 -eq. and would save the economy $162.5millionperyear through the avoided imports of natural gas. All other impacts would also be reduced significantly (3-32 times), except for acidification which would double. Therefore, SWH systems should be deployed more extensively in Turkey but government incentives may be needed to stimulate the uptake. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Potential opportunities for energy savings in a Jordanian poultry company

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

AlQdah, K.

2010-01-01

Rising concern about energy resource availability and energy prices in Jordan, cost of energy has become an issue that cannot be ignored in Jordan's industrial sector. In this study, energy auditing in a meat production factory related to poultry company was carried out. Based on the collected data and the conservation laws of energy, the performance of steam boilers, domestic hot water boilers, compressors, refrigeration systems, chillers, pumps, daily consumption of diesel and water were reviewed. The percentage of energy consumed by the refrigeration units, with respect to the total energy consumed, has been estimated. The results demonstrated a normal operation with thermal efficiency of 80.66% for the steam boiler, ability to save 18818.99 JD by installing economizer with payback period of 0.637 year and a 12.3% reduction of the energy cost achieved by reducing the blow down rate. The rate of diesel consumption was reduced by 12.87% over the last period of the study as a result of the recommendations that have been submitted to the technicians and professionals. The sum of 22223.77 JD can be saved by using heavy fuel oil instead of diesel oil. Moreover, this study demonstrated that energy saving can be considered as an ideal choice to increase profit and promote competition within the poultry industry if the company adopts all the proposals and recommendations that have been offered by this study.

Anthropogenic impacts on the water quality of Aba River, southeast ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Anthropogenic impacts on the water quality of Aba River, southeast Nigeria. ... Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management ... of Aba River, southeast Nigeria was studied in four stations from November 2014 to August 2015 to identify the major anthropogenic activities and their impact on the water quality.

The Program Administrator Cost of Saved Energy for Utility Customer-Funded Energy Efficiency Programs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Billingsley, Megan A.; Hoffman, Ian M.; Stuart, Elizabeth; Schiller, Steven R.; Goldman, Charles A.; LaCommare, Kristina

2014-03-19

End-use energy efficiency is increasingly being relied upon as a resource for meeting electricity and natural gas utility system needs within the United States. There is a direct connection between the maturation of energy efficiency as a resource and the need for consistent, high-quality data and reporting of efficiency program costs and impacts. To support this effort, LBNL initiated the Cost of Saved Energy Project (CSE Project) and created a Demand-Side Management (DSM) Program Impacts Database to provide a resource for policy makers, regulators, and the efficiency industry as a whole. This study is the first technical report of the LBNL CSE Project and provides an overview of the project scope, approach, and initial findings, including: • Providing a proof of concept that the program-level cost and savings data can be collected, organized, and analyzed in a systematic fashion; • Presenting initial program, sector, and portfolio level results for the program administrator CSE for a recent time period (2009-2011); and • Encouraging state and regional entities to establish common reporting definitions and formats that would make the collection and comparison of CSE data more reliable. The LBNL DSM Program Impacts Database includes the program results reported to state regulators by more than 100 program administrators in 31 states, primarily for the years 2009–2011. In total, we have compiled cost and energy savings data on more than 1,700 programs over one or more program-years for a total of more than 4,000 program-years’ worth of data, providing a rich dataset for analyses. We use the information to report costs-per-unit of electricity and natural gas savings for utility customer-funded, end-use energy efficiency programs. The program administrator CSE values are presented at national, state, and regional levels by market sector (e.g., commercial, industrial, residential) and by program type (e.g., residential whole home programs, commercial new

Don't pay taxes, save your money!

OpenAIRE

Bradáč, Michal

2011-01-01

Bachelor thesis "Don't Pay Taxes, Save Your Money!" focuses on the impact of the existence of tax havens on private and public sector. On the theoretical level, it shows the attractivity of tax havens for sufficiently large firms that can afford to pay costs of tax planning and profit manipulations. On the empirical level, it shows that tax havens are really the most successful jurisdictions in attracting foreign investors. In the end, two models of tax competition are introduced in order to ...

Water Conservation Study. U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK) Fort Richardson, Alaska

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1995-01-01

.... The purpose of this water conservation study is to conduct a limited site survey and evaluate energy use and savings, estimate construction costs and water savings and provide a cost-to-savings ratio...

Water Conservation Study, U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK), Ft. Richardson, Alaska

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1995-01-01

The purpose of this water conservation study is to conduct a limited site survey and evaluate energy use and savings, estimate construction costs and water savings and provide a cost-to-savings ratio...

Investigation of water entry impact forces on airborne-launched AUVs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duo Qi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Airborne-launched AUVs withstand great fluid impact force at the early stage when entering the water, which may cause damage to their structure and inner components in severe cases. Due to their large volume and mass, the major challenge involved in conducting experiments to measure the water entry impacts on real-life AUVs is the high demand for the experimental devices, finding a suitable site, and the cost of the experiments. Using a gas gun as launching device, water entry experiments using a full-size AUV model are conducted under various conditions. The axial and radial force changes that occur during the water entry process are obtained, and some accompanied phenomena such as cavitation and turnover under different water entry conditions are observed. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD is used to simulate the water entry process of airborne-launched AUVs. The simulation results fit well with the experimental data, the latter of which show that both the water entry velocity and entry angle have a great influence on the impact load during the water entry process. These data can provide valuable reference information for AUV structure design and launch condition selection.

Energy Savings Measure Packages. Existing Homes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Casey, Sean [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Booten, Chuck [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2011-11-01

This document presents the most cost effective Energy Savings Measure Packages (ESMP) for existing mixed-fuel and all electric homes to achieve 15% and 30% savings for each BetterBuildings grantee location across the United States. These packages are optimized for minimum cost to homeowners for source energy savings given the local climate and prevalent building characteristics (i.e. foundation types). Maximum cost savings are typically found between 30% and 50% energy savings over the reference home; this typically amounts to $300 - $700/year.

Primary energy savings using heat storage for biomass heating systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitrović Dejan M.

2012-01-01

Full Text Available District heating is an efficient way to provide heat to residential, tertiary and industrial users. The heat storage unit is an insulated water tank that absorbs surplus heat from the boiler. The stored heat in the heat storage unit makes it possible to heat even when the boiler is not working, thus increasing the heating efficiency. In order to save primary energy (fuel, the boiler operates on nominal load every time it is in operation (for the purpose of this research. The aim of this paper is to analyze the water temperature variation in the heat storage, depending on the heat load and the heat storage volume. Heat load is calculated for three reference days, with average daily temperatures from -5 to 5°C. The primary energy savings are also calculated for those days in the case of using heat storage in district heating.[Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 33051: The concept of sustainable energy supply of settlements with energy efficient buildings

SAVING BEHAVIOUR AND DETERMINANTS OF SAVING MOBILIZATION BY RURAL FINANCIAL CO-OPERATORS IN TIGRAI REGION, ETHIOPIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebhatu Kifle Tesfamariam

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper identified and examined saving behaviour and determinants of saving mobiliza-tion by the rural co-operators in Southern Tigrai Ethiopia. The input for the study was ob-tained from randomly selected 120 rural household savers from six purposively selected ru-ral savings and credit cooperatives. The result of the study using least squares method showed that savings mobilized is determined by household annual income, amount of loan borrowed and year of member stay in the cooperative. These factors therefore have to be considered in designing strategies aimed at improving the saving mobilization of coopera-tive members in the study area. Besides, economically feasible cooperative societies in the region should be encouraged among the rural households by supporting them with revolv-ing funds as they are more effective and efficient in mobilizing rural savings and provide collateral plus guarantor-based loans with low default rate. This will enable them to boost up their production output and increase their savings thereby stimulating the rural economy.

Modeling Stochastic Energy and Water Consumption to Manage Residential Water Uses

Science.gov (United States)

Abdallah, A. M.; Rosenberg, D. E.; Water; Energy Conservation

2011-12-01

Water energy linkages have received growing attention from the water and energy utilities as utilities recognize that collaborative efforts can implement more effective conservation and efficiency improvement programs at lower cost with less effort. To date, limited energy-water household data has allowed only deterministic analysis for average, representative households and required coarse assumptions - like the water heater (the primary energy use in a home apart from heating and cooling) be a single end use. Here, we use recent available disaggregated hot and cold water household end-use data to estimate water and energy consumption for toilet, shower, faucet, dishwasher, laundry machine, leaks, and other household uses and savings from appliance retrofits. The disaggregated hot water and bulk water end-use data was previously collected by the USEPA for 96 single family households in Seattle WA and Oakland CA, and Tampa FL between the period from 2000 and 2003 for two weeks before and four weeks after each household was retrofitted with water efficient appliances. Using the disaggregated data, we developed a stochastic model that represents factors that influence water use for each appliance: behavioral (use frequency and duration), demographical (household size), and technological (use volume or flowrate). We also include stochastic factors that govern energy to heat hot water: hot water fraction (percentage of hot water volume to total water volume used in a certain end-use event), heater water intake and dispense temperatures, and energy source for the heater (gas, electric, etc). From the empirical household end-use data, we derive stochastic probability distributions for each water and energy factor where each distribution represents the range and likelihood of values that the factor may take. The uncertainty of the stochastic water and energy factors is propagated using Monte Carlo simulations to calculate the composite probability distribution for water