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Boosting the Performance of RTUs
Converting to Single-Zone VAV
April 13, 2012
Several new retrofit devices are available for single-zone RTU air conditioners, with at least one device demonstrating demand savings of 41 percent and annual energy savings of 52 percent. This video Tech Brief describes how these devices can also monitor unit performance, enabling additional savings. ...
Content type: Tech Brief | Document ID: EMN-TB-2 | Author: Peter Criscione
Hybrid Ground-Source Heat Pumps
March 20, 2012
Ground-source heat pumps are often prohibitively expensive because they're sized to meet the peak heating or cooling loads for commercial buildings. This video Tech Brief explains how hybrid models downsize the ground heat exchanger and use small supplemental cooling towers or boilers to meet peak load. ...
Content type: Tech Brief | Document ID: EMN-TB-1 | Author: Mary Horsey
The Pros and Cons of Induction Lighting
March 15, 2012
What is induction lighting, how does it compare to other light sources, and what are the best applications for it?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: CEMC-AskES-16 | Author: Ira Krepchin
What Can ISO 50001 Do for You?
February 28, 2012
The release of a new international energy management standard—ISO 50001—has ramifications for commercial and industrial businesses across North America.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: CEMC-RB-4 | Author: Essie Snell
Making Backup Generators Pay Back
January 26, 2012
What are the costs associated with natural gas and diesel backup generators for commercial applications? Under what conditions can we expect a reasonable payback on that investment?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: CEMC-AskES-14 | Author: Bryan Jungers
Driving Efficiency Action at the Facility Level
December 21, 2011
What are some best practices developed by corporate energy managers to encourage their facility managers to improve the energy performance of their buildings?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: CEMC-AskES-12 | Author: Mary Horsey
Saving Energy in Server Closets
January 6, 2011
What are some good strategies for reducing energy consumption in server closets?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: CEMC-AskES-9 | Author: Essie Snell
Deploying UV Light in HVAC Ducts to Stop H1N1 and Other Diseases
October 22, 2009
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science projected that H1N1 flu might cause up to 90,000 deaths this season. Is deploying ultraviolet (UV) lights in HVAC supply air ducts a useful tool to reduce the spread of the virus in office buildings, and does UV deliver other benefits?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: TAS-TN-11-09e | Author: Joe Shekiro
Lighting Maintenance
November 30, 2008
All lighting systems experience a decrease in light output and efficiency over time—lamp light output decreases, dirt accumulates on fixtures, lamps burn out, and control systems drift out of spec or are overridden by occupants.
Content type: Resource Guide | Document ID: CEMC-RG-5 | Author: Ira Krepchin
Serving Up Power to Data Centers
November 1, 2006
Data centers are the backbone of information storage, processing, and communication in several industries. Data centers that support Internet and other IT companies are huge facilities with great needs for electricity to operate banks of servers and the air conditioning that cools their electronic equipment. ...
Content type: Core Report | Document ID: ER-06-14 | Author: Christie Rewey
Network Power Management Software: Saving Energy by Remote Control
November 1, 2004
Office computers in the U.S. account for about 9 percent of electricity consumption in the commercial sector. Much of this energy is wasted, because many computer users disable or fail to activate the power management features of their PCs. Verdiem Corp. has been developing and refining a software product ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: ER-04-15 | Author: Dan Greenberg
Energy Savings in Casinos
March 31, 2004
We serve three land-based casinos, and they are all asking for some help controlling their energy costs. Do you have any suggestions for energy-efficiency opportunities in casinos?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: TAS-TN-3-04c | Author: Peter Criscione
Networked Building Control Enhances Demand Responsiveness
July 1, 2003
Because the building controls industry is beginning to blend with the world of information technology, newer systems connected to a corporate local area network or to the Internet now give facility managers valuable remote control capabilities. Network-based control also enables them to cost-effectively ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: ER-03-10 | Author: Rachel Reiss
Maintenance Options for Distributed Generation
October 1, 2002
For distributed generation to gain wide popularity, the equipment must provide high availability with relatively low operation and maintenance costs, and developers must be able to accurately predict those costs. Currently, there is a lack of accurate data available on maintenance costs associated with ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: DE-20 | Author: Ken Wicker
Solving Single-Phase Harmonic Problems: Limiting Harmonics with Harmonics Limited
July 1, 2002
The growing numbers of single-phase electronic end uses that populate our commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities have brought a growing problem to the electrical distribution systems of those facilities: harmonic currents. Harmonics can overheat transformers, overload neutrals, and disrupt ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: ER-02-11 | Author: Dan Greenberg
Utilities Target HVAC Maintenance to Shave Peak Load
May 1, 2002
What happens when utilities, HVAC companies, and designers of efficiency-testing hardware and software cooperate to troubleshoot HVAC systems for residential and light commercial customers? Two programs, CheckMe! and eScan, are operating in California, Georgia, and elsewhere. One program has gathered ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: ER-02-07 | Author: Steve Leinweber
Taking the Harm Out of Harmonics: The Niche for Harmonic Mitigating Transformers
September 1, 2001
Harmonic mitigating transformers (HMTs) are a relatively new class of power quality products designed to attenuate harmonic currents at or near their source, preventing them from propagating throughout a building’s distribution system. Although cases where harmonics pose serious problems are atypical, ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: ER-01-15 | Author: Dan Greenberg
Addendum to ER-01-15: A Primer on Harmonics
September 1, 2001
Harmonic mitigating transformers (HMTs) are a relatively new class of power quality products designed to attenuate harmonic currents at or near their source, preventing them from propagating throughout a building’s distribution system. Although cases where harmonics pose serious problems are atypical, ...
Content type: Core Report | Document ID: ER-01-15ADD | Author: Dan Greenberg
Aeroseal: Sealing Ducts from the Inside Out
November 1, 1999
More than 65 million residential forced air heating and cooling systems are in place in the U.S. alone, and many suffer from a serious problem—air distribution duct leaks, which compromise comfort and waste energy. On average, about 18 percent of the energy these systems consume is probably ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: ER-99-16 | Author: Dick Bourne, Jay Stein
Learning from Lighting Failures: Troubleshooting Maintenance, Installation, and Component Problems
November 1, 1997
Failures in lighting systems can be annoying, frustrating, and expensive. Often, lighting failures result from mistakes in installation, maintenance, or component specification. However, many of these mistakes can be avoided or corrected. The lessons from lighting failures can be as simple as how ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: TU-97-12 | Author: David Houghton
Low-Cost, No-Cost Efficiency Retrofits for Chilled Water Systems
September 1, 1997
Chilled water systems present a surprising number of energy efficiency retrofit opportunities that can be readily identified, analyzed, and implemented at little or no cost. Increasingly, plant managers and energy service providers are scrutinizing these systems, which provide industrial process and ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: TU-97-9 | Author: Jay Stein
Operating and Maintaining Rooftop Air-Conditioning Units
February 1, 1997
Rooftop air-conditioning units are hard-working, often-ignored machines. A typical 10-ton rooftop unit costs $2,000 per year to operate and $10,000 to replace. However, spending just a couple hundred dollars per year on good maintenance typically pays for itself by reducing operating costs, improving ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: TU-97-2 | Author: David Houghton
Assessing Processes for Compressed Air Efficiency
November 1, 1995
Amazing amounts of compressed air are wasted or misapplied in otherwise well-run manufacturing facilities—often costing thousands of dollars extra each year. The process of eliminating this expensive waste requires a thorough examination of each use of compressed air, as well as how the overall ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: TU-95-16 | Author: William Howe, Bill Scales
Protecting Motor Bearings from Electrical Damage in Adjustable-Speed Drive Applications
September 1, 1995
The rugged bearings used in today's induction motors can be damaged over time by electrical currents flowing through them. While a number of sources of bearing currents have been identified over the years, induced rotor voltages caused by pulse-width modulated adjustable-speed drives have emerged ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: TU-95-11 | Author: William Howe
Selecting Dry-Type Transformers: Getting the Most Energy Efficiency for the Dollar
August 1, 1995
Dry-type transformers represent a significant and largely overlooked opportunity for energy and dollar savings. Since all electric power passes through one or more dry-type transformers on its way to lighting, motors, office equipment, or other end uses, even increasing transformer efficiency by a ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: TU-95-6 | Author: William Howe
Success at Zero Net Cost: Columbia University's Achivements in Energy Efficiency
July 1, 1994
In 1988, when Lindsay Audin walked into his new job as energy manager at Columbia University, he faced a daunting challenge—saving the university a million dollars a year on its energy bill without any upfront funding. He went on to oversee one of the largest, and most successful, energy-efficient ...
Content type: Core Report, Research, Service Report | Document ID: CS-94-1 | Author: Lindsay Audin, William Howe
Distribution Transformers: A Growing Energy Savings Opportunity
December 1, 1993
Virtually all electric power passes through at least two transformers before it is converted to mechanical power, light, or heat—and each transformer loses a percentage of its input power to internal inefficiencies. Efficiency in standard distribution models ranges from around 96 to 98.5 percent, ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: TU-93-10 | Author: William Howe
Avoiding the Hazards of Pulse-Width Modulated Adjustable-Speed Drives
November 1, 1993
Pulse-width modulated (PWM) adjustable-speed drives are taking over the market for ASDs under 200 horsepower because they are less expensive and more reliable than competing technologies and because they provide more precise control of motor acceleration, speed, and torque. Misapplication of PWM drives ...
Content type: Core Report | Document ID: TM-93-6 | Author: William Howe
