Energy Efficiency Manual for everyone who uses energy pays for utilities designs and builds is interested in energy conservation and the environment
March 31, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
This is the primary reference, how-to guide, and sourcebook for energy conservation. It lets you improve efficiency and save money in all types of buildings and plants, ranging from individual houses to commercial buildings to large institutions and industrial plants. It is organized around 400 logically grouped energy conservation actions, presented in language that everyone understands.
It’s for everyone who uses energy, pays for utilities, manages property, operates energy systems, designs, builds, and values conservation and the environment. It’s loaded with features that help you quickly find the right information for each application. “Ratings” and “Selection Scorecards” identify your best conservation opportunities. “Traps & Tricks” ensure success. “Economics” estimate savings and costs. It has been acclaimed by professional and non-technical users. Publishers Weekly says it “answers just about any question [from] homeowner, plant manager, energy policy guru … as practically useful as it is informative.” 830 photographs and drawings illustrate the methods. Hundreds of examples give you a feel for real applications. A complete index makes it easy to find every topic and term.
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Star heavy book,heavy reading
A more than 8 pounds book will not make you an expert in energy efficiency.It is especially true from an Chinese perspective.It is more or less for facility operators,and everyone knows without top management commitment,nothing will happen,regardless of how many measures you know and are applicable for your facility.
You can find all of them in DOE BestPractices,and you won’t have to carry this huge manual.
Buy Handbook of Energy Engineering,or Plant Engineer’s and Manager’s Guide to Energy Conservation,they are better.
5 Stars Useful and interesting - STRONGLY RECOMMENDED
Despite the intimidating name and size of this tome, I found it fascinating to read. It covers everything from light bulb selection to rooftop chiller maintenance. The depth and breath of coverage is amazing.
This is not a hippie guide to backwoods eco-conservation. It is a practical manual, firmly grounded in science and economics that explains different strategies for maximizing comfort while minimizing energy use. In every case, the author examines both the pros and cons of the measure, and calculates the expected payback term. It is so helpful to have a book that is realistic in its treatment of energy conservation. Lots of books outline promising energy saving techniques, none I’ve read before talk so frankly about the problems you will encounter when you implement them.
Quite technical in many places, the text excels at explaining important concepts that are often ignored in other texts. I have a background in physics, but not until reading this book did I have a good grasp of the operation of absorption coolers or how the spectrum of a light bulb affects the visual comfort of the scene it illuminates. The concise overview of heat transfer mechanisms is more thorough than any thermodynamics textbook I’ve ever read.
Most important of all is the practical advice that is clearly based on a huge body of real experience. As the book so frequently points out, energy saving measures are useless if they break or are defeated by building occupants. Hundreds of (non-obvious) examples of these failures are given, with pictures.
This book would be great for anyone with responsibility for designing or maintaining buildings of any size. If you are hesitant to pay the high price, find it at a local library. I don’t write many Amazon reviews, but after reading this book I felt compelled to strongly recommend it.
5 Stars Superlative! A must have!
Superlative!
Fuel Cell Fundamentals
March 31, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
As the search for alternative fuels heats up, no topic is hotter than fuel cells. Filling a glaring gap in the literature, Fuel Cell Fundamentals, Second Edition gives advanced undergraduate and beginning level graduate students an important introduction to the basic science and engineering behind fuel cell technology. Emphasizing the foundational scientific principles that apply to any fuel cell type or technology, the text provides straightforward descriptions of how fuel cells work, why they offer the potential for high efficiency, and how their unique advantages can best be used. Designed to be accessible to fuel cell beginners, the text is suitable for any engineering or science major with a background in calculus, basic physics, and elementary thermodynamics. This new edition provides updated and enhanced examples, problems, and pedagogy for classroom use and features a significantly enlarged section on the practical applications of fuel cell technology. A solutions manual will be developed.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Excellent Overview
This book is pure awesome sauce on the topic of fuel cells. It goes over every concept from beginning to end in great detail. It’s almost as if it were written exclusively for me that it was so easy to understand and grasp. I’ve had few textbooks that read as well. It’ll definitely be a book that I continue to look upon at work. Best investment for those who have an interest or heavily involved with fuel cell design and application. Only drawback to the book is that no answers were provided to problems presented, not detrimental, but a nice to have.
5 Stars Review of “Fuel Cell Fundamentals” by R. O’Hayre et al.
This book is the best one that I could find to introduce the reader to the technology and underlying science of fuel cells. The quality of the presentation is high but yet it is easy to read. The emphasis on the fundamentals is appreciated. The book has discussions of the relevant thermodynamics, transport science, and chemical kinetics in the early chapters with a supporting appendix on quantum-mechanical issues. Then, it addresses modeling and characterization of fuel cells and fuel-cell systems. Environmental impact is also addressed in the last chapter. The book relies on both mathematics and physical arguments to present the concepts and information. A student at the senior level or graduate level in a program of engineering, physics, or chemistry should have no difficulty with this book. Problem exercises are suggested in the book. Consequently, it can be used as either a textbook or reference book.
2 Stars No Answer Key means limited practical use
I an in engineer working in a different industry and was interested in learning more about fuel cells. Since the authors do not provide answers to the chapter questions or problems, I would not recommend this book to someone trying to get an in-depth understanding. Better to find a lighter, broader read.
5 Stars Very good book
The book is an interesting one as introduces the fundamentals of fuel cell theory. I do recommend the book for those who are initiating their studies in this subject. The book is well written and organized.
5 Stars An excellent introductory book - up to date and comprehensive
This is a very complete and thorough book, and covers all of the theory as well as the technology of fuel cells. It is very well organized and structured and is highly suitable for first time students as well as an excellent reference book for the experienced reader. I highly recommend this book to virtually anyone who is interested in fuel cell technology.
Design of High Efficiency Turbomachinery and Gas Turbines The 2nd Edition
March 31, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Design of High Efficiency Turbomachinery and Gas Turbines The 2nd Edition
One of the only books to focus on turbomachinery and gas turbines from the “design” point of view. This volume reviews the necessary thermodynamics, gives extensive design data, provides engine and component illustrations (with comments on good and less-than-good design features), and contains many worked examples — allowing readers to produce preliminary designs that can be made and run quickly. More comprehensive than similar books, it features a simplified — and more accurate — thermodynamic treatment that eliminates the confusing use of “gamma” and specific heat together, and provides individual full-chapter coverage of on axial-flow turbines and compressors and radial-flow versions of the same.
Energy and American Society Thirteen Myths
March 31, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Energy and American Society Thirteen Myths
Current events related to energy policy skyrocketing gasoline prices, the 2003 Northeast Blackout, the Kyoto Protocol s enactment, passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the influence of recent Gulf Coast hurricanes on energy supplies and prices demand innovative approaches towards conceptualizing the relationship between energy and American society.
This book takes on a central quandary in the study of energy and environmental policy: What myths continue to exist in American culture concerning energy, the environment, and society? It enrolls twenty-four of the nation s top experts working on energy policy in industry, government laboratories, utilities, nonprofit organizations, and universities to debunk and contextualize thirteen energy myths relating to electric power, renewable energy, energy efficiency, transportation, and climate change.
While the book focuses on the American experience, it will be of interest to those working in the fields of energy policy, energy and the environment, and technology assessment worldwide.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars This book will teach you something about energy
I should state that I had the benefit of being a student in Professor Brown’s class where we utilized this book.
That being said, many of the “myths” in this book are misconceptions that perhaps most of society today falls victim to. The book presents evidence from leading scholars in the fields of energy technology, public policy and economics which shed some much needed light on these topics and shows how interwoven they really are.
If you have an interest in where this country and the rest of world is heading in terms of energy reform, and what obstacles (both technological and political) lay in their paths, then this is an excellent book for you.
5 Stars A readable, excellent resource
This is an excellent introduction to real energy issues, written by experts, with many useful references for further study. Energy mythinformation (inadvertent or otherwise) propagates all too easily, and this book does a good job of debunking the common myths.
Anyone involved in policies regarding energy&climate change should be familiar with this material, and that includes ordinary citizens, especially those who might care about the US economy and environment seen by any grandchildren.
I’d summarize the book as saying:
a) We face serious problems, as we *will* run out cheap oil, and then cheap gas [look up "Peak Oil" in Wikipedia], and if we keep burning coal without sequestering CO2, we will push the planet into a much hotter state with serious economic downsides. Right now, the US economy depends on cheap oil, and of course, it might be better not to be selling off big chunks of the US economy to other countries to feed our oil habit forever.
b) However, we actually have pretty good solutions for many of the problems, mostly without requiring magic technology leaps. There is no one silver bullet, but a myriad of small actions to be taken to stop wasting energy, many of which actually save money right away.
c) Most of the actions required are actually policy choices, with help from widespread use of existing technologies, plus rational R&D investments. Low electicity-per-capita use in some states has been achieved with no obvious economic catastrophes. [Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and California are not usually considered poor places.] Of course, we have much further to go, but in many cases, it really is a matter of choosing to do the right things.
The editors provide an introduction and summary bookending 13 myth discussions by (mostly) other authors. Following is a list of the 13 myths, with comments on a few of the chapters:
1. Today’s Energy Crisis is “Hype”
2. The Public is Well Informed About Energy
3. High Land Requirements and an Unfavorable Energy Balance Preclude Biomass Ethanol from Playing a Large Role in Providing Energy Services
- This is an especially important chapter, as the topic engenders much confusion. Not all biofuels need be from corn, and there is more land available than many think.
4. The Hydrogen Economy is A Panacea
- Dr. Joseph Romm shows why hydrogen (especially for vehicles) is a long way off, if ever, compared to PHEV/FF (plug-in-electric-vehicles with flex-fuels). He shows why research is appropriate, but not spending huge $$ for premature deployment, especially to the detriment of truly useful steps doable much sooner.
I also his recommend Joe’s website http://climateprogress.org/, and his book Hell and High Water: Global Warming–the Solution and the Politics–and What We Should Do.
5. Price Signals are Insufficient to Induce Efficient Energy Investments
6. The Barriers to New and Innovative Energy Technologies are Primarily Technical:
- The Case for Distributed Generation
- In many ways, distributed generation of electricity would be more efficient, but power companies are geared for centralized generation, even with expensive long-distance distribution.
7. Renewable Energy Systems Could Never meet Growing Electricity Demand in America
8. Worldwide Power Systems are Economically and Environmentally Optimal
- Tom Casten and Robert Ayres show how far off we are, illustrating the efficiencies gotten with waste-energy recycling / cogeneration … that are strongly inhibited by regulatory issues and market distortions, compared with places like Denmark or The Netherlands, etc. See Casten’s website: http://www.recycled-energy.com/index.html
9. Energy Efficiency Improvements have Already Reached Their Potential
- Amory Lovins shows why not, why “negawatts” are really cost-effective, and why nuclear plants don’t seem very cost-effective compared to other options. I especially liked his description of his Rocky Mountain house that lacks a conventional heating system, but whose design cuts heat losses to within 1% of various free heat gains. “The last 1% can come from a 50-watt dog, adjustable to 100W by throwing a ball…”
10. Energy Efficiency Measures are Unreliable, Unpredictable, and Unenforceable
11. Energy R&D Investment Takes Decades to Reach the Market
12. Climate Policy will Bankrupt the US Economy
- California is pretty aggressive on this, because we have to be, as all the impacts of global warming will cost us money. Nevertheless, California is hardly poor, and we expect that reworking our infrastructure for energy efficiency, and heading towards minimal use of fossil fuels as early as we can, will only make us more competitive in the face of increasing oil costs.
13. Developing Countries are Not Doing Their Part in Responding to Concerns about Climate Change
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This is a very useful book. I expect to study many chapters in further depth and chase down references.
Handbook oF Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Mechanical Engineering
March 31, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Handbook oF Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Mechanical Engineering
Brought to you by the creator of numerous bestselling handbooks, the Handbook of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy provides a thorough grounding in the analytic techniques and technological developments that underpin renewable energy use and environmental protection. The handbook emphasizes the engineering aspects of energy conservation and renewable energy. Taking a world view, the editors discuss key topics underpinning energy efficiency and renewable energy systems. They provide content at the forefront of the contemporary debate about energy and environmental futures. This is vital information for planning a secure energy future.
Practical in approach, the book covers technologies currently available or expected to be ready for implementation in the near future. It sets the stage with a survey of current and future world-wide energy issues, then explores energy policies and incentives for conservation and renewable energy, covers economic assessment methods for conservation and generation technologies, and discusses the environmental costs of various energy generation technologies. The book goes on to examine distributed generation and demand side management procedures and gives a perspective on the efficiencies, economics, and environmental costs of fossil and nuclear technologies.
Highlighting energy conservation as the cornerstone of a successful national energy strategy, the book covers energy management strategies for industry and buildings, HVAC controls, co-generation, and advances in specific technologies such as motors, lighting, appliances, and heat pumps. It explores energy storage and generation from renewable sources and underlines the role of infrastructure security and risk analysis in planning future energy transmission and storage systems. These features and more make the Handbook of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy the tool for designing the energy sources of the future.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars cheap but excellent
Bought this being interested in CSP technologies for work project. Already having a good understanding of the subject, I found the explanations very clear and even found some more valuable info.
