Find out what Baltimore is doing to squeeze more efficiency out of the grid; essentially load-leveling by storing energy in the latent heat of fusion of ice. Neat stuff!
Showing posts with label Buildings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buildings. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Charm City Chills
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
NETG Tour of the Northwestern Central Utility Plant - photos!
Northwestern students listen to Bruce Jaime explain the boiler systems.Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The Great Indoors: Climate Change in Your Home
How much time did you spend outside today? One hour? Two hours? If you're like most Americans, odds are that it's closer to the former. That equates to approximately 23 hours indoors. Whether sleeping at home, sitting in a car during the daily commute, or traversing the states in an airplane, we spend a significant amount of our lives indoors. Yet, more often than not, we tend to emphasize the quality of the outdoor air we breathe, paying less attention to what we're exposed to throughout the majority of our daily lives. And there is increasing evidence that even in the most industrialized cities, indoor air quality is more seriously polluted compared to the air outdoors.
Indoor environments have changed significantly in just two generations. Since the 1950s, we have eliminated harmful chemicals such as lead and mercury from use in our homes but we have added many others. Take, for example, your bed's mattress. Chances are it was sprayed with a chemical known as polybrominated diphenyl ether, or PBDE, to help keep you safe in the event of a fire. Unfortunately, these brominated flame retardants also have a tendency to accumulate posing health risks including liver toxicity, thyroid toxicity, and neurodevelopmental toxicity.
PBDE is just one of the many chemicals that pollutes the indoor air environment. Terpenes, a large class of hydrocarbons, also degrade the air we breathe and they are present in all of those scented products we use. They offer that lovely pine, citrus, lavender, and fresh laundry smell but at a cost. While harmless by themselves,they react with ozone to form byproducts that are irritating to the eyes and upper-respiratory system.
Think that you're better off with that vinyl hardwood flooring instead of the carpet that traps all those dust particles? Think again. Vinyl flooring contains a staggering amount - as much as 40% by weight - of phthalate plasticizers to help prevent it from cracking. As you might expect, there's mounting evidence of the harmful effects of such plasticizers.
It wasn't until 1976 that the U.S. first began regulation of chemicals like those mentioned above. With the passing of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), a chemical that is known to be harmful to health is now required to undergo toxicity testing. This is, however, somewhat of a Catch-22 in that a new chemical's risks are not necessarily known before introduction to market. Of the approximately 3300 chemicals produced in quantities greater than 1 million pounds per year in the U.S., only 25% have adequate toxicity information.
Now that you're sufficiently frightened about your indoor air quality, here are a few simple tips to help you reduce the potential health risks:
For even more tips, check out the indoor air quality house interactive over at the EPA's website.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
NETG Tour of Winthrop Club
Northwestern Energy Technology Group (NETG) in association with this year’s One Book One Northwestern program, organized a tour of the LEED Gold (being certified) condominium building in Evanston - The Winthrop Club. Around 20 people including graduate and undergraduate students, faculty and staff participated in this event last Thursday Jan 21st, 2010. The group left from Scott Hall on campus and walked to the Winthrop Club. After the group settled in with some coffee and snacks, Mr. Bob Horner, co-developer, started the program off with a presentation on Green buildings. He explained to the audience the LEED accredition system; criteria that go into the measurement of credits, as well as the various credits Winthrop club had accumulated. He touched upon recycled materials for construction, sustainable materials for flooring, and energy and water conservation measures that had gone into these condos. Additionally, the importance of sourcing material from close geographical proximity was highlighted. Bob also discussed elements of sustainable urbanism while emphasizing the location of the building. He pointed out that the building scored 98 out of 100 points on walkability due to easy access to mass transit (CTA and Metra), entertainment, shopping and educational facilities. The group then toured a number of condominiums. Green roofs and the garden space attached to the condos, although sparsely populated in this weather, were appreciated by the audience. Low water-use fixtures and energy efficient lighting was used in order to minimize the use of water and electricity in all the condos. Mr. Horner also mentioned a plan to introduce energy efficient shared cars (I-go and Zip car) to encourage a less energy intensive lifestyle. The preeminent role of the location in an urban setting in facilitating change to a more sustainable lifestyle was made evident from this visit. All-in-all, for the people who came despite the light rain, it was an interesting and informative learning experience. If you are interested, a second tour of the Winthrop Club is being organized on Tuesday Feb 16th, 2010. Please RSVP for that event here.
Mr. Bob Horner, co-developer, Winthrop Club, explains to participants what it means to be Green
A look out the window shows green roofs and garden areas of the condominiums
Participants ask questions about recycling and energy useSee more photos from this and other NETG events on our media page.
Elements of sustainable urbanism: Mass transit, entertainment and educational institutions within walking distance.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Candidate Forum 2010
Citizens for a Greener Evanston asked candidates for the 18th legislative district of the Illinois House of Representatives (election to be held next Tuesday, February 2nd) to respond to the following three energy- and sustainability-related questions:
1. What bills are currently pending in the state legislature that would support significant improvements in energy efficiency in residential and commercial buildings and would increase the production of renewable energy in Illinois in a major way?
2. How would you as state representative work to provide assistance to Evanston in its efforts to make significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in our community?
3. Indicate how your past work as advocates for various programs bears on the goal of achieving sustainability in Evanston.
Follow the title link of this post to read their responses.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Sears Tower to Be Revamped to Produce Most of Its Own Power
Plans are in place to make energy-reducing improvements to Chicago's Sears Tower. The $350 million project is to begin immediately, and could include placement of wind turbines and photovoltaic panels on its recessed rooftops, as well as upgrading the glass exterior by replacing the 16,000 windows with panes having a reflective coating. Other improvements under consideration relate to internal lighting, heating, cooling and elevator systems. Once the 5-year project is complete, the Tower's electricity consumption is expected to decline by 80 percent from current levels. Additionally, a hotel to be constructed adjacent to the Tower will draw "net zero energy from the power grid."
Interesting note for the local energy enthusiasts: "the Sears Tower plans to open a first-floor center to educate the public about the redesign."