Smart Cities--Energy Efficient Ecosystems--Future of Green Building?

The modern home is well equipped with some degree of intelligence. From smart thermostats to home security systems, we are finding new ways to outfit our living spaces to deliver more comfort and energy optimization. Commercial facilities are also being designed with these goals in mind and often consist of a number of interconnected smart systems that work together. 

Some believe that the optimization of homes and office facilities is merely the beginning. The article "Smart Homes" published in Mechanical Engineering, suggests that in order to truly optimize our energy consumption, groups of buildings must be integrated with one another. This will provide an optimal balance of supply and demand and enable in-house sustainable renewable energy s

ources that can feed extra energy back to grid. Essentially buildings, according to Mr. Geraud Darnies, President & CEO of United Technologies Corporation, will be "ecosystem themselves and rest in balance with the natural environment."  

While this type of integration can allow for new opportunities to make smart decisions,  it does pose a significant number of complexities relating to the technical challenges, as it becomes harder to monitor, predict and control. A scalable analytics system or solution capable of monitoring the performance, health management and control strategies would be necessary due to the complexity and uncertainty of such an integrated system. 

As far fetched as this may seem, smart cities may be closer than you think.  The development of data analytic programs are making this more of a reality, in addition to the increase of building control systems on the market.  The cost savings impact of such a development is undeniable, but only the future will tell whether or not this will truly be a success. 

Sources: 

"Smart Buildings." Mechanical Engineering. December 2013.

Removing the Cloak of Invisibility from the Engineer Profession

The engineering profession is one of anonymity, with most
people being unable to define what exactly an engineer does. 

Engineers are responsible for designing some of the world's most fundamental systems. While they may not have made your clothes, the machine that did was most certainly designed by an engineer. Likewise, your home couldn't have been built without the collaboration of an engineer.

The fact is engineers have their hands in just about everything. Still, if you were to ask someone to define the engineer profession, his or her response would be more than lacking. 

So why is the engineer profession such a mystery? 

Alan Werner, P.E. explains that the nature of the engineer's job is partly to blame for the invisibility of the engineer profession.  Think about it.  The engineer's primary objective is to solve problems before they even exist. For the public, this can be difficult to understand. If the problem isn't visible, then the engineer who solved the problem in the first place is by default invisible. 

This issue is perpetuated by the engineering profession as a whole, which seems to prefer being unknown. They are satisfied with simply accomplishing the goal and moving on without the public recognition of a job well done. This likely contributes to the "invisible engineer."

How do we overcome the invisible engineer phenomenon? 

First and foremost, the engineering community must bring awareness to the process that goes in to creating a useful & successful design.  As a society, we so often emphasis the final product rather than the steps it took to get there. This is reinforced in our education system and often in the professional world.

The engineer and the industry must re-emphasize the effort and innovative problem solving that goes into the design process.  But how?  Here are some ways we can bring awareness to the engineering profession:

1. Community Involvement

One of the easiest ways to bring awareness to the engineering profession is by simply getting involved in the community.  Building relationships with others can help debunk stereotypes, while emphasizing the importance of engineering.

2. Education Programs

Encourage education programs that emphasize the design process. This will help students become active problem solvers, while helping them to appreciate the process instead of simply the final product. 

3. Media Exposure 

One of the most effective methods of gaining exposure for the engineering profession is through the media. Particularly the digital media, as the internet can make an message viral. 

More ideas? Leave a comment to let us know! Remember the engineering community plays an integral role in our developing and growing world, by bringing awareness to the engineer profession we can continue to make gains as a society. 

This article was derived from Alan Werner, P.E. N.S.P.E., "Why are Engineers Invisible" originally published in the Magazine for Professional Engineers in August/September 2013.

Generators: What you Need to Know

Nothing is more frustrating than a power outage.

From unpredictable weather to man-made natural disasters your business's operations are in jeopardy of being disrupted. Even more disheartening is the statistic that when businesses are forced to close because of a disaster, at least one in four never opens again.

By having a generator for your facility, you can ensure that your operations can continue to run smoothly no matter the disaster happening around you.

Choosing a Generator 
There are a variety of generators available and knowing the advantages and disadvantages of both can better help you make an informed decision.   One of the first choices you must make is whether or not to invest in a portable or standby generator.

Portable vs. Standby

Portable generators must be
manually hooked to appliances. 

Portable Generators

During a power outage, you must hook up your portable generator and plug it into the appliances you want to power or a subpanel. While portable generator are less money, they have limitations. Your portable generator can only be hooked up to a certain number of appliances at a time.

Standby generators  are wired into
 the building's electrical system.

Standby Generators

Unlike portable generators, standby generators are wired into your building's electrical system through a power switch.  Your standby generator will automatically start during a power outage.  A standby generator isolates your "emergency" electrical wiring and provides power to the selected equipment from the normal power source which then transfers the emergency load to the generator.  When power is restored the switch will also connect "emergency" circuits back to the utility lines and turn off the generator. In addition to the convenience of automatic switching, permanent generators offer higher power levels compared to portable units and longer run times.  

Sizing your Generator 

To choose the appropriate sized generator you must determine what your electrical needs are. Consider all the items you would like to power during an outage. Find the wattage and the year it was made. Add up the wattage of all your appliances and other items you want to power and double it. This can give an estimate of the amount of 

Choosing the Right Fuel

Most generators run on gasoline, but there are also other fuel alternatives that  s depending on your needs.

Natural Gas

Advantages:  Cleaner compared to oil and coal, inexpensive and readily available.

Disadvantages: Extremely explosive and a fire hazard, emits carbon dioxide and it is a limited or non-renewable resources.

Propane

Advantages: Long shelf life, doesn't evaporate overtime, clean burning, quieter engine noise level, and more emission compliant. 

Disadvantages: Pressurized cylinder of flammable gas, fuel system is more complicated, tanks are not as aesthetically pleasing, fuel system plumbing results in higher installation cost, somewhat expensive fuel.

Diesel

Advantages: Higher ratio of costs to energy density, assures steady power,reduces maintenance because there are no spark plugs or wires, long life span and least flammable fuel source.

Disadvantages: Expensive, tends to be nosier, large and bulky and considered a pollutant.

Be Careful What you Say...Your Walls Could be Listening!

Princeton researchers develop a way to
 embed ultra-thin radios  to plastic sheets. 

Eavesdropping just took on new heights with the creation of walls that can listen and even speak. 

Researchers at Princeton University have developed a way to embed ultra-thin radios to plastic sheets, which can be placed on a variety of structures.  These listening walls have the potential to be the foundation for invisible communication systems inside buildings or to function as sophisticated structural monitors for bridges and roads. 

Originally the intent of this technology was for the application of smart building energy management. Through the use of distributed radio arrays that are patterned on wallpaper, temperature sensors and occupancy sensors are able to communicate with a central management system. 

These thin plastic sheets have the potential for several applications. The sheets can be painted without diminishing their function and can be applied to irregular surfaces such as bridge decks or supporting columns because of their flexibility. 

Patterning Circuits on Plastic 

One of the major difficulties with this technology was patterning circuits on the plastic sheets, as the high temperatures needed to create circuitry will melt the plastic. New methods for patterning circuits on plastics have helped researchers surpass this problem. However, these new methods compromise the performance of electronic components such as transistors, which are vital in the operation of complex devices such as radio transmitters. 

Transistors, the building block of modern electronics, are devices that control or switch the flow of electrons in circuits. The silicon crystal that forms the base of transistors allows for electrons to move quickly.  

Because plastic is susceptible to melting at high temperatures, researchers turned to amorphous silicon transistors in place of crystalline silicone, as amorphous silicon does not require high temperatures like the crystal form.  However, amorphous silicon lacks the highly ordered inner structure of the crystal form. This inhibits the electrons ability to move efficiently, as it is like changing from a smooth superhighway to a gravel road. 

Researchers were poised with the challenge of speeding up the movement of electrons through the transistor (faster movement means higher frequency), despite the lower-performing amorphous silicon transistors. 

The Super-Regenerative Circuit 

To overcome this problem, the Princeton researchers found inspiration from the father of FM Radio, Edwin Armstrong. In 1922, Armstrong developed the super-regenerative circuit, which uses other components to increase the radio's frequency and bypass the poor performance of the amorphous silicon transistors. 

In 1922, Edwin Armstrong
developed the super-regenerative circuit.

By bouncing electrons between a capacitor and an inductor, the super-regenerative circuit, is able to store and discharge energy.  The energy change caused by the bouncing electrons depends on the super regenerated circuit's capacitor and inductor--not the transistor.  This allows the radio to operate at a high frequency despite the poor quality of the transistors. 

The key was to prevent the electrons from being lost as they bounced back and forth between the capacitor and the inductor, as lost electrons would than be compensated through the faulty transistors. This meant high quality capacitors and inductors.  

This was good news to researchers as large inductors are easier to build. And due to the fact that the radios were designed to fit on walls, there was plenty of space. In the end, despite the poor quality transistors, the circuit worked perfectly with the new system.  

The Future of Structural Monitoring Systems? 

Researchers are developing ways to use this technology to create flexible structural health monitoring systems for bridges, buildings, pipelines and other structures.  

Plastic sheets embedded with radios
could better detect structural problems. 

Currently, engineers are able to use single-point sensors or fiber optic strips to detect structural problems. Unfortunately these devices are limited and can only collect data from relatively small spaces. This makes detection of early problems difficult, as most problems occur on larger spaces. 

Plastic sheet technology could make monitoring these structures more efficient.  The linked sensors could potentially detect imminent structural problems over larger areas. 

While the research of this project still remains in early development the results are encouraging. A prototype is in the works, but it will take many years of research and development before this technology is utilized in such a manner. 

This article was originally published, "The Walls have Ears: Princeton researchers develop walls that can listen, and talk" from Phys.org on August 21, 2013.  

What’s so special about Clubhouses?

Ballen Isle Country Club
West Palm Beach, Florida

The Complexities of Designing HVAC Systems for Clubhouses  

Clubhouses are unique among buildings. They house restaurants, community centers, banquet halls, entertainment complexes, retail spaces, fitness and spa centers and even offices all wrapped up into one facility! 

Dripping Diffusers

The clubhouses' unique nature is one of the major reasons why faulty HVAC systems are common; especially in humid climates such as Florida.

Perhaps, one of the most frequent issues that engineers uncover during a due diligence survey is a facility operating under a severely negative air pressure condition.

Common Symptoms of Negative Air Pressurization  

•  A lack of fresh or clean air, instead a musty smell or other bad odors lingering in the air
• Condensation on the Diffusers
• Visible Mold or Mildew Growth along with Moisture on the Walls 
• Sticky or Damp Furnishings
• Varying Temperatures Throughout the Facility 
• Stagnant, Stale or Heavy Air that causes Humidity or Condensation 
• A Rush of Air or Draft when Opening an Exterior Door 

According to Bob Davenport, RGD Consulting Engineers' Principal Engineer, who has over 35 years of experience designing HVAC systems, "Operating a clubhouse with severely negative pressure can result in serious indoor air quality problems over time." 

Solutions

 If not caught before the start of microbial growth, negatively pressurized facility can be a costly issue to rectify. This is why having the proper HVAC equipment and a good maintenance program is important to preventing issues such as negative air pressure from occurring. 

Ensuring that the clubhouse building is equipped with 100% outside air pre-conditioner, runs continuously and supplies a constant and equal volume of dehumidified outside air to the building is key to maintaining the air pressure. 

There are a variety of methods for achieving this goal, and the most effective HVAC design system can be determined by a professional engineer after completing a thorough survey of the facility's systems. However, even the best designed HVAC systems can fail when they are not maintained. 

Just as important as working closely with an engineer for the design of your facility's HVAC system, is the creation of an aggressive maintenance program.   With these two factors planned well, your facility's HVAC system will stay balanced and healthy for years to come. 

This article is adapted from "Is Your Clubhouse Stuffy" written by Robert Davenport, PE, LEED AP + BC.