With new generation capacity becoming both more difficult to get approved and expensive to finance, electric utilities are looking at more creative strategies for squeezing inefficiency out of customer-side distribution systems. One idea gaining attention—direct current (DC) distribution—actually represents a step backward to practices common during the days of Thomas Edison. However, new standards and [...]
A More Direct Approach
What the Smart Grid Means for You and Your Building
Decades may pass before the smart grid’s real impact is understood, but utilities and equipment manufacturers are beginning to get a clearer picture. Real-world installations are now underway. A number of pilot programs now coming online are beginning to provide some answers to these questions. This article is one of a continuing series in the [...]
Onsite Power
The next big idea in renewable energy: Small-scale installations producing power that can be used onsite. Building-integrated systems are evolving from promising to practical, and standards developers are creating the necessary specs required for distributing onsite-generated electricity to specific building systems. This article ran in the March 2010 issue of Architectural Products magazine. The link [...]
It’s a Small, Small World: Microgrids
Bringing power to the people could be more than just a 1960’s era goal for social change if promoters of localized electricity distribution systems—called “microgrids”—have their way. Seen as one approach for safely incorporating on-site renewable resources into the larger utility grid, microgrids are gaining new attention among both researchers and marketers. This article ran [...]
Financing the Future
Renewable-energy technology is advancing at a rapid clip. What’s not widely known is that financing options for those who wish to own/operate solar, wind and other energy-generating equipment are evolving just as quickly. Making sense of your financial choices takes some homework, though, and likely more than a few phone calls, including at least one [...]
Your Solar Energy Options
Even if you’ve never previously thought about solar (PV or thermal) as an option for your building, it’s a good time to investigate your solar-power options.
This article is one of a continuing series in the Electrical Design Library published by the National Electrical Contractors Association.
Your Solar Energy Options
Bringing Heat and Power Together
Combined heat and power (CHP)– or “cogeneration” – systems generate electricity and heat in a single, integrated package. Determining whether these efficiency-boosting designs are right for your facility requires an understanding of the technology and your own operational needs. This story was published originally in February 2009 on the LowesForPros.com website.
Bringing Heat and Power Together
Groups Plan To Enact Smart Grid Capabilities
It’s not news that our national electrical system is in a squeeze; existing transmission lines are reaching carrying capacity just as a new generation of electronics is driving electricity demand higher. This situation is forcing intense debates among those who argue new power plants and transmission lines are the only solution, and others who believe [...]
Beneath Our Feet
Solar photovoltaics, wind turbines and fuel cells all offer great potential for lowering our fossil-fuel consumption, but one of the most promising sources of renewable energy may be right under our feet. Geothermal energy—energy generated by the heat of Earth’s interior—already is powering homes and businesses in the western United States and around the globe, [...]
