Chuck Ross

ContourGlobal.com

Chuck — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:16:00 +0000

I wrote all page content – excluding the descriptions of all but one project (Rwanda) – for this website. I worked closely with the site redesigners, BureauBlank, as well as client representatives. I also provided some assistance with content strategy. The company is an international developer and operator of power-generation facilities.

ContourGlobal.com

Holy Texting Refrigerators, Batman!

Chuck — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 19:04:44 +0000

While the full deployment of the smart electric meters required to enable your utility to dial back appliance operation remotely is several years away, manufacturers now are outlining the full array of functionality more intelligent appliances could offer. For example, your refrigerator could text you when the door has been left open.

Before you roll your eyes and wonder why you’d want to pay any more for a fridge with a built-in smartphone, consider a house full of hungry, less-than-attentive teenagers running amok. After all, a technology that saves the expense of a shopping cart’s worth of spoiled food could pay for itself very quickly.

This article originally ran in the September 2011 issue of Electrical Contractor Magazine.

Holy Texting Refrigerators, Batman!

Healthcare Spaces: Keeping Hospitals Healthier

Chuck — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:42:20 +0000

In a hospital, what air passes over – the floors, counters, walls and furnishings – can be just as important to the health of staff, patients and family members as the air, itself. Ensuring these surfaces aren’t adding their own pollutants to the indoor environment should be a primary goal for any designer.

This article originally ran in the July/August 2011 issue of Architectural Products Magazine. (You can click on the “Enlarge” link under the image of the page for a larger, readable version.)

Healthcare Spaces: Keeping Hospitals Healthier

2011: The Year of the LED?

Chuck — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:22:15 +0000

Any given year has its predictions. If you’re reading this article, the world as we knew/know it didn’t end on May 21—one of the most publicized predictions for 2011. In Chicago, Cubs fans may yet again be asserting that next year will be the year their team goes all the way. In the lighting industry, however, another long-predicted milestone, the year LEDs finally take off, actually may have arrived.

“Two-thousand eleven is a serious year” for LEDs, said lighting consultant and product designer Kevin Willmorth, who believes promises of LEDs performance and price equity are finally coming true. “It’s starting to give us some lamps that are serious performers.”

This article originally ran in the July issue of Electrical Contractor Magazine.

2011 The Year of the LED?

Virtual Power Plants: Systems of the Future

Chuck — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:16:16 +0000

“VPP” is the latest electricity-system-of-the-future phrase in the expanding smart-grid lexicon. Virtual power plants (VPP) are the latest concept promising to improve distribution-system reliability and, possibly, to limit the need for new peak-period generating capacity, enabled by improved communications and response technologies.

This article originally ran in the July issue of Electrical Contractor Magazine.
Virtual Power Plants: Systems of the Future

A Reverence for Wood

Chuck — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:49:11 +0000

The University of Tampa campus in Tampa, Fla., is no stranger to signature architectural structures. So when university planners and visionary donors began thinking about a spirituality center, a no-little-plans approach soon developed. The resulting Sykes Chapel and Center for Faith and Values manages to be both understated and awe-inspiring, thanks to a unique exterior design and the interior’s near-reverence for the material of wood.

This article originally ran in the June 2011 issue of Architectural Products Magazine. You can click the “Enlarge” link under the image of the page for a larger, more readable version.

A Reverence for Wood

Urban Scale

Chuck — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:22:31 +0000

The term “microgrid” has been a part of broader smart grid conversations for several years, but definitions have varied. Campus-sized projects have brought these electrical-systems-in-miniature to universities and military installations, but some smart grid advocates argue developers are thinking just a bit too small. Think urban scale, they say. Two prototype projects now underway are seeking to do just that.

This article originally ran in the June issue of Electrical Contractor Magazine.

Urban Scale

Fukushima: Re-Energizing Nuclear-Safety Concerns

Chuck — Sun, 22 May 2011 18:36:52 +0000

As the aftermath of Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami unfolded, many became mesmerized by photos and videos of desperate workers struggling against time to keep the disastrous situation at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant from becoming even worse. Clad in protective gear, they wrestled with fire hoses and power cables in an effort to maintain cooling-water levels and return power to pumping systems, only to be pulled back, time and again, by fears of overexposure to radiation.

One question occurred to many observers during the media coverage of events at the plant: Could a similar disaster happen here?

This article originally ran in the May 2011 issue of Electrical Contractor Magazine

Fukushima: Re-Energizing Nuclear-Safety Concerns

What It’s Like To Live on Cape Cod

Chuck — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 22:47:01 +0000

In many parts of the country, Cape Cod is synonymous with summer. The area has everything needed for a warm-weather playground, from gorgeous beaches, pond-filled parks and miles of well-maintained bike trails to dining options ranging from five-star fancy to fried-clam casual. But for those who’ve made this arm-shaped peninsula their year-round home, real living often begins the day after Labor Day, after they’ve waved goodbye to the last sunburned tourist. The beaches and clam bars may draw the day-trippers, but it’s the hidden natural gems and surprisingly strong cultural community that tie the area’s residents to this very special place.

This article was written for Frontdoor.com, a real estate-oriented website from HGTV.
What It’s Like To Live on Cape Cod

Solar Commons

Chuck — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:09:53 +0000

Individual rooftop solar panels have become a more familiar sight over the past several years. But not everyone has the correct south-facing rooftop, and renters are out of the market entirely. Now, a new model of community-based solar ownership is beginning to bring solar’s energy-bill savings to a broader audience. Developers are incorporating a range of financing and ownership structures for these new solar “gardens.”

This story originally ran in the February 2011 issue of Electrical Contractor Magazine
Solar Commons