What's New
1999 Archives
Contents
December 1999
November 1999
October 1999
September 1999
June 1999
May 1999
- Lab Helps Create First Thermally Insulated Car
- EETD Scientists Help Archaeologists Determine the Origin of Ancient Pottery
- EETD's Energy Performance of Buildings Group has 2 articles about the draft ASHRAE Standard 62
March 1999
December 1999
EETD Researchers Develop MERVC Guidelines
EETD researchers Ed Vine, Jayant Sathaye, and others have been working to develop guidelines for MERVC-monitoring, evaluation, reporting, verification and certification of energy-efficiency projects for climate change mitigation. The results of their work, published papers describing MERVC guidelines that address some key problems faced by government agencies charged with GHG reduction, will help these entities do a more effective job of making GHG reductions work.
For more information, contact Ed Vine, (510) 486-6047 or Jayant Sathaye, (510) 486-6294 or read the full article.
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November 1999
Ventilation and Apartment Buildings
Energy-Efficient Ventilation for Apartment Buildings is the title of a new guide from the Department of Energy's Rebuild America program. It's authors are present EET Division researchers Rick Diamond and Nance Matson and former researcher Helmut Feustel. This guide has been written for apartment building owners, managers and organizations in the Rebuild America program who are considering doing energy-efficient ventilation projects in their buildings. Energy-Efficient Ventilation provides approaches to diagnosing a building's ventilation needs and designing energy-efficient solutions.
Rebuild America is a network of community partnerships made up of local governments and businesses that save money by saving energy. These voluntary partnerships, working with the U.S. Department of Energy, choose the best ways to improve the energy efficiency of commercial, government and apartment buildings.
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October 1999
EETD Research on the Discovery Channel
Your New House, a home improvement show airing on the Discovery channel, will broadcast two segments about advanced energy-efficient technologies in development in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division on October 5 and 7.
The October 5th show will air segments showcasing research on three technologies at Berkeley Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division. In the first, Berkeley Lab researchers Paul Berdahl and Hashem Akbari discuss how cool roofing materials help reduce air conditioning bills by reflecting solar radiation from a home's roof. Aerogel, an extremely lightweight material that makes an excellent insulator, is described by researcher Arlon Hunt. Finally, Robert Cheng demonstrates the "low-swirl" burner, which emits nitrogen oxide levels below national and California state ambient air quality standards.
During the second show airing October 7th, Your New House visits a demonstration site, in the Oakland Federal Center, of an integrated building system designed to maximize the energy efficiency of commercial offices, while keeping their occupants comfortable. Berkeley Lab researcher Eleanor Lee explains the technology.
These shows air at 6 p.m., Pacific and Eastern times, and 7 p.m., Central time. Check local listings for further details.
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September 1999
EETD Scientists Win Awards for Authoring 'Best' Papers
EETD scientists recently won two awards for authoring two out of three of the "best" papers published in the journal Indoor Air in 1996 through 1998. The awards were announced at Indoor Air '99, which was held in Scotland.
Ten Brinke, JoAnne, Alfred Hodgson, William Fisk, Joan Daisey, Steve Selvin, Cathy Koshland, and Mark Mendell
"Development of new VOC exposure metrics and their relationship to sick building syndrome symptoms," Indoor Air 8(3): 140-152.
Fisk, William and Arthur Rosenfeld
"Estimates of Improved Productivity and Health from Better Indoor Environments," Indoor Air 7(3): 158-172.
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June 1999
Improved Carbon Monoxide Sensor for Occupational Use
Scientists at Berkeley Lab and at the Quantum Group Inc. (QGI) in San Diego have developed a new lightweight and inexpensive carbon monoxide sensor and monitoring system which is more accurate than the personal CO monitors currently available on the market. "About 19,000 accidental carbon monoxide poisonings were reported by the American Association of Poison Control Centers in 1995," said Michael Apte, a scientist in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division, "but very little is known about the actual extent and distribution of carbon monoxide exposures in the United States. Five hundred to a thousand accidental deaths a year are attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning, and it's the number one cause of unintentional poisoning in the US."
For more information see the Currents Article (June 4, 1999).
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May 1999
Lab Helps Create First Thermally Insulated Car
EETD and Berkeley Lab's Engineering Division recently worked together to create a thermally insulated, more comfortable, and efficient car. The project is a collaboration between Berkeley Lab and Visteon Automotive Systems which is also funding the project. The research is associated with the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), which brings together U.S. government researchers and the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR).
For more information see the Science Beat Article (July 7, 1999).
EETD Scientists Help Archaeologists Determine the Origin of Ancient Pottery
EETD's Frank Asaro and Robert D. Giauque worked with D. Adan-Bayewitz of Israel's Bar-Ilan University to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new methodology of X-ray fluorescence in determining the origin of ancient pottery.
Determining the origin of ancient pottery can help archaeologists better understand the relationships and influences between peoples. Correlating pottery fragments found in excavations with the ancient workshops in which they were made helps illuminate the trade and cultural contacts among ancient settlements.
For more information, contact Frank Asaro, (510) 486-5433 Robert D. Giauque, (510) 486-5658 or read the full article.
Max Sherman, group leader of EETD's Energy Performance of Buildings Group has two articles about the draft ASHRAE Standard 62
Max Sherman, group leader of EETD's Energy Performance of Buildings Group has written two articles describing the draft ASHRAE Standard 62.2P in the May 1999 editions of the ASHRAE Journaland Contracting Business. Sherman is the chairman of the ASHRAE Standard Project Committee 62.2P. This standard, "Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings," is now ready for public review. It defines the minimum requirements for mechanical and natural ventilation systems and the building envelope in single-family and low-rise multifamily structures. The intent of the standard is to address public interest in residential indoor air quality and ventilation that has grown with the increase in energy-efficient houses and healthier building materials.
Sherman, M.H. "Standard 62 Goes Residential", Contracting Business, May 1999. 56: 5, pp 56-59.
Sherman, M.H. "Indoor Air Quality for Residential Buildings", ASHRAE Journal, May 1999.
Public review will begin this summer. For more information, contact Max Sherman, (510) 486-4022 or visit the ASHRAE web site.
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March 1999
The Home Energy Saver Web Site
The Home Energy Saver web site is a comprehensive energy calculator and information portal for homeowners and renters. We've added a simplified calculation track-reached by entering your zip code on the top page-which performs an entire home analysis based on a short list of questions. We've upgraded the Energy Advisor track, for users who want to vary a larger number of details about their home. The new "Making it Happen" module helps consumers successfully capitalize on energy savings opportunities. Here users will find a host of links to practical information from hundreds of other web destination, ranging from lists of specific efficient products ... to tips about selecting a good contractor ... to information on what assistance your utility might have to offer. Users will find the site heavily illustrated with graphic and text excerpts from the "No Regrets Remodeling Book", recently published by Home Energy Magazine. We've made extensive navigation improvements plus hardware and software upgrades that improve speed and performance.
For more information, contact Evan Mills, (510) 486-6784.
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