Abstract

Total (direct and indirect) energy requirements of the construction industry for 1967 were determined in order to examine the potential for energy savings. The Energy Input/Output Model developed at the Center for Advanced Computation, University of Illinois, was expanded to include 49 building and non-building construction sectors (new and maintenance). Total energy intensities were determined for these sectors, as well as energy requirements to final demand. Overall, the construction industry required about 6000 trillion Btu, or about 9% of the total U. S. energy requirement in 1967. About 20% of this requirement was for direct energy. Energy requirements were further broken down according to goods and services purchased by individual construction sectors, and energy distribution patterns were determined within each construction sector. Energy cost per unit for various building materials were calculated, as well as 1967 energy cost per square foot for building sectors. Laboratories required the most energy per square foot (2,074,056 Btu/SF), while Farm Service required the least (149,071 Btu/SF). Comparative interchangeable building assemblies were evaluated for their energy costs, including initial construction and lifetime maintenance energy. Tradeoffs between construction and operational energy costs were determined for a selected wall frame assembly with different exterior finishes and varyingmore » degrees of insulation. A study was initiated to determine industries in which direct energy use led to a significant amount of the energy embodied in New Building Construction for 1967. The resulting Energy Flow Chart is included.« le Document type: Report

Abstract

Deregulation and open access in the natural gas pipeline industry has changed the gas business environment towards greater reliance on local energy flow rate measurement. What was once a large, stable, and well-defined source of natural gas is now a composite from many small suppliers with greatly varying gas compositions. Unfortunately, the traditional approach to energy flow measurement [using a gas chromatograph (GC) for composition assay in conjunction with a flow meter] is only cost effective for large capacity supplies (typically greater than 1 to 30 million scfd). A less costly approach will encourage more widespread use of energy measurement technology. In turn, the US will benefit from tighter gas inventory control, more efficient pipeline and industrial plant operations, and ultimately lower costs to the consumer. An assessment of the state and direction of technology for natural gas energy flow rate measurement is presented. The alternative technologies were ranked according to their potential to dramatically reduce capital and operating and maintenance (O and M) costs, while improving reliability and accuracy. The top-ranked technologies take an unconventional inference approach to the energy measurement problem. Because of that approach, they will not satisfy the fundamental need for composition assay, but have greatmore » potential to reduce industry reliance on the GC. Technological feasibility of the inference approach was demonstrated through the successful development of data correlations that relate energy measurement properties (molecular weight, mass-based heating value, standard density, molar ideal gross heating value, standard volumetric heating value, density, and volume-based heating value) to three inferential properties: standard sound speed, carbon dioxide concentration, and nitrogen concentration (temperature and pressure are also required for the last two). The key advantage of this approach is that inexpensive on-line sensors may be used to measure the inferential variables, which can then be applied (through the data correlations) to convert existing flow meters (ultrasonic, orifice, turbine, rotary, Coriolis, diaphragm, etc.) for on-line energy measurement. The practical issues for field development were evaluated using two transducers extracted from a $100 ultrasonic domestic gas meter, and a $400 infrared sensor.« le Document type: Report

Abstract

Previous research has focused on the use of heat pumps in electric vehicles, with the focus on recuperating heat from, normally, ambient and one thermal source on the vehicle. Here 5 potential thermal sources on a vehicle have been identified and thorough testing on the benefit of each source has been performed. The results presented suggest the motor, a thermal storage device, and cabin exhaust extraction should be used > 80% of the time according to the scenarios tested, while battery heating and transmission heat extraction should be used subject to conditions on the ambient temperature and drive cycle. Document type: Article