Month: January 2018

Does Global Warming Slow Down Wind Turbines?

Does Global Warming Slow Down Wind Turbines?

Does Global Warming Slow Down Wind Turbines?

01/13/18

“How can climate change slow down our renewable energy portfolio?”

 

Wind Energy is one of the most fundamental renewable energy resources. However, research performed by the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California Berkeley have shown that wind in the Northern Hemisphere is actually in decline as a result of climate change. As a result, the more the climate warms, the less potential wind will have! So do your part and make sure that you live sustainably so we can have more potential for clean energy!

Machine Learning in Electric Load Forecasting

Machine Learning in Electric Load Forecasting

Machine Learning in Electric Load Forecasting

01/12/17

“How can we apply Machine Learning to estimate electric loads?”

 

Electric Load Forecasting if vital for making informed decisions about how to use energy throughout the day. And thanks to modern computational technology, we will be able to do such work by applying Machine Learning in Electric Load Forecasting. A computer algorithm can learn the past behavior of electric loads, and then make models to predict future behavior. Electric utility companies are investing large amounts of resources into developing these systems to increase their infrastructure.

Electric Load Forecasting

Electric Load Forecasting

Electric Load Forecasting

01/11/18

“Can we predict the amount of energy generation for a given day?”

 

Predict how intense the electric load will be for a given day is immensely useful. For example, we will need to know how much energy to generate or how much energy to take from a battery. This is known as Electric Load Forecasting and is one of the most important factors in the energy industry. 

The Impact of Vehicle HVAC on Sustainability

The Impact of Vehicle HVAC on Sustainability

The Impact of Vehicle HVAC on Sustainability

1/10/18

“How can the HVAC systems of vehicles affect their gas-mileage?”

 

Although HVAC is typically seen as something for stationary environments, they are commonly implemented in personal vehicle systems as well. However, just like their building-oriented counterparts, vehicle HVAC consumes a massive amount of energy as well. As a result, when designing more efficient vehicles, We must take into account the impact of vehicle HVAC on sustainability.

Nozzles

Nozzles

Nozzles

09/09/17

“How can we control the flow of a fluid?”

 

Fluid flows can be used for a wide variety of processes, whether it be in regulating an HVAC system, maintaining a nuclear power plant, or operating a jet engine. However, sometimes we may have to modify the flow’s characteristics to fit our needs. So how can we accomplish this using our engineering mindset? Well, what if we were to make a tube of varying cross-sectional area that would force the fluid into changing? This is the fundamental idea behind a nozzle and is used in a wide range of engineering systems.

Vehicle to Building Integration

Vehicle to Building Integration

Vehicle to Building Integration

01/08/18

“How can we integrate electric vehicles with buildings energy systems?”

 

With the ascent of building integrated renewable energy, the need for storage is now more important than ever. However, current forms can be quite expensive and difficult to implement. So how can we use our engineering mindset to think outside of the box for this problem? Well, many people now own electric vehicles, which have onboard batteries. So what if we were to connect these batteries to homes, enabling a quick and portable storage solution for renewable energy? Well, this technology is known as Vehicle to Building Integration, and will be a hot topic in the coming decade. V2B is very similar to Vehicle to Grid Systems, except that they work with buildings instead of grids

Building Heating Loads

Building Heating Loads

Building Heating Loads

01/06/18

“What are the heating requirements of buildings?”

 

We know that the electricity needed by the building represents its energy load, but electricity is often not the only thing that a building requires. Furthermore, said building will also need heating and cooling. So how can we represent this in a quantitative fashion? Well, taking inspiration from energy loads, we can use a building energy load to show the information for heating or cooling in a building. The building energy load can be regulated through the use of an HVAC system.

Building Energy Loads

Building Energy Loads

Building Energy Loads

01/06/17

“What exactly draws energy in a building?”

 

The vast majority of people (in the developed world) spend the vast majority of their lives within a building. Whether it be the hospital they were born, the house they grew up in, or the school they attended, they were in some sort of edifice. And being modern society, we also use electricity within these buildings. And if we were to summate all of the energy-using technologies inside a building, then we would obtain the Building Energy Load. People are billed for how high their energy load is, so the less energy used the more money will be saved. Building Energy Loads also illustrate how important HVAC technology is since typically half of the energy supplied to a building is taken up by heating and cooling needs.

DOE VOLTTRON

DOE VOLTTRON

DOE VOLTTRON

01/05/17

“How can we make an application based framework for sensing and control?”

 

The modern world of engineering is evolving more and more towards the internet of things. However, most appliances nowadays use proprietary means to connect with each other. This makes building a truly open internet of things nearly impossible! However, the good people for the U.S Department of Energy want to fix this, specifically in the area of energy utilization with the use of a little technology known as VOLTTRON. VOLTTRON is an application framework that software developers can use to import and manage data and actions collected by devices. This allows for greater control over their efficiency and can support real-time agent-based communications. VOLTTRON is language agnostic, meaning that it can be written in any desired programming language, making it easier for developers to get their hands on it. VOLTTRON has a wide range of appliances, from utility research to building automation systems and even to vehicle-grid integration!