One of the most important aerodynamic effects on energy consumption required to keep a body moving through a fluid is the aerodynamic drag force. The drag must be overcome by the thrust of a propulsion mechanism, which in turn is consuming energy. Everything else being equal, the higher the drag, the more energy is consumed. Therefore, for energy efficiency, bodies moving through a fluid should be low drag bodies. To understand how to obtain low drag, we have to first understand the nature of drag, and what really causes it. (more…)
The next time you hear an airplane flying overhead, look up, and pause for a moment. What you see is a machine that is heavier than ...
Plate tectonics is conceptually simple. It treats Earth’s outer shell as made up of approximately 15 rigid plates, about 100 km thi ...
The most fundamental process from an energy systems standpoint is heat transfer to (or from) a working fluid. This unit operation t ...
Mixing is a process where two or more liquids or gas phase components are brought together and combined to form a uniform compositi ...
Hydraulic turbines have two main classifications: impulse and reaction. The impulse turbine generally uses the velocity of the wate ...
Energy labeling is a policy tool that informs consumers about the energy performance of appliances and thereby encourages them to purchase appliances that provide the services they need with less energy consumption. In providing information to consumers about equipment energy consumption and operating costs that would otherwise be invisible or unavailable, energy labeling enables consumers to make more balanced and rational purchasing decisions. Energy labels can also help consumers to identify the most efficient products on the market. In effect, energy labeling attempts to provide a market ‘‘pull’’ for more energy-efficient products while simultaneously presenting information that might discourage the purchase of less efficient products. (more…)
It is important to remember that labeling and MEPS programs aim to influence the selection of products by consumers at the poin ...
Endorsement labels indicate that the products carrying the labels belong to the ‘‘most energy-efficient’’ class of products or ...
There are only a few compulsory energy efficiency programs aimed at industrial facilities. It is only recently that the EU introduc ...
As the need for energy efficiency becomes more pronounced, the drive toward efficiency in the commercial sector will be impeded by ...
As energy prices increase, industries are more and more aware that energy is an expensive commodity that has to be used effic ...
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) has offered, and the European Commission (EC) has accepted, a voluntary commitment to reduce the CO2 emissions from new light-duty passenger vehicles, with firm fleetwide targets of 140 g CO2 /km (B41 mpg for gasoline) by 2008, measured under the new European test cycle (Directives 93/116/EC and 99/100/EC). This represents approximately a 25% reduction from the 1995 average of 187 g/km (B30 mpg) on this cycle. The European cycle is likely to produce lower fuel economy ratings than the U.S. combined urban/ highway cycle, so the ‘‘U.S. equivalent’’ miles per gallon ratings of the year 2008 European fleet will likely be higher than 41 mpg if the targets are met. (more…)
Although the automotive industry is a vigorous sponsor of research and development in vehicle efficiency technology—worldwide, ...
Addressing global warming, however, is a highly complex and daunting endeavor. Many climate experts have urged the world to stabili ...
We know of no studies that have examined vehicle taxation incentives programs elsewhere in the world, but it seems likely that ...
A variety of information programs exist in the major automobile markets to assist potential purchasers of new cars in comparing fue ...
There are various and somewhat complementary reasons to foster the growth of renewable energy sources in Europe. A major incent ...
It is a rare company prospectus that begins with a quotation from Goethe: “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” But Lovins is not a normal entrepreneur, as anyone who has met this eccentric and disheveled but unmistakably visionary thinker knows. The founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a leading green think tank based in Old Snowmass, Colorado, thinks the car industry’s incremental approach to cutting emissions and improving fuel efficiency will never amount to much. He wants a complete redesign of the automobile, from the bottom up, and intends to show the big boys how it should be done. (more…)
The leading automotive brands are being focused to produce electric vehicles because they believe they represent a harmony to the e ...
Mercedes-Benz presented at Geneva Style F800 Concept (the F stands for Mercedes: technology, design and art), a prototype that ...
Under both former President Bush and new President Obama, the U.S. government has vowed to reduce reliance on imported oil. The ...
This latter form of new car taxes can actually serve as an impediment to higher fuel economy to the extent that increased energ ...
There are different types of vehicle propulsion systems and the transportation fuels that have been studied for their potential ...
Electric and gas utilities’ Research & Development activities deal nearly exclusively with energy conversion, distribution, and energy usage (at least to the extent that these firms still focus on these core businesses). Although detailed data on utility Research & Development are not collected systematically, it seems that Energy R&D spending by many utilities has declined during the past decade or so. For example, a 1996 survey by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) found that the combined Research & Development spending of the 112 largest operating utilities in the United States dropped from $708 million in 1993 to $476 million in 1996. (more…)
Government expenditures on energy R&D, energy conservation have risen steadily over the past decade, but only two countries, Japan ...
Not surprisingly, most Energy Research and Development takes place in industrialized countries where both the public and private se ...
Nuclear fission and fusion Research and Development continues to account for nearly half of the total spending by IEA countries, al ...
Japan has the largest Photovoltaic installed capacity in the world as a result of the sustained investments made by the country thr ...
The aim of this broad sweep through the area of energy innovation, highlighting the main actors, activities, policies, institutions ...
To date, most discussion and research relating to the various of biomass role in mitigating CO2 emissions has been focused around its use as a fuel or as a sink. However, full utilization of the potential of biomass products, particularly from woody biomass, may provide significant opportunities. (more…)
Climate change caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect is one of the most significant global environmental issues. Increased emiss ...
Bioenergy produced from biomass is sometimes called a carbon-neutral energy source, because the same quantity of carbon released wh ...
The accumulation of carbon within a forest growth cycle can be considered in four stages. The initial establishment stage involves ...
The quantification of the actual reduction in green house gases sourcess emissions resulting from the substitution of fossil fu ...
Estimation of the future technical potential of biomass as an energy source is dependent on assumptions with respect to land av ...
Scientists at the Carnegie Institution have found that using a high pressure can create a very unique material for storing hydrogen. The discovery opens the door to a whole new way of addressing the problem of hydrogen storage.
Researchers have found that xenon, a noble gas that normally is not reactive, combines with molecular hydrogen (H2) under pressure to form a compound previously unknown. (more…)
Researchers at the Institute of Chemical Technology have developed a new catalyst that allows to obtain, from bioethanol, hydrogen ...
The issues of hydrogen storage run through the hydrogen production, hydrogen transport, supply and demand for end use of hydrog ...
With ethanol’s future uncertain, many commentators see the transportation debate evolving into a war between two other technologies ...
An important element for the entire infrastructure of hydrogen energy infrastructure is having hydrogen delivery system the saf ...
Hydrogen has many applications when it comes to fuel. It can be used both in internal combustion engines and hydrogen fuel cells. ...
Many readers may be unfamiliar with the way economists typically view the process of technological change, thus it is useful to first establish this common understanding. Furthermore, to understand the potential for public policy to affect energy efficiency, it is also necessary to understand the process through which technology evolves: invention, innovation, energy diffusion, and product use. (more…)
Now it is possible to move back in the process of technological change from diffusion to innovation. In the energy efficiency area, ...
The aim of this broad sweep through the area of energy innovation, highlighting the main actors, activities, policies, institutions ...
Mixing is a process where two or more liquids or gas phase components are brought together and combined to form a uniform compositi ...
Beginning at the end of the technological change process, research has consistently shown that diffusion of new, economically ...
Energy efficiency is defined here to mean energy services provided per unit of energy input (for example, gallons of water hea ...
Establishing the impact of climate change on energy demand requires a measure of heating and cooling requirements. In the United States, this measure is a degree day, which is defined in terms of an absolute difference between average daily temperature and 651F, which is an arbitrary benchmark for household comfort. Commercial heating degree days are incurred when outside temperatures are below 651F, generally during the winter heating season from October through March. (more…)
Here, the sensitivity of energy demand to climate is measured two ways. The first method uses elasticities that provide simple summ ...
To determine the effects of past climate trends on global energy consumption, the econometric equations providing the degree day el ...
Energy is consumed by various segments of the economy, including households, commercial establishments, manufacturing enterpris ...
Although the focus of many policy studies of climate change is on establishing the causal links between anthropogenic systems, emis ...
Climatologists generally agree that there is accumulating evidence that a warming trend has been occurring since the mid-1960s. The ...
In recent years, there has been a greater understanding of the role of automotive emissions as environmental pollutants. Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide degrade the earth’s atmosphere and are health hazards. Carbon dioxide adds to the atmospheric buildup of greenhouse gases and in turn accelerates the process of global warming. (more…)
Most alternative fuel vehicles on the road today were originally designed for gasoline, but converted for use with an alternative f ...
The development and blending of gasoline additives and petroleum additivies are undertaken for the most part by the petroleum r ...
Almost all fossil fuels use is by burning them to create energy. Burning process then produces waste products due to impurities in ...
At present, in the United States and worldwide, motor vehicles are fueled almost exclusively by petroleum based gasoline (or re ...
A combination of legislation and technology has helped clean up many of the world’s coal-burning plants. Both developed and develop ...