Emerging Indoor Air Quality Issues In Developing Countries

indoor air quality
In terms of aggregate health effects, household solid fuel use is currently the most important source of indoor air pollution in developing countries. Although relatively equitable economic and rural development has contributed to reducing the use of solid fuels in some settings (e.g., in some newly industrialized Asian countries), indoor air pollution is likely to remain an important health risk in poorer developing countries in the absence of successful intervention programs. More broadly, indoor air quality issues in developing countries are dynamic phenomena that require dynamic research and policy responses. (more…)

UK Energy Demand: The United Kingdom Trends in Energy

uk energy demand
The long-term prospects for the U.K. economy are inevitably uncertain, and the most recent Department of Energy long-term projection puts forward three scenarios for the next 30 years with GDP growth rates of roughly 2.5, 1.5 and 0.5% p.a. The highest value corresponds to slightly less than the 1948 - 72 average, the central value is close to the long-run average over the last 80 years, and the lowest figure is similar to the performance during the current recession since 1973. (more…)

Photoelectrolysis Using Metal Oxides And Other Semiconductors

Photoelectrolysis
Certain materials, generally metal oxides, can sustain the unassisted photo-electrolysis of water into H2 and O2. The energy contained in the photons that are absorbed by these materials can in many cases be efficiently converted into energy stored into the chemical fuels produced by the photo-electrolysis system. However, these materials have optical absorption thresholds (band gaps) that are too large to permit effective absorption of the visible and infrared portions of the solar spectrum, thereby wasting a large fraction of the incident solar energy and yielding overall energy conversion efficiencies of o 1%. Modification of metal oxide materials has been claimed to be much more promising, with a modified TiO 2 photo-anode yielding 8% efficiency in the photo-assisted splitting of water into H2 and O2 . (more…)

Aerodynamic Drag Force: Laminar Flow & Turbulent Flow

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…)

Fiber-Optic Terminals Energy Consumption

Fiber-Optic energy
Fiber optic systems have many advantages on the basis of the communication systems technology compare to metallic media communication. These advantages include lower interference, small signal attenuation and bandwidth characteristics. In addition, relatively small cross-section of the fiber optic cable from a substantial growth in capacity in the existing lines is replaced. Properties of optical fibers can be classified as linear and nonlinear. Non-linear properties are influenced by parameters such as bit rate, channel spacing, and the level of performance. (more…)

Copy Machines Energy Consumption - How to use Photocopier Energy Saving Feature

Copy Machines Energy Consumption
The office copy machines (photocopier) is everywhere. Seven millions unit are in used in the United States and more than 1.5 million are sold each year. Anyone who has worked in an office has probably used at least once or perhaps spend hours making many copies. The copy machines are not cheap, not just the price. Office stencils related equipment is the fastest-growing use of electricity in commercial buildings in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy. The electricity consumed by office equipment companies will cost reaching two million dollar per year and copiers play an important role in this matter. (more…)

Federal Excise Taxes to Motor Fuels: Gasoline, Diesel, Aviation Jet Fuel

Federal Excise Taxes
Federal Excise Taxes placed on specific energy sources tend to reduce energy demand for these energy sources in both the short and the long run. The federal government imposes excise taxes on almost all petroleum products (including petroleum additives) and coal (see Table 1). The federal government also imposes federal excise taxes on many transportation uses of methanol, ethanol, natural gas, and propane and imposes a fee on electricity produced from nuclear power plants and nuclear power electricity. (more…)

HVAC Energy Consumption – Optimum Energy Efficiency Management

HVAC Energy Efficiency
HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning) systems vary depending on the complexity of room units size from single rooms to large systems, central control, which serves several areas of a building. In large, modern office buildings with heat gains from lights, people and equipment, interior spaces often require constant cooling. Rooms within the building itself (rooms with exterior walls, ceilings or roofs), it may be necessary to heat and / or cooled the weather conditions change hourly or daily outside. In buildings over one story in height, perimeter zones in the lower levels tend to be the penetration of air infiltration without so much control. (more…)

Human Exposure To Indoor Smoke From Solid Fuels

smoke solid fuels
Exposure to air pollutants and air pollution problem are very high in indoor environments in developing countries. Smith has estimated that at the aggregate level (i.e., without accounting for particle size, chemical composition, and source), approximately 80% of total global exposure to airborne particulate matter occurs indoors in developing nations. Details of exposure for various household members, and the roles of both pollution and behavior (e.g., location with respect to stove and activities), have been studied and evaluated using new tools and technology. (more…)

Electrodynamic Suspension (EDS): Technology Alternatives For Suspension And Propulsion

Electrodynamic Suspension
Electrodynamic Suspension (EDS) can be viewed as an array of magnets moving over a conducting sheet and being pushed upwards by forces due to induced currents. This electrodynamic suspension that was pioneered by Gordon Danby and James Powell in the 1960s, can not work at zero speed, but at higher speeds it can be inherently stable. The virtue of Electrodynamic Suspension designs is their ability to operate with larger air gaps than is feasible with Electromagnetic Suspension EMS designs. (more…)

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