Health Benefits Of Household Energy Transitions

household energy consumption
Reducing exposure to indoor air pollution from household energy use can be achieved through interventions in of the following areas:

* Emissions source and energy technology (fuel– stove combination).
* Housing design and ventilation.
* Behavior and time–activity budget. (more…)

Fuel Cycle Analysis and Green House Gas Emission

Fuel Cycle Analysis
The spark-ignition and compression-ignition engine and internal combustion engines technologies that are currently employed in motor vehicles were developed more than 100 years ago. These conventional vehicle technologies are fueled by petroleum-derived gasoline and diesel fuels (the socalled conventional fuels). Over the past 100 years, the conventional technologies have been dramatically improved, reducing cost and increasing performance. (more…)

Fuel Pathways And Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Combinations

Vehicle Fuel Efficiency
There are different types of vehicle propulsion systems and the transportation fuels that have been studied for their potential to power the vehicles. Gasoline, CNG, LNG, LPG, methanol, ethanol, and hydrogen can be used in vehicles equipped with conventional spark-ignition (SI) engines. Interest in developing efficient, low-emission, spark-ignition direct-injection (SIDI) engine technologies has heightened in recent years. (more…)

Fuel Cell Vehicles Commercialization Issues

Fuel Cell Vehicles

The commercialization prospects for fuel cell vehicles depend not only on their performance and cost, but also on how well they can compete with other technology options that address similar market and policy needs. While market forces have not traditionally motivated design change for reasons of environmental performance, customer values and expectations can evolve and such characteristics could grow in importance. However, inherent market conservatism will favor less disruptive ways to address evolving needs, which might be met by improved gasoline and diesel vehicles, including hybrid-electric versions. Yet looking over the long run, particularly the need to substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions, hydrogen fuel cells may well provide a solution that is superior to other alternatives. (more…)

Maglev Technology For High-Speed Transportation

High-speed maglev technology offers four main advantages: non-contact operation; low-mass vehicles (on a per seat basis, maglev vehicles weigh approximately one-third to three-quarters as much as high speed trains); high speed; and wayside system control and self-propelled vehicles (each car contains its own secondary part of a linear synchronous motors).

Non-contact operation means that vehicle traction does not depend on adhesion between contact surfaces, e.g., wheels and rails. (more…)

Hybrid Electric Cars: Cutting Emissions and Improving Fuel Efficiency

hybrid electric cars
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…)

Fuel Cycle Analysis of Vehicles and Transportation Fuels

fuel cycle

The fuel cycle for a given transportation fuel includes the following processes: energy feedstock (or primary energy) production; biomass feedstock transportation and storage; fuel production; fuel transportation, storage, and distribution; and vehicle operations that involve fuel combustion air or other chemical energy conversions. The processes that precede vehicle operations are often referred to as the well-to-pump (WTP) stage, the vehicle operations are referred to as the pump-to-wheels (PTW) stage, and the entire fuel cycle is referred to as the well-to-wheels (WTW) cycle. Various models have been developed that allow researchers to conduct fuel cycle analyses of vehicle/fuel systems. The GREET (greenhouse gases, regulated emissions, and energy transportation) model, developed by Argonne National Laboratory, is in the public domain and, so far, more than 1000 users worldwide have used the model to predict the energy use and emissions associated with alternative fuels vehicles. The GREET model and its documents are posted on the Internet at http:// greet.anl.gov. (more…)

New Car Tax Credit Promoting Higher Fuel Economy in Japan

new car tax credit
This latter form of new car taxes can actually serve as an impediment to higher fuel economy to the extent that increased energy efficiency is attained with high-cost technology, such as continuously variable automatic transmissions, hybrid electric vehicles drive trains, and variable valve controls, and such taxes add to the cost of these technologies. (more…)

New Tax Credits For Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)

hybrid car tax
Under both former President Bush and new President Obama, the U.S. government has vowed to reduce reliance on imported oil. The nation is encouraging development of a transportation fleet that uses biofuels, fuel cell vehicles and hybrid electric technologies.

Us Government Program To Reduce Reliance On Imported Oil

To that end, the federal government, in late 2008, put in place new incentives – and extended others – designed to create a strong up-tick in sales of unconventional vehicles. As a result, the U.S. Energy Information Administration anticipates that hybrid cars will grow from 2% of new light-duty vehicles sold in 2007 to 38% by 2030. (more…)

Electric Cars as a Solution to Climate Change

The leading automotive brands are being focused to produce electric vehicles because they believe they represent a harmony to the environment and climate change solution. (more…)

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