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Check out these great sites for engineering resources and information
April 26, 2007
Keeping to my goals of sharing as many useful websites as possible in the shortest amount of time and space, here’s the next round of my favorite sites and resources:
* (Really) Green Products: I’ve often been asked where engineers can find information about green products. One resource that comes to mind, although it isn’t free, is the GreenSpec product database, which is maintained by Alex Wilson, publisher of “Environmental Building News” and BuildingGreen.com. Products in the database go through GreenSpec’s rigorous assessment, and over time, reassessment. EBN is a paid-subscription newsletter that has been around since 1992; I recommend it as a strong and steady voice on green construction, covering both commercial and residential buildings.
* Hey – control freaks, here’s a lot of free information, fast: Check out DDC-Online.org, hosted by the Iowa Energy Center. DDC-Online.org has a short-and-sweet primer on DDC, but the good stuff is the detailed product specifications it has for major and not-so-major brands organized within its Manufacturers Product List. The tricky thing about the site is that the hyperlinks leading to detailed information are not highlighted, so you move your mouse over the different words. After a while, you get the hang of it.
* BACnet having its Day in the Sun, May 20 to May22: The annual BACnet conference is coming up fast. According to the host, the BACnet International, “The conference is designed for building owners and operators, architects, mechanical system professionals, system integrators, contractors and other professionals involved in automated building systems.”I’ve gone to several of these events and they were informative and, for those who like bits and bytes with their BTUs, fun. It’s in Phoenix this year, so you can bake out the last of your winter blues while interfacing, networking, and patching in.
* Getting to Fifty: The final report of the New Building Institute’s Getting to Fifty symposium has been released. Getting to Fifty is not about middle age, diet and exercise, but it is about shedding loads and improving the energy diet of America’s buildings, i.e., 50% reduction compared to code. NBI is a non-profit research/program-management firm in White Salmon, Wash., and is active on building codes, new technologies, and policies.
I participated in the symposium along with industry-leading engineers like Tom Hartman, P.E., Dan Nall, P.E., FAIA, and Kent Peterson, P.E. (the ASHRAE president-elect)—and about 60 scientists, policy makers, architects and building owners. So, what do all these people have to say about the future of energy after three days of conferencing and coffee? Read the report (PDF link)… Also, check out NBI’s database of case studies for energy-efficient buildings and their information/resources on reducing lighting energy.
* Speaking of lighting…: Commercial lighting systems are essential for illuminating work areas, providing safety, and making products visible (and look good) on shelves. They also use a lot of energy directly (power) and indirectly (increased cooling loads). Every once in a while, I drop into the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to look at its latest reports that provide guidance to designers and specifiers. One of the things I noticed this time around is that it has a great glossary and technology descriptions, which could help engineers uniformly and effectively communicate about lighting. The Lighting Research Center also recently (since I was last there) updated its report on T8 lighting fixtures, so check that out, too.
* Science news you can use: For those of you who have an interest in science and like to help children with their science homework, I recommend ScienceDaily.com. Relevant to the buildings industry, the site does maintain a healthy dose of energy and environmental news, and it seems to have a little bit of news on almost everything, from fossils to nanotechnology.
Posted by Michael Ivanovich on April 26, 2007 | Comments (2)
