Staff

Fast-Tracking with 3D CAD

When officials at Wyckoff Inc., a chemical manufacturer with facilities in South Haven, Mich., wanted to expand production capacity by building an additional 18,000-square-foot plant, they challenged the project team to design, build and commission the new facility in nine months. The result was a fast-track project with design and construction efforts running in parallel.

Building Corporate Backbone

When the owners of ING Investment Products Group decided to build a new headquarters in West Chester, Pa., cabling infrastructure was a big concern. Recognizing the fast pace of technological developments and how difficult it is to avoid rapid obsolescence, they wanted a voice and data infrastructure that gave them not only reliable performance, but also longevity.

Clean Lamps = Big Savings

The results are in. Commercial building owners in the United States could save between $2.7 and $3.6 billion dollars per year by simply cleaning fixtures on a regular basis, according to a federally-funded four-year building-lighting study conducted by the InterNational Association of Lighting Management Companies (NALMCO), Des Moines, Iowa.

Taking Lighting to Extremes

Die-casting plants are hot, dirty environments that require frequent cleaning with high-power water jets to produce quality castings. The combination can take its toll on lighting systems. At the Abeco die-casting plant in Lewisburg, Tenn., low-bay luminaires were not tolerating the harsh and demanding environment and could not withstand the heavy cleaning-water spray without breach or ingress.

The Need for Steam

As is the case with many health-care institutions, Kaiser Hospital in Sunnyside, Ore., periodically requires large amounts of steam for heating and sterilization. However, in the past, the difficulty was that one boiler was not sufficient to handle the sudden load swing. "In the wintertime, our two 300-hp fire-tube boilers would not hold the load, so we'd have to run our 500-hp boiler with a 30...

Best of the Web – Editor’s Pix – 1970-01-01

Valuable Internet resources for engineers.EPA Upgrade Analysis Softwarehttp://yosemite1.epa.gov/estar/business.nsf/content/multiarea_tools_softwaretools_main.htmA variety of analysis tools assess the feasibility of variable-air-volume, chiller and lighting upgrades.Library of Continuing Education Courseswww.

New products literature

Magnetic-drive pumps are specifically designed to handle difficult fluids such as corrosives, pollutants, ultrapure liquids and toxics. This seamless pump can handle flows up to 1,500 gpm at 2,900 rpm and 1,760 gpm at 3,500 rpm. (Model ICM by Goulds Pumps) Circle 1 Structured cabling system doubles the bandwidth of the proposed category-6 standard, tested to perform at up to 400 MHz.

Software Helps Tidy Up Clean Rooms

Concern over cross-contamination between different cleanliness classes within a clean-room garment-changing area led an in-house engineering team at the Belgium facilities of Alcon Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company based in Ft. Worth, Texas, to carry out a design study simulating air movement, heat transfer and distribution of contaminants through the rooms.

Log On For Lamp Recycling

Engineers and lighting designers can now access useful information on fluorescent and high-intensity-discharge lamp recycling at a new Web site—www.lamprecycle.org—sponsored by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, Rosslyn, Va. The Web site includes information about federal and state regulatory lamp management requirements, state regulatory contacts, a list of compan...

ARI Sees Flaws in DOE’s Energy-Efficiency Plan

If the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) fails to reconsider its decision to mandate a 30-percent energy-efficiency increase for central air conditioners and heat pumps, 84 percent of all central air conditioners and 86 percent of all heat- pump models on the market will be rendered obsolete, according to Ed Dooley, director of communications for the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute ...

Superconductivity Gains Some Super Backing

The U.S. Dept. of Energy is betting that high-temperature superconductors have reached technical maturity with recently announced $51.8 million in funding for five projects involving superconducting cables and fault current limiters. Funding for the “Modern Grid Initiative” will be matched by participating research-team members, making the projects' total cost $103.

California Enacts Renewables Tracking System

Renewable-energy portfolio standards, which require utilities to ensure targeted percentages of their overall electricity sales come from renewable resources, are becoming the law in many states. California has mandated that 20% of electricity sales in the state meet this standard, and regulators recently launched a system to register and track acceptable resources in the larger Western Interco...

Solar Researchers Concentrating Their Efforts

As any child who's played with mirrors and magnifying lenses outdoors knows, such simple devices, when paired with sunlight, can generate significant energy. Researchers currently are looking at new ways to adapt similar principles to improving solar-energy production. Resulting products are showing promise in both improving photovoltaics' performance and reducing overall system costs.

A Mighty Wind is Pushing U.S. Renewable Energy Success

The United States is expected to be home to an anticipated 49,000 MW of installed wind-power capacity by 2015, making it the world's largest wind-power producer, according to a recent report. Developers are expected to invest more than $65 billion between 2007 and 2015 in wind-power facilities, researchers say.

Healthcare facilities go green, combat energy waste

The Green Patient Room, a healthcare exhibit using ecologically friendly design and materials and designed to show just how green hospital facilities can go, will be featured at the International Facility Management Assn.'s World Workplace 2007 Conference & Expo, Oct. 24 through Oct. 26, in New Orleans.

ARC Awards applications due Oct. 15

There's still time to participate in this year's ARC Awards, CSE's annual competition for top MEP projects of the year. Download the 2007 application for Consulting-Specifying Engineer's ARC Awards at www.csemag.com. This program recognizes the firms and engineers winning or placing in two categories: Most Innovative New Construction Project and Most Innovative Rehab/Reconstruction Project.

In the blogs at csemag.com – 2007-09-01

David Sellers, P.E., senior engineer with the Portland, Ore. office of Facility Dynamics Engineering, and CSE's “A Field Guide for Engineers” blogger, in a new series of postings, shares the results of a retrocommissioning project. “In the course of beginning a retrocommissioning process on a lab facility, I came across a bit of an anomaly and in the course of exploring it, di...

New Power Technologies— But Same Old Transmission Problems

Alternative energy has become a growth industry, with announcements for new wind, solar and geothermal projects an almost daily event. But getting the clean electricity these facilities produce to market poses the same challenge faced by traditional power plants: gaining approval for new transmission lines.

Florida Utility Seeking Nuclear-Plant Approval

Saying it wants to keep its options for meeting future power demand open, Miami-based FPL has begun seeking approval to build a nuclear generating station on its Turkey Point facility near Key Largo, in southeast Miami-Dade County. The approval process could take up to 12 years. FPL currently operates two 1970s-era nuclear generators at Turkey Point, along with two oil-or-gas plants a...

Look Ma, No Wires!

There's something very inefficient in the way we power many of our portable electronic devices, periodically attaching them to adapter-cord tethers so batteries can be recharged and operation can once again become truly “portable.” Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed the basis for a technology that could bring wireless convenience to battery ...

ASHRAE Healthcare Certification

Twenty-nine engineers made up the first group to earn a new certification for healthcare facility design. Developed by ASHRAE in cooperation with the American Society for Healthcare Engineering, these healthcare design professionals earned certification after passing the exam at ASHRAE's 2007 Annual Meeting in Long Beach, Calif.

Economic outlook from AMCA Intl.

The Air Movement and Control Assn. Intl. released a quarterly forecast newsletter for the third quarter of 2007 authored by consulting economist, Hans Zigmund. The industry's principal economic indicators continue to provide mixed results. Housing markets continue to struggle, Zigmund said. According to the U.

Letters: Reader Feedback – 2007-09-01

Data center fire protection I just read your article entitled “Data Center Technology Past, Present and Future” (CSE 07/07, p. 38). Very interesting. I am a fire protection engineer with more than 30 years of experience in the field. I hope that I am up-to-date on extinguishing agents. As such, I would like to comment on a paragraph found in your informative article.

ARI chairman’s goal: solve world’s energy issues

Speaking on Aug. 22 to an audience of air conditioning and refrigeration engineers attending the International Congress of Refrigeration in Beijing, Robert Wilkins, president of Danfoss, Inc. and 2007 chairman of the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI), issued a call to action for the air conditioning and commercial refrigeration industry.

New Products – 2007-09-01

Emergency power system supply testing and reporting system is designed to meet Joint Commission requirements. System provides secure, certified record of all EPSS activities through a single web-based application, and is compatible with other manufacturers' equipment, including legacy switches and generators and existing IT infrastructure.

Washington inspires eWeek

National Engineers Week, scheduled for Feb. 17 to Feb. 23 in Washington, D.C., traces its roots back to 1951. It was founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers and has grown to a coalition of more than 70 engineering societies and more than 50 major corporations and government agencies.

Energy forum: wide range of views

This year's 18th Annual Energy Efficiency Forum, in June at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., co-sponsored by Johnson Controls, Milwaukee, and the U.S. Energy Assn., couldn't have been more timely. Major congressional hearings on energy convened the same day. And the forum followed immediately upon the G-8 Summit's discussions on climate change.

It’s official: Burj Dubai tallest

It was always known that the Burj Dubai skyscraper being built in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, would be the world's tallest, but developers have been keeping the final figure under wraps. The figures are finally in. The Burg Dubai has reached 1,680 ft., surpassing Taiwan's Taipei 101, which stands at 1,671 ft.

In the blogs at csemag.com – 2007-08-01

David Sellers, P.E., senior engineer with the Portland, Ore. office of Facility Dynamics Engineering, and CSE's “A Field Guide for Engineers” blogger, has several valuable new postings. Sellers has rapidly followed up a seven-part series on damper tests with several posts, including the following: “Controlling the Environment Requires Understanding the Environment,” foc...

New Products – 2007-08-01

Variable frequency drives feature open communications and an enhanced user interface and display to provide an English-language menu graphical readout. The HVAC energy box, MCT 10 and USB-port interface enhance the accessibility and use of the product. VFDs are available from 1.5 hp through 600 hp at 460 volts AC and 600 volts AC, and 1.

Letters: Reader Feedback – 2007-08-01

Engineering shortage On the subject article (05/07), it is similar to an engineering survey I read recently. In that article, it stated that mechanical engineers with 10 years of experience had an average annual salary of $58,000 and the lowest average professional engineering salary in the United States (electrical engineers salary was about $68,000).

Download application for ARC Awards

Download the 2007 application for Consulting-Specifying Engineer's ARC Awards. This program recognizes the firms and engineers winning or placing in two categories: Most Innovative New Construction Project and Most Innovative Rehab/Reconstruction Project. Gold, Silver and Bronze awards will be given in each category.

Last Chance to Vote

This year marks the third annual staging of the Consulting-Specifying Engineer Product of the Year competition, with more finalists than ever. As in the past, CSE convened a panel of consulting engineers as judges to determine the finalists. Our judges decided that 48 entrants deserved to enter the final competition.

Notes from ASHRAE Summer Meeting in Long Beach, Calif.

Energy efficiency and sustainability are central topics at ASHRAE meetings. But with general public concern and awareness of these issues continuing to grow, it is the ASHRAE leadership's goal to be in the forefront on these topics. The topic dominated the ASHRAE annual meeting held in Long Beach, Calif.

EWeek 2008 At-a-Glance

Engineers Week 2008 aims to offer a broad program of outreach and education efforts to encourage more women and other diverse groups to consider engineering careers. EWeek 2008, scheduled for Feb. 17 to Feb. 23 in Washington, D.C., is co-chaired by IBM and the Chinese Institute of Engineers-USA. Throughout the next months, CSE will bring its readers information on Engineers Week 2008 through p...

Oregon: 25% Renewable by 2025?

In June, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed into law a bill creating a renewable energy standard that requires the state's largest utilities to meet 25% of their electric load with new renewable energy sources by 2025. “This bill is the most significant environmental legislation we can enact in more than 30 years that also will stimulate billions of dollars in investment—creating...

Letters: Reader Feedback – 2007-07-01

More on “Engineering Shortage: Employers to Blame?” I was shaking my head up and down saying yes to myself as I was reading your article. Unfortunately, many companies are public and have to work on a quarter-to-quarter basis for “shareholder wealth.” That's no way to run a company properly, but it's the way most businesses are run—even if they're private.

In the Blogs at csemag.com – 2007-07-01

David Sellers, who blogs “A Field Guide For Engineers” posted the first part of a discussion on damper tests at the end of May, and has already posted Part 7B. “I recently had a chance to test the flow vs. damper blade position characteristics for the AHU1 economizer dampers at the Pacific Energy Center (PEC),” Sellers said.

San Diego’s CleanTECH

Mayor Jerry Sanders of San Diego in June announced the official formation of CleanTECH San Diego, a non-profit trade association that is intended to foster and build an energy and environmental technology cluster in the greater San Diego region. The organization will be incubated at CONNECT, a public benefits organization that promotes entrepreneurship in the San Diego region by supporting the ...

Site Highlights…

“How to Address Integration and Interoperability for Campus Mass-Notification Systems,” a CSE live webcast on www.csemag.com. Security-system expert William Sako, executive vice president, RJA, is the instructor for this how-to webcast that is archived on the website and available free-of-charge to all interested users.

Briefly… – 2007-07-01

• Four post-secondary HVAC/R programs have earned national accreditation through the Partnership for Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Accreditation program. These programs include: Mount San Antonio College, Walnut, Calif.; Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, Ill.; Community College of Southern Nevada, Henderson, Nev.

New Products – 2007-07-01

Adjustable speed drives include sensorless and closed loop vector drives, plus three microdrives that offer a cost-effective solution for basic adjustable speed applications. The sensorless and closed-loop vector drives offer removable keypads that provide text information. The microdrive models range from ½ hp to 10 hp (Baldor V*S Drive by Baldor Electric) www.

Energy Efficiency May Offer Florida Big Savings

Florida could save $28 billion—enough to cover this year's entire education and transportation budgets—by using energy efficiency strategies that are available now, says a study released by the Washington, D.C.-based American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The ACEEE study is said to show that using energy efficiency policies alone, such as efficient windows, compa...

New Products – 2007-06-01

TVSS module is now available in a 40mm version that can be easily integrated inside panelboards, cabinets and switchgear equipment. The fuseless design enables direct installation on busbars on the load side of a circuit breaker, eliminating the need to install additional interconnection wires or circuit breakers or fuses.

3-D Solar Cells Boost Efficiency, Reduce Size

A type of 3-D solar cell that captures nearly all of the light that strikes it could boost the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) systems while reducing their size, weight and mechanical complexity. The new 3-D solar cells capture photons from sunlight using an array of miniature “tower” structures that resemble high-rise buildings in a city street grid.

U.S., China Collaborate on Clean Coal

Scientists from China met with their counterparts in the United States in April to advance the science needed to use coal—the No. 1 domestic energy resource for each country—cleanly and more economically. The U.S. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, along with China's Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics and Institute of Coal Chemistry are establishing a new partnership called t...

A System for Peak Demand Reduction

The utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has chosen Cooper Power Systems, a division of Cooper Industries, Ltd., to provide a system for peak demand reduction designed for PG&E's residential and small commercial customers. The solution will enable PG&E to gain at least five megawatts of clean energy capacity by June 15, 2007, and can be expanded to ultimately provide mor...

New Websites…

• Expesite, Columbus, Ohio, provider of end-to-end program and project management software, launched a strategic sourcing solution to help users of Expesite locate and qualify vendors/suppliers for their projects: www.EndtoEndSourcing.com. • Ferraz Shawmut, Newburyport, Mass., announced the completion of its new website for the company’s North American division at us.

DOE to Invest up to $8.2 Million for Hydrogen Storage Research

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel W. Bodman announced earlier this year DOE plans to provide up to $8.2 million over four years—FY07 to FY10—for six hydrogen storage research projects, directly supporting President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative (AEI). The aim is to increase U.

Lamp Recycling

Dallas-based Rexel, an electrical and datacom equipment distributor, announced that its customers can now take advantage of lamp, ballast and battery recycling services offered through the company's 325 locations across the United States. Working with Veolia Environmental Services, Rexel will offer RECYCLEPAK kits and bulk recycling services.

Briefly… – 2007-06-01

• Johnson Controls, Milwaukee, announced that its Metasys system field gear is now BACnet Testing Laboratory (BTL) certified, a status that confirms the components’ interoperability with other BACnet devices. For more information, go to www.johnsoncontrols.com. • ABB Drives, New Berlin, Wis.

ICC Adopts ASHRAE 62.1

Approval of ASHRAE's Standard 62.1 ventilation rate calculation procedure for the International Mechanical Code (IMC) in May marks a milestone for the high-profile mandatory-language standard after years of development aimed at code adoption. The International Code Council approved an ASHRAE proposal to incorporate the prescriptive ventilation rate procedure from ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.

In the Blogs at csemag.com – 2007-06-01

Blogs at csemag.com are getting up to speed now. Blogger David Sellers weighed in recently with the first part of a continuing discussion on damper tests. “I recently had a chance to test the flow vs. damper blade position characteristics for the AHU1 economizer dampers at the Pacific Energy Center (PEC),” said Sellers.

Global Experts Convene in Beijing to Lay Roadmaps for Ultra High Voltage Technology

In places where electric demand is growing but room for transmission lines is limited, a new technology known as ultra high voltage (UHV) offers an important viable solution. Delivering voltages of 1,000 kV AC or higher and a minimum of 800 kV DC, UHV technology can carry large quantities of electricity long distances over a single power line corridor and with minimal loss of power.

Letters: Reader Feedback – 2007-06-01

Talent Search Regarding the editorial, “Engineering Shortage: Employers to Blame?” (Editor's Viewpoint, 05/07, p. 9), more people need to publicly make those comments! I am an employer. I regularly search the National Society of Professional Engineers [salary survey] for what is reasonable pay for me and my only engineer employee, although it is nearly impossible to judge if the inf...

Critical Facilities Consulting

One of the nation's major mission-critical design firms, New York City-based EYP MCF, reports that it is ushering in a new era of reliability with the formal establishment of Critical Facilities Consulting (CFC). Firm officials report that the impetus behind the launch of the CFC division is driven by significant changes taking place within the mission critical industry.

Berkeley Lab Tracks Energy Services Growth

A recently issued report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the National Assn. of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO) documents that the revenues of energy service companies (ESCOs) grew by 20% per year from 2004 to 2006 and totaled about $3.6 billion in 2006. According to the study, “A Survey of the U.

Taking off into the Blogosphere

In his inaugural csemag.com blog posting on April 19, CSE Editor-in-Chief Michael Ivanovich boasts, “You're going to love this blog, and you're going to come back to it at least once a week. I know this because I'm going to ensure that it's interesting, entertaining, timely and relevant. My goal here is simple: inform you, empower you and get out of the way.

More Blogs, Polls and Other Tools at csemag.com

We've already described many of the useful tools and resources on the newly redesigned csemag.com website: organization into easily searched communities, the editor-in-chief's blog, intended as a forum for the entire M/E/P engineering community to express opinions and offer comments on any type of professional issue.

Coming Soon—eNews for Codes and Green

Consulting-Specifying Engineer is adding two more choices to its staple of eNewsletters covering industry news, business and management, and all the specific M/E/P disciplines. CSE Green Scene will offer updates on the latest in green building technology, applications, case studies, product releases, new literature announcements, commentary and events.

Sloan Goes 100% Renewable

Sloan Valve, Chicago, manufacturer of commercial plumbing systems, has made a purchase of renewable energy credits to offset 100% percent of the electricity used in its manufacturing facility in Franklin Park, Ill. Company officials claim that this is the largest renewable energy purchase in the plumbing industry, making Sloan the first flush valve manufacturer to purchase renewable energy cred...

ARI Achievement Awards

The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI), Arlington, Va., has announced the winners of its inaugural Standards Achievement Awardd: Larry Howington, director of engineering at Hill PHOENIX, Conyers, Ga., serves as chairman of the CRMD Engineering Committee and was recognized for guiding ARI's Commercial Refrigeration Manufacturers Division (CRMD) Engineering Committee through impo...

Award-Winning Jump

The New York Landmarks Conservancy has honored A/E design firm STV for its renovation of the Coney Island Parachute Jump Tower with the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards for 2006, the Conservancy's highest honor for outstanding preservation efforts. In addition to providing condition assessment, planning, design, structural rehabilitation and construction oversight services, STV oversaw the lig...

Letters: Reader Feedback – 2007-05-01

Codes & Standards—Friend or Foe? Codes and standards, for all basic purposes, are supposed to be the basis of design. The one thing we must remember is that codes are laws, and standards evolve through financial investment in research and development. There have been occasions when standards have been adopted by various codes and are considered law.

New Products – 2007-05-01

Bypass packages are electronically controlled and feature automatic bypass, common start/stop in drive or bypass modes, and advanced override that performs in coordination with the drive and bypass for improved protection. All features are programmed through the drive keypad. The packages provide improved protection and operation through a bypass 24-volt DC switch-mode power supply.

Searching csemag.com

The new csemag.com site provides expanded search capabilities with an industry leading enterprise search technology. The Zibb.com product is a large index that contains content collected by crawling HTML pages via RSS feeds and Google site maps. Special tags are exposed to Zibb to provide better control over content.

Climate Changing on Energy Efficiency

Some 40 experts from the HVAC/R industry, U.S. Senate and several federal agencies discussed the global energy situation at the fourth Danfoss EnVisioneering Symposium, “Energy Efficiency Investment and the Emerging Global Cost Paradigm,” held April 17 in Washington, D.C. The symposium touched on a variety of complex energy issues, from global warming and the future of power prices,...

Debate Heats Up on Class C Extinguishants

Dupont, Wilmington, Del., is asking that Comment ROC 2001-61a, which proposes changes to the minimum Class C design concentration requirements, not be adopted. Comment ROC 2001-61a is up for floor vote at the National Fire Protection Assn. (NFPA) meeting during the NFPA World Safety Conference and Expo, scheduled for June 3 to June 7, in Boston.

Winners of Energy Challenge Announced

This year's winners of the Igniting Creative Energy Challenge were announced last month. The challenge is an educational competition sponsored and funded through a grant by Johnson Controls, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., with additional support from Philips Lighting and the United States Energy Assoc. (USEA).

Licensed Engineers for 100 Years

The National Society of Professional Engineers, in celebration of “100 Years of Licensure,” has posted a number of interesting related features on its website. One document offers an interesting timeline for the history of engineering licensure: 1907 – Wyoming passes the first engineering registration law.

Forum – 2007-04-01

BE Conference 2007, sponsored by Bentley Systems, offers hundreds of sessions and hours of accredited learning, in Los Angeles from April 29 through May 3.www.be.org/BEConference LonMark Intl., a trade and interoperability association for the controls industry, has announced its LonMark Sessions 2007 Global Educational Seminar Program.

New Products – 2007-04-01

Busway provides modular, overhead, build-as-you-go. It supplies more power to larger machine tools such as welders, soldering equipment, heaters and chillers. Installed above computer cabinets, the busway eliminates the need for costly raised floors. It also makes air handling for cooling systems more effective by eliminating under-floor cable whips.

China, U.K. Leading Design Markets

China and the United Kingdom are the top international markets for U.S. architecture firms, according to a recent market research survey of 629 U.S. architects commissioned by building product manufacturer PPG and reported by sister publication Building Design + Construction on its website at www.bdcnetwork.

Web Threads – 2007-04-01 – 2007-04-01

“Reducing AFD-Caused Harmonics at Partial-Load Conditions,” a white paper from ABB, discusses the need for controlling the level of harmonic current in power distribution systems, widely recognized as an important factor in selecting and applying adjustable speed drives and other non-linear load equipment.

Metering Matters

In June 2006, CSE took a look at how the city of Toronto has capitalized on a valuable asset lying 272 ft. below the surface of Lake Ontario—icy cold water that remains at a constant 39.2ºF all year round. Since August 2004, this previously untapped resource has been supplying economical and environmentally friendly air conditioning to large buildings in the city's downtown.

A/E Enhances Business Model to Advance Technology

In a strategic move that responds to emerging design technologies, Philadelphia-based A/E EwingCole has formed EwingCole Digital Media Group (DMG). Formerly a EwingCole wholly owned subsidiary called AEI Digital, DMG transfers experience, tools and talent into the broader realm of technological capabilities and comprehensive services of the firm.

Letters: Reader Feedback – 2007-04-01

More on Walter Reed You must be a Democrat! In your Editor's Viewpoint (CSE, 03/07, p. 7), you applaud the dismissal of the administrators in the first part of your diatribe, but at the end you address the real problem... Congress' appropriation of money to fix the problems (purge to splurge). Don't you agree that if the administrators had the money, the facilities would have been kept up in b...

Greening Mexico

KMD Architects was selected in March as the winner of an international design competition for its design of the new “Green” Cinepolis Headquarters in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico. Cinepolis is the sixth largest multiplex cinema chain in the world and the leading operator in Mexico. The new headquarters is a 75,000-sq.

Briefly… – 2007-04-01

• Lawrence Berkeley National Lab researchers are working with industry experts to develop technologies to make electronic networks—for the Internet, consumer electronics or both—more energy-efficient. They also are developing specifications and information programs to speed the adoption of energy-efficient technologies in the marketplace.

Electronic HID

In a recently posted article, author Tim Hill with Advance Transformer argues lighting plays an important role in establishing a retail facility's ambiance and appeal—helping to improve store traffic and sales, enhancing the customers' experience, and influencing their desire to return. In an era where retailers are under pressure to differentiate their in-store experience in ways other t...

Web Threads – 2007-03-01

• In order to assist consumers in the architectural design process and the considerations involved in selecting and working with an architect, The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has launched a new online resource. The site incorporates streaming videos that depict the design process from the initial discussion with an architect: www.

AASHE Requires LEED Silver

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has established a policy requiring all campus construction be built to the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Silver standard as part of AASHE's support of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.

Scientists confirm Montreal Protocol

DuPont, Wilmington, Del., has reinforced the findings of a group of leading scientists that show the Montreal Protocol treaty, signed in Sept. 1987, has had a significant impact on protecting the Earth's climate, as well as its ozone layer. In the article, “The Importance of the Montreal Protocol in Protecting Climate,” published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science...

Critical Power for Healthcare Facilities

CSE: When do you make the decision to either upgrade a power system or rebuild it? What are its risks and issues? WILLEY: Probably the biggest issue for us, as we started looking at rebuilding our power system—especially emergency power—was cost. In today's world, we must be able to operate all the time. It's part of being competitive.

Briefly… – 2007-03-01

• In late 2005, the National Fire Protection Assn. published an alert notice entitled “PASS alarm signals can fail at high temperatures“ on the NFPA website, advising emergency responders, especially firefighters, of high temperature exposures causing the loudness of PASS alarm signals to be reduced.

Letters : Reader Feedback

Sustainability predictions In response to the story, “Architects Predict Significant Increases in Sustainable Design, Singling Out the Importance of HVAC” (Sustainability News, csemag.com, 11/20/2006), the architects are missing the point. Using more energy-efficient HVAC equipment only saves miniscule amounts of building energy use.

New Products – 2007-03-01

Valve actuator provides users with reliable and safe operation in extreme applications. It includes a patented absolute encoder that does not require battery backup, patented circuit protection technology and menus in six languages. The enhanced model offers actuators for torques as large as 1,700 ft.

Ecobuild America and AEC-ST 2007

Consulting engineers, facility engineers, commissioning providers and facility managers who are involved with or looking into green-building projects should consider attending the Ecobuild America and AEC Science & Technology conference being held at the Anaheim Convention Center on May 15 to May 17.

International Code Council Supports Green

The International Code Council (ICC) board of directors recently issued a policy position on green building/sustainable communities to emphasize its commitment to social responsibility and expand the boundaries of public safety. “Building safety professionals and others in the construction industry have long had a positive impact on the environment,” said ICC Board President Wally B...

Engineering Partnership

As part of its “100 Years of Licensure” celebration activities, the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) has partnered with the National Council of Engineering Examiners and Surveyors (NCEES) to continue the promotion of licensure and its importance to both the engineering profession and the public health, safety and welfare.

Autodesk, IES Become Partners on Revit Software Platform

Autodesk Inc., San Rafael, Calif., announced Jan. 30 that it partnered with Integrated Environmental Solutions Ltd. (IES), Glasgow, Scotland, to enhance the Revit software platform for building information modeling (BIM) to support sustainable design. At the 2007 AHR Expo in Dallas, Autodesk demonstrated a prototype of how the IES building performance analysis tools are used with Autodesk Re...

Web Threads – 2007-02-01

• Lighting in hotels and senior living centers is frequently turned on for extended periods—either due to forgetfulness or deliberately Two new products developed at the California Lighting Technology Center address these problems. For the full story, click on the green “electrical” button at www.

Product of the Week

CSE's Product of the Year is an annual showcase of readers' choices for the most innovative equipment and systems of the year. But specifiers can't wait for a year to discover the best products out there. So, coming soon to the homepage of www.csemag.com, we will offer an ongoing “Product of the Week” spotlight feature.

New Products – 2007-02-01

Vacancy sensors meet California Title 24 energy code standards and offer an option in achieving lighting efficiency. The devices handle incandescent, electronic low voltage, magnetic low voltage, fluorescent and compact fluorescent loads. There is no minimum load requirement, and each sensor accommodates as large as an 800 watt load.

Briefly … – 2007-02-01 – 2007-02-01

Engineers Week, a formal coalition of more than 75 engineering, professional and technical societies and more than 50 corporations and government agencies, takes place this year Feb. 18 to Feb. 24. Founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, the program is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce.

Letters: Reader Feedback – 2007-02-01

Green Predictions In response to the story “Green Building Consultant Makes 2007 Predictions,” (Top Engineering News, www.csemag.com, 01/25/07), green guru Jerry Yudelson's predictions for sustainability left me with one question: Have the builders also been developing low voltage DC homes that can run on storage batteries recharged by wind or solar, or overnight by local power serv...

In the Webcast Archives

Don't forget to keep an eye on the Webcast button at www.csemag.com, and to call up our archived webcasts. In December, CSE editors hosted “Beyond Generators and UPS: Delivering Reliability in Data Centers,” which explored new and innovative topology strategies, with special attention on the movement of two-stage vs.

Stephen Yurek Named ARI President

The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI), Arlington, Va., named Stephen R. Yurek president of the association. Yurek previously served as chief operating officer and general counsel for ARI. He replaces William G. “Woody” Sutton, who will resign at the end of the month. Yurek came to ARI from the education community, having served as vice president of business develop...