Energy Management Program Research Articles

Characteristics of electricity consumption in commercial buildings

Average annual electricity use per gross floor area is 236kWh/m2yr for offices and 366kWh/m2yr for hotels. HVAC and lighting account for 70–80% of total energy in fully air‐conditioned commercial buildings in Hong Kong and should be a priority for energy management programmes.

Campus energy management programs

Campus energy programs can reduce costs, improve environmental quality, and provide a valuable educational experience for students.

Improving energy efficiency in the USA: The federal role

Energy efficiency in the USA improved dramatically between 1973–1986. During the past two years, however, efficiency has stagnated. This is unfortunate because improving efficiency saves money for energy consumers, boosts economic productivity, reduces oil imports, and improves environmental quality. This paper discusses ways for the US Department of Energy to further improve US energy efficiency during the 1990s. Such efforts include: make a national commitment to energy efficiency; strengthen the Federal Energy Management Program; update programmes aimed at State and local governments; increase energy-efficiency research; work with utilities and State regulatory commissions to implement least-cost planning; strengthen energy-efficiency standards, and collect more data on energy-use and its determinants.

An improved algorithm for hydropower optimization

A new algorithm named energy management by successive linear programming (EMSLP) was developed to solve the optimization problem of the hydropower system operation. The EMSLP algorithm has two iteration levels: at the first level a stable solution is sought, and at the second the interior of the feasible region is searched to improve the objective function whenever its value decreases. The EMSLP algorithm has been tested using the Manitoba Hydro system data applied to a single reservoir system. To evaluate the performance of the algorithm the comparison has been made with the results obtained by the energy management and maintenance analysis (EMMA) program used in the Manitoba Hydro practice. The paper describes the EMSLP algorithm and presents the results of the comparison with EMMA.

Organizational position and program implementation

Examples of policy implementation success suggest that organizational characteristics are important but policy researchers generally neglect the explicit study of organizational characteristics. Data from a mailed survey are used here to examine two organizational characteristics in one policy area in a single state. The advice of capacitybuilders' (federal and state agencies, municipal associations) about organizing local energy management programs through the appointment of “comprehensive local energy coordinators” is one concern. The other is the importance of the regular organizational position of the parttime community energy coordinators on the “comprehensiveness” of community energy programs. The research develops a rudimentary methodology for studying program implementation which assesses organizational change by measuring differences among policies based on the dimensions of change embodied in a policy. Also devised are measures of program implementors' attitudes and perceptions in influencing pr...

Load data analysis workstation: DOS-based load and customer data analysis system

A description is given of the load data analysis workstation (LDAW), developed for the Electric Power Research Institute to handle the increasing analysis requirements in utility load research and demand-side programs. The hardware and software of the latest, third-generation LDAWs are examined. Three applications to utility end-use load monitoring programs are presented: a load research program, a direct load control program and an energy management program. Additional capabilities are briefly sketched. >

An energy management computer program for process plants

An energy management program has been developed which can be customized for any typical plant which uses optional steam turbines and electric motors. The plant energy cost can be minimized by using the optimum combination of optional equipment. A huge sum of energy cost can be saved even during the period with lower energy cost as present.

Reactor systems aspects of the future development of thermonuclear energy in the U.S.S.R.

The Long-Term Energy Management Program of the U.S.S.R. includes establishing a technical and material basis for the extensive utilization of thermonuclear reactions. Thermonuclear energy is considered to be the most probable, practically inexhaustable energy source. In the beginning of the 21st century, when the practical utilization of the thermonuclear energy may begin, the energy management system of the U.S.S.R. will significantly differ from today's. Nuclear fission energy will have an important role both in generating electric power and in providing fuel for centralized heat supply systems. Since the thermal reactors used for this purpose are at an advanced level, it looks practical to capitalize initially on hybrid thermonuclear reactors that not only generate electric power, but produce plutonium as well. These notes conclude with a sketch of the possible role of hybrid reactors in the long-term nuclear energy management program of the Soviet Union.

The economical use of energy resources

The increasing cost of producing organic fuels, especially oil and gas, requires that great attention to be paid to increasing the efficiency of using energy resources and thus to reducing their consumption. The U.S.S.R. Long-Term Energy Management Program addresses the main ways to save energy. These include replacing more expensive fuels by cheaper ones, developing nuclear power and other measures aimed at improving the structure of the heat and energy balance, and increasing the efficiency of fuel and energy use. An especially large potential for savings is to be found in the production and utilization of low-temperature heat. In particular, new approaches are suggested to optimize the parameters of cogeneration plants and heat supply systems, as well as the parameters describing end uses by consumers. Emphasis is given to the promise of district heating with hot-water heaters run on natural gas, combined with gas-fired turbines, with recovery of exhaust heat. Heat pump installations provide space heat and hot water to dispersed consumer and boiler installations with fluidized-bed furnaces are of great importance, as are new schemes of heat supply for agricultural production and for biological conversion of organic waste. On the demand side, ways of lowering the requirements for low-temperature heat include enhancing the thermal resistance and tightness of buildings, updating building heat loss standards, incorporating new construction materials, and improving the methods for regulating the heat supply in district heating systems. The size of the potential savings of energy resources associated with each technology is estimated.

Resource constraints: The need for community management in economic development strategies

As the world moves through a second decade of energy policy since the 1973–1974 Oil Embargo, it struggles to develop a coherent understanding of the role of energy in the economic process. Evidence is mounting that a changing economic landscape requires a fundamental re-examination of energy and natural resource policies. Among the new pillars of energy policy should be efforts to: (1) incorporate the prospect of resource constraints into development and employment strategies: (2) reintroduce the community as the focus of resource management decisions; and (3) acknowledge that increased expenditures for new resource development are not necessarily supportive of a community's need for gains in personal disposable income. Instead, resource efficiency, import substitution strategies, diversity in economic activities and better management techniques should be emphasized. This paper explores an example of locally-based energy management programs that can be used to offset growing resource constraints. Preliminary evidence from a number of community strategies in the State of Nebraska and elsewhere suggests that effective programs are those which have been anchored by the efficient use of indigenous resources and a diversity of resource management efforts.

Computer systems for energy management in hotels

This paper reviews the use of computer-based energy management and control systems and relates these to the needs of a hotel. The role of these computer-based energy management systems is discussed within the context of an energy management policy and programme. Finally, the current use of this technology by hotels in the U.K. is surveyed.

Automobile gasoline consumption: A repeated survey

Understanding the factors contributing to household automobile gasoline consumption can assist decision-makers involved in energy management programs and energy demand forecasts. This article provides a predictive model of gasoline consumption and the results of regression analyses based on data collected from the same households at two different time periods. The analyses tested a range of explanatory variables and found that two variables, number of cylinders and commuting distances, were the major determinants of gasoline consumption. As well. a number of other variables were related to consumption. Further, it was found that one regression model could he used to explain consumption for the two different time periods. It was concluded that consumers, in this study, had not modified their driving patterns over the two time periods under investigation.

Personnel: The key to a successful energy management program

Personnel: The key to a successful energy management program

Energy conservation and the entire campus community

AbstractMobilizing the entire campus community can be one of the most diyicult and challenging aspects of an energy management program, but it is the most important f the full potential o j a program's efforts are to be realized.

A framework for energy management programs

AbstractA jiamework for approaching energy management at institutions higher education is essential for successful energy consemation.

Electrical Energy Management in the Cement Industry

A cement plant uses about 150 kWh of electrical energy per metric ton of cement produced. Where is this electrical energy being used? How is it being used? Can it be utilized more effectively? If so, how? What can be done to conserve the electrical energy used in an existing cement plant and in future cement plants? An electrical energy management program to resolve these questions is presented. Included is an electrical energy consumption survey of five cement plants. Department consumption is tabulated, and suggestions are made to conserve electrical energy and reduce cost of electrical power in both new and existing plants.

Energy use management—An appropriate technology

The central thesis of this work is that the proper management of energy usage by the end user can have immediate and far reaching benefits for humanity. These benefits can occur within the next few years, require low capital investments, and can be implemented by individuals, institutions, or governments immediately. In contrast, new energy supply options yield benefits not now but in the future, require mammoth capital investments, and depend on complex governmental policy decisions before any action can be taken. Implementation must be thought of in terms of decades rather than years. Much stronger national energy management programs are therefore warranted in the industrialized nations and in developing countries. Effective national programs may be difficult to achieve politically. In this case citizens should initiate actions at the community level to encourage local energy management programs. The course of human and economic events in the world with respect to the availability of energy has further emphasized the global priority for improving energy utilization patterns in the future. The ideas and concepts expressed herein reflect vital issues and perspectives which have yet to be eclipsed by time.

Automatic programming for energy management using sensor based computers

It has been more than 15 years since digital computers were introduced for process control. Digital control systems have evolved from systems such as the IBM 1710 and 1800 to special controllers that use microprocessors. The hardware cost has dropped considerably, yet the cost of installing computer control systems in sensor based applications has remained relatively high. This is partly because of the rising cost of system components other than the digital computer itself, one such component being the system software.