Bob has been on a job at a convention center with a 100-ton water cooled condenser. The owners are anxious for Bob to get the a/c back on, but Bob said the tubes must be cleaned before the unit will run. He has called the shop and asked for a helper and a tube cleaning machine to help him get the unit running as fast as possible.
Energy recovery ventilation (ERV) systems exchange heat (often both sensible heat and water vapor) between the outgoing exhaust air and the ventilation air being brought in. Under appropriate conditions, this allows reducing the capacity of the HVAC system and saves energy.
For employers with operations in the 14 states that have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, it is a difficult task to juggle the need for a drug-free workplace environment and the rights of employees who have prescriptions to legally use marijuana. How does legalized use of marijuana impact drug testing policies?
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and 3M, the St. Paul, Minn.-based technology company, have embarked on research and development partnerships in three areas of clean energy innovation: thin-film solar cells, concentrating solar power, and biofuels.
Conventional wisdom would have you concentrate thermal imaging on windows and doors. However, windows and doors contribute very little to total air leakage in most dwellings. In fact, the most serious leaks occur at the top and bottom of the conditioned building envelope - in attics and basements.
You can help your employees improve, even on the most intangible performance issues, if you start focusing intensely in your regular management conversations on spelling out concrete solutions. For example, if an employee is failing to meet quality standards, give her a checklist of what she needs to get right.
Your role in this month’s troubleshooting situation is as the follow-up technician on a problem that was made worse by the technician who preceded you. When the restaurant manager originally called for service, the complaint was that their small walk-in cooler “wasn’t keeping as cool as usual.” Now it’s “hardly cooling at all.”
The 21st annual Energy Efficiency Forum featured keynote speaker Gary Locke, secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Locke emphasized the need for the U.S. to aggressively pursue, and become a leader, in clean energy development.
Advanced packaged rooftop units (RTUs) are emerging with higher efficiencies and additional features designed to save energy off-peak and improve reliability. Features include improved fans and economizers; better controls for the fan, refrigerant cycle, and economizer; and advanced monitoring and diagnostics.
The dispatcher calls Bob with an urgent service call from the city’s convention center. A convention is going on and the air conditioner is off, and it re-starts but only runs a short time and shuts off again. The maintenance man said he had to reset the high pressure control to get it started. Btu Buddy assists in troubleshooting the system.