Monthly Archives: September 2019

New Solar Power Advanced Technologies Research

I am writing this during Climate Week, 2019, where the general mood is frustration that while most of the world – and most youth – are concerned about the impacts of climate change affecting us, the political and business leaders of the world have done little, and certainly not enough to forestall what many scientists believe will be huge, life-changing adverse impacts. I happen to be an optimist about this. I think, as a planet, Earth will be impacted negatively. But I do think we will eventually address the issues, no thanks to current politicians, because of the great gains in technology. Technologies are beginning to be developed to develop clean energy, GHG-free, and cheaply and reliably. Here are a few new technologies soon to come out that may make a difference.

Work at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO focuses on taking the weak point of any building, windows (takes up much space, but tends to leak air more than any other part of a building), and not only improve its characteristics, but see if it can have a positive energy role for a building. Their research is attempting to turn windows into solar panels. While light-absorbing films on windows have altered the light that comes through a window and attempted to use the radiation to form energy, such solar windows tend to have an unattractive brown tint.

New solar window technologies are able to absorb almost exclusively invisible UV or IR radiation, allowing the glass to appear clear while blocking the radiation that would add to the heating load during the cooling season. The portion of the film that absorbs radiation is called perovskites, which are cheaper than silicon and, in the laboratory, almost as efficient in converting radiation to electricity. Therefore, it is possible as development advances that buildings can create some or most of their own electricity using perovskites, affordably.

Another approach is solar concentrators on windows, quantum dots, which absorb radiation at UV and IR frequencies and re-emit them at wavelengths that traditional solar cells can capture. Placed on windows, the dots can emit the concentrated radiation sideways, through the glass, to solar cell strips embedded in the window frame. This technology is promising because quantum dots are inexpensive to make and only a small amount of solar cell material is needed to capture the re-emitted radiation.

Another idea being researched is semitransparent organic solar cell windows. These windows absorb about half of the incident sunlight that hits them, including visible light. While this darkens these windows compared to clear glass, they absorb light from across the spectrum rather and therefore, do not take on the unsightly reddish hue.

And finally, here is research being done on solar panels for mobile sources. In Portugal, an experimental program is being implemented using electric cars to help power an area. Porto Santo Island has begun testing a strategy in which batteries in electric vehicles are charged by solar power during the day but while parked at night return spare energy to the grid to power people’s homes. Some experts say this form of energy storage could become a global trend.

While many issues remain before solar can power our planet given our lifestyles (length of time windows and cars and their solar power technologies must remain reliable, cost, etc.), research is progressing that could make clean, solar power practical and affordable for all and reduce dependence on fossil fuel-powered power plants and gasoline.

CCES has the experts to help you ascertain whether new technologies, like renewable power, is beneficial to you and your operations now. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

Save Money, Develop a Preventative Maintenance Program for Your Boilers

Equipment, such as a building’s boiler, is often taken for granted. You turn it on (or a thermostat turns it on), and it provides heat and domestic hot water for your building or space. Perhaps you do a little checking in the summer, and it’s ready for the heating season. And many boilers last a decade or two or longer. But that does not mean that your boiler is operating efficiently. A boiler that is not maintained (or well-maintained) can be costing you lots of money in wasted fuel combustion every year, not do its job, and not last as long (forcing increased capital costs). A preventative maintenance program for your boiler will save you in these areas much compared to the effort it takes to implement it. According to a study conducted by the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors, poor maintenance practices causes most boiler incidents. (https://www.nationalboard.org/SiteDocuments/Bulletins/SU03.pdf).

Each Preventative Maintenance program should be unique to your building, its needs, the equipment, and the workload of personnel. Therefore, the recommendations are merely that, recommendations. Your program should reflect your equipment and needs. Here are some of the things that your staff or contractor should look at.

A basic issue is that Preventative Maintenance programs should be written down. There should be a document listing the steps that need to be done, when and/or how often they should be done, and who is responsible. There should be a place to check off when and by who each item was completed, the results, and any comments on the boiler’s results or “behavior”. Just saying one does an item or two, but not recording it is not a true Preventative Maintenance program. Management should oversee that staff takes the program seriously and look at the results and comments for critical trends.

A good Preventative Maintenance program can be divided into 5 categories: items which must be done daily, weekly, monthly, semi-annually, and annually. Again, this should be tailored to your equipment and needs. Daily maintenance could include blowdown of water columns and recording boiler temperature and pressure, gas or oil pressures, feedwater temperature and pressure, stack temperature, and visual inspection of soot, and water or oil leakage.

Weekly could include testing each Low Water Cutoff to ensure it shuts off boiler at its set point, pressure controls, flow controls (i.e., combustion air), fuel valves (able to open and close completely at appropriate commands), and motor operation (needs greasing).

Monthly could include checking the burner diffuser (presence of cracks or sooting), check the electrode for obstructions or damage, checking the burner tubes from the outside for damage or cracking, and inspect the outside of the boilers for any hot spots.

Semi-annual inspections (shutting down the boiler briefly once during the heating season) could include cleaning and inspecting the probe and piping of the Low Water Cutoff, clean strainer, check pumps that they are aligned and operating properly, and check the accuracy of your analyzers for combustion, O2, CO2, and other parameters.

Annual inspections could include opening all doors and performing a physical inspection of the fireside tubes, clean and replace tubes, as needed, and inspect the refractory and insulation, and upgrade, as necessary.

And again, take time to review the sheets that the workers or contractors fill out for each inspection to determine if certain trends are present and major upgrades may be necessary. It is better to catch problems early, compared to the boiler breaking down in the middle of the heating season.

CCES has the experts to help you assess your boiler and your Preventative Maintenance program and advise you on how to make it effective for your needs. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.