by srmi | Jan 16, 2012 | Energy News
The subsidy for ethanol expired on the last day of 2011 and I didn’t shed any tears. To make a gallon of ethanol, start with 23 pounds of corn with a potential energy of about 185,000 BTUs. Add 40,000 to 80,000 BTUS of fossil energy per gallon and presto you...
by srmi | Jan 10, 2012 | Energy News
Cities are the best places for large power plants. I read a recent Time Magazine article about the Fisk Coal plant in Chicago and its cost in respiratory problems to the citizens of that great city. Time hinted that the city isn’t a good place for a power plant...
by srmi | Jan 3, 2012 | Energy News
I’ve never coined a word and never wanted to either. The English language has approximately 600,000 words: that’s enough. However I need some catchwords for Saturn’s efforts in the new year of 2012. My first new word is the verb: complexify. We complicate, we...
by srmi | Jan 2, 2012 | Energy News
Many homes with cathedral ceilings or flat roofs have little or no insulation. The IRC 2009 building code requires a ventilated space of at least one inch above the roof insulation. Building scientists sometimes ask how useful the ventilation is and how much...
by srmi | Dec 27, 2011 | Energy News
For years the weatherization industry calculated whole-house ventilation by ASHRAE standard 62-1989. This standard was mercifully simple compared to the new ASHRAE standard 62.2-2010. The BPI building analyst training still trains to the old 62-1989 standard. That...
