Month: February 2012

The automobile industry since the 1970’s has been reluctant to increasing the gas mileage in their vehicles because of the money they will have to spend in order for engineers to create powerful engines that can give high gas mileage. Since we were very lucky in the 1990’s and were buying gas at an average $0.60 a gallon we did not care about how many miles to the gallon we got on our cars. Ever since 2001 and leading up to 2012 we see that we have paid on average 3.15 per gallon. For many people who owned SUV’s and vehicles with high horsepower vehicles; this changed the way they shopped for vehicles.

The government controls what the regulations are for vehicle gas mileage. What was the 27 mpg, President Obama has raised that regulation to 55.4 mpg. In an effort to help conserve the little oil we have left in the world and also help people who need to use their vehicles. He has given car companies till 2025 to create cars that can get at least 55.4 mpg.

We starting to to see Hybrids cars become very popular in today’s world. An interesting fact is that the first hybrid was created in 1899 by Henri Pieper.  Today, hybrid cars are all run differently. Some hybrid (dual mode) use alternative fuel in order to run. They do this by mixing diesel or petroleum with another fuel for example, ethanol, butane or biobutanol. Other Hybrids run on 100% electricity for the first 25-35 miles per hour than the it will on petroleum after that. In most of these vehicles as well engineers have created technology where heat created from friction when braking gets created into electricity and then stored until needed. Hybrid cars are a great alternative in increasing mpg and reducing green house emissions.

The body of a vehicle is very important to its gas mileage. The more box-shaped a vehicleis, the less mpg it gets because of the wind resistance it face. The aerodynamics of a vehicle can make the difference of 5-10 miles per gallon. This is one reason why we see that SUV’s get less mpg than sedans. Sedans today are being created carefully in order to get great gas mileage. Look at the picture I put forth of the Volkswagen Jetta.  The Top one is the 2012 version and the bottom one is the 2002 version. We can see that the 2012 version is much more Aerodynamic than the 2002 version.

Their are many 100% electrically run cars today than ever. In downtown Boston at government center we see that while you park your vehicle you can have it recharged. More people are buying electric cars today because the engineers of car companies have found the right technology to do so.

Sources:

Almost everything in our households requires the use of electricity from charging our cell phones to using hot water. Most people forget that our boilers are started up by electricity that warm up the water and turn it into hot water. In the summer we keep our air conditioners running all day and night in order to stay cool from the hot weather. What we do not think of is how this stuff works.

First we have the power grid which is an interconnected network that runs electricity from the suppliers to the consumers. The grid consists of three main components. First of three is the electricity generation which are located near water and tend to be away from heavily populated places. The electric power that is generated is put in a higher voltage which is connected to the transmission network. Second of three is the electric power transmission which is the network or wheel that will move the power along distances and finally we see the distribution.  This is a very simple explanation of a very complicated process of how energy is created, converted, stored and then distributed.

Research has shown that their is a demand load during the early evening. The government has launched programs where if you promise to use demand response, you can save money. Although in many states the price you pay per usage is based on the usage of all  the households and not just your self. Therefore your neighbors directly impact you more than you think.  This program can help you if you promise to curtail your usage during peak hours in order to prevent future blackouts.

When blackouts happen it is a pain for many people and cause major interruptions in people’s lives. Therefore Demand Response have been put into effect in order to help keep a steady flow of electricity to people without any interruptions. Another way we can satisfy everyone’s electricity usage is by building more power plants. That idea will not be good because it will destroy the environment faster than we are doing it today.

I many stores today we can buy electricity products that save on energy. Energy Star an energy efficient consumer products first originated by the United States 1990’s and has been adopted by six other countries since as well as the European Union.  These energy star products generally use 20%-30% less energy than required by federal standards. This program was intended to be part of a series of voluntary programs such as Green Lights and Methane programs in order to reduce green house emissions. Excitingly in 2006 12% of new housing in the United States were labeled energy star. In 2006 alone it was estimated that it saved $14 Billion in energy costs. Today if we walk into a store we will see many products are labeled with Energy Star. As a consumer we can receive tax deductions through the federal government.

Sources:

ENERGY STAR. Web. 06 Feb. 2012. <http://www.energystar.gov/>.

Area, Research. “Automated Demand Response Technology Demonstration Project for Small and Medium Commercial Buildings | Demand Response Research Center (DRRC) | Drrc.lbl.gov.” Demand Response Research Center (DRRC) | Demand Response Research Center (DRRC) | Drrc.lbl.gov. Web. 06 Feb. 2012. <http://drrc.lbl.gov/publications/automated-demand-response-technology-demonstration-project-small-and-medium-commercial->.

“PJM – Demand Response.” PJM – Home. Web. 06 Feb. 2012. <http://pjm.com/markets-and-operations/demand-response.aspx>.