Energy, Utilities, and Environment Flashcards
Involves actions that influence how much energy is consumed or when the energy is consumed. The goal is to reduce energy consumed during peak periods or to
move it to off-peak periods.
Demand Side Energy Management (DSM)
Refers to activities on the utility’s side of the meter (or outside the building) and how energy is delivered to the facility. Installation of an energy generating source on campus is an example.
Supply Side Energy Management (SSM)
Goes beyond a traditional stormwater drainage system to include elements of water quality control and environmental enhancement. The goal of is to consider runoff as a resource while providing protection to people, property, and existing water resources (including surface water and groundwater) and related natural environments (both terrestrial and aquatic).
Stormwater Management (SWM)
Comprised of a single location where steam, chilled water, electricity, or another utility is generated and distributed to multiple buildings.
Central Plant System
The simultaneous production of two forms of useful energy, usually thermal energy and electrical or mechanical energy. In a typical utility plant cycle, steam expended in the electric generation process simply is cooled and condensed by use of a cooling tower or water-cooled condenser. In cogeneration, steam expended in the electric generation process is also used for heating and cooling.
Cogeneration
A system that has the heating and cooling generation equipment in each building and usually serves the building it is in and no others.
Distributed Plant System
College and university systems generally consist of (1) a switching station for receiving the electricity into the university system, (2) switching substations (which include transformers), (3) high-voltage conductor
circuits, (4) electric power generation, and
(5) system protection.
Electrical Distribution Systems
Uses chilled water or ice instead of electricity to shift electric consumption to cheaper, off-peak hours.
Thermal Energy Storage (TES)
Provides a network of sensors and actuators used to control energy consumption (e.g. temperatures and air volumes) in a building or campus from a digital controller located in almost every room served by the HVAC system.
Central Monitoring Systems and Direct Digital Control (CMCS/DDC)
Conversion of electrical energy to mechanical energy (and vice versa) using an electric motor or generator.
Electromechanical Energy
business that develops, designs, installs, and may finance energy conservation and efficiency projects.
Energy Service Company (ESCO)
Generates electrical power by converting solar radiation (sunlight) into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect.
Photovoltaic (PV) Cells
Examples include wood chips, municipal solid waste, pelletized mixed biomass (which can be a combination of paper, wood, corn stover, switch grass, etc.)
Biomass
Allows both voice and traditional internet data traffic to be supported over a single physical cable plant designed to carry internet data traffic.
Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
Water used in the sink, shower, and laundry water that can be collected, filtered, and reused for toilet flushing and irrigation.
Grey water
Also known as treated water (such as in the case of treated wastewater). While not typically suitable for reuse as potable water, it can be stored and used for fire fighting.
Reclaimed water
Heat from the earth. May be steam from the earth or utilization of the earth as a direct heat sink/source.
Geothermal
Converts the kinetic energy in the wind to mechanical energy to drive an electric generator.
Wind Turbines
An inspection, survey, and analysis of equipment in order to determine how efficiently each item is performing in order to reduce the amount of energy consumed.
Energy audit
Generates chilled water that is pumped through underground piping to campus buildings. The chilled water circulates through a building’s air handling units, where it absorbs heat from the building, then returns to the Power Plant where it is cooled again and returned to campus.
Chillers
Increases equipment efficiency by transferring what would have been wasted energy. Transfers heat from the flue gases to the boiler feedwater. Flue gases are then passed through a heat exchanger as they leave the steam-generating section of the boiler. Can exhaust heat (for cooling).
Economizer
Chillers that use compressors (i.e., they are electrical or motor driven).
Centrifugal Chillers
Chillers that use steam or a directed source of heat energy with an absorber, generator, pump or recuperative heat exchanger.
Absorption Chillers
Provides cooling water for the generators, steam condensers, chillers, and other plant equipment. The heat that is produced by this equipment is discharged into the atmosphere.
Cooling Towers
The most common cycle where electricity is generated in the first process and the rejected heat becomes an energy source for a subsequent process (such as heating and cooling a campus).
Topping Cogeneration Cycle
The first process produces rejected heat that is used to generate electricity in the subsequent process/cycle. Usually involves a waste heat recovery boiler that produces steam to drive a turbine generator.
Bottoming Cogeneration Cycle
A combination of both a topping and a bottoming cycle. In this case, electricity is produced on both ends of the cycle.
Combined Cogeneration Cycle
Contains water that partially fills a boiler barrel with a small volume left above to accommodate the steam (steam space). Has a low rate of steam production, but high steam storage capacity. Burns mostly solid fuels, but are readily adaptable to those of the liquid or gas variety.
Fire Tube Boilers
Contains tubes filled with water that are arranged inside a furnace in a number of possible configurations. Generally gives high steam production rates, but less storage capacity. Can be designed to exploit any heat source.
Water Tube Boilers
Establishes broad institutional goals to efficiently meet utility service requirements, addresses sustainability strategies, and provides a dynamic foundation for continuous reassessment.
Utilities Master Plan
The measured load as it varies throughout a day, a week, a month, or a year.
Load Profile
Senses when people enter or leave a room, allowing the room terminal to automatically start up or shut down ventilation, heating, and cooling systems.
Occupancy Sensors
Tubing system used for protection and routing of electrical wiring that reduces the risk of electrical shorts which could lead to fires, equipment failures, and other problems.
Wiring Conduit
Provides a comfortable working and learning environment as well as a mechanism for substantially lowering institutional costs. To achieve these outcomes, the program must be integrated, flexible, results oriented and engage all stakeholders.
Energy Management and Conservation (EMC) Program