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The map above comes from the Nuclear Emergency Tracking Center. It shows that radiation levels at radiation monitoring stations all over the country are elevated. As you will notice, this is particularly true along the west coast of the United States. Every single day, 300 tons of radioactive water from Fukushima enters the Pacific Ocean. That means that the total amouont of radioactive material released from Fukushima is constantly increasing, and it is steadily building up in our food chain. Ultimately, all of this nuclear radiation will outlive all of us by a very wide margin. They are saying that it could take up to 40 years to clean up the Fukushima disaster, and meanwhile countless innocent people will develop cancer and other health problems as a result of exposure to high levels of nuclear radiation. We are talking about a nuclear disaster that is absolutely unprecedented, and it is constantly getting worse. The following are 28 signs that the west coast of North America is being absolutely fried with nuclear radiation from Fukushima…
1. Polar bears, seals and walruses along the Alaska coastline are suffering from fur loss and open sores…
Wildlife experts are studying whether fur loss and open sores detected in nine polar bears in recent weeks is widespread and related to similar incidents among seals and walruses.
The bears were among 33 spotted near Barrow, Alaska, during routine survey work along the Arctic coastline. Tests showed they had "alopecia, or loss of fur, and other skin lesions," the U.S. Geological Survey said in a statement.
2. There is an epidemic of sea lion deaths along the California coastline…
At island rookeries off the Southern California coast, 45 percent of the pups born in June have died, said Sharon Melin, a wildlife biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service based in Seattle. Normally, less than one-third of the pups would die. It's gotten so bad in the past two weeks that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared an "unusual mortality event."
3. Along the Pacific coast of Canada and the Alaska coastline, the population of sockeye salmon is at a historic low. Many are blaming Fukushima.
4. Something is causing fish all along the west coast of Canada to bleed from their gills, bellies and eyeballs.
5. A vast field of radioactive debris from Fukushima that is approximately the size of California has crossed the Pacific Ocean and is starting to collide with the west coast.
6. It is being projected that the radioactivity of coastal waters off the U.S. west coast could double over the next five to six years.
7. Experts have found very high levels of cesium-137 in plankton living in the waters of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the west coast.
8. One test in California found that 15 out of 15 bluefin tuna were contaminated with radiation from Fukushima.
9. Back in 2012, the Vancouver Sun reported that cesium-137 was being found in a very high percentage of the fish that Japan was selling to Canada…
• 73 percent of mackerel tested
• 91 percent of the halibut
• 92 percent of the sardines
• 93 percent of the tuna and eel
• 94 percent of the cod and anchovies
• 100 percent of the carp, seaweed, shark and monkfish
10.Canadian authorities are finding extremely high levels of nuclear radiation in certain fish samples…
Some fish samples tested to date have had very high levels of radiation: one sea bass sample collected in July, for example, had 1,000 becquerels per kilogram of cesium.
11. Some experts believe that we could see very high levels of cancer along the west coast just from people eating contaminated fish…
"Look at what's going on now: They're dumping huge amounts of radioactivity into the ocean — no one expected that in 2011," Daniel Hirsch, a nuclear policy lecturer at the University of California-Santa Cruz, told Global Security Newswire. "We could have large numbers of cancer from ingestion of fish."
12.BBC News recently reported that radiation levels around Fukushima are "18 times higher" than previously believed.
13. An EU-funded study concluded that Fukushima released up to 210 quadrillion becquerels of cesium-137 into the atmosphere.
14. Atmospheric radiation from Fukushima reached the west coast of the United States within a few days back in 2011.
15. At this point, 300 tons of contaminated water is pouring into the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima every single day.
16. A senior researcher of marine chemistry at the Japan Meteorological Agency's Meteorological Research Institute says that "30 billion becquerels of radioactive cesium and 30 billion becquerels of radioactive strontium" are being released into the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima every single day.
17. According to Tepco, a total of somewhere between 20 trillion and 40 trillion becquerels of radioactive tritium have gotten into the Pacific Ocean since the Fukushima disaster first began.
18. According to a professor at Tokyo University, 3 gigabecquerels of cesium-137 are flowing into the port at Fukushima Daiichi every single day.
19. It has been estimated that up to 100 times as much nuclear radiation has been released into the ocean from Fukushima than was released during the entire Chernobyl disaster.
20. One recent study concluded that a very large plume of cesium-137 from the Fukushima disaster will start flowing into U.S. coastal waters early next year…
Ocean simulations showed that the plume of radioactive cesium-137 released by the Fukushima disaster in 2011 could begin flowing into U.S. coastal waters starting in early 2014 and peak in 2016.
21. It is being projected that significant levels of cesium-137 will reach every corner of the Pacific Ocean by the year 2020.
22. It is being projected that the entire Pacific Ocean will soon "have cesium levels 5 to 10 times higher" than what we witnessed during the era of heavy atomic bomb testing in the Pacific many decades ago.
23. The immense amounts of nuclear radiation getting into the water in the Pacific Ocean has caused environmental activist Joe Martino to issue the following warning…
"Your days of eating Pacific Ocean fish are over."
24. The Iodine-131, Cesium-137 and Strontium-90 that are constantly coming from Fukushima are going to affect the health of those living the the northern hemisphere for a very, very long time. Just consider what Harvey Wasserman had to say about this…
Iodine-131, for example, can be ingested into the thyroid, where it emits beta particles (electrons) that damage tissue. A plague of damaged thyroids has already been reported among as many as 40 percent of the children in the Fukushima area. That percentage can only go higher. In developing youngsters, it can stunt both physical and mental growth. Among adults it causes a very wide range of ancillary ailments, including cancer.
Cesium-137 from Fukushima has been found in fish caught as far away as California. It spreads throughout the body, but tends to accumulate in the muscles.
Strontium-90's half-life is around 29 years. It mimics calcium and goes to our bones.
25. According to a recent Planet Infowars report, the California coastline is being transformed into "a dead zone"…
The California coastline is becoming like a dead zone.
If you haven't been to a California beach lately, you probably don't know that the rocks are unnaturally CLEAN – there's hardly any kelp, barnacles, sea urchins, etc. anymore and the tide pools are similarly eerily devoid of crabs, snails and other scurrying signs of life… and especially as compared to 10 – 15 years ago when one was wise to wear tennis shoes on a trip to the beach in order to avoid cutting one's feet on all the STUFF of life – broken shells, bones, glass, driftwood, etc.
There are also days when I am hard-pressed to find even a half dozen seagulls and/or terns on the county beach.
You can still find a few gulls trolling the picnic areas and some of the restaurants (with outdoor seating areas) for food, of course, but, when I think back to 10 – 15 years ago, the skies and ALL the beaches were literally filled with seagulls and the haunting sound of their cries both day and night…
NOW it's unnaturally quiet.
26. A study conducted last year came to the conclusion that radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster could negatively affect human life along the west coast of North America from Mexico to Alaska "for decades".
27. According to the Wall Street Journal, it is being projected that the cleanup of Fukushima could take up to 40 years to complete.
28. Yale Professor Charles Perrow is warning that if the cleanup of Fukushima is not handled with 100% precision that humanity could be threatened "for thousands of years"…
"Conditions in the unit 4 pool, 100 feet from the ground, are perilous, and if any two of the rods touch it could cause a nuclear reaction that would be uncontrollable. The radiation emitted from all these rods, if they are not continually cool and kept separate, would require the evacuation of surrounding areas including Tokyo. Because of the radiation at the site the 6,375 rods in the common storage pool could not be continuously cooled; they would fission and all of humanity will be threatened, for thousands of years."
Are you starting to understand why so many people are so deeply concerned about what is going on at Fukushima?
For much more on all of this, please check out the video posted below…


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- Adviesdiensten
Azure Landing Zone: 1- week Implementation
Microsoft Azure's Cloud Adoption Framework aligned Landing Zone deployment for Azure.
We provide an operational Azure environment that includes basic features and reports from day one. Based on the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF), Azure Landing Zones enable organizations of all sizes to build a fast, secure, and efficient cloud foundation that scales with their business. Our experienced team of cloud architects, delivery and support engineers will design and deploy your Azure Landing Zone – aligned to your business requirements and the latest Microsoft best practices. We also keep you up to date with new developments on the platform so that you always have the latest features and ensure the platform is as secure and reliable as possible.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hessian Tie
$21.00 Roll (33m) Read Full Product InformationImportant Notice: If you are outside Sydney Metro, BEFORE YOU ORDER,
please call 13 14 58 to check with your local store for product availability.Looking for something you can't find? Ask Us Now33m x 50mm. Tie back from stakes to trees.Frequently Asked QuestionsAustralian Native Landscapes provides a 7 day delivery service direct to your home or site. Our supply options include delivery in bulk, bulka bags, and bagged products (such as 20kg & 25 / 30 / 60litre bags). In addition, in some instances a supply and install service is available via our Greenblower division. You must ensure that all information provided by you in relation to your order is accurate, complete and up to date. Risk in the goods passes to you on delivery, and Australian Native Landscapes does not accept liability for any loss, theft or damage to the Goods after delivery. We will not be liable if you have failed to follow instructions, modified the goods or used them for an unintended purpose.
Each delivery option has restrictions or limitations which may alter our capacity to meet customer deliver requirements. While every effort will be made to place the delivery in your requested location, actual delivery point will be at the sole discretion of the delivery driver. Multiple deliveries will incur a delivery fee for each delivery. The supplier's responsibility for the delivery of material will cease at the kerbside of the job address stated. If it is necessary for a vehicle to cross the footpath or to enter upon private property in the course of effecting delivery, the purchaser will provide safe and adequate access and notwithstanding will pay for damage to any public or private property and every injury or wrong which may result there from.
Australian Native Landscapes warrants that the Goods or Services are fit for their usual purpose and are merchantable. All other warranties and representations, except those which are non-excludable in law, are excluded. If the Goods or Services are defective or do not meet these warranties, we will refund the price or repair or replace the Goods or resupply the Services in line with our Refunds Policy. We exclude liability for indirect or consequential loss.


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Thursday, December 12, 2013
The New Wine Fairy Tales: The Talking Fish
The Talking Fish
Once there was a young boy who lived in an enchanted valley in the far north of a golden state. One day the young boy was walking along the river when he heard a voice. There wasn't another person around, and the young boy wasn't prone to hearing voices in his head, not like his cousin who had pierced his body with several hundred toothpicks and claimed to be a magic washboard. The voice was asking for help.
"Help," the voice said, in a tone that registered as fishlike. Not baritone, but bass.
The young boy walked in the direction of the river, towards the voice, and came upon a fish stuck between some rocks. "You must be a pretty stupid fish," the young boy said, "to get stuck between rocks."
"Fuck you," the fish said. "If you help me out from between these rocks, I'll give you a magic power." The young boy was impressed at the fish's command of the language, and he stepped into the river and kicked the talking fish until it was freed.
"Cod-dammit," the fish said. "You could have been a little gentler, asshole. But you've freed me, as I asked, and so I will grant you a magic power."
"Do I get to pick my magic power?" the young boy asked. "Because if I do, I pick being able to lick my nuts like a dog does."
"No, moron," the talking fish said, "the magic power you now have is that you are a Super Taster!"
"oh." the young boy said.
"What?!" the fish said, "that's not good enough for you?"
"Can I taste my nuts?" the downcast young boy inquired.
The talking fish paused for a moment, and then said, "Listen, son, manta man, I think I'm wasting this magic power on a dumbshit like you. But a deal is a deal." And with that, the talking fish swam away.
Now it happened that the enchanted valley where the young boy lived was the most famous place in the world for wine. The enchanted valley was covered in vineyards, and people came from all over the world to taste the wines. Almost everyone who lived in the enchanted valley was a winemaker. Of course, this stood to reason, because no one can stand to be around a lot of winemakers except another winemaker.
Being a Super Taster was amazing, the young boy thought, but not really very much fun. It was kind of a stupid magic power. He could taste things that nobody else could taste, but that didn't get him laid. And, really, the young boy thought, what's the good of having a magic power if it doesn't get you lots of strange. One of his friends had a magic power. He had twelve inches of tongue. He got lots of strange, and a recording contract. That was a real magic power.
One day the young boy stopped at a nearby winery to talk to a winemaker he knew. The winemaker handed the young boy a glass of his newest release of Cabernet Sauvignon, even though he knew the boy to be dumber than an awards show.
"Wow," the young boy said, "I've never had a wine like this. I can taste blackberries that a bear slobbered on, green olive from a Leccino olive tree, sweet Santa Rosa plum, vanillin from a lightly toasted Francois Freres oak barrel from a tree once hit by lightning, your wife's lipstick, a whisper of your neighbor's happy spurt, a #2 lead pencil with an eraser nearly gone, Kenyan coffee slightly overroasted, and cassis. And," the young boy said, thinking of his friend the talking fish, "on a scale of 100, I'd give it 96."
The winemaker was floored. He made the young boy write his description on a piece of paper and he took it to the local wine merchant. The wine merchant posted the description in his store, and the winemaker's wine sold out in one day.
Soon every winemaker wanted the young boy dumber than a roomful of ball bearings to taste their wines and write about them. The young boy started to ask for money for his words. "Oh," the winemakers said, "we can't do that. That would make you look like a dishonest young boy. Charge the wine merchant!"
"No," the wine merchant said, "I can't pay you for your super taste. Make the people who buy the wine from me pay!" And so he did.
Soon the young boy was tasting hundreds and hundreds of wine every day and writing long and detailed descriptions of what he tasted. He tasted dozens of flavors in every wine. His descriptions baffled the people who buy wine, for no one could taste all the flavors the young boy could taste. And, for the most part, the people who buy wine didn't even want to taste the weird shit he tasted in the wines. They gave up reading his words. It was the scale they loved anyway. The people who buy wine didn't even care a little bit about all the descriptions he wrote, about his magic power, they only read the numbers. In the back of his head, the young boy, as he assigned the numbers to the hundreds and hundreds of wines he tasted, could hear his old friend the talking fish speaking his words of wisdom.
"Fuck you."
The young boy knew he had been right. Super Taster was a stupid magic power. He was wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, famous and powerful in the enchanted valley in the golden state. But now people made fun of his words, and insulted his magic scale. The young boy, now not so young any more, yearned for the days before he'd stumbled upon the talking fish stuck between two rocks, for the days when he could just enjoy the enchanted valley and all the winemakers who lived there. Well, maybe not the winemakers.
One day when the young boy was very old, he was walking near the river again when he heard the voice of his old piscine friend. Could the talking fish still be alive? The young boy, now old, hurried to the river. And, there, waiting for him, was the talking fish.
"Talking fish! How are you? I'm so glad to see you."
"Who the fuck are you?" the fish said.
"You don't remember me? Forty years ago I rescued you when you were stuck between two rocks and you gave me the magic power of being a Super Taster."
"Idiot," the talking fish explained. "I didn't give you any magic fucking power. I just said that so you'd help me."
"You mean I've never been a super taster?"
"Hell, no. Man, you're dumber than a school of anchovies. There's no such thing as a super taster. Who the hell thought you were a super taster? Douchebags. You're no different than anybody else."
Soon after, the young boy died.
32 comments:
- The Sommeliere said...
"He had twelve inches of tongue."
That really opens up a Pandora's "box"
in MANY ways!
- December 12, 2013 at 9:45 AM
- Thomas said...
Let's wait to hear from Tim Hanni....
- December 12, 2013 at 9:54 AM
- Unknown said...
I used to read those stupid descriptions on the backs of bottles until I realized they were all the same and never delivered on what they promised.. now I just pray and hope that it's not total swill... imagine taking back to store.. this didn't deliver on what it said it would.. who says??
- December 12, 2013 at 10:18 AM
- Marcia Macomber said...
Fractured Fairy Tale is more like it! Hilarious. If Tim doesn't chime in, I'll ask him tonight at our WWS event. Tim can tell us what vinotype the young man was (and the bass fish!) Bet that fish doesn't fiddle around...
I like the oak in the barrel being once stuck by lightning. Fun. - December 12, 2013 at 10:21 AM
- Charlie Olken said...
Brilliant on so many levels, not the least of which is the way it moves The Hosemaster into yet another realm of comedy.
I am a little worried about Marlene. She may think she is Pandora.
As for Tim Hanni, you have to give him credit. He has parlayed that fairy tale into a big living. - December 12, 2013 at 10:30 AM
- Tim Hanni MW said...
Hi Thomas et al. If he was a true 'supertaster' it primarily indicates a hyper-sensitivity to a group of thiourea compounds - PROP, PTC, etc. Dr. Linda Bartoshuk's great work on the subject (and poor choice of terms like 'supertaster') was in the field of genetics - seeing if they could pinpoint gene responsible for the ability to taste, and at what intensity, thiourea compounds.
Being a super-taster does NOT mean there is any inherent skill or capability as a wine taster, judge or critic.
The young man is a Hypersensitive Vintoype. this does not necessarily make for a great wine taster - in fact the truly Hypersensitive Vintoype often lives in a vivid and confusing sensory cacophony and in extreme cases find it very challenging to enjoy dry wine at all. The people with the most extreme perceptive sensitivity are usually diehard sweet wine drinkers.
His traits? Very frequently has to cut tags out of clothes, probability of mother having severe morning sickness (his DNA is responsible we think) is VERY high (like 95%), typically abhors high alcohol, heavy oak and tannins. Hates Robert Parker, loves Dan Berger. Loves salt. The volume on the TV is too loud. Very likely played individual sports OR compensated by becoming captain or leader if team sports. Incredibly picky about the feel of sheets and/or pillowcases - it is a pain in the ass to go shopping with him.
In this case he got caught up in the descriptive analogies and metaphors of wine that rewired his brain and further removed him from any reality. ADHD and OCD are typical traits of the Sweet and Hypersensitive Vinotype as well - and the fact that he was alone when he came across the fish is consistent with feeling alienated and that 'I don't fit in with others' associated with Hypersensitivity.
Oh - and he didn't EAT the fish because of his sensitivity to smells and textures - which actually means that the people who most prefer delicate white wines eat less seafood (while the tolerant Vintoypes who love big reds wines eat more seafood).
Just sayin'... And see you tonight, Marcia! The fish is a piscatorial non-drinking Vinotype who finds it hard to open a bottle or hold a wine glass.
And hey, Hosemaster. Ya got my book - why don't you read it? Then you can have a blast slaying me in your blog (an honor to be sure). Keep up the fun work! - December 12, 2013 at 10:47 AM
- Tim Hanni MW said...
Charlie - your post came in while I was writing.
I don't think you really understand my fairy tale - but you are still, and always, invited to come have lunch with me to learn what I really do - and don't do! BTW, I am not the 'super-taster' guy. Seriously come join me for a free lunch. You can pay me if required to retain your journalistic purity. At very least I AM a pretty good cook. - December 12, 2013 at 11:03 AM
- Thomas said...
"At very least I AM a pretty good cook."
When you invited me, I assumed you meant a fine and expensive restaurant. Geez, not living in California got me out of that one!
As for your description of "super-taster," which is a poorly chosen term, you confuse me more, since I harbor fair number of the traits you attribute to such people, yet I do not prefer the wines that you claim someone like me should prefer...and I eat a hell of a lot of seafood, too, sometimes while I have a pile of clothing in front of me and a sharp razor at the ready. - December 12, 2013 at 11:15 AM
- Tim Hanni MW said...
Thomas - it is a longer story than a blog response can cover. Kinda why I wrote my book - at the behest of, and with the support of, Harvey Posert, a former Mondavi Exec who is also a Sweet Vintoype. He cannot stand dry wines and spent 45 years as an industry leader.
Again - I am NOT the guy who uses the term super-taster and in fact am trying to eliminate the word, and all of the confusion it caused, from the wine lexicon.
Your preferences are a combination of physical sensory traits and you are a 'highly evolved' Hypersensitive Vinotype. The changes in preferences over time, for the most part, are a neurological process and the changes are due to rewiring the connection between sensations to new experiences, learning and memories.
I do NOT claim to know what wines you like but can provide guidelines for people intimated and overwhelmed with wine information and choices an opportunity to pick a starting point - or validation to stick to their guns if they know what flavors they love.
But I DO know your personality is consistent with your hypersensitivity!! :-) Yeah, lunch is at my house but invitation still stands. BTW - did you ever drink pickle juice as a kid - or even every now and again still? - December 12, 2013 at 11:27 AM
- Ron Washam, HMW said...
Hey Gang,
What's fun about writing HoseMaster for me is not knowing what my stupid pieces will trigger as far as topics of conversation. The Talking Fish is a good example.
I've long wanted to write Wine Fairy Tales, but couldn't quite find the method. What got me there was reading Philip Pullman's introduction to his brilliant fairy tale translations in "The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm." His introduction is a primer on writing fairy tales. After reading it, I sat down and wrote the first sentence with no idea of where it was going, but at least understanding the structure. The fish appeared, the "magic" power ensued, and the ending simply appeared in my head.
I'm sure I'll write more (I've already got one more in the can). But, first, I have to interview my dog...
You know me, I don't read books before I review them. I haven't read your book yet--thank you for giving it to me, by the way. But I will. And thank you for bringing your MWness to us common taters and chiming in. It's a fascinating subject, really, and has the great satisfaction of putting smart wine people into little cubbyholes where they belong.
- December 12, 2013 at 11:58 AM
- Ron Washam, HMW said...
Marlene Darling,
Sadly, I lack inches in all the wrong departments. But I make up for it with quickness.
Reading back labels is simply for comic relief. I don't think they'd ever have come into being were it not for government warning labels--which are actually the funniest part.
Marcia Love,
Ah, yes, I can hear Edward Everett Horton reading it. Have fun tonight with Tim Hanni. Tell him I can vinotype 120 words per minute.
I was hoping I was one of those wine blogs you declared dead. Here I am borrowing five hundred year old ideas like I'm writing for Pallet Press.
Glad you liked my little fairy tale. It's silly, but I like that the fish is so foulmouthed. It's why I used a piranha as the illustration. You know they swear a lot. - December 12, 2013 at 12:06 PM
- Thomas said...
Pickle juice! I can't remember, but I did like to suck on lemon rinds, and I like to slurp remaining vinegar after the salad is eaten. When I eat chocolate, it's those unsweetened bars used for baking.
Then again, I'm a sucker for a good cheesecake, which can be had in fewer than six places on earth, have been known to search for real lemon ice, in vain, and think key lime pie is too sweet, but ok.
To really know my vinotype, you have to measure my nose, and for that you need some professional rulers. - December 12, 2013 at 1:02 PM
- Tim Hanni MW said...
There is a tendency for the Hypersensitive Vinotypes to have this attraction to sour and salty things. Our son is one - loved sucking on lemons (we are still paying dental bills).
Actually at this point a deeper Vinotyping would require getting insight your head and mapping neurological connects. Not ready for THAT. Suffice to say to are a highly evolved, passionate, emotional (these go along with the hypersensitive territory) Hypersensitive Vinotype with really clear cut preferences. Knowing this about you will mean I can have some pretty spiffy wines here for lunch that I am quite confident you will enjoy! That is the point of all this stuff.
Then I get to really f@%k with your mind in the wine and food arena. - December 12, 2013 at 1:34 PM
- Thomas said...
Send me the plane ticket, or get your ass to NY and I'll handle the lunch.
Warning: many have tried mapping my brain and they all came away with nausea.
I do know what you do during those lunches; you once told me. Of course, what you said could have been a set-up.
Have you mapped HoseMaster's brain? Oh right...forget I asked. - December 12, 2013 at 1:48 PM
- Charlie Olken said...
You know what I think of your theories, as opposed to what I think of you (a valued colleague), but I am intrigued by your pickle juice comment to Mr. P.
My whole family are pickle juice drinkers--except my dear wife who thinks we are slightly nuts.
So, how's this for proof. The other day, the eight-old who loves kosher dills, finished the last couple of pickles in the jar and then picked up the jar and drank the brine. A chip off the old block going back at least four generations.
I am willing, at great risk, to have you tell me what that means. - December 12, 2013 at 2:01 PM
- Ron Washam, HMW said...
The pickle gene is carried through the maternal line, making all of your clan Mother Puckers. - December 12, 2013 at 2:03 PM
- Charlie Olken said...
Certainly the presence of the irrepressible Mr. Hanni will add to the commentary here, but I think the writing itself is so refreshing and zippy, just like a good pickle, that it is also bringing out the best in people and has even caused Marlene to reveal her most secret desires. - December 12, 2013 at 2:03 PM
- Ron Washam, HMW said...
Well, it's a smart crowd this week, and I"m glad to have you all here.
But if my writing is pickle-like, it's only because I'm fairly pickled myself. - December 12, 2013 at 2:10 PM
- Tim Hanni MW said...
We have conducted thorough genetic research on the 12-inch-tongue phenomenon. It is called the Gene-Simmons project. We are using Google satellite to map the tongue pictured at the following link... http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/302270/Long/
Hey Charlie - the point of the lunch is also to show you the research behind my 'theories' and that it is not just junk science. Hey, AND free lunch with pickle juice on the side! We can then delve into the Olken Clan of PickleJuiceDrinkers. - December 12, 2013 at 2:19 PM
- Thomas said...
12-inch tongue. Now we're talkin'. Sign me up.
Reminds me of an old girlfriend and a night in Prospect Park... - December 12, 2013 at 2:31 PM
- Long Board said...
As the Flounder of Longboard, I am deeply offended by that picture.. Ron, can't to read the dog interview!
- December 12, 2013 at 5:05 PM
- Long Board said...
That was cant WAIT to...
- December 12, 2013 at 5:06 PM
- Ron Washam, HMW said...
That's not a picture of a flounder, Oded. Flounders have both eyes on the same side of their face. Since you're a flounder, how the hell do you keep your glasses on?
My dog, it turns out, doesn't grant interviews. She's such a bitch. She does, however, like her Gruner served in a toilet. - December 12, 2013 at 6:11 PM
- Long Board said...
I was talking about the picture of the long tongue... Funny, I love my Gruner the same way, is your dog single? - December 12, 2013 at 6:46 PM
- Bill Klapp said...
Who's Tim Hanni?
- December 13, 2013 at 12:45 AM
- Fabio said...
Guys, don't carp on so about super-tasters - just go to the ofishal site and get the facts! :)
- December 13, 2013 at 3:26 AM
- Michael Donohue said...
I have to confess I enjoyed, as always, this little parody but was misled by the title. When I read it, I assumed the target of your barbed humor was going to be a Fish, not called Wanda, but Tim! Don't you think this Tim deserves a turn too?
- December 13, 2013 at 3:39 PM
- Unknown said...
That was fantastic. You're on a role, Jose.
My dog, by the way, has a twitter account, although I think he is too smart for something so stupid - December 13, 2013 at 3:53 PM
- Unknown said...
"I'm sure I'll write more (I've already got one more in the can). But, first, I have to interview my dog..."
So that would be dogfood in the can? Since I'm sure you're aware that you can tuna guitar but you can't ... (sorry, just bringing down the intelligence level a bit).
Dave - December 13, 2013 at 4:20 PM
- Ron Washam, HMW said...
My wife thought the same thing--that it was a Tim Fish parody. It wasn't, not intentionally anyway, but I can see how someone might read it that way. I only make fun of Tim Fish, whom I've never met, because he has a great comedy name. You want to know immediately if he's spawned. Or milted.
I'm not so much on a role as most wine blogs are simply incredibly dull most of the time. I seem like the sharpest weapon among bowling balls.
Isn't there a separate Dog Twitter? Sniffing butts? Right?
It's hard to lower the intelligence level around here, but, hell, YOU DID IT! Nice going. Now the question is, can you tuna casserole? - December 13, 2013 at 5:37 PM
- Samantha Dugan said...
I love you - December 13, 2013 at 9:47 PM
Like Michael, I kept waiting for Tim Fish to make an appearance. He's also stuck between two rocks, Laube and Steiman.
That wasn't a very fairy tale like ending. I was hoping he would have sold out to investors in Singapore. - December 14, 2013 at 7:44 AM


text: Dmitry Shostakovich belongs to the generation of composers trained principally after the Communist Revolution of 1917. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory as a pianist and composer, his First Symphony winning immediate favour. His subsequent career in Russia varied with the political climate. The initial success of his opera "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District", based on Leskov, and later revised as "Katerina Ismailova", was followed by official condemnation, emanating apparently from Stalin himself. The composer's Fifth Symphony, in 1937, brought partial rehabilitation, while the war years offered a propaganda coup in the Leningrad Symphony, performed in the city under German siege. In 1948 he fell foul of the official musical establishment with a Ninth Symphony thought to be frivolous, but enjoyed the relative freedom following the death of Stalin in 1953. Outwardly and inevitably conforming to official policy, posthumous information suggests that Shostakovich remained very critical of Stalinist dictates, particularly with regard to music and the arts. He occupies a significant position in the 20th century as a symphonist and as a composer of chamber music, writing in a style that is sometimes spare in texture but always accessible, couched as it is in an extension of traditional tonal musical language. "Katerina Ismailova" remains the principal opera of Shostakovich, with the early opera The Nose, based on Gogol, and the ballet The Golden Age. Incidental music for the theatre includes scores for Shakespeare's Hamlet and for King Lear, the same two plays being among the films for which he wrote scores. The fifteen symphonies of Shostakovich range in scope from the First Symphony of 1925, a graduation composition, to the embittered Thirteenth using Yevtushenko's poems. The Fourteenth, which contains settings of various poems came two years before the Fifteenth and last symphony of 1971. The Fifth Symphony, the immediate post-war Ninth and the Tenth of 1953 are most often heard, while Nos. 2 and 3, with Nos. 11 and 12, have more overtly patriotic suggestions about them. Shostakovich wrote an early concerto for piano, trumpet and strings, and a second piano concerto, a vehicle for his son Maxim, in 1957. He wrote two violin concertos and two cello concertos. Choral works by Shostakovich include The Execution of Stepan Razin, a setting of a text by Yevtushenko. His solo songs are generally less overtly political, evidence of a private rather than public voice. The fifteen String Quartets by Shostakovich form a remarkable body of work, lucid in texture, often moving in musical content. The intensely felt Viola Sonata of 1975 is the third of his duo sonatas, preceded by the 1934 Cello Sonata and the Violin Sonata of 1968. To these may be added the second Piano Trio and a G minor Piano Quintet, written in 1944. The piano music of Shostakovich includes, in addition to two piano sonatas, an ingenious set of Twenty-four Preludes and Fugues, as well as an earlier set of Twenty-four Preludes.


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STALEKS PRO EXPERT 51 REPLACEABLE ABRASIVE KIT (POLISHING FILE) 10pc
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Within This Page
Heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC systems) account for 39% of the energy used in commercial buildings in the United States. Consequently, almost any business or government agency has the potential to realize significant savings by improving its control of HVAC operations and improving the efficiency of the system it uses.
The use of high performance HVAC equipment can result in considerable energy, emissions, and cost savings (10%–40%). Whole building design coupled with an "extended comfort zone" can produce much greater savings (40%–70%). Extended comfort includes employing concepts such as providing warmer, but drier air using desiccant dehumidification in summer, or cooler air with warmer windows and warmer walls in winter. In addition, high-performance HVAC can provide increased user thermal comfort, and contribute to improved indoor environmental quality (IEQ).
Given the range and complexity of the subject, this information should be viewed as only a starting point to access information from the many trade associations, agencies, and manufacturers linked throughout the text.
Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning (HVAC)
The term HVAC refers to the three disciplines of Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning. A fourth discipline, Controls, pervades the entire HVAC field. Controls determine how HVAC systems operate to meet the design goals of comfort, safety, and cost-effective operation.
Heating can be accomplished by heating the air within a space (e.g. supply air systems, perimeter fin-tube "radiators"), or by heating the occupants directly by radiation (e.g. floor/ceiling/wall radiation or radiant panels).
Ventilating maintains an adequate mixture of gases in the air we breath (e.g. not too much CO2), controls odors, and removes contaminants from occupied spaces. "Clean" air helps keep occupants healthy and productive. Ventilation can be accomplished passively through natural ventilation, or actively through mechanical distribution systems powered by fans.
Air-conditioning refers to the sensible and latent cooling of air. Sensible cooling involves the control of air temperature while latent cooling involves the control of air humidity. Room air is cooled by transferring heat between spaces, such as with a water loop heat pump system, or by rejecting it to the outside air via air-cooled or water-cooled equipment. Heat can also be rejected to the ground using geothermal exchange. Cool air is not comfortable if it is too humid. Air is dehumidified by condensing its moisture on a cold surface, such as part of mechanical cooling), or by removing the moisture through absorption (desiccant dehumidification). In dry climates, humidification may be required for comfort instead of dehumidification. Evaporative humidification also cools the air. Further, in such climates it is possible to use radiant cooling systems, similar to the radiant heating systems mentioned above.
Controls ensure occupant comfort, provide safe operation of the equipment, and in a modern HVAC control system enable judicious use of energy resources. HVAC systems are sized to meet heating and cooling loads that historically occur only 1% to 2.5% of the time. It is the function of the controls to ensure that the HVAC systems perform properly, reliably, and efficiently during those conditions that occur 97.5% to 99% of the time.
Each HVAC discipline has specific design requirements and each has opportunities for energy savings. It must be understood, however, that energy savings in one area may augment or diminish savings in another. This applies to interactions between components of an HVAC system, as well as between the HVAC system and the lighting and envelope systems. See WBDG Ensure Appropriate Product/Systems Integration. Therefore, understanding how one system or subsystem affects another is essential to making the most of the available opportunities for energy savings. This design approach is known as whole building design.
Impact on Building Energy Performance Goals
Employing high-performance HVAC equipment in conjunction with whole building design can result in significant energy savings. Typically, a 30% reduction in annual energy costs can be achieved with a simple payback period of about three to five years. And, if the payback threshold is extended to seven years, the savings can be about 40%. These figures apply to buildings that offer conventional comfort (e.g., 70°F in winter, 76°F in summer). (For more information on cost-effectiveness, see WBDG Cost-Effective Branch).
If the comfort zone is extended through natural ventilation and air movement in summer, and through lower air temperatures in winter (made possible by highly-insulated and, therefore, warmer wall and window surfaces), even higher savings can be achieved. For example, a typical office building minimally complying with the ASHRAE Standard 90.1 might use 75,000 Btu/sq.ft./yr. The goal for many federal buildings is 50,000 Btu/sq.ft./yr. A highly energy-efficient building using conventional comfort could have an energy use of 40,000 Btu/sq.ft./yr. or even less. A building designed and operated with extended comfort strategies might only use 20,000 to 30,000 Btu/sq.ft./yr.
However, note that highly energy-efficient design utilizing high-performance HVAC equipment often requires more effort and more collaboration from the design team than a conventional, sequential approach.
Fundamentals of Energy- and Resource-Efficient HVAC Design
Consider all aspects of the building simultaneously | Energy-efficient, climate responsive construction requires a whole building perspective that integrates architectural and engineering concerns early in the design process. For example, the evaluation of a building envelope design must consider its effect on cooling loads and daylighting. An energy-efficient building envelope, coupled with a state-of-the-art lighting system and efficient, properly-sized HVAC equipment will cost less to purchase and operate than a building whose systems are selected in isolation from each other. |
Decide on design goals as early as possible | A building that only meets energy code requirements will often have a different HVAC system than one that uses 40% less energy than the code.And the difference is likely to be not only component size, but also basic system type. See WBDG Functional—Meet Performance Objectives. |
"Right Size" HVAC systems to ensure efficient operation | Safety factors for HVAC systems allow for uncertainties in the final design, construction and use of the building, but should be used reasonably.Greatly oversized equipment operates less efficiently and costs more than properly sized equipment. For example, oversized cooling systems may not dehumidify the air properly, resulting in cool but "clammy" spaces.It is unreasonable and expensive to assume a simultaneous worst-case scenario for all load components (occupancy, lighting, shading devices, weather) and then to apply the highest safety factors for sizing. |
Consider part-load performance when selecting equipment | Part-load performance of equipment is a critical consideration for HVAC sizing.Most heating and cooling equipment only operate at their rated, peak efficiency when fully loaded (that is, working near their maximum output).However, HVAC systems are sized to meet design heating and cooling conditions that historically occur only 1% to 2.5% of the time. Thus, HVAC systems are intentionally oversized at least 97.5% to 99% of the time. In addition, most equipment is further oversized to handle pick-up loads and to provide a factor of safety. Therefore, systems almost never operate at full load. In fact, most systems operate at 50% or less of their capacity. |
Shift or shave electric loads during peak demand periods | Many electric utilities offer lower rates during off-peak periods that typically occur at night. Whenever possible, design systems to take advantage of this situation. For example, energy management systems can shed non-critical loads at peak periods to prevent short duration electrical demands from affecting energy bills for the entire year. Or, off-peak thermal ice storage systems can be designed to run chillers at night to make ice that can be used for cooling the building during the next afternoon when rates are higher. |
Plan for expansion, but don't size for it | A change in building use or the incorporation of new technologies can lead to an increased demand for cooling. But, it is wasteful to provide excess capacity now—the capacity may never be used or the equipment could be obsolete by the time it is needed. It is better to plan equipment and space so that future expansion is possible. For example, adequately size mechanical rooms and consider the use of modular equipment. |
Commission the HVAC systems | Commercial HVAC systems do not always work as expected. Problems can be caused by the design of the HVAC system or because equipment and controls are improperly connected or installed.A part of commissioning involves testing the HVAC systems under all aspects of operation, revealing and correcting problems, and ensuring that everything works as intended. A comprehensive commissioning program will also ensure that O&M personnel are properly trained in the functioning of all systems. |
Establish an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Program | Proper performance and energy-efficient operation of HVAC systems can only be ensured through a successful O&M program. The building design team should provide systems that will perform effectively at the level of maintenance that the owner is able to provide. In turn, the owner must understand that different components of the HVAC system will require different degrees of maintenance to perform properly. |
Design Recommendations
Consider all aspects of the building simultaneously. The building should incorporate as many features as possible that reduce heating and cooling loads, for example:
- In skin-load dominated structures, employ passive heating or cooling strategies (e.g., sun control and shading devices, thermal mass).
- In internal-load dominated structures, include glazing that has a high cooling index.
- Specify exterior wall constructions that avoid thermal bridging.
- Detail the exterior wall constructions with air retarder systems.
- Incorporate the highest R-value wall and roof construction that is cost-effective.
- Design efficient lighting systems.
- Use daylight dimming controls whenever possible.
- Specify efficient office equipment (e.g., EPA Energy Star® Office Equipment).
- Accept life-cycle horizons of 20 to 25 years for equipment and 50 to 75 years for walls and glazings.
Decide on design goals as early as possible. It is important that the design team knows where it is headed long before the construction documents phase.
- Emphasize communication between all members of the design team throughout the design process (see WBDG Project Management).
- Develop a written "Basis of Design" that conveys to all members of the project goals for energy efficiency. For example, such a BOD might highlight the intent to incorporate daylighting and the attendant use of high-performance glazing, suitable lighting controls and interior layout.
- Establish a quantitative goal for annual energy consumption and annual energy costs.
- Clarify goals to meet or exceed the minimum requirements of codes or regulations during schematic design.
"Right Size" HVAC systems to ensure efficient operation.
- Accept the HVAC safety factors and pick-up load allowance stated in ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1 as an upper limit.
- Apply safety factors to a reasonable baseline. It is unreasonable to assume that on the hottest clear day if no shades are drawn and all lights are on that each room is occupied by the maximum number of people allowed by fire codes (thus, far in excess of the maximum number of people that can be expected in the building), and then apply safety factors. Safety factors should be applied to a baseline that was created using reasonable assumptions.
- Take advantage of the new generation of dependable computerized analysis tools, such as DOE 2.1E, to reduce uncertainty and eliminate excess oversizing. Hour-by-hour computer simulations can anticipate how building design and operation affect peak loads. Issues such as diversity, pick-up requirements, and self-shading due to building geometry can be quantified. As uncertainties are reduced, oversizing factors can also be reduced or at least can be applied to a more realistic baseline.
Consider part-load performance when selecting equipment.
- Select systems that can operate efficiently at part-load. For example:
- Variable volume fan systems and variable speed drive controls for fan motors;
- Variable capacity boiler plants (e.g., step-fired (hi/lo) boilers, modular boiler plants, modulating flame boilers);
- Condensing boilers operate more efficiently (95%–96%) as the part-load decreases to the minimum turn-down ratio;
- Variable capacity cooling plants (e.g., modular chiller plants, multiple compressor equipment, and variable speed chillers);
- Variable capacity cooling towers (e.g., multiple cell towers with variable speed or two speed fans, reset controls);
- Variable capacity pump systems (e.g., primary/secondary pump loops, variable speed pump motors); and,
- Temperature reset controls for hot water, chilled water, and supply air.
Shift or shave the load.
- Investigate the utility company's rate structure; negotiate for a favorable rate structure.
- Take advantage of the on-peak and off-peak rate differences.
- Use energy management controls systems to avoid unnecessary peak demand charges (peak shaving and demand limiting).
- Explore thermal storage systems (e.g., thermal ice storage).
- Examine alternate fuel sources for heating and cooling systems (e.g., district steam vs. natural gas vs. fuel oil; steam or natural gas chillers; dual fuel boilers).
Plan for future expansion instead of greatly oversizing the equipment. "Right sizing" the systems means avoiding systems that have more capacity than currently required.This concept extends to accommodating for planned expansion.Don't provide excess capacity today for a future load that may never exist, instead:
- Provide the physical space required for additional equipment: boilers, chillers, pumps, cooling towers.
- Design distribution systems that can easily accept additional equipment, and can be expanded to provide for the requirements of the future expansion.
The result is savings in first cost and operating cost, and savings in construction cost and down time when making expansion alterations. See WBDG Productive—Design for the Changing Workplace.
Commission the HVAC systems. ASHRAE Guideline 1.1 presently recommends a comprehensive commissioning protocol for HVAC equipment. Many advocates of high-performance buildings are urging that more general, Total Building Commissioning (TBC) be implemented. More information on commissioning can be found at:
- Building Commissioning Association
- National Institute of Building Sciences—Total Building Commissioning Program
- Portland Energy Conservation, Inc.
- WBDG Building Commissioning
Establish an Operations and Maintenance Program.
- Specify systems that can be properly maintained by the owner, based on the owner's stated resources. See WBDG Functional/Operational.
- Provide as part of construction, contract system interfaces to allow personnel to easily monitor and adjust system parameters.
- Make systems control, operation, and maintenance training part of the construction contract.
- Include complete documentation regarding operation and maintenance of all equipment and controls systems as part of the construction contract.
- Establish a written, comprehensive operation and maintenance program, based on the requirements of the facility, equipment, and systems installed. See WBDG Sustainable O&M Practices.
Types of HVAC Systems
Heating Systems
Boilers are used to generate steam or hot water and can be fired by natural gas, fuel oil, or coal.
- The following boilers have combustion efficiencies between 78% and 86%.
- Firetube steel boilers are constructed so that hot gases from the combustion chamber pass through tubes that are surrounded by water.Typically, firetube boilers do not exceed 25 million Btu/hr (MMBtu/hr), but capacities up to 70 MMBtu/hr are available.
- Watertube steel boilers pass hot combustion gases over water-filled tubes.Sizes for packaged watertube boilers range from small, low pressure units (e.g., around 10 MMBtu/hr) to very large, high-pressure units with steam outputs of about 300 MMBtu/hr.
- Cast iron boilers are used in small installations (0.35 to 10 MMBtu/hr) where long service life is important.Since these boilers are composed of precast sections, they can be more readily field-assembled than watertube or firetube boilers.At similar capacities, cast-iron boilers are more expensive than firetube or watertube boilers.
- Condensing boilers achieve higher system efficiencies by extracting so much heat from the flue gases that the moisture in the gas condenses. The gases that remain can often be vented directly to the outside, simplifying and reducing the cost of breeching.They are typically fired with natural gas and operate between 95% and 96% combustion efficiencies. Theyalso operate more efficiently than non-condensing boilers at part-load.Condensing boilers are available in capacities between 0.3 and 2 MMBtu/hr, and can be connected in modular installations.
- The following boilers have combustion efficiencies between 78% and 86%.
Furnaces can be used for residential and small commercial heating systems. Furnaces use natural gas, fuel oil, and electricity for the heat source.Natural gas furnaces are available in condensing and non-condensing models. The cooling can be packaged within the system, or a cooling coil can be added. When direct expansion systems with coils are used, the condenser can be part of the package or remote.
Heat pumps are devices that add heat to or extract heat from a conditioned space. Both refrigerators and air conditioners are types of heat pumps that extract heat from a cooler, conditioned space and reject it to a warmer space (i.e., the outdoors). Heating can be obtained if this cycle is reversed: heat is moved from the outdoors to the conditioned space indoors. Heat pumps are available in two major types: conventional packaged (air-source) and water-source (conventional or geothermal).
More information on heat pumps can be found at:
- Energy Star—Air-Source Heat Pumps
- Energy Star—Geothermal Heat Pumps
- The Geothermal Exchange Organization
- International Energy Agency (IEA) Heat Pumping Technologies
- International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA)
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)—Geothermal Energy Program
Heating Controls
The first three controls increase energy efficiency by reducing on/off cycling of boilers. The fourth improves the efficiency during operation.
Modulating flame—The heat input to the boiler can be adjusted continually (modulated) up or down to match the heating load required.Modulating flame boilers have a minimum turn-down ratio, below which the boiler cycles off.This ratio is 25% for most boilers, but some can be turned down to as low as 10%.
Step-fired—The heat input to the boiler changes in steps, usually high/low/off.Compared to steady-state units, the capacity of the boiler can come closer to the required heating load.
Modular boilers—Another energy-efficient measure is to assemble groups of smaller boilers into modular plants.As the heating load increases, a new boiler enters on-line, augmenting the capacity of the heating system in a gradual manner.As the heating load decreases, the boilers are taken off-line one by one.
Oxygen trim systems continuously adjust the amount of combustion air to achieve high combustion efficiency. They are usually cost-effective for large boilers that have modulating flame controls.
Ventilation Systems
Ventilation systems deliver conditioned air to occupied spaces. Depending on the building type, ventilation air may be comprised of 100% outside air, such as in a laboratory building, or some mixture of re-circulated interior air and outside air. In commercial and institutional buildings, there are a number of different types of systems for delivering this air:
Constant air volume (CAV) systems deliver a constant rate of air while varying the temperature of the supply air. If more than one zone is served by a CAV system, the supply air is cooled at a central location to meet the need of the zone with highest demand. The other zones get overcooled or, if comfort is to be maintained, the air is reheated at the terminal units. CAV systems with reheat are inefficient because they expend energy to cool air that will be heated again. CAV systems with reheat, however, provide superior comfort in any zone. Constant airflow reduces pockets of "dead" air, and reheat provides close control of the space temperature.
Variable air volume (VAV) systems vary the amount of air supplied to a zone while holding the supply air temperature constant. This strategy saves fan energy and uses less reheat than in a CAV system. VAV systems, however, can have problems assuring uniform space temperature at low airflow rates. At times, the minimum airflow required for ventilation or for proper temperature control may be higher than is required to meet the space load. When this occurs reheat may be required.
Low-flow air diffusers in VAV systems help maintain uniform air distribution in a space at low airflows. These devices can be passive or active. Passive low flow diffusers are designed to mix the supply air with the room air efficiently at low flow. Active diffusers actually move the outlet vanes of the diffuser to maintain good mixing at low flow. Active diffusers can also be used as VAV terminal units.
Fan-powered VAV terminal units provide another method to improve air distribution at low load conditions. These units combine the benefits of a VAV system, by reducing central fan energy and reheat energy, with the benefits of a CAV system, by maintaining good airflow. There are two major types, series and parallel: Series fan-powered units maintain constant airflow to the zone at all times; parallel fan-powered units allow the airflow to the zone to vary somewhat, but do not allow the airflow in the zone to drop below a desired level. Both, however, allow the central fan to throttle down to the minimum airflow required for ventilation.
Raised floor air distribution delivers air low in the space, at low velocity and relatively high temperature compared to traditional plenum mounted distribution systems. Delivering air through a series of adjustable floor-mounted registers permits room air to be stratified with lower temperatures in the bottom portion of the room where people are located and high temperatures towards the ceiling. This system type is attracting increasing interest because it has the potential to save energy and to provide a high degree of individual comfort control. These systems have historically used constant-volume air delivery. Manufacturers arenow beginning to offer VAV systems that are more easily designed, installed, and operated with raised floor plenum systems.
Ventilation System Controls
In recent years, ventilation control systems have become more complex and, if installed and maintained properly, more dependable. Among the advancements are:
Direct digital control (DDC) systems using digital-logic controllers and electrically-operated actuators are replacing traditional pneumatic controls. Pneumatic systems use analog-logic controllers and air-pressure actuators. DDC systems are repeatable and reliable,provide accurate system responses, and can be monitored from a central computer station. DDC systems also require less maintenance than pneumatic systems. However, pneumatic controllers can be less expensive than electric actuators. Hybrid systems use a combination of digital logic controllers and pneumatic actuators.
CAV systems should have controls to reset the supply air temperature at the cooling coil to provide the warmest air possible to the space with the highest cooling load. This reduces reheat throughout the system. However, the temperature should be no higher than is necessary to properly dehumidify the air. Another option to reduce reheat is to use a bypass system. Bypass systems work like variable volume systems at the zones, but have constant airflow across the central fan.
VAV systems can now be designed to serve areas with as little as six tons of cooling load.Inlet vanes or, better yet, variable speed fans should be used to control air volume. In systems that have supply and return fans, airflow monitoring stations should be used to maintain the balance between supply and return airflow.
CO2-based control systems control the amount of outside air required for ventilation. These systems monitor the CO2 in the return air and modulate the outside air damper to provide only the amount of outside air required to maintain desired levels. Since CO2 does not account for contaminants released by the building materials (e.g., carpets, furniture), there must be a minimum amount of outside air even when the spaces are unoccupied. Alternately, detectors of volatile organic compounds (VOC) can supplement the CO2 monitoring system.
Air-Conditioning Equipment
Chillers. In large commercial and institutional buildings, devices used to produce cool water are called chillers. The water is pumped to air handling units to cool the air. They use either mechanical refrigeration processes or absorption processes.
- Mechanical refrigeration chillers may have one or more compressors. These compressors can be powered by electric motors, fossil fuel engines, or turbines. Refrigeration systems achieve variable capacity by bringing compressors on or off line, by unloading stages within the compressors, or by varying the speed of the compressor. The major types of compressors are described below:
- Reciprocating compressors are usually found in air-cooled direct expansion (DX) systems for residential and small commercial systems. They can also be found in chillers with capacities of 10 through 200 tons. To better match part-load conditions and achieve higher operating efficiencies, multiple compressors can be employed in a single system.
- Scroll compressors are manufactured in the 1 to 15 ton range. Multiple compressors can be found in water chillers with capacities of 20 to 500 tons. Scroll compressors require less maintenance than reciprocating compressors.
- Rotary screw compressors are found in chillers with capacities of 70 to 500 tons.
- Centrifugal compressors are used in chillers with typical capacities of 100 to 7,000 tons. Centrifugal chillers are the most efficient of the large-capacity chillers.
Absorption chillers are heat-operated devices that produce chilled water via an absorption cycle. Absorption chillers can be direct-fired, using natural gas or fuel oil, or indirect-fired. Indirect-fired units may use different sources for heat: hot water or steam from a boiler, steam from district heating, or waste heat in the form of water, air, or other gas. Absorption chillers can be single-effect or double-effect, where one or two vapor generators are used. Double-effect chillers use two generators sequentially to increase efficiency. Several manufacturers offer absorption chiller/heater units, which use the heat produced by firing to provide space heating and service hot water.
Evaporative coolers, also called swamp coolers, are packaged units that cool the air by humidifying it and then evaporating the moisture. The equipment is most effective in dry climates. It can significantly reduce the peak electric demand when compared to electric chillers.
- Typical full-load operating efficiencies for chillers are noted below:
- Small air-cooled electric chillers have 1.6-1.1 kW/ton (Coefficient of Performance (COP) of 2.2 to 3.2).
- Large and medium-sized air-cooled electric chillers have 0.95-0.85 kW/ton (COP of 3.7 to 4.1).
- Similar water-cooled electric chillers have 0.8-0.7 kW/ton (COP of 4.4 to 5.0). Lower values such as 0.6-0.5 kW/ton chillers (COP of 5.9 to 7.0) may indicate energy efficient equipment, but part-load performance should also be examined.
- The COP of absorption units is in the range of 0.4-0.6 for single-effect chillers, and 0.8-1.05 for double-effect chillers.
- Engine-driven chillers attain COPs of 1.2 to 2.0.
- Mechanical refrigeration chillers may have one or more compressors. These compressors can be powered by electric motors, fossil fuel engines, or turbines. Refrigeration systems achieve variable capacity by bringing compressors on or off line, by unloading stages within the compressors, or by varying the speed of the compressor. The major types of compressors are described below:
- Condensers are heat exchangers that are required for chillers to reject heat that has been removed from the conditioned spaces. Condensers can be either air-cooled or water-cooled. Water-cooled condensers often rely on rooftop cooling towers for rejecting heat into the environment; however, it is possible to reject the heat to the ground or river water.
Air-cooled condensers are offered on smaller, packaged systems (typically from less than one ton to 120 tons). They are initially less costly than water-cooled condensers, but do not allow the chiller to operate as efficiently.
Water-cooled condensers use water that is cooled directly from the evaporative condenser or indirectly via a cooling tower. The lower temperature achieved by evaporating water allows chillers served by water-cooled condensers to operate more efficiently.
A waterside economizer consists of controls and a heat exchanger installed between the cooling tower water loop and the chilled water loop. When the outdoor air temperature is low and/or the air is very dry (i.e., when the wet-bulb temperature is low), the temperature of the cooling tower water may be low enough to directly cool the chilled water loop without use of the chiller, resulting in significant energy savings.
Air-Conditioning Equipment Controls
- Controls that significantly affect the energy efficiency of chillers include:
- Variable speed drives achieve good part-load performance by matching the motor output to the chiller load, and by cycling off at a lower fraction of capacity than constant-speed chillers.
- Multiple compressor achieves a closer match of the load than single-compressor chillers by sequencing the compressors as needed.
- Water temperature reset controls raise the water temperature as the demand decreases, allowing for more efficient chiller operation.
- Strategies that significantly affect the energy efficiency of cooling towers include the use of:
- Variable-speed or multiple-speed fans
- Wet-bulb reset strategies, where the temperature of the cooling water is adjusted according to the temperature and humidity of outside air (instead of maintaining it constant)
- Fans and pumps that use variable frequency drive (VFD) controls to reduce energy use at part-load
- Integrated chiller plant controls use monitoring and computational strategies to yield the minimum combined energy cost for the chillers, cooling towers, fans, and pumps.This approach can be significantly more effective (though more difficult to implement) than optimizing the operation of each piece of equipment independently.
Heat Recovery
Air is blown across copper coils to reject heat from this residential air-cooled condenser. Heat Recovery is an important component of many energy efficient HVAC systems.
Types of heat recovery include:
- Air-to-air heat exchangers transfer heat or "coolth" from one air stream to another. They are usually classified as one of the following:
- Plate heat exchangers, with 60%–75% efficiencies
- Glycol loop heat exchangers, with 50%–70% efficiencies (including pump energy use)
- Heat pipe heat exchangers, with efficiencies as high as 80%
- Desiccant wheels retrieve both sensible and latent heat, with efficiencies as high as 85%. Desiccant dehumidification of the air is achieved by inserting a rotating wheel in the air stream that needs to be dried. The desiccant extracts moisture from the air stream. The wheel then rotates, exposing the moist part to another air stream that dries (or regenerates) the desiccant material. Two methods of regeneration are typical:
- Energy (Enthalpy) recovery wheels are located in the outside intake and the exhaust air streams. The exhaust air regenerates the desiccant.
- Gas-fired desiccant dehumidification packages are located in the outside intake air stream or in the entire supply air stream. Outside air is heated by the gas furnace and is blown over the wheel to regenerate the desiccant.
- Other forms of heat exchange include:
- Indirect evaporative cooling (IDEC) uses water-to-air heat exchange to precool air.
- Electric heat recovery chillers receive up to 50% of rejected heat, usually though split or multiple condensers.
- Absorption chiller/heaters can use a fraction (typically 50%) of the heat input for cooling and the rest for heating.
- Gas-fired, engine driven chillers retrieve much of the heat rejected (usually 20% - 50%).
Cogeneration is a process in which electric power is generated at the facility where the waste heat is recovered to produce service hot water, process heat, or absorption cooling. Currently, packaged cogeneration systems between about 60-600 kW are widely available. Extensive research and marketing efforts are underway for smaller systems (as low as 4 kW).
Fuel Cells
Fuel cells use chemical processes to generate electricity. The heat generated by fuel cells can also be recovered, as in cogeneration. Currently, the minimum size for a fuel cell in building applications is 200 kW. Note that fuel cells need continuous, full-load operation.
The benefits of high performance, energy-efficient HVAC systems are universal. Therefore, high performance HVAC systems can be installed in all different types of buildings, including office buildings, schools, hospitals, and courthouses.
Relevant Codes and Standards
- Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT)—The enactment of the Energy Policy Act in 1992 has eased many restrictions of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA).Forty-six states in the United States have some form of deregulation plan for electric utilities. Under the new framework, facility owners can solicit proposals from utilities, including independent power producers, for their energy services.Thus, contract negotiations at the pre-design phase could result in significantly lower energy cost for the same energy use. While this is good news for consumers, it does suggest that investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy equipment may be harder to justify in the short-term.
For more information on regulations:
- ASHRAE Standards and Guidelines
- Energy Information Administration—Electricity
- PBS-P100 Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service
Additional Resources
Design and Analysis Tools
Building energy simulations allow the system designer to compare different HVAC systems and control strategies. These tools vary in their scope and level of complexity. Some tools analyze individual components of HVAC systems (e.g., motors) under simplified assumptions regarding the component use (e.g., annual hours of operation). Other tools simulate entire buildings, including energy gains/losses through the building envelope, energy gains from internal loads, and energy used by the HVAC systems to maintain user-prescribed space conditions (e.g., temperature, humidity, ventilation rates). The latter tools require expertise and experience to obtain accurate results due to the detailed input required. Some building simulation packages have reduced input requirements. The trade-off is that these tools are typically not as accurate, since the programs use defaults or assumptions to replace the user inputs. However, simplified tools can be used early in the design process to investigate the influence of HVAC system selection on energy efficiency strategies such as daylighting.
More information on a variety of tools, including those listed below, can be found at:
- Building Energy Software Tools (BEST) formerly hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Whole Building Annual Energy Simulation Software
- Detailed Input
Individual Component Energy Analysis
Government Agencies and Initiatives
- Department of Energy (DOE)
- Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)—Information on Energy Technologies
- Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI)
- Energy Information Administration (EIA)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star Program
- National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- U.S. Department of Commerce NOTE: This is a repository for all publications by the federal labs and contractors.
- U.S. EPA Atmospheric Pollution
- USA.gov
National Laboratories and Research Centers
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories (LBNL)
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Professional and Trade Associations, and Interest Groups
- Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI)
- American Boiler Manufacturers Association (ABMA)
- American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
- Association of Energy Engineers (AEE)
- Cooling Technology Institute
- Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
- Geothermal Exchange Organization
- Geothermal Resources Council (GRC)
- International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA)
- International Energy Agency (IEA) Heat Pumping Technologies Centre
- Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association (SMACNA)
Trade Publications
- ACHRNEWS—Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration News
- American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Journal
- Consulting-Specifying Engineer
- Energy User News
- Engineered Systems Magazine
- Heating/Piping/Air-Conditioning HPAC Engineering Magazine
- Building Technology: Mechanical and Electrical Systems, 2nd Edition by Stein, Benjamin. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1997.
- Energy-Efficient Design and Construction for Commercial Buildings by Steven Winter Associates, Inc. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. ISBN 0-07-071159-3.
- Energy-Efficient Operation of Commercial Buildings: Redefining the Energy Manager's Job by Herzog, Peter. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. ISBN 0-07-028468-7.
- Simplified Design of HVAC Systems, by Bobenhausen, William. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1994.
- HVAC Characteristics and Occupant Health by W.K. Sieber, M.R. Petersen, L.T. Stayner, R. Malkin, M.J. Mendell, K.M. Wallingford, T.G. Wilcox, M.S. Crandall, and L. Reed. ASHRAE Journal, September 2002.
- Ventilation Rates and Health by Olli Seppänen, Fellow ASHRAE, William J. Fisk, P.E., Member ASHRAE, and Mark J. Mendell, Ph.D. ASHRAE Journal, August 2002.
- GSA Sustainable Facilities Tool (SFTool)—SFTool's immersive virtual environment addresses all your sustainability planning, designing and procurement needs.


text:
Imagine a place on earth where there's been no light, no wind for millions of years. Lake Vostok is one such place. The world's third largest lake, in terms of amount of water, has long been hidden, buried beneath two miles of ice until, perhaps, this coming week. Russian researchers are about to break through that ice.
And to tell us what they might find and what dangers they may encounter, we've brought in John Priscu. He's a researcher at Montana State University who's been tracking the progress of those Russian scientists. And he joins us from Bozeman, Montana.
Professor, welcome to the program.
PROFESSOR JOHN PRISCU: Thank you very much. It's nice to be here.
GREENE: Can you tell us, sort of give us a picture of this lake? I mean I'm imagining something as big as one of the Great Lakes, but just buried under kind of this roof of ice.
PRISCU: Yeah, you're pretty close. Let's choose Lake Ontario.
PRISCU: It's a very large lake in terms of surface area. But importantly, it's a very deep lake, 3,000 feet deep. But, as you say, it's not an easy link to sample; it's under two and half miles of ice.
GREENE: Well, why have these Russian researchers been so determined to get there?
PRISCU: Well, it's an interesting story. The Russian program started drilling in the site for ice cores, to look at paleoclimate and the record of Earth temperature record and gas record. And ice is unique; it has little bubbles of the atmosphere at the time of the snow was deposited at the surface. So, it gives you a record of the atmosphere through time. As you go down deeper into the ice, you get older in time.
But, as serendipity would have it, they got into this very interesting ice when they got over 3,000 meters deep. They lost the climate record, there were no layers in it anymore. And it turned out that the ice that they hit was from this giant lake.
GREENE: So it's sounds like they started digging to test the ice. They figure out that this is actually the liquid lake under there. And what interests scientists at that point? Is it the possibility there might be life, organisms if there's water?
PRISCU: Yes, exactly. When you look out the window of your aircraft as you fly down to Antarctica, you just see this vast expanse of ice as far as your eye can see. And it's about 70 percent of the world's fresh water is frozen there.
GREENE: Wow.
PRISCU: But nobody really ever thought that it was alive. But now, you know, all of a sudden there's these emerging views now that the ice sheet and the sub-glacial environment below it is teeming with life. And I've written a few, papers calling it the largest wetland in our planet is under that ice sheet.
GREENE: Well, what are the risks? I understand that a lot of gases might be built up in that lake. And I guess another question is if there's going to be some sort of explosion or a geyser once they get in there?
PRISCU: That's a good point. The lake is pressurized and the pressure in that lake should be about what we see in a Coke bottle. And you know what happens in the Coke bottle. If you shake it up and uncork the top, the Coke will come shooting out through the top. You know, you can see you can have quite a mess. So it's really important that when the lake water comes up the borehole, it doesn't come up too far, or else it will start degassing, and it could then geyser out through the surface.
GREENE: You know, it's interesting that the Russian scientists have compared this to exploring an alien planet where no one has been before. And one of the fields you study is astrobiology, I mean, life on other planets. Is this comparable to that? I mean could we find life forms that might give you some insight into organisms that live, you know, in outer space?
PRISCU: I think the astrobiological implications of the Vostok study are huge. The icy worlds in our outer solar systems have more habitable space in them than Earth does. We've never been there. We haven't sampled them. But Europa is one of my favorites. And it has this thick ice shelf and a deep ocean under it.
GREENE: Where is that?
PRISCU: Europa is one of the moons of Jupiter.
GREENE: Ah, so there are lakes like this on one of the moons of Jupiter. And so there...
PRISCU: Yeah, they're huge. There are oceans. And so, two things: Vostok and other sub-glacial lakes in Antarctica - there're more than 200 of them - allow us to do, is develop the technology to get there. Secondly, allow us to assess the life that's there. And together, these will allow us to draw hypotheses and develop instruments and experiments for exploration of these outer icy bodies in our solar system.
GREENE: Sounds like if they break through the ice this week, it could be quite an exciting moment. Do you wish you were out there? Do you wish you were out there with them?
PRISCU: I do. I wish I was out there. But I think I would be standing 100 meters away from the boreholes when they break through.
GREENE: All right. Interesting story that will be following. John Priscu is a researcher at Montana State University and he joined us from Bozeman.
Professor, thanks so much for telling us about this.
PRISCU: I thank you very much.
GREENE: And you're listening to weekend edition from NPR news. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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