Alternative materials creator InventWood of College Park, Md., is working to develop lightweight 3D corrugated honeycomb structures to replace metal counterparts. 3D wood has one-third the density and one-fourteenth the cost of aluminum with the same mechanical strength. And the proposal could produce a big sustainability benefit as well \u2013 a 90% reduction of CO2 emissions in the manufacturing process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAdding the human touch to energy savings<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n About 75% of U.S. homes have smart meters, according to Smart Energy International. While giving homeowners greater access to their energy-use data is a positive step, a team Stanford University researchers believes that optimizing energy and cost savings with that information will \u201crequire an understanding of human behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using human behavior to optimize energy and cost savings could \u201ctransform the way Americans interact with our energy-use data,\u201d the team says. A custom-built web-based platform collects historical electricity data for experiments to learn what triggers homeowners to respond. The experiments include financial incentives and a calculator that illustrates the potential savings of efficient appliances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once completed, the platform and new behavior experiments could help homeowners save energy, improve their energy efficiency and reduce utility bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Making the power grid cleaner<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ARPA-E is funding four projects to develop technology to remove sulfur hexafluoride, a gas that\u2019s utilized as an electrical insulator and arc suppressant, from the U.S. power grid. It\u2019s a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Proposals from the funding recipients \u2013 the University of Connecticut, Georgia Tech, GE Grid Solutions of Charleroi, Pa., and Houston-based Toshiba International Corp. \u2013 include an environmentally friendly gas mixture replacement, improved leak detection and repair technologies, and a new high-voltage circuit breaker that\u2019s free of the substance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sensing CO2 efficiently<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Carbon dioxide concentration is a data point that helps optimize the use of variable speed ventilation fans in commercial buildings. Researchers at Purdue University are developing a new class of small-scale sensing systems that use mass and electrochemical sensors to detect CO2 more efficiently and thus improve occupant comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The proposed sensing system would leverage on-chip integrated organic field effect transistors (FETs), which are chemical sensors that transform chemical energy into electrical energy, and resonant mass sensors. Leveraging off-the-shelf devices such as solar panels, this system would merge the two technologies for monitoring CO2 levels into a single package. The proposal could reduce building energy used for heating, cooling and ventilation by 30% without sacrificing occupant comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Visit the ARPA-E website<\/a> to learn about other energy-saving projects and technologies. We\u2019ll present more updates on the agency\u2019s projects in 2022. Meanwhile, see how Yardi software solutions help residential<\/a> and commercial<\/a> real estate portfolios improve energy efficiency and meet ENERGY STAR\u00ae requirements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, which performs R&D for the U.S Department of Energy, sponsors initiatives by businesses and academic institutions to improve energy efficiency. Here\u2019s the latest of our periodic summaries of active ARPA-E projects. Creating a new version of wood Alternative materials creator InventWood of College Park, Md., is working to develop lightweight […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":30749,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2472],"tags":[1848],"class_list":["post-30746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-energy-star"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n