Advanced Energy Perspectives

A Building Energy Management System (BEMS) is an integrated system of software, hardware, and services that monitors, automates, and controls energy use through information and communication technology. Used primarily in commercial and industrial buildings, BEMS technology increases building ef efficiency and comfort by controlling building systems such as heating, cooling, and lighting. Institution-wide energy management systems, often called enterprise energy management systems (EEMS), are being deployed by universities, governments, and retail chains. BEMS can also be combined with software-based data analytics to provide more information and control, particularly across multiple properties.

Image courtesy of Ormat.

Waste Energy Recovery (WER) describes any process in which energy that would typically be “thrown away” is captured and put to use. In broad terms, there are three types of waste energy sources suitable for recovery: waste heat, excess pressure in steam and other industrial processes that is normally dissipated, and residual fuel value in industrial process streams (purge gases, off-gases, etc.). WER can be used to generate electricity or to produce thermal energy for industrial processes. Some applications of WER are similar to combined heat and power (CHP), except that instead of the fuel used by CHP systems, WER uses recovered energy that is otherwise considered waste.

Water heating technology spans a range of options, from conventional technologies to renewable systems. Conventional storage water heaters typically use natural gas or electricity to keep water hot in an insulated tank, ready for use at any time. They have a simple design and are relatively inexpensive, but they also have standby losses associated with storing hot water for long periods of time. High-efficiency models increase heat transfer efficiency and reduce standby losses with more insulation.

This post is one in a series featuring the complete slate of advanced energy technologies outlined in the report This Is Advanced Energy. 

Superconductivity is a property of certain materials whereby electrical resistance, which normally decreases gradually with decreasing temperature, suddenly drops to zero at a critical temperature, allowing greater current to flow and eliminating resistive losses. Advances in material science have created high-temperature superconductors (HTS), with relatively “warm” critical temperatures of -315°F to -230°F that allow for the use of less expensive and easier to handle coolants such as liquid nitrogen. HTS systems transmit electricity through a superconducting cable that is insulated with liquid nitrogen pumped by refrigeration equipment. This allows HTS cables to carry 10 times the power of a standard cable of similar thickness with almost no losses. These lines can connect directly to the existing AC transmission system to add highly efficient transmission capacity that can relieve congestion without the need for high voltages.