Journal of Energy Engineering

Monitoring electric parameters and electrical consumption for multiple circuits to determine exactly where and how much electric power is consumed is one of the primary problems of intelligent buildings. In this paper, the development of a power consumption and quality monitoring system called MonitoUAQ is described, and the results obtained during its testing are discussed. The MonitoUAQ system was created to maximize the effective and efficient use of energy resources. It was developed around a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) to monitor multiple branch circuits on a common distribution panel and enhanced by a client-server interactive network architecture. This intranet-controlled power-monitoring system integrates control, measurement, and communication. Its implementation is economical by eliminating the need for extra network construction and the associated hardware investment. Moreover, the multicast Web application allows multiple users to access the power metering results in a variety of applications in a soft-real-time manner.

One of the key concerns about applying emission permits systems in air pollution control is the initial allocation of entitlements. In this paper, a model that captures the interaction between strategic firms and a permit-allocating authority to assess social-welfare implications of the initial allocation regimes of tradable emission permits is introduced. In particular, a three-period model is formulated for studying how the exercise of market power by oligopolistic firms affects the pollution control technology investments and, in this way, the valuation of different initial allocation proposals. The analysis shows that a proactive allocation of initial entitlements may improve social welfare with respect to a distribution that ignores the interactions between the initial allocation of emission permits and the firms’ strategic response in pollution control technology investment. The results are illustrated in the context of a sulfur dioxide emission permits system for the thermal electricity generation industry in Chile.

In this study, a comparison of the economic viability of wind turbine and diesel water pumping systems (WPSs) is presented for five different sites located in the north central Anatolia region of Turkey. A water pumping system was considered for water usage. The wind energy potential was investigated by using the time-series wind data taken from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (TSMS). Data were processed using FORTRAN computer code. The wind power and the amount of water to be pumped was evaluated using various wind energy conversion systems (WECSs), and unit energy and water cost were measured using life the cycle cost (LCC) method for these WECSs. Moreover, the cost of water to be delivered utilizing WPS with diesel generator (DG) was compared with the cost of water delivered viaWPS with WECS. Sinop had reasonable wind potential to produce electrical energy using WECS and the minimum cost of energy output and cost of water to be delivered were $\$0.24/\mathrm{kWh}$ and $\$3.70/{\mathrm{m}}^3$ in this observation station, respectively. In addition, if the water demand is lower than $1,000{\mathrm{m}}^3$ in Sinop, such as the water consumption of a household and farm, the WPS with WECS (for Turbines 1, 2, and 4) will be more plausible than the WPS with DG system. If a medium-scale WECS were set up in Sinop, it could supply both the annual electrical demand and water consumption of a household and farm. Finally, Sinop is going to be a marginal area for cost-effective electrical energy generation as the costs of WECSs are lowered.

This paper applies viscoelasticity and Winkler foundation assumptions to the analysis of the energy loss in conveyor systems caused by idler-indentation into the rubber cover of the belt. The analysis yields a simple algebraic model that relates the indentation energy loss to various critical parameters of a conveyor system. Such properties include rubber viscoelastic properties characterized by $G^{\prime }$ and $G^{\prime \prime }$, transportation rate, speed, idler spacing, and belt width. Analysis shows that this model is more accurate and more informative than other prevailing models. This model will be useful for the design and optimization of energy consumption in conveyor systems.

This paper discusses the optimal allocation of capacitors and dispersed generation units in a medium-voltage distribution system with linear and nonlinear loads. An optimization problem is formulated and solved for optimal siting and sizing, with the objective of minimizing costs sustained by the distributor for reactive power service, even containing the impact of the waveform distortions. A three-step procedure, based on genetic algorithm and decision theory, is applied to obtain a solution for the optimization problem that takes into account the unavoidable uncertainties that the dispersed generation production and the loads introduce. The numeric applications performed on an 18-bus test distribution system demonstrate of the effectiveness of the proposed procedure.