A FEDERAL research pro- gram was launched fifteen years ago to support the development of alternative energy sources and technologies for more effi- cient use. of existing energy sources. With the growing realization that the world’s use of energy has serious environmental implica- tions, efforts over the past decade have been concentrated on devel- oping technologies thet reduce or ‘eliminate environmental damage. “The federal Energy R&D Pro- gram is a very significant effort,”’ says Dr. Don Strange, director general of the Efficiency and Alternative Energy Technology Branch at Energy, Mines and Resources Canada (EMR). EMR is the lead department in the program. “*The . governmeat, under the Federal Energy Research and De- velopment program, is spending close to $90 million a year, and more than half the projects under this program are related to en- vironmental issues.’” Dr. Strange points out that a number of promising energy effi- ciency and diversity technologies have been developed with funding and technical support from the program. Many of these invoive multiple Partners in the public and ‘private sectors and offer exciting commercial potential. Solar energy for ‘industry An example of new. technology is the Conservai Solarwail, a unique: solar -energy system designed by Conserval Engineering of Downsview, Ontario. The Conserval Wall was design- ed especially for large factories, where manufacturing _ processes require large amounts of fresh air for ventilation. Friday, December 11, 1992 — Névth Shore News ~ 28 Developing energy-efficient technologies Federal initiative generating efficient, diverse alternative solutions Heating the fresh air comprises a significant part of a plant's energy consumption. To maintain air quality, a plant must exhaust warm air and introduce fresh air, often créating negative air pressure problems. In wide open areas. such as those found in factories, hot air tends to accumulate at the ceiling, while cold air comes into the building through cracks in win- dows, doors and walls. The result is often cold, drafty conditions for employees. The first commercial application Of the Conserval Wall was a large (2,000-square-metre) solar panel installation at Ford’s car assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario in 1986. Fresh air from outside the building is trapped between two layers of panels that look like metal cladding, built into the plant's south-facing walls. Solar heat warms the air, which is then fanned into the building and distributed “by ducts mounted along the ceiling. The continuous supply of outside air cools the hot air trapped at the ceiling and leads it down to the floor level, thus offsetting negative pressure, im- proving air quality and providing more comfortable working condi- tions. “This is all achieved with a considerable energy saving to the firm,” says Jack Cole, chief of the New Energy Supply Techno- -logy Section. Cole is responsible for the program that contributed to the cost of installing the Solar- wall at the Ford plant. ‘*Furthermore, the Solarwall enhances the look of a building. Solar energy is renewable and essentially free, once installation costs have been recovered. It is also environmentally benign, so the Conserval Wall has great potential to displace significant amounts of fossil fuels. which might otherwise be used to heat factories,” he adds. -vides a couple of && More than half the projects .under this program are related to environmentai issues. 99 Ford is certainly convinced of the technology's benefits. Based on the success of the Oakville in- stallation, the company has ordered six additional systems — two in Canada and four in the United States. Experts within the International Energy Agency have declared the installation to be one of the most successful retro-fit solar heating systems in the world. Water-based auto paint Another Canadian auto-maker — General Motors — has worked closely with C-I-L Paint of Toronto te develop a new automotive paint process that reduces air pollution, saves energy and provides a superior finish. “This was an extensive coaper- ative development program be- tween C-I-L and GM, with sup- port from the Energy R&D Pro- gram,’ says Deborah _Cioccio, director of the Energy Efficiency Division. ‘“The new product uses Jatex (or water-based) technology instead of solvents, which pro- important benefits. First of all, it reduces air pollu- tion because there are no solvents to be released into the air, as is ihe case when oil-based paint hardens and dries. And secondly, it reduces the demand for petrole- um-based solvents for autometive paints.”” Known as Aquabase, the new paint is already used in the truck assembly plant at GM Anioplex in Oshawa, Ontario. Estimates are that it could provide savings equivalent to 100,000 barreis-: of oil a year if applied throughout the Canadian automobile industry. New iife for old tires Qne of the more exciting pro- jects carried out under the federal Energy R&D Program. involves the recovery of energy from old automobile tires. This is especially true as waste disposal problems emerge as one of Canada’s most pressing environmental concerns. Used tires are hard to grind up, do not decompose and in large ci- ty dumps provide an ideal en- vironment for fire and vermin. To address this problem, Dr. Christian Roy, a professor at Quebec’s Laval University, has developed a vacuum pyrolysis process that converts old tires into fuel oil, gas, scrap steel and a re- usable low-grade carbon black. This technology, which is now being evaluated in a commercial scale pilot plant, could provide a means of recovering energy from a waste product which otherwise would be a significant burden on the environment. Breakthroughs in window technology In an efficiency initiative designed to reduce energy con- sumption for space heating pur- poses, the federal government has also supported the efforts of sev- eral firms to design super energy-efficient windows. ‘Heat loss through windows accounts for about 3% of total annual energy use in Canada,’’ says Deborah Cioccio. ‘‘That’s equivalent to about 60 million barrels of oil. The good news is that there have been a lot of very exciting developrrents in this area in recent years. There are some excellent windows on the market right now, and some even better ones are on the way.”’ One of the window efficiency products now widely available in Canada is Jow-E (emissivity) glass — regular window glazing covered with an invisible, heat-reflective coating. This special coating, applied by the manufacturer, reflects back into the home up to 90% of the heat that would otherwise be lost through radiation. ‘“*& double-glazed low-E win- dow has basically the same energy performance as a standard ‘uiple-giazed unii,’? says Cioccio. “And the concept is quickly cat- ching on. Industry experts predict that within five years, 50% of the residential market will consist of low-E windows.’” Another efficiency option for windows is to fill the space be- tween glazings with an inert gas - (such as argon) which dnes not conduct heat. Low-conduction spacers in sealed window units can improve insulation values by up to 29%. A number of different frame materials are available, many of which are insulated against heat loss. In this rapidly changing field, manufacturers are continually ex- perimenting with new designs, frame materials, thermal breaks and other means of reducing heat loss through windows. 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