From Chapter E in Ken Hickson’s “The ABC of Carbon” comes the low down on ethanol for fuel, endless energy from the sun, the US building energy rating system and how carbon figured in Edison’s electrifying light up:

endless energy - One of the most promising and endless sources of renewable energy is photovoltaics (PV). Chief among these distributed applications are PV power systems for individual buildings. A Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) system consists of integrating photovoltaics modules into the building envelope, such as the roof or the facade.

By simultaneously serving as building material and power generator, BIPV systems can provide savings in materials and electricity costs, reduce the use of fossil fuels, lower emissions and add architectural interest to the building. PV specialists and innovative designers in Europe, Japan and the US are now exploring creative ways of incorporating solar electricity into their buildings.

The EPA added the data for carbon dioxide emissions from its Emissions and Generation Resource Integrated Database. This allows users to compare the emissions generated from their buildings with other buildings in the same area. ‘This consistency makes it easier for organisations to quantify their carbon inventories and provides a transparent corporate accounting, inventory, and reporting method,’ the EPA said on 28 September 2007. The figures rely heavily on the Energy Star designation for the comparison figures.

Source: www.epa.gov and www.energystar.gov

ethanol - Known as ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol and hydroxyethane, ethanol (C2H6O) is a flammable liquid that has been used by humans for the last 9000 years as the intoxicating ingredient in alcoholic beverages. In recent years, ethanol has become a major player in the fight against global warming and climate change due to its properties as a renewable fuel for combustion engines in motor vehicles. Ethanol is made by fermenting and then distilling starch and sugar crops such as maize, potatoes, wheat and sugar cane.

Normally, ethanol is blended into petrol or diesel at a ratio of 10% ethanol to 90% fuel — also referred to as E10. Other blends exist such as E90 and E85. Ethanol has different properties from normal fuels. It has a higher octane rating and is more corrosive, and can make starting more difficult — if used in a non flexi-fuel vehicle. Vehicles that can operate on either petrol/diesel, 100% ethanol or a mixture of both are known as Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFV). All American cars can run on the E10 mixture, without modifications.

In Brazil, the world’s largest producer of ethanol, 70% of all vehicles sold are FFVs — they can run on 100% ethanol or regular fuel. The US is planning to boost the current four billion gallons of ethanol produced by building a further 30 plants within the next 5–10 years. In Brazil, nearly every petrol station sells pure ethanol, while all regular petrol is a blend that contains up to 25% ethanol. Brazil’s ethanol industry has saved the country billions and reduced its dependency on fossil fuels. The US is desperate to follow Brazil’s lead as it too wants to reduce its dependency on expensive and imported oil.

Source: www.carbon-info.org

electrifying carbon - When turning out the light to save electricity and reduce carbon emissions, maybe we are not aware that carbon played such a crucial role in the invention of electric light in the first place. The first incandescent electric light bulb was made in 1800 by Humphry Davy, an English scientist. He experimented with electricity and invented an electric battery. When he connected wires and a piece of carbon to his battery, the carbon glowed, producing light. This is called an electric arc.

Much later, in 1860, the English physicist Sir Joseph Wilson Swan (1828–1914) was determined to devise a practical, long-lasting electric light. He found that a carbon paper filament worked well, but burned up quickly. In 1878, he demonstrated his new electric lamps in Newcastle, England. In 1877, the American Charles Francis Brush manufactured some carbon arcs to light a public square in Cleveland, Ohio. These arcs were used on a few streets, in a few large office buildings and even in some stores. Electric lights were only used by a few people.

The inventor Thomas Alva Edison experimented with thousands of different filaments to find just the right materials to glow well and be long-lasting. In 1879, Edison discovered that a carbon filament in an oxygen-free bulb glowed but did not burn up for 40 hours. Edison eventually produced a bulb that could glow for over 1500 hours.

Source: www.enchantedlearning.com
Source: www.wbdg.org

energy rating - The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added greenhouse gas emission factors to its online energy rating tool for commercial buildings. This allows building owners and managers to compare the amount of emissions their buildings are likely to produce compared with others in the same area. The tool, Portfolio Manager, already helps building managers and owners streamline energy and water data and track key factors, such as consumption, performance and costs.