Physics of Sustainable Energy: Using Energy Efficiently and Producing It Renewably, Berkeley, California 1-2 March 2008

by Hafemeister, David; Levi, Barbara G.; Levine, Mark D.; Schwartz, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780735405721
• ISBN10: 0735405727
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-10-01
• Publisher: Amer Inst of Physics

Summary

As members of the American Physical Society's Forum on Physics and Society, we are concerned with the need to produce and use energy more wisely. One contribution we feel we can make is to educate fellow physicists, especially those who teach in our colleges and universities, about the technical details of some of the more promising techniques for efficient and renewable energy. To that end, we have organized a short course on the Physics of Sustainable Energy: Using Energy Efficiently and Producing It Renewably. The short course was intended to give physicists in-depth technical background needed to evaluate these issues for teaching and research. The year after the 1973-74 oil embargo, the APS leaped into action with a study on enhanced end-use efficiency, realizing that it is easier to save a kilowatt-hour than it is to produce a kilowatt-hour. The results of the APS study appeared in the 1975 AIP Conference Proceedings 25, titled Efficient Use of Energy. It launched the energy-careers of Art Rosenfeld, Rob Socolow, Marc Ross, Dave Claridge and others. The energy programs at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and at Princeton are a direct result of AIP25. The LBNL energy program for buildings and appliances has had far more effect than any action on energy supply. Savings of 75% for refrigerators, 50% for lighting and 50% for buildings can be directly traceable to Building 90 at LBNL. Twenty years ago, the Forum organized a short course, Energy Sources: Conservation and Renewables, at the former Office of Technology Assessment in Washington, DC. The 700-page proceedings of that short course, AIP135, served as a useful textbook for such professors as Art Rosenfeld, then at the University California at Berkeley. The book also became a valuable reference in the libraries of many physics departments, where such applied topics are often scarce.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Policies for Sustainable Energy
Opportunities in the Building Sector: Managing Climate Change	p. 3
Energy Efficiency in China: Glorious History, Uncertain Future	p. 15
Stabilization Wedges and Climate Change	p. 28
Science and Technology to Support a National Energy Strategy for the United States	p. 49
Water Security: A Growing Crisis and the Link to Energy	p. 55
Energy use in Buildings, Appliances and Industry
Energy Savings by Treating Buildings as Systems	p. 67
Physics of Energy Efficient Buildings	p. 88
Progress towards Highly Efficient Windows for Zero-Energy Buildings	p. 112
Appliances: Designs and Standards for Sustainability	p. 124
Energy Efficient White LEDs for Sustainable Solid State Lighting	p. 141
Heating, Ventiliating, and Air Conditioning: Recent Advances in Diagnostics and Controls to Improve Air-Handling System Performance	p. 149
Technologies and Policies to Improve Energy Efficiency in Industry	p. 163
Safe and Affordable Drinking Water for Developing Countries	p. 176
Saving Energy and Improving Air Quality in Urban Heat Islands	p. 192
Standby Energy Use in California Homes	p. 209
Infrared Technology Trends and Implications to Home and Building Energy Use Efficiency	p. 217
Energy Use by Automobiles
The Race for 21st Century Auto Fuels	p. 235
The Relationship between Vehicle Weight/Size and Safety	p. 251
The Science of Photons to Fuel	p. 266
Batteries for Vehicular Applications	p. 283
Hydrogen Storage for Automotive Vehicles	p. 297
Electricity from Renewable Energy
Solar Energy Conversion	p. 309
Organic Semiconductors for Low-cost Solar Cells	p. 322
Concentrating Solar Power	p. 331
The Status and Future of Wind Energy Technology	p. 340
Future Roles for Nuclear Energy	p. 360
Carbon Capture and Geologic Storage	p. 366
Energy Storage for a Greener Grid	p. 376
Appendices
Energy and Environment Chronology	p. 395
Energy Outlook, 1980-2030	p. 403
Energy Units	p. 421
WWW Energy Sites	p. 425
Author Bio Briefs	p. 427
Sustainable Energy Participants	p. 435
Author Index	p. 437
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.