BOURNE, MA, April 29, 2010 — Onset http://www.onsetcomp.com, the world’s leading supplier of data loggers, today announced that its HOBO® U-Series temperature and motor on/off data loggers have been selected for an air conditioning system monitoring pilot program in San Joaquin Valley, California.

via DATA LOGGERS TO ASSESS AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM EFFICIENCY GAINS IN CALIFORNIA HOMES.

The Energy Professional’s Guide to Data Loggers & Building Performance

This 30-page guide details how portable data loggers can be applied in a number of building monitoring applications, such as HVAC systems monitoring, commissioning, Measurement & Verification, and load profiling.

The guide offers practical tips and techniques on a range of topics, including data logger installation, monitoring plan development, safety, and data interpretation.

August 6, 2006I attached a HOBO data logger to the system so I could monitor the performance of the system. I made up my own sensor probes to monitor the temperature coming into the Wand and out, the temperature at the top of the tank, and the PV voltage (to track the solar exposure). The HOBOware software allows me to produce a very clear graph of my first full day. The outdoor temperatures peaked in the mid ’70’s and there were no clouds. We used hot water in a normal way, and the graph clearly shows a significant solar contribution (green line). I will add more graphs as I tweak the system.

Read Article

Reforestation on harsh, high-elevation sites near the crest of the Cascade Mountains can be challenging because of persistent snowpack and extreme climatic variation. To help find a solution to meet this challenge, the use of tree shelters was investigated with two species, Douglas-fir and western larch on two Yakama nation sites across three fall planting dates.

High-elevation sites in the eastern Cascades of Washington have a short period of favorable spring planting conditions followed by a short growing season. In addition, rapid changes in soil moisture, temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation make plantation establishment on these sites more challenging than on lower-elevation sites Most soil moisture on these sites result from snowmelt with very little additional precipitation from spring through fall. The snowpack insulates the ground and young seedlings from constantly changing and potentially deadly temperatures and winds during the winter months; but once the snowpack melts, the seedling environment changes rapidly from wet and cold to hot and dry.

[read full article]

Subscribe to Onset Podcasts or Visit us on iTunes

NORTH BRUNSWICK — Students at John Adams Elementary School were “energized” last week even though they had to stay after school.

Members of the fourth-grade gifted and talented program listened to a presentation Jan. 6 by Ray Kuehner, an energy specialist for the North Brunswick school district.

Within the district, Kuehner said heating, cooling, electric and gas costs total about $3 million a year.

“It’s a lot of money. A lot of money,” he said.

However, he said the district is taking measures to save energy and money. By doing “simple things,” he said, about $500,000 has already been saved.

“We are able to put it back into our education budget to buy books and other things you guys need to learn,” he said.

One important change within the district has been shutting off lights when a room is empty. Another is opening shades to let in light and warmth when the weather is cold, and shutting them to block out the cold or extreme summer heat.

In addition, the lights have been disconnected on the 20 vending machines at Linwood Middle School and North Brunswick Township High School, saving about $100 per machine per year, or about $2,000 total.

[Read Full Article]

When Idaho officials decided to spend Recovery Act money to make their school buildings more energy efficient, it set off a chain reaction. Now, the project is creating more comfortable and safe learning environments for its students and providing them with examples of how to save energy. At the same time, it’s saving taxpayers some dough.

The Idaho K-12 School Efficiency Project increases energy efficiency while saving precious education dollars, says schools superintendant Tom Luna. “It also provides a great opportunity for schools to incorporate lessons about energy education in the classroom,” he says.

Read full story here.

Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a high-latitude permafrost is very sensitive to the temperature and humidity of the soil medium, rich in underground ice. Therefore, the permafrost has a rheology, far below its long-term strength characteristics of the instantaneous intensity. Precisely because of these characteristics, construction engineering structures in permafrost areas is facing two dangers: frost heave and thawing. Therefore, frozen soil areas of soil and environmental monitoring is necessary. And permafrost is sensitive to climate change factor, permafrost monitoring of global climate change research is a very important significance.

Subscribe to Onset Podcasts or Visit us on iTunes

Click here to listen as Ryan Blair and Ken Rackowsky of Bluestone Energy explain how they used HOBO data loggers as part of a comprehensive energy efficiency strategy at the EF Education Center in Cambridge, MA and helped the company qualify for substantial utility rebates.
Subscribe to Onset Podcasts or Visit us on iTunes