Energy User News articles from January 1985

Energy User News archives from January 1985

Andover overhauls EMS line; new AC256 15-30% cheaper. (energy management system)
January 28, 1985... ANDOVER, Mass.--Andover Controls Corp. has overhauled its energy management system product line, tripling the capacity of its largest system, cutting the per-point price by 15 to 30 percent, and introducing a new 8-load system with an...

Gas chillers gain renewed use as alternative to elec. units. (air conditioning)
January 28, 1985... LOS ANGELES--Stable gas prices coupled with escalating electricity cahrges are reviving the use of gas-fired absorption chillers as a cost-effective alternative to electrically-driven chillers in certain metropolitan areas of the country,...

Reagan budget draft cuts school, hosp. grants 55%. (energy conservation)
January 28, 1985... WASHINGTON--The Reagan Administration will propose cutting grant money for conservation in schools and hospitals by more than 55 percent in fiscal year 1986, Energy User News has learned. According to Department of Energy budget papers,...

Show issue: International ASHRAE Expo; Honeywell unveils three FMS; Delta 1000, 5200 phased out. (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, facility management systems)
January 28, 1985... CHICAGO--The International ASHRAE Exposition will be the forum for Honeywell to announce a new generation of building management systems that will replace the company's Delta 1000 and 5200 FMS, and will ultimately lead to a...

Trane beats Borg-Warner for chillers in historic bldg. (air conditioning)
January 28, 1985... HOUSTON--As part of a $10 million HVAC renovation at the 56-year-old historic Texas Commerce Bank Building here, Trane chillers were selected over Borg-Warner equipment to replace aging, inefficient systems, despite a $45,000 price difference...

Users fight Pa. utility's self-help gas tariff rates. (Pennsylvania Gas & Water Co.)
January 28, 1985... WILKES BARRE, Pa.--Three large industrial users have appealed to Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to reject a natural gas transportation tariff proposed by Pennsylvania Gas & Water Co., arguing that the filed rates of between $1.25 and...

FERC launches gas tariff re-appraisal. (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
January 28, 1985... WASHINGTON--Federal regulators have launched the second and third stages of a complete reappraisal of natural gas regulation, seeking comments this this on pipelines' gas tariffs and on their proper financial risk. The Federal Energy...

Software program charts energy use.
January 28, 1985... DES MOINES--The Iowa Energy Policy Council here has developed a computer software program to help commercial and institutional users such as schools, hospitals and government agencies chart their buildings' energy consumption on a regular...

State awards short-term share-deal job. (energy management, Massachusetts)
January 28, 1985... BOSTON--State agencies here have selected Hospital Efficiency Corp., a local engineering firm, to implement a shared-savings project at nearby Massasoit community College, basing its decision on a short-term contract that will net the state...

New infrared units sense radiant heat.
January 28, 1985... EL PASO, Tex.--Kernco Instruments Co. here has introduced three new infrared, noncontact, hand-held thermometers for radiant heat measurements of hard surfaces, according to William Keeney, engineering manager. The new IRI 500 measures...

Thermometer said to last 2,000 hrs.
January 28, 1985... WEST CHESTER, Pa.--Trend Instruments Inc. here has introduced a new, hand-held digital thermometer designed with an integrated circuit that draws less power than standard digital thermometers and is capable of operating for up to 2,000 hours...

Service plan offered for energy gear, upkeep. (energy management systems)
January 28, 1985... MILWAUKEE--Johnson controls Inc.'s Systems and Services Division here is offering an energy management service agreement under which the firm will install and maintain energy management equipment, and may monitor and maintain the building's...

NY agency sets allocation plan for cheap elec. (New York Power Authority)
January 28, 1985... NEW YORK--The New York Power Authority has ruled against a plan to redistribute 547 megawatts of extremely inexpensive hydropower throughout the entire state, instead of opting to continue an existing arrangement under which the power is...

Elec. bills prompt college conversion to propane boilers. (Hampshire College)
January 21, 1985... AMHERST, Mass.--Faced with the possibility of a 30 to 50 percent rise in electricity costs by early next year, Hampshire College here has chosen to convert three of its largest buildings from electric resistance heating to a system that...

EPA eyes rules banning use of nonindustrial waste oil.
January 21, 1985... WASHINGTON--Federal regulators have proposed rules to prohibit the marketing and burning of hazardous waste and certain used oils in nonindustrial boilers. The rules would also implement a system of paper work to track use of these fuels in...

MCC Powers FMS selected to control Hancock Center. (facility management system)
January 21, 1985... CHICAGO--As part of a $1.8 million HVAC retrofit of the world's fifth tallest building, the 100-story John Hancock Center here as selected a facility management system (FMS) manufactured by MCC Powers, Northbrook, Ill., over six other...

Overspecifying seen limiting user options. (technology report: energy management systems components)
January 21, 1985... ST. LOUIS--As users become more knowlegeable about their needs and more sophisticated in their familiarity with available technology, there is a temptation when writing EMS bid specifications to overspecify ancillary components of a system...

Panel projects flat prices for oil products in 1985. (Energy User News)
January 21, 1985... NEW YORK--The current disarray in the world crude oil markets will hold petroleum product prices level through the end of this year, according to EUN's survey panel. Nationwide, panelists sharply dropped their projections for distillate...

Industrials fight EPA stack height proposal. (Environmental Protection Agency)
January 21, 1985... WASHINGTON--Industrial user groups say proposed rules to limit the use of stack height as a way of meeting emissions laws could cost some users up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Pulp and paper mills are expected to be hardest hit by...

Window film line said to cut heat loss, gain.
January 21, 1985... WOBURN, Mass.--Madico Inc. here has introduced a new line of window insulating film that can reduce heat gain in apartment buildings during the summer and heat loss during the winter, and pay for itself in lower energy bills in two to three...

Co. markets new infrared heaters.
January 21, 1985... CHARLOTTE, N.C.--Gas-Fired Products Inc. here is now marketing infrared space heaters that are used to supplement conventional furnace heatng systems in offices and small retail stores, according to Frank J. Horne Jr., general manager of the...

Heat treating furnace control introduced.
January 21, 1985... CHICAGO--Lindberg, a Unit of General Signal here, has introduced a microprocessor-based control system for heat treating furnaces that can cut the furnace fuel or electricity bills by 5 to 10 percent, according to senior applications engineer...

Cogen. milestones approved by Calif.
January 21, 1985... SAN FRANCISCO--The California Public Utilities Commission has approved an interconnection priority procedure for cogenerators and other independent power producers in the state, according to diane Fellman, a PUC attorney. The procedure...

Idaho expected to block new cogen. wheeling.
January 21, 1985... BOISE--The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is expected to issue a ruling thatwould prevent future independent power projects in the Bonneville Power Administration service areas of the state from wheeling power in order to sell it to...

User wary of merger plan to save utility. (Big Rivers Electric Corp., National Southwire Aluminum Corp.)
January 21, 1985... HAWESVILLE, Ky.--With the default of its local utility cooperative, an aluminum smelter here is carefully watching a Rural Electrification Administration (REA) proposal to resuscitate the utility by merging it with another indebted utility...

Canadian gas to boost NE supplies.
January 21, 1985... ALBERTA, Canada--Natural gas supplies to eight Northeast U.S. states will be boosted by up to one billion cubic feet of western Canadian gas per day at current or slightly lower prices following the completion of the Cam-Am pipeline project...

Users: restated Transco plan retains anti-carriage bias. (Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp.)
January 21, 1985... WASHINGTON--Gas users recently asked federal regulators to be wary of the amended rate proposal put forth by Trans-continental Gas Pipe Line Corp. (Transco), which omits the pipeline's earlier policy statement that it will not transport...

IRS charges co.'s solar EMS tax shelter is illegal. (energy management system)
January 14, 1985... NEWARK, NJ.--The Internal Revenue Service has declared that a tax-shelter program promoted by American Energy Systems Leasing Inc. is illegal, and it has notified more than 1,000 investors that any tax credits claimed in connection with the...

New Mexico picks firm for no-outlay prison cogen. job. (Santa Fe Cogeneration Associates)
January 14, 1985... SANTA FE--Under a no-risk, no-outlay agreement, New Mexico has selected Santa Fe Cogeneration Associates to design, install and operate a cogeneration plant at its expanded state penitentiary here, eliminating competing bids from Cogenic...

Oversizing for safety factor creates user steam losses. (steam traps)
January 14, 1985... BOSTON--Users may be losing millions of dollars worth of steam as a result of unnecessarily oversizing steam traps, often in order to comply with manufacturers' recommended safety factors for sizing, according to users and steam trap vendors....

Pipelines hamper cheap gas deals: DOE report. (Department of Energy)
January 14, 1985... WASHINGTON--A Department of Energy position paper on the natural gas market says prices are artificially high, and that this is largely because of pipeline refusals to transport self-help gas and because of uncompetitive regulation. The...

3rd-party heat recovery to net Bethlehem Steel $1.2M yearly.
January 14, 1985... SPARROWS POINT, Md.--A $2.6 million heat recovery system, financed and built by third-party investors, is expected to cut annual energy costs by $1.2 million at Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s Sparrows Point plant here. The project, which is...

McDonald's eyes more cogen. due to pilot job.
January 14, 1985... OAKBROOK, Ill.-- A prototype installation oif a 65-kilowatt cogeneration system at a McDonald's early last spring is operating successfully, and may mean a second installation at one of the world's largest restaurant chain's San Diego...

School, hosp. grant program to expand. (Department of Energy)
January 14, 1985... WASHINGTON--Energy Department staff in charge of school and hospital conservation grants say they will investigate ways to expand their services and the programs they administer. The Institutional Conservation Programs (ICP) office is...

VAV control unit combines processes. (variable air volume)
January 14, 1985... SANTA ROSA, Calif.--Air Monitor Corp. has introduced a variable air volume (VAV) control unit capable of digital or analog control of air volume, differential air volume, and space and system differential pressure, according to a company...

Cause of Akron waste plant explosion seen.
January 14, 1985... AKRON, Ohio--Preliminary investigations into an explosion at the city's waste-to-energy plant here have tentatively traced the explosion to a shipment of volatile chemicals that were delivered to the plant in spite of a ban on such materials,...

Calif. expected to approve cogen. milestone plan.
January 14, 1985... SAN FRANCISCO--The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) here is expected to implement a procedure this week that would require independent power producers, such as cogeneration developers, to demonstrate proof that a project, once...

EIA may cut state, commercial data. (Energy Information Administration)
January 14, 1985... WASHINGTON--The Reagan Administration would eliminate its estimates of consumption by commercial users in each state under the Energy Information Administration's 1986 budget proposal, according to a congressional energy committee aide. ...

4 utils. get N-plant cost-sharing plan. (Middle South Utilities)
January 14, 1985... WASHINGTON--In a new proposal to federal regulators, Middle South Utilities' four retail electric utilities have agreed to share the burden of buying most of the power generated by the Grand Gulf nuclear plant soon to come on-line. This...

Cogen. allows waste plant 100% self-sufficiency.
January 7, 1985... SAN DIEGO--The Point Loma waste water treatment plant here will become completely energy self-sufficient with the installation of a new cogeneration system that burns combustible digester gases emitted from raw sewage, according to Roger...

Contractor bid beats 6 others for DDC FMS with security. (direct digital control facility management system)
January 7, 1985... NASHVILLE--The owners of One Nashville Place, a new 24-story office building just completed here, have chosen a facility management system manufactured by Anderson Cornelius, Eden Prairie, Minn., over six other systems, opting to deal with...

Conservation idea award. (heat recovery)
January 7, 1985... NEW YORK--A heat recovery strategy that transfers heat from a building's computer area to other parts of the facility, virtually eliminating the need for conventional heating systems, has been given Energy User News' 1985 Special Conservation...

EUN's energy managers and contractor of the year.
January 7, 1985... INDUSTRIAL NEW YORK--Energy User News' Industrial Energy Manager of the Year, Richard Tietze, has undertaken an ambitious conservation program aimed at reducing Revere Copper & Brass Inc.'s $30 million annual energy bill, which was...

Waste-burning plant supplies hospital with cheap steam.
January 7, 1985... PHOENIX--Under an innovative lease deal, the Maricopa Medical Center here is benefitting from a contractor-owned waste-to-energy plant on its own property that supplies low-cost steam and eliminates all the hospital's waste--about 210,000...

FERC re-appraising gas transit, rates. (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
January 7, 1985... WASHINGTON--The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has begun a comprehensive re-appraisal of natural gas transportation programs and rates by soliciting comments and suggestions from users and other players in the industry. The Notice...

Shortcuts seen to cogen. qualification.
January 7, 1985... WASHINGTON--By knowing the basics of the procedure, cogenerators can cut red tape when they apply for qualifying status under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, according to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff. Qualifying...

Monitor measures 6 forms of energy.
January 7, 1985... LONGMONT, Colo.--Emco Engineering Measurements Co. here has introduced a multipurpose building utility monitor capable of monitoring the usage of six forms of energy from a single location, according to a company spokesman. The Emco...

Energy monitoring system tracks up to 500 points.
January 7, 1985... MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.--K/W Control Systems Inc. here has introduced a microprocessor-based energy monitoring system designed for large commercial and industrial applications, including data processing and communications facilities that contain...

Line of 60 industrial flow meters available.
January 7, 1985... WILLOUGHBY, Ohio--Meter Equipment Manufacturing Inc. here has introduced a series of 60 polyvinyl chloride (PVC) flow meters for industrial use, according to vice president Craig de Fasselle. The meters measure fluid or gas flow by the...

Secondary heat exchanger said to save 15%.
January 7, 1985... PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.--Anderson 2000 Inc. here has begun marketing a line of condensing heat exchangers designed for secondary, low-temperature heat recovery in boilers and process furnaces, according to president Jack Brady. The Subdew...

OPEC disarray triggers oil price fall.
January 7, 1985... NEW YORK--Oil prices continued to drop last week, hitting record lows for crude and No. 2 oil on futures markets, reflecting a consensus that OPEC's year-end meeting failed to adopt any meaningful measures that would staunch price erosion....

Idaho court seen unclear on fixed buy-back. (rates for small power producers)
January 7, 1985... BOISE, Idaho--In the aftermath of a state Supreme Court ruling on long-term fixed buy-back rates for cogenerators and small power producers, both the cogenerator and its sparring partner, Idaho Power Co., claim at least a partial victory. ...

Kansas approves pipeline self-help gas program.
January 7, 1985... TOPEKA, Kan.--The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) has approved an application by the Kansas Pipeline Co., Kansas City, Kan., for permission to provide as much as 30 million cubic feet per day of natural gas to end users on a contract...