Posts Tagged ‘energy resources’
Control the environment and ensuring energy security
The growing global concern about the future of our planet is mainly due to energy resources are limited and found in certain parts of the world, to use this current pattern is causing serious health effects on humans and the environment.
Thus, today we need to ensure energy security, we need to control pollution caused by burning fuels and minimize the greenhouse effect caused by the emission of gases into the atmosphere [GHG]. Every day we damage our climate by using fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) in transport, industry and produce electricity. Power generation from these fuels generates 61% of worldwide total of greenhouse gases.
In addition, there are other challenges that have become urgent. World energy demand is growing at a rapid pace. Not only countries like China are increasingly demanding more energy. Over-reliance on energy imports from a few countries that create instability and insecurity in the supply and prices of oil and gas steadily increasing, have placed energy security as a concern in the political agendas of governments worldwide.
Climate change is already affecting our lives and is expected to destroy the livelihood of many people in developing countries, many ecosystems and species in the coming decades. For this reason we must drastically reduce our GHG emissions, an important measure both from the standpoint of environmental, social and economic.
It was found that the average temperature of Earth has experienced an increase during the twentieth century of 0.6 + – 0.2 C, besides that there is an actual decline in Arctic ice cover and increased the frequency and intensity of so-called natural disasters such as hurricanes, droughts and torrential rains.
How to model energy engineering
Polytechnic University of Valencia, through the Institute of Energy Engineering (IIE), participates in the European project Use Efficiency, an ambitious EU initiative to strengthen universities in the Old World training in energy efficiency among future professionals. The project partners will be known what the latest technologies to optimize both the design of buildings such as the use thereof, from the energy standpoint.
The ultimate goal is that students learn best practices, strategies and techniques for conducting a rational use of energy, so they can apply later in their jump to work. In short, this is one of the most important projects in recent years driven by the EU to move towards more efficient consumption of energy, with the University as the main agent.
“In the current context, marked by a gradual depletion of energy resources, we must learn to better manage energy consumption, spend less and more optimized. To do this we must improve the training of students, teaching them the most innovative solutions that enable greater energy efficiency, to be later applied in their future work “, falls Carlos Alvarez, a researcher and deputy director of the Energy Engineering Institute (IIE) of Universidad Polytechnic de Valencia.
To achieve this objective, the project raises USE Efficiency commissioning at the Universities of a new range of ad hoc courses on the subject, in which increasing awareness of the guidelines that impose the future market, both energy and labor, and strategies that must be addressed to rationalize energy consumption. “What we aim is to train both in the energy optimization of the design of buildings, and in the management of consumption derived from them,” said Alvarez.
Among other things, the project will cover the operation of buildings, consumption habits, the hiring of energy, etc. In addition, provide clues about when it is more convenient to consume energy, “so that the consumption is lower, but the cost also.” In short, it aims to provide guidelines for integrated management of energy from all areas.
“Until now, energy efficiency was to change light bulbs, replace an appliance of type C by one A. Now it goes one-step further, we need to know if when you are getting is the right time or not, there is also avoiding an over. It is know that the future professionals to spend less energy and more efficient and streamlined, “Carlos Alvarez incident.
The project proposes to improve the energy performance in buildings of the universities because of the actions of students and to present the best solutions for that, beyond the university, business, government, etc. more energy efficient.