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Sustainability at ORNL > Questions, Comments, Ideas > Information Exchange
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7/28/2010

Clean Commute Day, August 20
ORNL is part of Smart Trips which encourages alternative transportation. Smart Trips is sponsoring the first Clean Commute Day on August 20 and they hope that 10,000 participants will find an alternate way to get to work. There are random prize drawings and this is a chance to give carpooling a try for ust one day. ORNL employees are encouraged to participate and when you find out how easy it is, sign up on the ORNL carpool website to find someone to share rides with. Please join us on August 20!
 
(Submitted for Ann R. Strange)
Posted at 11:12 AM by Gant, Kathy S. | Category: Events | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

4/30/2010

something to think about the next time you open a bottled water...
Posted at 11:37 AM by Zarestky, Jerel L. | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

4/7/2010

Use different font for reports to save toner ink
I've seen this story repeated in a couple of places - 

This seems like a good idea - while presented in the context of default email fonts, it could be a good idea to change the font used in report templates to one that uses less ink when printed.  Toner cartridges are very expensive, and this would save $ as well as reduce spent cartridges.  You could even track the total $ across the lab (from purchasing records) before and after a switch to quantify savings. 
Posted at 10:23 AM by Sieger, Matt T. | Category: Disposal | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

3/30/2010

White Roof
White roof has been suggested by Secretary Chu as a way to save money on A/C cooling. Is the lab considering or experimenting with this idea?
http://2020science.org/2009/05/27/steve-chus-white-revolution/

ORNL's William Miller responds:

The Building Envelope Program within the Energy and Transportation Division of ORNL has conducted several studies on white roofs and cool roof systems.

White roofs are typically installed on low-slope commercial and industrial building where the roof is not visible from ground view. Cool roofs (can include a white roof) are classified as roofs that are dark in color but highly reflect in the near infrared as does a white roof exploiting titanium dioxide pigments.
 
The Building Envelope Program has a web site under the Building Technology Research and Integration Center (BTRIC) that has a calculator tool for estimating the energy savings of a white low-slope roof as compared to the standard built up bituminous (tar) roof. ORNL and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are about to unveil a new roof calculator tool for commercial and residential buildings in response to cool roof initiatives sponsored by DOE and by industry. 
 
 
The tool was formulated and validate against two major initiatives, one by the late Dr. Tom Petrie on roof coatings conducted for the Roof Coatings Manufacturer Association and the other conducted by Dr. William Miller for the Single-Ply Roofing Institute. Selected literature includes:
 

Petrie, T. W., Wilkes, K. E., Desjarlais, A. O., “Effect of Solar Radiation Control on Electricity Demand Costs - An Addition to the DOE Cool Roof Calculator,” Proceedings, Performance of Exterior Envelopes of Whole Buildings IX International Conference, December 2004.

Desjarlais, A. O., Petrie, T. W., Miller, W.A., Stovall, T. K., “A Web-based Tool to Estimate the Energy Savings Associated With Solar Radiation Control Applied to Commercial Roofing Systems,” in 12th International Roofing and Waterproofing Conference, proceedings of the National Roofing Contractors Association and Bitumen Waterproofing Association, Orlando, FL, September 2002.

Miller, W. A., Cheng, M. D., Pfiffner, S., Byars, N., “The Field Performance of High-Reflectance Single-Ply Membranes Exposed to Three Years of Weathering in Various U. S. Climates,” Final Report to SPRI, Inc., August 2002.

Miller, W. A., Livezey, R.J. and Brown E. 2004. “Building Integrated Photovoltaics for Low-Slope Commercial Roofs,” ASME Solar Energy Journal, 127:307-313.

Miller, W.A. and Roodvoets, D. L. and Desjarlais A. 2004. “Long Term Reflective Performance of Roof Membranes,” proceedings of the Roof Consultants Institute, Reno, NV, April 2004.

Posted at 7:50 AM by D'Azevedo, Ed F. | Category: Saving energy at ORNL | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

1/8/2010

infrared scanning to detect air leakage and insulation gaps in buildings
I am in Bldg 6012 and our offices seem to be drafty, especially under our A/C units. It is more noticeable during cold days.  Perhaps energy auditors can use infrared scanning to detect air leakage or gaps in insulation for buildings at the Lab.

ORNL's Greg Palko responds:

In F&O we do have trained personnel who use infrared scanning on some of our systems as part of the routine inspection process: electrical equipment and insulation on steam lines are a couple of examples. Also, as part of our annual energy auditing process, we are beginning to implement more of these ideas. (We are in year two of our first four-year cycle of inspections now.) Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go to making these technologies a part of our day-to-day maintenance process, but we are getting there. Your suggestion for using this as part of our building envelope  inspections is a good one, and I am discussing this with my fellow facility managers on how best to make this happen in an ongoing, meaningful way.

Posted at 2:49 PM by D'Azevedo, Ed F. | Category: Saving energy at ORNL | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

1/6/2010

Green Office competition
The City of Chicago's "Green Office Challenge" is a competition between companies and property owners to see who can implement the most green practices. See their website. (I see that the place where my son works is a participant.)

The program isn't entirely applicable to ORNL, but I think something similar could be done as a competition between divisions.
Posted at 6:04 PM by Smith, Ellen D. | Category: Saving energy at ORNL | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

5/11/2009

Rooftop Container Gardens
There is plenty of rooftop space around the lab, that could serve as container gardening space for lab employees. This would give people a convenient space for a quick break and an easy outlet for their green thumbs.
 
If the rooftops prove too logistically difficult, then street level container gardens would be a good option. Several plots around the campus could be set aside so that people wouldn't have far to go to take a look at their plants. To speed things up, people could take greater advantage of the Bike It Green program.
 
Either approach would circumnavigate our legacy issues.
Posted at 8:01 AM by Livesay, Jake | Category: ORNL grounds and landscaping | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

4/25/2009

Composting from Work
I bought a small plastic wastebasket and placed it next to the aluminum can recycling barrel in our office kitchen. I added signs that say:
 
Compost
-Apple cores, banana peels, etc...
-Tea Bags
-Coffee Grounds
-Paper Towels
 
I'll collect it at the end of the week and add it to my home composter (an Earth Machine). This diverts a little of waste from the landfill and helps my garden at the same time.
Posted at 6:09 PM by Livesay, Jake | Category: ORNL grounds and landscaping | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

4/6/2009

More road shoulders would contribute to bike safety
Extending the shoulders on Bethel Valley Road all the way to Scarboro Road and adding shoulders on Scarboro Road would make bike riding to work safer and encourage more people to ride their bikes, thus saving gas.

Each day I ride my bike to work, I save about a gallon of gas since the round trip for me is 20 miles. The ride takes about 45 minutes each way.
Posted at 10:32 AM by Barron Jr, Tom O. | Category: ORNL transportation and parking | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (1)

3/6/2009

Coffee grounds and tea bags
The coffee grounds and tea bags used every day across the lab could be used as soil amendments. People could take them home at the end of the week or drop them off somewhere for the landscapers, to be worked into the soil.
 
Composting could also be done with the kitchen waste from the cafeteria. This would be especially nice if vegetable gardening were done onsite.
Posted at 1:39 PM by Livesay, Jake | Category: ORNL grounds and landscaping | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)
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