Dampness and Mold Growth in Buildings: A National Academy Study
Mold growth in buildings and its possible effects on human health have been in the news for several years while claims against insurance companies for mold and moisture-related problems in buildings have been on the rise, as has mold-related litigation. A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine has concluded that strong scientific evidence links mold and damp conditions in buildings to some health effects.
EETD to Operate Demand Response Research Center for California Energy Commission
The California Energy Commission (CEC) is funding a new Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Demand Response Research Center (DRRC) that will be managed by the Environmental Energy Technologies Division (EETD) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). The CEC will give $8 million over three years to the new center, which will be directed by EETD scientist Mary Ann Piette.
Transition-Metal Switchable Mirrors Win a 2004 R&D 100 Award
In July, R&D Magazine announced that transition-metal switchable mirrors, a technology developed by researchers in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division (EETD) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), had won an R&D 100 award. The following article, first published on Berkeley Lab’s Science Beat website (http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/sb-Apr-04-EETD-switchable-mirror.html), describes the technology and its potential for next-generation energy-efficient windows as well as other applications.
TRAMS: A New Tracer Gas Airflow Measurement System
The technologies currently available to measure airflow rates in duct systems require careful use and substantial time to produce accurate measurements. Traditional measurement systems use Pitot-static tubes or hot-wire or other anemometers to measure velocities at several locations in the cross section of an airstream. It very difficult to accurately measure airflow rates using these methods because of problems such as large spatial variation in air velocities and air velocities that are so low that they approach the detection limit of the anemometers.
Better Measurements of Carbon Aerosol Help Study Climate Effects
Now that researchers in the atmospheric sciences community have come to believe, thanks to the work of Berkeley Lab’s Tihomir Novakov and his colleagues, that carbon particles play a significant role in the atmosphere, it is important to understand the history of these particles and to measure their concentrations with more accuracy than has been possible in the past. Among the discoveries in which Novakov and fellow researchers have recently participated is that black carbon (BC) may be contributing to climate change by absorbing the sun’s heat and thus helping to warm the atmosphere.