Electricity
NIST helps
the electric power and electric equipment industries use new cost-saving
measurement technologies related to the transmission, distribution,
and use of electric power. NIST products and services help firms
cope with market trends, such as deregulation, which creates a
demand for new diagnostic technologies to ensure the reliability
of the complex infrastructure; and economic and environmental
pressures that encourage greater efficiency in electrical devices.
NIST also helps individual companies reduce their own electricity
use and develop new technologies to improve the efficiency of
electrical devices.
Quantum
Electrical Metrology Division -- supports industrial needs
in the areas of energy efficiency, power quality measurements,
and reliability. The division develops improved measurement methods,
supporting measurement reference standards, and calibration services
to support revenue metering, equipment evaluation, and power quality.
Program areas include national electrical standards; low-frequency
electrical and electronic products; electric power systems; flat
panel technologies; electronic data exchange; quantum effects,
including superconductivity; low temperatures to reduce thermal
noise; semiconductors, including state-of-the-art lithography.
Contact: James Olthoff,
(301) 975-2400.
Calibration
services -- the accuracy of every watt-hour meter in the country
ultimately is traceable to NIST. State public utility commissions
own and maintain standard watt-hour meters with which they certify
the accuracy of mass-manufactured meters. Standard meters go through
periodic calibrations at NIST in which the amount of electricity
going through a meter can be more accurately and confidently measured
than anywhere else in the country.
The economic
impact of NIST's electric meter calibration services was evaluated
in 1995; the study can be obtained from Gregory
Tassey, (301) 975-2663.
The changing
measurements and standards needs of the U.S. electric power industry
were evaluated recently in an economic study sponsored by NIST.
The aggregate annual economic impact estimated by the report is
between $3.1 billion and $6.5 billion. This is a prospective annual
cost estimate of not having adequate measurement and standards
in place to capture the full economic benefits of deregulation.
Contact: Gregory Tassey,
(301) 975-2663. Read the study
in PDF format.
NIST
Guide to the European Union's Low-Voltage Directive may be
helpful to companies that sell products in Europe. The directive
is intended to prevent harm by electrical equipment. The risks
may be mechanical or chemical or risks to health caused by noise,
vibrations, or ergonomic factors.
Energy Conservation
-- small companies can receive assistance from NIST's Manufacturing
Extension Partnership. Local extension centers helped yarn
manufacturer Cookson Fibers, Inc., of Ansonville, N.C., reduce
energy costs and aerospace contractor Klune Industries in
Spanish Fork, Utah, reduce
electricity use and emissions for example.
Technological Innovation -- NIST's Advanced
Technology Program provided co-funding to help American Superconductor
Corporation, Westborough, Mass., design, fabricate, and test high-temperature
superconductor coils for a superconducting
electric motor. The ATP also helped E.I. duPont de Nemours
& Co. of Wilmington, Del., to develop thin-film fabrication
techniques for a new high-temperature superconductor and demonstrate
superconducting
electronic devices.
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Oil,
Gas and Coal
NIST's measurement
expertise helps to ensure that the many different elements of
fossil fuel production systems fit together well, while national
standards help to promote product quality. NIST also helps industry
develop and apply technologies for oil and gas production and
provides valuable data for research purposes.
Standard
Reference Materials --
are the definitive physical sources of measurement traceability
in the United States. NIST provides more than 1,200 different
SRMs that are certified for specific chemical or physical properties.
SRMs are used to help develop accurate methods of analysis, calibrate
measurement systems, and assure the long-term adequacy and integrity
of measurement quality assurance programs. Among SRMs relevant
to fossil fuel industries are those for gasoline, fuel oil, and
coal.
Measurement
standards for fossil fuels saved $113 for every dollar spent,
while also enhancing environmental quality, according to a recent
study sponsored by NIST. Fossil fuel producers and users rely
on NIST sulfur measurement standards to verify the accuracy of
their measurements of sulfur in petroleum products and coal. The
study also credits NIST for developing the highly accurate sulfur
measurement method that made the standards possible. The full
report is available in PDF format here.
Contact: Gregory Tassey,
(301) 975-2663.
Technological
Innovation -- The Advanced
Technology Program co-funds projects that benefit fossil fuel
industries. For instance, a joint venture led by Hydril Co. of
Houston, Tex., used ATP co-funding to develop long, continuous
lengths of composite
tubing to replace steel-based pipe.
Atmospheric
Chemistry Group -- advances, applies, and disseminates chemical
and isotopic metrology, standards, and data. A primary focus is
on the sources of hydrocarbon precursors to urban and regional
ozone episodes, and to specific chemical contaminants such as
benzene and other volatile organic compounds. Contact: R. Michael
Verkouteren, (301) 975-3933.
Standard
Reference Data Program -- supports research on and use of
various forms of energy, including fossil fuels. For example,
SUPERTRAPP is
an interactive computer database for the prediction of thermodynamic
and transport properties of fluid mixtures with hydrocarbon components.The
Quantitative Infrared Database contains spectra of volatile organic
compounds. Contact: Joan
Sauerwein, (301) 975-2208.
Office
of Standards Services -- facilitates U.S. trade opportunities
by coordinating standards assistance to countries seeking to improve
their national standards, testing, and/or certification systems.
Proposed draft standards are submitted through NIST for review
and comment by U.S. technical experts. Contact: Mike
Squires, (301) 975-4039.
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Nuclear
Power
NIST standards
and measurements help to assure the safety of nuclear power.
Ionizing
Radiation Division -- develops national measurement standards
for ionizing radiation (X-rays, gamma rays, electrons, neutrons,
energetic charged particles) and radioactivity, dosimetry methods,
measurement services, and basic data for application of ionizing
radiation to nuclear electric power, radiation protection of workers
and the general public, and other activities. Contact: Lisa
Karam , 301-975-5561.
A measurement
assurance program was established at NIST by the Nuclear Energy
Institute to provide sponsoring nuclear utilities, commercial
suppliers of radioactive sources, and service laboratories with
independent verifications, traceable to NIST, of their capability
to make accurate measurements of radioactivity. Contact: Daniel
B. Golas, 301-975-5540
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Home Energy
Use and Conservation
NIST has been
working on a variety of home energy use and conservation projects
for many years. See summaries of past efforts to improve energy
conservation in buildings and establish standards and tests
for the energy
efficiency of home appliances.
Building
and Fire Research Laboratory -- conducts a variety of activities
related to energy
use and conservation in buildings. For example, the lab is
working with industry, building professionals, trade organizations,
university researchers, and other government agencies to develop
and demonstrate a Cybernetic
Building System, which integrates services such as energy
management, fire and security, transportation, fault detection
and diagnostics, optimal control, real-time purchase of electricity,
and aggregation of building stock. Contact: George
Kelly, (301) 975-5851. A study of the economic benefits of
these systems can be found here.
Another project
is exploring the energy savings from "smart
appliances" (.pdf)
are capable of processing internal operation information
and the factors that can influence appliance efficiency such as
load and weather data, and utility pricing information.
Building
Environment Division -- develops data, measurement methods
and modeling techniques for the performance of the building envelope,
its insulation systems, building air leakage, and the release,
movement and absorption of indoor air pollutants. Contact: George
Kelly, (301) 975-5851.
Heat
Transfer and Alternative Energy Systems Group -- develops
basic data and simulation models for heat, air, and moisture transfer
through building envelope components; heat pump and water heater
test procedures; thermal insulation SRMs; and other energy-related
technologies. This group has also developed a test facility to
measure the performance of residential
fuel cell systems. Contact: Hunter
Fanney, (301) 975-5864.
Software
is available for a variety of energy use and conservation applications.
For example, EMISS is a computer program for estimating air pollution
emissions associated with energy use in buildings and reductions
in those emissions attributable to energy conservation measures.
Download the user's
guide.
Standard
Reference Data Program -- supports energy conservation efforts.
For example, the NIST Database
on NIST Heat Transmission Properties of Insulating and Building
Materials provides a valuable reference for building designers,
material manufacturers, and researchers in the thermal design
of building components and equipment. Contact: Robert
Zarr, (301) 975-6436.
Technological
Innovation -- The Department of Commerce awarded grants for six
industry projects that promise new
or improved energy-saving and homebuilding technologies. For
more information, see Partnership
for Advanced Technology in Housing.
SAGE Electrochromics
of Faribault, Minn., and 3M Co. of St. Paul, Minn., used co-funding
from the Advanced Technology
Program to develop processing techniques for making large-area
electrochromic devices suitable for energy-conserving "smart
windows."
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Alternative
Power: Solar Energy and Fuel Cells
NIST support
for technological innovation extends to alternative energy systems.
Solar Energy
-- NIST is developing computer simulation tools to predict the
performance
of photovoltaics that have been integrated into building systems.
NIST also is working with four solar energy equipment manufacturers
to develop and validate computer tools that can be used to predict
the electrical performance of building
materials used to collect solar radiation. Contact: Hunter
Fanney, (301) 975-5864
Fuel Cells
--NIST has developed a test facility to measure the performance
of residential fuel cell systems. The test facility will be
used to create a test procedure and rating methodology that will
determine the annual performance of these systems on a seasonal
basis. Contact: Hunter
Fanney, (301) 975-5864.
Fuel Cells
--Certain NIST facilities are available to qualified industrial
researchers for energy-related projects. For instance, the NIST
Center for Neutron Research is being used in a study of operational
characteristics of a working fuel cell. Contact: David
Jacobson, (301) 975-6207.
Physical
Chemical and Properties Division -- develops measurements,
data, and models for the thermophysical and thermochemical properties
of gases, liquids, and solids. In research applicable to fuel
cell and hydrogen systems, the division is developing data to
provide industry with high-quality thermophysical
properties for mixtures of hydrogen and methane over broad
ranges of temperature, pressure, and composition. Contact: Daniel
Friend, (303) 497-5424
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Other
Resources
NIST
outreach programs work directly with business and industry to
boost U.S. economic competitiveness. Many energy suppliers and
users have benefited by taking advantage of these programs.
Technological
innovation in the private sector is promoted by the Advanced
Technology Program, which co-funds high-risk industrial research
with the potential for high payoff in the national economy. For
example, the ATP is co-funding a variety of projects aimed at
developing premium
power sources such as long-lived rechargeable batteries and
lower-cost fuel cells. Contact: Gerald
Ceasar, 301-975-5069.
Smaller manufacturers
face many challenges in the technology-driven economy. To help
meet these challenges, NIST started its Manufacturing
Extension Partnership, which provides assistance to smaller
manufacturers through a nationwide network of extension centers
and offices. This nationwide network of centers, now in all 50
states, has assisted more than 100,000 U.S. firms, including electric
equipment makers.
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