ANTARES is a small business and for the last 20 years, we have been working quietly in the background to help companies deploy renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. [Read more...]
Department of Energy 2013 Budget Proposal Breakdown
February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
On Monday of last week the President sent the federal budget proposal to Congress, in which he proposes a 3.2 percent increase to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Budget, bringing the Department to a total of $27.2 billion.
[Read more...]
Antares Speaking at 2012 Northeast Biomass Heating Expo
February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Antares team is excited to announce that we’ll be presenting at the Northeast Biomass Heating Expo taking place in Saratoga Springs, New York from March 21-23.
In particular, one of our senior engineers, Jim Olmsted, will be a panel member for the breakout session titled, “Biomass CHP – The Next Big Thing.” It will take place on Thursday from 3:15 – 5pm. Jim and the other panel members will discuss the feasibility of biomass CHP for commercial and industrial facilities, as well as some examples of current projects in the Northeast.
For more information on the event and a complete list of speakers and panels, visit nebiomassheat.com.
The Solar Decathalon – Building a Winner
January 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Courtesy of DOE
We all have our pet projects.
Whether related to our careers or hobbies, they’re the essential complement to our work lives. My personal favorite comes in the variety of the former. The Department of Energy’s biennial competition, dubbed the Solar Decathlon, serves as a proving ground for solar technologies that lie between new technology research and consumer adoption.
The twist herein lies with the competitors; entrants are neither highly-experienced research engineers nor internationally renowned architecture firms, but rather students from colleges and universities from around the world. [Read more...]
My First Celebrity Sighting: Gone in the Blink of an Eye
January 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Living in upstate NY, we don’t get to see many celebrities…in fact, I don’t think that I’ve EVER seen anyone remotely famous up here. But a few weeks ago, I caught a glimpse of something that changed all of that: a Chevy Volt. It was one of those fleeting moment things and I had to remind myself that I was driving in my car, so I probably shouldn’t crank my head completely around to catch a better look. I guess that I knew deep down inside that someone somewhere must own a Volt, but it caught me off guard. I haven’t seen it since, but now I know it’s out there and I’m watching. [Read more...]
Solar Thermal…Improved?
January 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I saw an interesting article pop up in an RSS feed the other day: “Cheap beads offer alternative solar-heating storage.”
The authors presented a way to use phase changing materials—stearic acid and paraffin wax—to store solar energy for nighttime home heating in rural areas. During the day, beads of the paraffin mixture floating in a tank of warm water would melt due to heating from the sun, acting as a heat sink. At night, as the system cooled back to below the beads’ melting temperature, the beads would solidify and transfer heat to the water below them, allowing the warm water to be circulated in a heating loop.
The system is almost like a conventional solar water heating system that uses water for heat storage, but this has a more size-efficient heat sink and is thus intended to be used for home heating, not just domestic water heating.
It’s also similar to the paraffin-filled Trombé walls that were popular in this year’s Solar Decathlon, but it is intended to be an active, not passive, system.
Solar collectors – conventional hot water system
I had never read about such a system, but using phase changes to store energy makes a lot of sense.
[Read more...]
ANTARES News: Biomass Logistics Project Featured on Energy.gov
December 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The U.S. Department of Energy has featured on its homepage a biomass logistics project for which Antares Group is a significant contributor. Our project is the one featured in the photo and mentioned with respect to bale handling equipment. ANTARES has many years of experience in biomass feedstock handling and logistics and we are proud to have the work done by our team featured so prominently.
Direct link to the article: “What in the World Are Feedstock Logistics?”
A blog post on the project is in the works, so watch for that in the coming months.
Make your Diesel Car Greener with Vegetable Oil!
December 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I should preface this posting by saying that my husband and I are car people. I grew up in a car-loving household, so it kind of figures that I would marry a car guy (who also happens to be VW technician).
Plus side: free maintenance on my cars. Down side: nothing white in our house stays white for very long.
The husband and I currently own 5 cars between the two of us. And yes…you read that right. This is actually kind of embarrassing, which is why I don’t normally offer this kind of information up front, but it’s not as bad as it sounds. [Read more...]
Energy Efficiency Problems: Taking a Different Approach
November 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I am a chemical engineer by training.
Though this sometimes gets me odd looks from other energy efficiency engineers, it also means that I look at industrial processes a little differently than some energy auditors. When I say “industrial processes,” think stamping, molding, heating, electroplating, or filtration. Let me explain what I mean about a different approach.
One of the first design problems I was given in college went like this: [Read more...]
How to do a Home PV Estimation (for free)
November 16, 2011 By 2 Comments
I love solar panels. I’m not even sure how they became my favorite form of renewable technology…maybe it’s because they have the potential to produce electricity for 25+ years, or that they are low in maintenance, or maybe it’s because I think that they are kinda pretty.
All I know is that I get excited every time I see them on someone’s rooftop or whenever a PV feasibility study comes in the door (at ANTARES). I am on that like a shopper on a Black Friday sale special. [Read more...]
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