EE&T News: June 16, 2010

Got ideas about oil spills?

The BP oil spill in the gulf has a lot of engineers, and a lot of other people as well, musing about stemming the flow of oil -- so much so that BP has some 35 engineers devoted full-time just to managing the ideas coming in from the public. According to published reports, the vast majority of ideas are either hairbrained or have already been tried. On another note, you can access the digital edition of our distinctly non-hairbrained May-June issue here:
viewer.zmags.com/publication/7d4a13a7
-- Leland Teschler, Editor Read More

Energy from the waves

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Another try at a legislative spiff for efficient motors

It looks like a piece of legislation long sought by motor makers may be beginning its trek through the law-making process. The new legislation would create a $700 million motor-rebate program for energy-efficient motors. This "crush for credit" legislative proposal has been introduced in the Senate as S. 3436. The proposal creates a federal rebate program that will provide a $25 per horsepower rebate for the purchase of NEMA Premium energy-efficient motors. READ MORE Read More

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Electro-Sensor’s TT420 Temperature Transmitters and ST420 Shaft Tachometers are pre-calibrated, proven solutions that install fast and perform anywhere, providing rugged and reliable monitoring solutions for your toughest machine environments. The TT420 combines a temperature sensor, signal conditioning, and 2-wire loop-powered 4-20mA transmitter into one compact package. The ST420 detects magnetic pulses from a rotating shaft-mounted magnetic pulser target (disc or wrap) and outputs a smooth, continuous 4-20mA analog signal in direct proportion to the pulse frequency (rotating shaft speed).www.electro-sensors.com

An efficiency standard for thermostats

No shortage of opinions about energy

EE&T's newly opened blog area contains this recent entry about incandescent bulbs: "Though incandescent bulbs are on their way to being outlawed, it appears that at least one kind of filament bulb will escape the ban because its energy use is relatively small. The filament bulbs you often see in trendy restaurants are specialty items that are still going to be with us for awhile." READ MORE Read More

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LEDs are typically tested for efficiency at 25%deg;C. But the resulting data isn't of much use for designing applications like down lights and retrofit lamps, because most LEDs have significant light output and efficacy losses at the 80 to 100deg;C internal temperatures characterizing these uses. That's not so for new Luxeon Rebel emitters, says their manufacturer Philips Lumileds. The new LEDs maintain more than 90% of their light and more than 95% of their datasheet efficacy even at junction temperatures of 85deg;C. READ MORE Read More

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Got lighting ideas? Tell the DoE

The Dept. of Energy will select projects to receive up to $25 million to advance research, development, and market adoption of solid-state lighting technology. The funding is directed toward two existing DOE SSL research and development program areas for Core Technology Research and Product Development. READ MORE Read More

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Small, Efficient 4-A Switch Buck-Boost Converter
The TPS63020 is the industry’s smallest and highest performance 4-A switch buck-boost converter with up to 96 percent efficiency.
www.ti.com Read More