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MORE2 provides much-needed home energy improvements to Oak Ridge home

Posted at 12:41 pm May 10, 2017
By Annie Cacheiro Leave a Comment

MORE2 logo

Submitted

Oak Ridge resident Peggy Brummett is just one of many happy participants in the MORE2 Program offered in our community and she urges others to apply.

“I would highly recommend this to anyone!” Brummett said in a recent interview. “I don’t understand why there aren’t a whole lot more Oak Ridgers applying. It’s made a huge difference in our home.”

Brummett applied for the MORE2 program, hoping it would help with her utility bills and, more importantly, with her peace of mind.

“I can now sleep better knowing I can rely on our heat or air conditioning and knowing it won’t cost us so much in the future,” Brummett said. “And as a bonus, there is less dust in our house.”

She suspected her old heating, ventilation, and air conditioner (HVAC) wasn’t working effectively, and her utility bills were proof she was correct. Her home was losing a great deal of costly energy due to air leakage, inadequate insulation, and the poorly working HVAC unit.

At no cost, the MORE2 Program provided a new HVAC unit, new insulated ductwork, and performed air sealing throughout the home. Brummett is recently retired from a large retail establishment in Oak Ridge, where she worked in customer service. Having worked in customer service, she knows good service when she sees it and commented on the program. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Federal, Government, Oak Ridge Tagged With: Bruce Applegate, City of Oak Ridge, electric bills, energy consumption, energy improvements, energy use, energy-efficiency education, energy-efficient equipment, MORE2, MORE2 Program, Tennessee Valley Authority, utility bills

Oak Ridge home owner shares energy efficiency success story

Posted at 11:33 pm March 18, 2017
By Annie Cacheiro Leave a Comment

MORE2 Logo“I have won the lottery!” That is an emotional response from one Oak Ridge homeowner who recently received a Make Oak Ridge Energy Efficient, or MORE2, home energy makeover.

Ronald Jackson, an Oak Ridge resident for nearly 50 years, said he “could not believe my luck in finding this program.” Jackson, who has lived in his home for 10 years, learned about the MORE2 program from a poster while visiting the Oak Ridge Library and decided it was worth a try to apply. His application was approved, and in recent months, his home has received a new HVAC unit as well as new duct work and insulation—all at no cost to Jackson.

“This program is so wonderful I want to tell everyone about it!” Jackson said in a press release.

The program responsible for his enthusiasm is called MORE2, and it is helping Oak Ridgers lower their home energy use and their electric bills, the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Bruce Applegate, electric bills, energy efficiency, energy use, energy-efficiency equipment, Make Oak Ridge Energy Efficient, MORE2, Oak Ridge, Ronald Jackson, Tennessee Valley Authority

A MORE2 success story, providing free energy-efficiency upgrades

Posted at 11:18 pm January 22, 2017
By Annie Cacheiro Leave a Comment

Before and after photos of Lacey’s attic insulation.

Before and after photos of Lacey’s attic insulation (see other photo below).

 

As winter sets in, Make Oak Ridge Energy Efficient, or MORE2, is helping Oak Ridgers lower their home energy use and their electric bills.

Mary Kate Lacey, a retired licensed practical nurse, rents an Oak Ridge home that she hopes to someday own. After taking part in MORE2, she said her home is more comfortable now than in the last five years and that her electric bill is reflecting energy savings.

“My heat pump just doesn’t run all the time now like it used to,” she explained. “And my utility bill is already a little lower than in earlier years.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Nonprofits, Top Stories Tagged With: Bruce Applegate, Debra Lively, electric bill, energy savings, energy use, free energy-efficient equipment, home energy use, Make Oak Ridge Energy Efficient, Mary Kate Lacey, MORE2, Tennessee Valley Authority

DOE investing $19 million in building efficiency, with four of 18 awards to ORNL

Posted at 7:51 pm July 19, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Ernest Moniz

Ernest Moniz

The U.S. Department of Energy announced Friday that it is investing $19 million to improve the efficiency of the nation’s homes, offices, schools, hospitals, restaurants, and stores. The projects will develop advanced building technologies that will help American consumers and businesses save money on their utility bills, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create jobs, a press release said.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory received four of the 18 awards.

Buildings are the largest energy consumer in the nation—accounting for more than 40 percent of the nation’s total energy demand and greenhouse emissions, and resulting in an annual energy bill totaling $430 billion, the press release said. On average, nearly a third of this energy is wasted. It’s estimated that if the U.S. reduced energy use in buildings by 20 percent, the nation could save nearly $80 billion annually on energy bills.

The 18 innovative projects announced Friday will develop sensors and energy modeling tools to make buildings smarter, reduce refrigerant leaks and improve the efficiency of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems, and produce a low-impact, gas-powered heat pump that can operate efficiently in colder climates. The projects will also support renewable energy market penetration through energy storage, pinpoint air leaks and reduce energy losses through the building envelope, and cut electricity use by transmitting sunlight to building interiors, the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: air-conditioning, building efficiency, building technologies, Carnegie Mellon University, Clemson University, Columbia University, EERE, energy bills, Energy Department, energy use, Ernest Moniz, Glint Photonics, heating, HVAC, Ingersoll Rand, Iowa State University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, LBNL, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Optimized Thermal Systems, ORNL, PARC, refrigeration, sensors and controls, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, University of California–Berkeley, University of Miami, ventilation

ORNL: Car, building are 3D-printed, can power each other

Posted at 1:56 pm September 24, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

ORNL 3D-Printed House and Vehicle on Sept. 24, 2015

A 3D-printed vehicle and building that were part of a nine-month research demonstration project were unveiled on Industry Day at ORNL on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015. The natural gas-powered car and solar-powered building can provide electricity to each other. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A car and house built using large-scale 3D printers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory can provide power to each other, and they’re part of a project designed to answer “what if” questions that could lead to innovations in building and car construction and energy use, storage, and consumption, researchers and officials said Wednesday.

The 210-square-foot house—it’s a solar-powered building—and the printed utility vehicle—officials affectionately call it a PUV—were printed at ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility on Hardin Valley Road.

They were unveiled at ORNL on Wednesday during the lab’s first-ever Industry Day. The building and PUV are part of a project called the Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy, or AMIE, demonstration.

Additive manufacturing is the process used to build something one layer at a time. One of the most well-known examples is the Shelby Cobra car 3-D printed on a large-scale polymer printer at the MDF. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden admired that vehicle—and joked about taking it for a spin—during a trip to East Tennessee in January. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, College, Education, Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: 3D polymer, 3D printers, 3D-printed building, 3D-printed home, 3D-printed vehicle, additive manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy, Alcoa/Kawneer, AMIE, Barack Obama, Brian Lee, Chuck Fleischmann, Cincinnati Incorporated, Clayton Homes, College of Architecture and Design, David Danielson, David Milhorn, DowAksa, energy efficiency, energy generation, energy use, EPB, GE Appliances, Hexagon Lincoln, Industry Day, Institute for Advanced Composite Manufacturing Innovation, Joe Biden, Johnson Controls, Knoxville Utilities Board, Liberty Utilities, Line-X, Mach Fuels, Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, Martin Keller, NanoPore, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, ORNL, polymer printer, printed utility vehicle, PUV, renewable energy, Roderick Jackson, Skidmore Owings and Merrill, Spiers New Technologies, Techmer ES, Tru-Design, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Tennessee

ORNL research demo combines clean energy, 3-D printed building, vehicle

Posted at 9:22 pm September 17, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

ORNL AMIE

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will unveil a research demonstration next week that combines clean energy technologies into a 3-D printed building and vehicle to showcase a new approach to energy use, storage, and consumption.

The unveiling of the Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy, or AMIE, demonstration is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. Wednesday, September 23, at ORNL.

The demonstration will be exhibited at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Industry Day event as a model for energy efficient systems that link buildings, vehicles, and the grid.

A rendering of the demo is included above.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Front Page News, Meetings and Events, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: 3-D printed building, Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy, AMIE, clean energy, energy use, Industry Day, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, research demonstration, U.S. Department of Energy

Former energy secretary compares global warming path to Russian roulette, with gun pointed at knee

Posted at 8:04 pm February 17, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Steven Chu on Global Warming at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

During a lecture at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, former Energy Secretary Steven Chu compares global warming to Russian roulette, but with the gun pointed at a kneecap.

Former Energy Secretary Steven Chu sounded an alarm about global warming during a visit to Oak Ridge last week, comparing the current path to Russian roulette, but with the gun pointed at a knee—and with more bullets added each decade.

“Every decade you put in a bullet and you pull the trigger,” said Chu, a Stanford University professor who won a Nobel Prize in physics in 1997. “After four or five more decades, it could be fully loaded.”

The longest-serving secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, Chu gave a lecture at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Wednesday.

The globe is warming, and we might not feel the full effect of the greenhouse gases emitted by humans for another half-century or more, after the ocean has been warmed, Chu said.

“We’re going to glide to a temperature that we’re not really sure about, but I can guarantee that it’s warmer than it is today because of that ocean,” Chu said. “The damage that we’ve done today will not be seen for at least 50 years.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Slider, Top Stories, Weather, Weather Tagged With: Alaska, batteries, carbon capture, carbon sequestration, carbon tax, emissions, Energy Secretary, energy use, global warming, greenhouse gases, Greenland, ice masses, Nobel Prize, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, physics, Russian roulette, Stanford University, Steven Chu, temperature increase, U.S. Department of Energy

ORNL receives GreenGov Presidential Award

Posted at 5:55 pm November 5, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Central Campus

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s central campus is pictured above. (Courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory received one of eight GreenGov Presidential Awards announced Tuesday.

The lab won in the Good Neighbor category for a project titled “ORNL Good, Green, Sustainable Neighbor,” a press release said.

The fourth annual awards were announced by the White House Council on Environmental Quality. They honor federal civilian and military personnel as well as agency teams, facilities, and programs that have taken innovative steps to reduce energy use and carbon pollution, curb waste, and save taxpayer money in federal agency operations, the release said.

At a White House ceremony in Washington, D.C., senior administration officials recognized the eight award winners for exemplifying President Barack Obama’s charge to “lead by example and demonstrating extraordinary achievement in the pursuit of the president’s 2009 executive order on federal leadership in environmental, energy, and economic performance,” the release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Barack Obama, carbon pollution, charging stations, clean energy research, climate change, Council on Environmental Quality, electric vehicle, energy, energy security, energy use, environment, EV, Good Green Sustainable Neighbor, GreenGov Presidential Award, greenhouse gas pollution, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, renewable energy, sustainability, U.S. Department of Energy, waste, White House, White House Council on Environmental Quality

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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