A survey of all the energy conservation techniques in commercial buildings written for architects, designers, and non-technical people in the construction business. The second half covers computer apps.
The Backstory
This book almost got me expelled from grad school at the University of Texas. It came out during my first semester in grad school, the fall of 1997. I later made a small website with illustrations, excerpts, and free software downloads. That website is back online, if you want to visit (vintage HTML site, best viewed on a PC).
“Commercial use of our servers.” Said the ugly attorney (one lazy eye) at the Office of Student Legal Services.
Hello? Student. Legal. Services? Whose side are you on here?
This was two weeks before my written qualifying exams. I wasted an entire week preparing for the Inquisition. Prime study time! I failed the math exam but passed a three-hour oral exam right after.
Texas and Big Oil. I should’ve known. On the plus side, I moved to a private server and a new domain, inviticus.com, which became quite famous back then as an alt-science, conspiracy, dark arts kind of website.
About the Book
This was the first book on energy conservation from a major publisher, McGraw-Hill (1998). The first half covers every imaginable way to save energy in a small or medium-sized building. There’s still no better summary of every aspect of saving energy, written in non-technical language. (Just my opinion.)
The original market was architects and designers, to cover the full scope of energy savings. Other than a few reference tables, there are no equations or complicated technical explanations.
I was a “triple threat,” licensed in all three MEP disciplines – mechanical, electrical, and plumbing. I had published conference papers on commercial computer programs for engineering design of lighting, HVAC, electrical, and energy-saving systems.
I’d been the Design Review Engineer for the Texas LoanStar Program (the largest energy conservation program in the world at the time), so I was up to date on the latest technologies. My specialty was ground source heat pumps. I’d also reviewed ice harvesting and other exotic technologies, some of which are still not available, 25 years later.
I met my editor, Kim Tabor, at a big engineering conference in Dallas one year to promote the book. I knew her when she was an acquisitions editor at TAB Books, back in ’82. You’ll notice the TAB BOOKS stamp on this nice letter from NASA (PDF).
We got along splendidly. Kim Tabor was also the editor for the sequel, Electrical Design Guide for Commercial Buildings. “You’re not like other engineers,” she told me after we spent the day at the Dallas conference. Best compliment I’ve ever had.
Read Your Free Copy
Preview/Buy the book from the publisher's page.
WH Clark, P.E.