FutureAir

Tag: Environment

RMI Redefines Thermal Comfort

May 2016

In December 2015, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) made news when they unveiled their new Innovation Center in Basalt, Colorado. As a sustainability and energy efficiency non-profit, RMI sought to inspire and drive the industry by constructing a deep green building that achieves net zero energy and has no central heating and cooling system.

The RMI Innovation Center redefines thermal comfort through passive and integrative design. They outline 5 steps they used to achieve thermal comfort through design and science:

  1. Target all six variables in the thermal comfort formula known as the predicted mean vote (PMV): temperature, humidity, activity, clothing, air velocity, mean radiant temperature (the average of all surface temperatures in the room).
  2. Focus first on reducing loads with passive design such as higher insulated windows
  3. Target personal comfort solutions since each individual will be affected by many variables
  4. Build an integrated project team with clear, consistent documentation
  5. Openly discuss and manage risks and contingency plans

“The Innovation Center is not about technology, but about design. This building achieves beyond net-zero energy because we have gotten better at choosing and combining technologies to maximize building performance.” –Amory Lovins (Chairman/Chief Scientist, RMI)

To read the RMI blog in more detail, see: http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_05_10_top_5_steps_to_redefining_thermal_comfort

Resources:

http://www.rmi.org/innovationcenter

http://www.aspentimes.com/news/20040641-113/rmis-future-is-now-with-innovation-center-in

Corps. Take on Environmental Sensors

March 2016

As large corporations explore the environmental sensor technology space, growing interest in the ability to measure ambient surroundings is becoming increasingly evident.

Late last year, Apple was granted a patent for its environmental sensor package which could eventually allow Apple users to detect temperature, humidity, sound, and pressure in their everyday environment. The sensor could be integrated with existing microphone, speaker ports, or buttons to capture information directly from air flow. Many android devices already have environmental sensors that measure ambient air temperature and humidity.

Mitsubishi also recently announced that they have developed a high precision air quality sensor. The sensor is groundbreaking because it can detect and distinguish between all fine particles [or particulate matter (PM) 2.5, with a diameter equal to or less than 2.5um], including dust and pollen. To put this into perspective, particles smaller than PM2.5 can pose serious health risks ranging from irritation to respiratory and cardiovascular problems because their small size can travel into the lungs and even the bloodstream.

Clearly, the desire to learn more about invisible environmental threats is rising. And with the Internet of Things, the possibilities for environmental monitoring will also increase and make strides towards improving health and environmental sustainability.

Resources:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/24/apple-working-on-new-environmental-sensors-for-mobile-devices/
http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/10/20/apple-patents-magnetic-multi-use-ipad-stand-embedded-environmental-sensor-tech
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/sensors/sensors_environment.html
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160207005063/en/Mitsubishi-Electric-Develops-High-precision-Air-quality-Sensor-PM2.5
https://www3.epa.gov/pm/

Photo: Prototype of Mitsubishi air quality sensor

How Does Indoor Air Quality Affect You?

March 2016

3,000 gallons.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that’s how much air we each breathe in a day. You would think that taking in that much of anything into your body would be worth pausing to consider. And yet, even though breathing is one of the most vital and fundamental functions of life, we rarely give much thought to the air that envelops us.

When people do stop to think about air pollution, what comes to mind is outdoor pollution, acid rain, or images of the Beijing skyline hidden beneath smog. However, air pollution also manifests indoors through wood, oil, household cleaners, and building materials, and can be anywhere from 2 to up to 100 times the outdoor level. And since we spend 90% of our time indoors, could this potentially have a major effect on our health and productivity?

This is what Aclima, an environmental health startup, aims to measure and discover. In 2015, Aclima announced a partnership with Google to monitor not only outdoor but also indoor environmental air quality using a network of sensors. 500 sensors are connected across 21 global Google offices in order to measure 500 million data points a day including temperature, humidity, noise, light and air pollutants. The data collected can update and monitor real­time air quality information through backend software. The ability to measure these factors can lead to decision useful information in designing workspace and promoting the comfort, welfare and productivity of employees.

Resources:

Environmental Sensor Startup Aclima Is Studying The Air Googlers Breathe


https://aclima.io/blog/posts/aclima-google-map-air-quality/
http://www3.epa.gov/air/basic.html

Photo credit: TechCrunch

Taking on Indoor Air

February 2016

From a short visit to a remote village in South America emerged the seed of an idea.

In an otherwise exquisitely designed yet simple home, I experienced the unexpected and fantastic feeling of no temperature at all, of perfect comfort. A combination of natural airflow and a simple ceiling fan made this happen.

Nevertheless, the conventional ceiling fan above was a visual eyesore in contrast with surrounding well-designed interior space. The ceiling fan, still a basic propeller form, was dated and old-fashioned.

At FutureAir, we are reimagining indoor air. Our mission is to improve indoor air quality comfort and energy efficiency.

On the FutureAir blog we will share a collection of ideas, news and research to keep you informed on all things air related to design, science, technology and the environment. We’ll also give you an inside look into what we are working on and thinking about at FutureAir.

If you want more information, have a question or there’s something you’d like us to write about, just leave a comment on one of our posts. We’d love to hear from you.

COP21 Paris Round-Up

December 2015

After COP21, we wanted to take a moment to highlight key background information along with our recommendations on how to learn more and to get involved following the positive momentum from Paris.

Key COP 21 Leaders

    1. Laurent Fabius, COP President & French Foreign Minister – “Paris 2015 Climate deal must have legal force”
    2. General Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary – “calls on leaders to take drought seriously”
    3. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, India – “steered India’s elevation from spoiler to facilitator”
    4. Todd Stern, US Special Envoy for Climate Change – “formed climate consensus with China with hostile congress at his back”
    5. John Kerry, US Secretary of State – “world must seize chance to kill climate warming HFC’s”
    6. Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCC – “Turning Point is here. Join the wave of change”

Two of Our Favorite COP21 Articles

    1. Natural Resources Defense Council (Rhea Suh) – An Insider’s Journal from the Paris Climate Talks
    2. New York Times (Justin Gillis) – Climate Accord Is a Healing Step, if Not a Cure

Films To Watch

The Burden
300 Years of Fossil Fuels in 300 Seconds
Do The Math
Consumed
Racing Extinction
Time to Choose

Books to Read

    1. The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken
    2. Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes & Erik Conway
    3. End of Nature & Cradle to Cradle by Bill Mckibben
    4. Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
    5. This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein

Be Informed – Join the Movement

www.350.org
www.climaterealityproject.org
www.climatemama.com
http://www.climatechangenews.com/

Other Favorites

Climate Action
Circular Ecology
Climate Environment
Earth Justice
Nature
NRDC
Planet Green
Sierra Club

What We’re Reading

November 2015

Ever since I created FutureAir I have immersed myself in literature, in educational research and in enlightening reads that have left a profound effect. They have impacted me, changed how I approach the world, and helped inform the direction of the company.

In an effort to share some of the FutureAir team’s favorites with you, we are launching an ongoing series to reveal our recommendations on noteworthy, impactful and important reads.

The first is a brilliant, honest and powerful book This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein, author of the international bestseller The Shock Doctrine. Let me start with this caveat: it is heavy, intense reading but well worth the effort.

“Underneath all of this is the real truth we have been avoiding: climate change isn’t an “issue” to add to the list of things to worry about, next to health care and taxes. It is a civilizational wake-up call. A powerful message–spoke in the language of fires, floods, droughts, and extinctions–telling us that we need an entirely new economic model and a new way of sharing this planet. Telling us that we need to evolve.”

The introduction alone is a wake-up call but Klein delivers the details, for both problems and solutions –her own personal why, when, where and how. All backed up with well-researched facts and figures, and articulately communicated.

Here are a few points that particularly surprised me:

  • The US has been the worst barrier to climate progress. In much the same way that financial institutions and big tobacco corporations used big money to stall the reforms needed, big oil interests have followed the same path, sowing doubt to sustain corporate profits.
  • ExxonMobil holds the record for the highest corporate profits of any US Corporation, but the costs of cleaning the mess they make is still on US tax payers, while they continue receiving government subsidies.
  • ExxonMobil’s excessive carbon emissions can also be attributed to the permanent harm exacted on our wildlife – the mass extinction of 40% of our nature’s species.
  • Organizations like the Nature Conservancy, WWF and Conservation International have strong ties with the fossil fuel industries (i.e. receiving funding from oil and gas companies).

And there are so much more. You need to read the book!

On the solution side, there is of course, the potential of expanding energy production from renewable sources such as wind and solar. Ultimately, Klein believes that reviving a massive grass roots movement is the route to taking on powerful polluters. That we need a “systems change, not a climate change.”

I wholeheartedly agree.

Discussing the Climate Crisis

September 2015

In honor of Climate Week NYC and our commitment to taking action, our founder Simone, will be giving a Climate Reality talk followed by a lively conversation with architect and wind farm entrepreneur, Matthew Baird about how we can all take action.

Following intense training with Al Gore this past spring, Simone became a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps.  With this comes access to the Climate Reality Project library of incredibly compelling data, moving images and a commitment to spread the word about the seriousness of climate change.

It’s a hot topic, join us. Send us an email or sign up here.

Monday, September 21, 2015 – 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM ET

Civic Hall
156 5th Avenue
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10010

For more on climate change, take a look at the Climate Reality The Business of Climate Solutions webinar. Simone participated as a panelist in the August 27 discussion, which covered how businesses are going green and its affect on their bottom line.

Looking Up: The Flatiron Building

August 2015

Awash with iconic, architectural buildings that reveal the history of this urban metropolis, New York City is full of surprises. Walking down the bustling city streets, dodging the impossible crowds, one doesn’t often take the time to look up. But when you do, you would often notice the picturesque facades blemished by unattractive and environmentally destructive air conditioning units protruding from historic windows all over the city.

Take the Flatiron building, for instance. Designed by Chicago’s Daniel Burnham, the Flatiron building is one of the world’s most iconic skyscrapers and is quintessential New York City. Upon its completion in 1902, the curiously shaped building was one of the tallest buildings in New York City and was designated a New York City landmark in 1966.

Coupling Renaissance Revival design with Beaux Arts style, the building’s triangular plan was developed to fit the acute angle created by the intersection of Broadway and Fifth Avenue at 23rd Street. Shaped like a perfect right triangle, it measures only six feet across at its narrow end.

Today, this architectural giant’s windows are home to myriad of unsightly window air conditioning units that consume unnecessary amounts of energy and drip water on passers-by. We must do better.

_flatiron-and-sky1000

In an effort to celebrate emblematic architecture and highlight the problem we are working to solve, we will publish a series on NYC architectural greats and their current status. Be sure to check back soon.

Sources: Wikipedia, ArchDaily, History.com

Photo: José Miguel Hernández Hernández

Power to the People

July 2015

Our latest editorial obsession is a recent New Yorker article Power to the People: Why the rise of green energy makes utility companies nervous.

Written by Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, the article astutely describes the state of green energy, and the challenge of getting utility companies to adapt and support the switch to renewable energy sources.

The article profiles various Vermont-based, working-class families who have given their homes energy makeovers, with both fiscally lucrative and environmentally beneficial outcomes. As McKibben describes it, “the numbers reveal a sudden new truth—that innovative, energy-saving and energy-producing technology is now cheap enough for everyday use.”

McKibben profiles Green Mountain Power in Vermont, a standout utility in an otherwise archaic and, as he describes it, sleepy business sector. And in contrast, other less solar-supportive utility companies across the United States, and the rationale for their fear of disruptive technologies.

At the core of his argument is this: “The energy revolution, instead of happening piecemeal, over decades, could take place fast enough to actually help an overheating planet. But all of this would require the utilities—the interface between people and power—to play a crucial role, or, at least, to get out of the way.”

Our founder, Simone, recently transitioned her Gramercy Park flat to 100% renewable energy, with Ethical Electric. It’s a simple process, with big environmental rewards. Join the movement.

Read the full article here.

Climate Crisis = Reality

July 2015

A concern for the health of our planet is a part of our DNA, so attending Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Training was critical to understanding the science behind climate change.

The Climate Reality Project’s mission is to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis through education and encouraging urgent action.

The Road to Paris, the organization’s latest, more urgent campaign is aimed at uniting citizens, corporations, and organizations to demand a global agreement to limit greenhouse gases at this December’s United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Conference of the Parties meeting in Paris (COP21).

We’ve made a commitment to act, to be a catalyst for change. We were honored to participate in the Climate Reality Leadership Training this past May where we spent three empowering and life-changing days in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with world-class scientists, strategists, communicators, and technical specialists learning about the science of climate change and the direct results on communities around the world.

A few takeaways:

  • We were super impressed by Al Gore’s passion, energy and in depth knowledge of the scientific and historic data on climate change
  • We enjoyed meeting an incredibly diverse group of Climate Leaders of mentors, speakers and attendees. – From students, farmers and filmmakers to builders, museum directors and professors from all over the world each was eager to learn and make a difference by helping spread word of the urgent need to change our path of destruction
  • We were surprised by the progress made by the state of Iowa in growing jobs in manufacturing by creating renewable energy sources which now supply 30% of the state’s energy with mostly wind and some solar

For a general overview on the climate crisis check out Climate Reality’s Climate 101.

Get involved. Be a part of the solution.