Green engineering matures

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The green age has arrived. It has been heralded by The Economist in a January 17 article titled “A change in climate—the greening of corporate responsibility.” Corporate responsibilities now seem to include addressing climate change and other environmental concerns, but along with the responsibilities come opportunities—in particular, The Economist states, opportunities for lofty rhetoric. The article quotes PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi stressing the need for companies to “contribute positively and responsibly to human civilization.”

But there are practical opportunities as well. The Economist article also quotes United Technologies CEO George David as saying that in 30 years, conservation initiatives could account for 30% of the company’s business, up from nothing today.

Even the US military is in on the game. The May 21 Wall Street Journal reports that Army engineers are pushing contractors to build hybrid armored vehicles, while the Air Force is experimenting with lighter-weight engine parts to boost fuel efficiency. In addition, the Journal reports, “Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas opened one of the largest solar arrays in the US, a 140-acre field of 72,000 motorized panels that powers the base and sells energy to nearby communities.”

As organizations pursue green initiatives, measurement will play a key role. The Economist quotes Linda Fisher, the chief sustainability officer at DuPont, as saying, “We find with energy and greenhouse gases, if you start to measure, people reduce the usage.”

One company that is capitalizing on the trend is National Instruments, according to NI industrial group manager Joel Shapiro. In a phone interview, Shapiro, who defines green engineering as the process of using measurement and control techniques in the design, development, and improvement of products to yield environmental and economic benefits, said that three factors are leading the emphasis on this discipline: first, concerns about climate change; second, soaring energy costs; and third, the need to comply with government mandates. With regard to mandates, Shapiro said that 50 countries, including 13 developing countries, have some form of environmental legislation or incentive programs in place.

Not surprisingly, NI is touting its products as ones that can help the green-engineering movement. Applications in which NI has provided products, Shapiro said, include environmental monitoring at the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica and, for Madrid-based Energy to Quality, fault-injection tests that enable wind turbines to remain connected to the grid when most needed. He also cited Nucor Steel Marion, which made use of green engineering techniques to save energy in a facility that turns scrap into rebar. Shapiro cited Dave Brandt, an engineer at Nucor, as agreeing with DuPont’s Fisher. “Once you start monitoring something in an automation system, you can fix things,” Shapiro quoted Brandt as saying.

Efforts to bring wind turbines online and to improve the efficiency of steel mills might seem to offer the biggest opportunities for green engineering. But Shapiro said NI is also focusing on less obvious opportunities—such as the measurement of vampire currents, which household appliances can draw even when not turned on, running up significant electric bills.