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Topic: Exergy

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[Episode #119] – Energy Basics Parts 1–3

Apr 15 2020

In response to listener demand, we are launching a new mini-series on the Energy Basics. If you have found yourself occasionally challenged to follow some of the more technical conversations we have here, or even if you just want to brush up on the fundamentals, this mini-series is for you! We hope these episodes will give you a bit more familiarity with the terms and concepts of energy, and help to fill in some of the knowledge that you were never offered in school.

Each of these first three mini-episodes are about 20 minutes in length. Part 1 is available to all listeners. Parts 2 and 3 are available to full subscribers only - jump between each part using chapters in your podcast app.

Episode 119.1 - Energy Basics Part 1 - What is Energy? - What energy is at the atomic level, and different classifications of energy. [00:00 to 21:58]

Episode 119.2 - Energy Basics Part 2 - Energy Conversion - How and why we convert energy from one form to another. [21:58 to 43:23]

Episode 119.3 – Energy Basics Part 3 - Energy Uses - The ways we use energy and the various forms of energy. [43:23 to 1:04:41]

Geek rating: 1

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[Episode #81] – Principles of Energy Transition

Oct 31 2018

Mini Episode

This episode features something a little different: Chris is the interviewee, and our guest is the interviewer. Dr. David Murphy, a professor of environmental studies at St. Lawrence University, returns to the show to interview Chris about energy transition in this live event, which was held at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, on February 13, 2018. This was a fun, loose, casual conversation that newcomers to the subject of energy transition should find very accessible.

Dave is working on a textbook about energy transition for his classes, and based on that work, he framed up our conversation around what he sees as some of the key principles of energy transition, which he identifies as follows: Foster resilience, save first, energize people, embrace fair market power, renewable and net energy positive, and match means with ends.

We’d like to thank Devin Moeller, a subscriber to the show and an instructor in the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies at UCCS, for organizing the event and inviting us to participate.

Geek rating: 2

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[Episode #53] – Electrifying Heating

Oct 4 2017

Mini Episode

“Deep decarbonization” is all the rage in energy circles, but what does it really mean for actually retrofitting and remodeling buildings? Is it just about replacing oil and gas-fired boilers and furnaces with electric equivalents? Or does it actually mean something far more complex and interesting? Our guest in this episode is a registered engineering technologist in building construction technologies and an award-winning expert on the integration of the building sciences and health sciences who believes the best solutions come from an integrated design approach that takes all elements of buildings and human experience into account, not just how we heat our buildings. This lengthy, wide-ranging, and often humorous discussion covers everything from building science, to regional and national politics, to human physiology and psychology, to the ways that we teach architecture and building design, and much more…and it will leave you with an entirely new concept of what “deep decarbonization” really means. Plus: we finally delve into the arcane but important concepts of exergy and entropy.

Geek rating: 5

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