ARCHBOLD WEATHER

NSCC Group Eyes Energy, Other Issues





John Krochmalny, NSCC instructor, with the college's new thermal imaging camera. The camera, which graphically displays temperature difference, is a learning tool, he said.- photo by David Pugh

John Krochmalny, NSCC instructor, with the college’s new thermal imaging camera. The camera, which graphically displays temperature difference, is a learning tool, he said.- photo by David Pugh

The word, “sustainability,” is a noun, meaning the property of being sustained.

John Krochmalny, an instructor at Northwest State Community College, said it can be boiled down to, “living within your means.”

He is a member of a NSCC campus committee called Education for Sustainability; the group looks at sustainability issues for the campus and the five county area.

They look at the way people interact with their environment, and whether that inter- action can be sustained indefi- nitely.

For example, using gasoline to fuel cars for travel.

“I believe in a concept called peak oil. Right now, the world is producing 85.5 million barrels of oil a day, and the world is using 85.5 million barrels of oil a day. If we have a crisis, or there is a supply problem, the cost is going to shoot up,” he said.

In other words, can the world continue using as much oil as it produces? Is what we’re doing now sustainable? With gasoline at roughly $3 a gallon, alternative fuels, such as electricity, begin looking good, he said.

Wind, Sun

And, is there another way to generate the electricity we need?

Krochmalny and the NSCC committee are working on that question, too.

The committee received a grant of about $40,000 from the Lewis Family Foundation of central Ohio, to promote sustainability issues.

Part of the money has gone into a weather station atop Northwest State’s water tower. At 95 feet above the ground, the station records wind speed and solar radiation. Solar radiation is the amount of power that can be generated by the sun.

The results are interesting. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, estimated for the months of June through December, average wind speeds in Northwest Ohio range from a low of 7.1 miles per hour in August, to 10.4 mph in December.

The NSCC weather station has been recording wind speeds since June 2007. It’s recorded, on a monthly average, of a low of 8.3 mph in August, and a high of 12.9 mph in November.

Krochmalny said it takes an average of about 9 mph for wind generation of electric power to be practical. He said he recommends gathering a year’s worth of data before making any definite decisions.

Thermal Imaging

Another one of the tools the grant money purchased is a thermal-imaging camera.

Thermal imaging technology is not new. The cameras “see” heat, and show the difference between hot and cold. Archbold Fire Department has used thermal imaging cameras for years to find hot spots in burning buildings.

For Krochmalny and NSCC, the camera is an educational tool, that can show people graphically how heat flows, and raise awareness about energy use and costs.

“It will allow people to understand the costs associated with energy. If people can see they’re throwing a $20 bill out the door, they might change the way they do things,” he said.

The camera can help NSCC students and instructors design more efficient structures, and operate those structures more efficiently.

NSCC will employ the thermal imaging camera in the community, including working with Fulton County’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity. The two groups will test various construction techniques, and use the camera to see which is most energy efficient.

Emphasis

Over the next few months, there will be events at NSCC, part of a college-wide emphasis on sustainability issues.

There will be a speaker, emphasizing promotion of local businesses, and a session looking at agricultural practices.

On the NSCC campus, there’s a very active recycling program underway. Michael Brown, Northwest State director of public relations and marketing, said people on campus are set to break the previous record for recycling. – David Pugh

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