Rodac Plate Interpretation

 Rodac plate

 Click on image to enlarge

Click on image to enlarge

Video on use of contact agar sample.

Two Xcel energy residential programs for improving energy efficiency

Xcel Energy operates in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Texas.

Home Energy Squad: Optimize your home energy use with a visit from the Home Energy Squad.  For $70 they will install door flashing for two doors, optimize the hot water heater.  Install aerators on the bathroom and kitchen sink.  Install energy efficient shower heads and install compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. (value of $200) 

I think all except the last one seem like a good idea.  The light quality from the CFL bulbs is not as good as the incandescent bulbs. I have installed the CFL bulbs in the basement and garage of my home as the quality of light in those locations is not as important. They do not work as well for reading.

For an additional fee the Home Energy squad will use LED instead of the compact fluorescent bulbs.   LED bulbs save money over the long run but have a higher upfront capital cost. 

Savers Switch: 15% off summer cooling.  Xcel installs a device to intermittently shut off the AC unit for approx. 20 minutes at a time during peak energy usage during the summer.  It does not shut off the fan in the house as air continues to circulate.  Typical hours of operation 2pm to 7pm.  I'm giving this a try this summer and will offer a critique in the fall.  I also plan to log the temperatures and %RH for some of the time.

MN CERT joins home energy squad - 7 min.

 

 

 

Xcel's savers switch in Minnesota



Peres - Meat Spoilage Detector

Food Sniffer provides a blue tooth compatible detector for meat freshness.  The Lithuanian based start up is seeking funding to convert prototypes into working products.  The target price is $100.  USA today has posted a video and further information about the rotten meat detector.

Similar devices with detection for different chemicals could be used for finding microbial VOC's or modulating ventilation systems in smart labs.



National Center for Healthy Housing -APHA May 2014

The National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) in cooperation with the American Public Health Association has issued a pdf of the National Healthy Housing Standard dated May, 2014.

The 65 page standard covers structural safety issues along with safety, thermal comfort and chemical agents.

Section II covers the annotated standards for the same sections.   The document is text heavy but well referenced.

 

Exterior remediation for water damage - N. Carlson

 

Home Safe Home with Rebecca Morley from NCHH - 7min.

Mucormycosis liked to five pediatric patient deaths

Rebecca Catalanello from Nola.com reports on April 16, 2014 that the CDC linked contaminated linens from TLC services in New Orleans to the outbreak of Mucormycosis that resulted in five pediatric patient deaths at New Orleans Children Hospital.  The deaths occurred over an 11 month period ending in July of 2009.

This is a link to further information about Mucor spp.  one of the possible organisms causing mucormycosis.

Mucor spp. 400x photomicrograph - N. Carlson

Geronimo Energy will build 20 large solar arrays around Minnesota

According to the Start Tribune, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission authorized the construction of 20 large solar arrays around the state of Minnesota.  In addition at least one natural gas power generator will also be built.

The installed solar capacity in Minnesota is expected to increase from 6.2 Megawatts in 2013 to over 16 megawatts in 2015.  According to the August, 2014 Star Tribune article Excel Energy has restarted its Minnesota solar rewards program.  The new Solar*Rewards program offers an incentive based on the kWh production from the PV system, as recorded by the production meter. The incentive is paid annually at $0.08 (8 cents) per kWh produced over 10 years.

The solar arrays will be installed by Geronimo Energy based in Edina, Minnesota.

Currently the largest solar array in the state is in Slayton, Minnesota. 

Foldscope Microscope Innovation

http://www.microbeworld.org/component/jlibrary/?view=article&id=11975

Stanford University Graduate students under the direction of Manu Prakash helped develop a foldable microscope for use in disease diagnostic work in third world countries.  The material cost for the microscope is 50 cents US. 

Update: I have provided some images taken with the foldscope microscope attached to a cellphone camera.

Different microscopes can be designed for different disease identification.  The scopes work using a standard microscope slide.   In addition to third world applications this could also be used for field identification of fungal organisms during mold investigations.  I would like to determine if the optic quality is good enough to do quick read of an Air-o-Cell cassette slide.

The microscope folds together like origami.



http://www.pddnet.com/videos/2014/03/50-cent-microscope-folds-origami

They are field testing 10,000 of theses microscopes around the world. You can sign up here to be part of the foldscope field test. 

This pdf document on the foldscope microscope provides the technical information.

Manu Prakash Ted talk - Foldscope Applications - 9 minutes



Pondering a solar power installation in Minnesota.

2.0 Megawatt Solar Array west of Slayton, MN

I am considering installing a solar panel in my backyard.  It won't be as large as the 7.5 football field array in Slayton, MN.  This is a link to the Fickr slide show of the Solar array in Slayton, MN

Doing the calculations a square foot of  standard efficiency solar PV yields between 10 and 13 Watts/hr in the proper location

The cost for installation in the US is roughly $5 per watt.  I'm looking at about a 1kW installation with an upfront cost of about $5k.  Minnesota has some tax credits available. So the final out of pocket cost would be less.

Feel free to relay your experience with a PV solar installation in the comment section below.  I'd be interested in your experiences.

MN Solar Resources

https://mn.gov/commerce/energy/consumers/Solar-Systems/

http://www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/get-answers/03/11/2008/solar-small-wind-installers-minnesota

http://www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/sites/default/files/CERTs_Solar_SimpleSteps_1.pdf

http://mn.gov/commerce/energy/images/Solar-System-FAQ.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_Minnesota

http://ips-solar.com/

Biological Control of Zebra Mussels

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/aquaticanimals/zebramussel/index.html

MN Dept. of Agriculture has released guidelines for using Psuedomonas fluorescens strain CL145A to control zebra and quagga mussels as part of a one year trial permit.

The irradiated bacterial strain under the product name Zequanox appears to have no effect on native mussels and fish populations in concentrations at 100 ppm at the application point and 1ppm downstream.

Zebra Mussels background information - 5 minutes

EPA - Design for environment Product labeling chemical list DfE - Webinar

EPA has been updating its safer chemical ingredient list for manufactures attempting to  reduce the toxicity and  environmental impact of the chemicals used in products.   A key to the symbols for each chemical is found at the bottom of the list.

Clive Davies from the EPA will be presenting a webinar on the DfE program on March 18, 2014 1 to 2 PM CDT. 

Roland Cliff - 22 min.  Chemical Engineering Ecology