Pivots ponder energy future

liven» it, i
piiitels on cvei 3 square inch that Grin-
nt‘ll own ” he rem; ks “it \\ou|dn’t
do hall as much toward solving llle
energy problem as simply rearranging
thC calendar." Worley points to the
“piobiein nioiit “ ol January,
February. and March. during which
the college uses a liligc amount oi
en gv to bout the buildings, and
pr icts that ”\Htlilll l’ive years we’ll
be taking a three month winter break
and the school yeor will extend \vell
inlo’tl‘ie summer

Viol-lei reels lheso calendar changes
are cssclltlc’ll lie maintains that ris~
ing luel pi itcs i ll iorce the college to
make major cul icululn cutbacks in
order in incrtg twat buildings during

the winter months. “In other words,”
he concludes, “Grinnell would become
a secolldrrate ool academically, but
it would be open in January.” He
believes that within the next decade
nearly all northern schools will be
iorced to adopt a similar calendar.

Duke argues that the amount oi
energy saved during the winter mon-
ths would be needed to provide the ad»
ditional ail'rcondltlonlllg required durr
lng the summer months.

will Grinnell ever become energy
selﬂsuilicient? ”Impossible,” Worley
asserts He points to the energy ineiii.
cient construction at several of the
structures on campus: Burling
Library, the Forum, and the Fine Arts
Building, “These buildings were built

during the energy surplus years,” he
says, “and have lots of glass and vir-
tually no insulation." He cites these
building as responsible ior much oi
the wasted energy at Grinnell and for
decreasing tiie probability or sell-
sufficiency.

nuke agrees, stating “The only way

Grinnell will ever become self~
sufficient is if all of the buildings are
torn down and rebuilt underground,”

Both professors stress that ,

whichever energy path the college
takes, the immediate future will re
quire more stringent energy conserva-
tion practices on the part of both
students and administration.

Alternative sources: which are appropriate?

b/ loci tcnk

, in lacing the era oi scarcity, new
sources oi energy will be needed. The
questions are , “What will they be?"
or even “Vl'llal chalces do we have?"
The nation as ‘i whole has several
ansnc Cell oil lowa has some
choices. and GI‘Illltell has a low or
these. lho inoior ones are coiiserva- _
tion’, solar energy, wind power. and
coal.

\ijhilc conservation can be a major
factor in Clici‘g) consumption, it is not
a solll'co oi energy llseli' It is a way to
make existing supplies inst longer
Conservation measur such as luv
sulrting. are being put to clrect at
G ‘lnliell and Will achieve some reduc7
tion in energy consumption,

Greater reduction Could he Obtained
by doing what Prolessor Robert Vocrtr
nian calls “teaching people how to
live " llc citcs examples such as: light
iixlures u llich either provide more
light than is needed or no light at all,
students and incully nlio routinely ict
unused or unneeded lights burn, and
people who loci that n rooni must be
at least 70 degrees to be ilihahitable. A
change in attitudes would produce a
corresponding change ill energy use.

Another v. y to conserve is with ma-
jor Allclallnns, by int-nus ol co-
gcl tlatlriil. or using on ~gy [or
mo c that one purpose, r xamplc.
the-criinicil Collcgc heating plant
could coiiccivobl , rodllcc high-
pressui-c storm iv eh could spin turr
biiics and produce electricity. The
sleunl would come out oi the turbines
as lowprcssurc team, which is used
to heal the buildings now Ally oi these
challgcs could decrease the amount of
energy need lo run the college This

ii mold. the ~iob oi supplying nccd
cdcncrgy inisicr

oiic nicnns lly which the energy

tpart or ii could no
power line year the
s axiom lvilncnlorics of
mag lioln the sun Put intli .' i-iplcr
tel-tits. li’ltlti oi oiic poi-coin of that

10

energy would meet all the world’s
energy needs, Getting that much is
harder than it sounds, though, It a
serious and aggressive solar program
is begun now, “By 2020, sunshine
could meet 25 or even 40% of the
world's needs," says Michael Simon,
head 0i a West German solar project.
”We'll have to work for what we get.”

The most icasiblc ways to use solar
energy at present are space and water
heating. Space heating is economically
possible (or 50% oi the space heating
requirements of the United States.
(That's 10% of our fossil fuel use.)

A possibility for the iuture is
photovoltaic cells, which converts
sunlight directly into electricity. They
are now used to power space vehicles
and some offshore oil wells. High cost,

I however, prohibits general use. As a
result, the icderal government has
earmarked $25 million, in the tlscal
year beginning Oct. 1979, ior research,
in an attempt to make the cells 95%
cheaper

One example or the applied use oi
solar energy in a climate similar to
that of Iowa is the Plaza West office
building or Honeywell in Minneapolis,
Minn, The building (100,000 square
ieet, eight slories) will have a large
part oi its energy needs met by the
power train 42 rows oi solar collectors
on the roof or a parking garage. it the
sun is shining, the system will meet
all OI the building's needs.

Annually, it will provide 84% of the
building's cooling, 53% or space
heating, and 100% of the hot water
needed. Although the system will save
17,000 gallons of Oil a year, it is not ex-
pected to pay ior itselt. it was design-
ed, rather, “so that what is learned
can be the basis [or less expensive,
more eiiicicnt applications oi solar
energy."

Vocrtman has suggested several
locations Where solar panels could be
inslalled at Gl‘innCll. Herrick Chapel,
ior instance, has a sloped rooi lacing
smith, an ideal location [or solar

panels. Several other buildings: the
PEC, me Science Building, and the
Fine Arts Building, have large walls
racing south. in the winter, collectors
mounted on these walls could receive
a double exposure, once from the sun
and once from the reﬂection of the sun
off the snow. .

Using reilectors in these places
would involve cutting down some trees
and possible “ugliflcation” oi the
buildings However, it would make a
significant contribution to the college’s
energy needs.

Yet, solar energy problems remain.
The most obvious is the intermittent
nature of sunshine, A cloudy day could
be disastrous to a solar heating
system. This can be remedied by
either batteries or backup systems.

Another factor discouraging installa-
tion oi solar equipment is the high in-
t al investment that IS required. This
is becoming less of an obstacle as ris-
ing fuel costs decrease payback time.

A more serious problem in relation
to the cost is revealed in a General
Accounting Oiiice report which says
that only about 12% of the makers of
solar equipment guarantee the perfor-
mance oi their products, However, as
experience with solar equipment is
gained. this percentage should rise.

Another idea which is adaptable to
Iowa is wind power. The best, and big-
gest, example of wind power in use is
the 2000 kilowatt (kw) windmill at
Tvird College in Denmark. The 175
foot tower, with 89 foot blades, was
built over a period at three years by
teachers, students, and other
volunteers. At full generation. it
should supply iour million kilowatt
hours (kWh) of electricity annually,
enough to provide electricity, heat,
and hot water to 120 medium-sized
homes, or. in this case, to the dorms,
classrooms, and other buildings.

The largest Americanmade windr
mill was built by Terry Merkham of

Scariel 8. Black,

 

