Energy Efficiency

Q: Does energy conservation mean I have to turn my thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer and, in doing so, live in some discomfort to save energy?
A: Absolutely not! Energy conservation does NOT have to mean living in discomfort to save energy. Sensible energy conservation is the normal approach; what this means is that comfort is not sacrificed to save energy and reduce your energy costs. For example, leaving a window wide open in the dead of winter to bring fresh air into a home is not considered sensible; there are more energy efficient means of bringing fresh air into a home such as by utilizing an air-to-air heat exchanger.

Q: I am thinking of putting an addition onto my home/facility and want to minimize my installation costs by using electric heat. Would you recommend doing so?
A: No! Electricity is a very costly form of energy, especially in the greater northeastern part of the United States and also in California. On average, you will be paying roughly twice as much for heating the new addition if you use electricity verses a more conventional form of heating such as fuel oil or natural gas.

Q: What are some good energy savings things that I can do to save energy at my home/facility that are relatively easy to do?
A: Generally the energy conservation measures that give the best return on the buck are tightening up the facility to reduce infiltration, automatically shutting off lights by utilizing occupancy sensors, and using more efficient lighting such as changing incandescent lamps to compact fluorescent lamps and T-12 fluorescent lamps with magnetic ballasts to T-8 fluorescent lamps with electronic ballasts.

Q: Should everyone at our company shut their computers down when they leave the office?
A: Yes. Even though your computer may have energy savings modes such as standby and/or hibernation, you can still save more energy by shutting down the computer when you leave the office. However, because of cold start implications, e.g., delay in start up, potential loss of data, etc., it may be more sensible to leave the computer in either the standby or hibernation mode; but, clearly, shutting down the computer will save more energy than either one of these power savings modes.

Alternative Fuels

Q: I know nothing about using alternative fuels in my car, please explain.
A: Over the long term fuel prices will continue to rise. Using alternative fuels can be cost effective as well as a means of contributing to the reduction of global warming. If your car runs on gasoline your alternative fuel option is ethanol. Ethanol is an alcohol that is made from plants such as corn, barley, or sugar cane. Presently at gasoline pumps there is often some small amount of ethanol that is blended with straight gasoline. If your car runs on diesel your alternative fuel options are biodiesel and/or straight vegetable oil (SVO). Biodiesel is a blend of ethanol or methanol, vegetable oil, and lye while SVO is, as the name implies, 100% vegetable oil that can be any type of vegetable oil.

Q: How does using vegetable oil to run my vehicle work?
A: To use vegetable oil to run your vehicle you must first have a vehicle with a diesel engine. Secondly, you must install, or have installed, a simple conversion kit which amounts to a vegetable oil fuel tank, heating lines, a fuel filter, a few common switching valves, and occasionally an additional fuel pump .

Q: How does using vegetable oil to run my vehicle affect the vehicles gas mileage?
A: The energy in a gallon of vegetable oil is 7% lower than the energy in a gallon of diesel oil, thus you could expect to see a decrease in gas mileage of 7%, which is negligible. But, also considering that the vegetable oil can be gotten at a price reduction of at least $0.80 per gallon, compared to diesel, and, that the use of vegetable oil as a fuel promotes the reduction of global warming, you’re way ahead using vegetable oil over diesel whenever you can.

Q: After I’ve converted my vehicle to run on vegetable oil, where do I get the vegetable oil?
A: You can get the vegetable oil directly from restaurants or you can buy already cleaned oil from companies such as CÉVON which are beginning to spring up.

Forensic Analysis

Q: What is forensic analysis?
A: By forensic analysis we mean the technical study of malfunctioning or failed equipment or systems with the intent of identifying corrective improvements for the malfunctions and the causes of the failures. Hurricane damage assessment is an example of forensic analysis that serves to identify what caused the damage to a structure, be it rain damage, wind damage, or flood damage. Analysis of a malfunctioning heating system, with the intent of identifying how to correct the malfunction would be another example of forensic analysis

Q: Would an insurance company use your analysis for certain claims or assessments?
A: Yes, CÉVON has provided forensic analysis to insurance companies for resolution of hurricane damage claims, flood damage claims, fire damage claims, freeze damage claims, and lightning damage claims, to name but a few.

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