Taking the Long View

The article highlights that minor changes in layout can produce positive pressure gradients at the ends of aisles triggering recirculation paths and creating hot spots. Urged on by economic demands, social concerns, or environmental considerations, a growing number of engineers have turned their attention to the way products use energy at every step, from manufacture to operation and recycling. A combined heating, cooling, and power system at the University of Maryland is the subject of study for increased energy efficiency on a small scale, up to 100 kW. The goal is a plug-and-play design. Hewlett-Packard operates a huge recycling program, with plants that handle as many as three million pounds a month of its own and other computer vendors' products. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), Hewlett-Packard researchers learned that poorly placed vents could cause undesirable mixing of air.