What about Green?
by Joseph Sanchez
January 6, 2010
As energy prices rise and our limited resources such
as water continue to dwindle, our Federal and State governments are considering
many new technologies to reduce consumption such as rain water harvesting, grey
water recycling and solar domestic hot water heating.
According to an article on Forbes.com, Treasury
Secretary Timothy
Geithner announced rules that will finally allow developers of wind,
solar and other green energy projects to apply for a total of $3 billion in
federal grants to cover upfront project costs. The article states that under
Treasury Department guidelines, the Department of Energy will disburse cash grants
worth 30% of upfront costs for projects that start construction by the end of
2010. This funding is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and
will be critical to boosting the demand for these technologies.
As a system supplier of wind, solar, rainwater
harvesting and grey water recycling systems, Metropolitan Industries has taken
a leadership role by educating and helping contractors, plumbers, engineers and
inspectors navigate their way through this new frontier of opportunity.
This proactive stance propelled the company to
construct an 800-sq.-ft. working “green” facility in 2008, known as Metro-Green, that allows,
association groups, universities, government leaders, decision makers and
others the chance to witness all green technologies on the market, installed
under one roof. It takes theory to a whole new level by actually applying it in
the field for all to see.
Metro-Green hosts a once-a-month seminar at their
headquarters to educate contractors, facility managers, architects, engineers
and inspectors about the available types of green systems, how they work, best
installation practices, available tax credits and/or rebates for green
installations, and various plumbing codes related to green systems or the lack
thereof.
A visit by members of the Illinois Plumbing
Association was a unique opportunity to address and inform inspectors of the
need to adopt and legislate an enforceable set of codes. Of course, it is up to
each individual state, not the inspectors, to adopt a code but the spread of
awareness is effective, given the fact that technology is outpacing regulation.
Currently, only four states have published guidelines regarding rain water
harvesting and grey water recycling. Those states are Virginia, Texas, Oregon
and Hawaii.
Engineers, Architects and Contractors working in the
United States without official code to regulate grey water reuse and rain water
harvesting/reuse only have informal guidelines to guide them as published in
the Uniform Plumbing Code of 2009, International Plumbing Code of 2009, The
American Water Works Association for reclaimed water and the American Society
of Plumbing Engineers in regards to grey water reuse systems.
Joseph Sanchez
jsanchez@metropolitanind.com
Joseph Sanchez is director of public relations for Metropolitan Industries, Inc., based in Romeoville, IL. For more information, send him an email at jsanchez@metropolitanind.com.
Comments (0) Post a Comment
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
In the AEC Store
2009 Hydronics Know How II CD
Virtual encyclopedia on modern hydronic systems.
CONNECT WITH PM ENGINEER: