Energy Systems Engineering: Evaluation and Implementation [Hardcover]

Francis Vanek (Author), Louis Albright (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071495932 | ISBN-13: 978-0071495936 | Publication Date: May 19, 2008 | Edition: 1

A Unique Systems Approach to Energy Engineering, Covering Carbon-Based, Nuclear, and Renewable Sources!

An essential reference for all engineers and students working with energy systems, Energy Systems Engineering presents a systems approach to future energy needs, covering carbon-based, nuclear, and renewable energy sources. This unique guide explores the latest technology within each energy systems area, the benefits and liabilities of each, the challenges posed by changing energy supplies, the negative impacts from energy consumption, especially CO2 emissions, and the ways in which a portfolio of new technologies can address these problems.

Filled with over 200 detailed illustrations and tables, the book examines short-, medium-, and long-term energy options for the remainder of the twenty-first century. For each energy system, the authors provide equations and problems to help practitioners quantify the performance of the technology and better understand its potential. Energy Systems Engineering features:

• A valuable systems approach to energy engineering
• Coverage of all major energy topics_from climate change to wind power
• Both U.S. and global energy perspectives, with international comparisons
• Emphasis on CO2 issues and abatement, including carbon sequestration
• A wealth of equations and problems for each area of energy technology
• Numerous tables and graphs in PowerPoint format for easy presentation

An extensive online ancillary package for instructors provides an instructor's manual, solution files, course syllabus, Matlab scripts, and teaching PowerPoint files.

Inside This Cutting-Edge Guide to the Technology of Energy Systems:

Systems Engineering and Economic Analysis Tools • Climate Change • Fossil Fuels, Relative CO2 Emissions, and Modeling of Consumption and Remaining Reserves • Fossil Fuel Combustion Technologies • Carbon Sequestration • Nuclear Energy • The Solar Energy Resource • Solar Technology • Wind Energy • Energy Technologies for Transportation • Systems Issues for Transportation Energy • Other Emerging Renewable Energy Technologies

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Francis M. Vanek, Ph.D., is a Lecturer and Research Assistant in the Departments of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and Civil & Environmental Engineering and the Systems Engineering Program at Cornell University, where he specializes in the areas of energy efficiency, alternative energy, and energy for transportation. He is also a consultant with Taitem Engineering of Ithaca, NY.

Louis D. Albright, Ph.D., is Professor of Biological and Environmental Engineering and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell University. A Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), he is the author of Environmental Control for Animals and Plants.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 532 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional; 1 edition (May 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071495932
• ISBN-13: 978-0071495936
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #122,499 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I earned bachelors degrees from Cornell University in 1991 in Mechanical Engineering and in Asian Studies (with Japanese language concentration), and a doctoral degree in Transportation Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1998. Itaught at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland from 1998 to 2000, in the Center for Logistics Research. Since 2001 I have served as a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Research Assistant in the College of Engineering at Cornell University, and also worked as a consultant in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy. Along with my professional work, I live in the Ecovillage at Ithaca, an environmentally-friendly intentional community, and I am active in the Ithaca community in promoting the use of renewable energy (including photovoltaic systems and solar ovens) and alternative means of transportation (such as bicycling and transit).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Student User, May 5, 2010

By 

Andrew Hart "Drew" (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Energy Systems Engineering: Evaluation and Implementation (Hardcover)

During my time as an undergrad at Cornell University, one of my favorite classes has been a renewable energy course taught by one of the authors, Lou Albright, with Energy Systems Engineering as the primary textbook. Apart from being clear, well-written, and well-organized, the book does a great job of blending background information, justification for technologies, discussion of practical issues, and quantitative analysis of systems in a manageable and engaging way. Working through it was very empowering and it played a big role in getting me excited about energy. It's also very accessible as a reference for specific projects. I would highly recommend it to other students interested in learning how to work with and analyze energy systems.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent as a university text book, June 16, 2009

By 

Jeffrey M. Casello "Professor" (Waterloo, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Energy Systems Engineering: Evaluation and Implementation (Hardcover)

I teach a 2nd year course in civil engineering at the University of Waterloo entitled Engineering and Sustainable Development. One module involves sustainable energy systems. I use this book as the reference for this section of the course. The presentation of stationary energy sources and the workings of fossil fuel plants is at precisely the correct level of explanation for undergraduate students with sufficient references provided to allow grad students (or keen undergraduates) to find out more information.

What I find best about the text is the presentation of the material from a systems analysis perspective. Understanding the goals of design is as, if not more important than how to do the design.

The text really is superb with regard to the modern sustainability concept of "triple bottom line." Each section delivers not only the technology but also a means to financially or economically evaluate the costs and benefits of such a technology.

Overall, this is a brilliant book on energy which has vast applications in university teaching.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ASAEE Recommended Title, January 4, 2009

By 

Library Picks Reviews "Library Picks Staff" (Worldwide) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Energy Systems Engineering: Evaluation and Implementation (Hardcover)

As president of the American Society of Alternative Energy Engineers (ASAEE), I can fully endorse the lasting analytical power of this amazing text. Many texts like this, including some we're reviewing that have not yet been published, and slated for late 2009, cover policy, politics, global statistical inference, and multiple regressions of trend analysis for global supply and demand, but NONE come close to balancing the macro and micro in such fine fashion as ESE. This is a WORKING text, not just for policy, but for implementation. Don't let the ups and downs of barrel prices, or the emotion of global warming vs. cooling make you think this text is dated. The models are solid, sound, state of the art, and relevant in a timeless way-- changing the parameters will not change the underlying value of the models, contribution, and need for this text. This is a must for any engineer's library, whether doing policy work, design, or rubber hits the road project or community engineering. Applying an energy metaphor to the text, it's high wattage for low investment, a perpetuity rather than an annuity, green and permanent with frequent use, as well as a cherished place on your shelves, and renewable with the powerful updates, blogs and helpful additions this very ethical author keeps providing-- the gift keeps on giving. Conserve your funds, time and brain power by getting this today-- it will save you muddling through five other texts costing $200 each which only have a piece of the whole picture you'll find herein. The trees didn't give their lives in vain for this one! --Dr. Tom Halstead