Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) January 23, 2015

For those whose life's work takes them to the roofs of houses and buildings, they might be interested in a way to make that work a little easier. An inventor from Akron, Ohio, has conceived of a device that does just that.

He developed Roof Mate to save time and effort when working on a roof replacement. Furthermore, it provides a much safer method for roof replacements by helping to transport shingles and debris removed from a roof. What's more, it is convenient and easy to operate, maintain and store. Besides that, it is sturdy to withstand wear and tear. It is also efficient, lightweight and easy to transport. In addition, its simple design minimizes production costs.

The inventor's inspiration for the idea came from his work. "I tried it out on a roofing job and found it made the work of transporting used shingles and other materials much easier and safer than the older more labor-intensive method," he said. The idea is patent pending.

The original design was submitted to the Cleveland office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 12-CLC-5046, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com - http://www.youtube.com/user/inventhelp.

More here:
Mobile Aid for Roofing Jobs Invented by InventHelp Client (CLC-5046)

SEBRING Her roof has leaked for years, Sheriff Susan Benton said.

Its been running down the walls in the jail, the kitchen... The part were most concerned about is dispatch, Benton said. Thats where hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of 911 radios, telephones and computers are housed. Its in the worst condition. Its the oldest.

One problem: 32 air conditioners are mounted on the roof, and some arent at the proper height.

We may have to rebuild that part, Benton said. Weve already met with the Motorola guy. The antenna may have to be remounted.

Replacing the sheriffs office roof will be so complex, Highlands County commissioners hired HDR, a Fort Myers architect, on Tuesday, just to design the re-roofing specifications. The fee: $31,550.

As for the roof replacement, Facilities Management Director David Flowers has estimated $260,000.

And thats for one section.

Because the sheriffs office was built with three additions over the decades, there are four roofs. And that could make the total replacement as high as $1 million.

I dont have any idea what that will cost, Commission Chair Ron Handley said. Thats why we need to have someone come up with a set of specs.

Commissioner Don Elwell questioned the architects fee. Would $31,500 produce design specifications for all four roofs?

Follow this link:
Architect hired for roof replacement

SALISBURY, NC (WBTV) - From Catawba College:Catawba College is making a bold move in the area of solar power that will propel it ahead of all other North Carolina colleges and universities. Catawba will have the distinction of having the second largest campus solar energy installation in the Southeast and will produce more solar electricity than all the other N.C. colleges and universities combined.

The solar project will include installations of photovoltaic panels and needed re-roofing on several buildings as well as replacement of many water fixtures. Work began at the start of spring semester, with trailers and materials occupying a staging area next to the Newman (baseball) Park, and construction activity at individual buildings. Campus buildings included in the project are the Abernethy Physical Education Center, Barger-Zartman Residence Hall, the Corriher-Linn-Black Library, Hayes Field House, the Robertson College-Community Center, Shuford Science Building, Woodson Residence Hall and the parking lot between Newman (baseball) Park and Shuford Stadium.

We believe this one megawatt installation will be the largest such undertaking by any higher education institution in the State of North Carolina, said Catawba President Brien Lewis, adding, It will yield significant long-term benefits for the College.

Projections indicate that Catawba will save 11% on energy and 26% on water costs when the installation is complete. The project will also contribute to Catawba College reaching its published 2030 goal of carbon neutrality, a public commitment the institution made when it became one of the signatories of the American Colleges & Universities Presidents' Climate Commitment in 2007. At that time, then Catawba President Robert Knott said of Catawba's commitment, We are saying to our students and to those in our community that we don't just talk the talk, we walk the walk.

The cost of the solar project is approximately $5.2 million a significant portion of which would have been spent anyway to replace roofs on several of the campus' older buildings. Lewis explained that the financial savings (in addition to the energy reductions) are projected at approximately $10 million to $11.9 million.

While a significant portion of the entire project is funded by generous donations,the remainder is being funded by investors who are able to realize substantial tax credits for solar energy and who will, once the tax credits expire in a few years, donate the systems to the College.

Mike Nicklas, president of Innovative Design of Raleigh, is leading the project. The solar developer is Sundance Power Systems of Weaverville.

Here is the original post:
Here Comes The Sun; Catawba begins big solar project on campus

When was the last time you changed the filters on your HVAC system? If youre like most people, it was probably ages ago. Its just such an easy thing to forget about, and unfortunately, not staying on top of it is likely siphoning a bit of money out of your wallet.

Old, clogged-up filters can cause a lot of problems:reduced air quality, higher energy bills, and can even contribute to A/C system issues and failures if ignored for long enough.You probably know all this already; the hard part is just remembering to change them every few months.

Thats where FilterEasy comes in. For a small subscription fee, thestartup (which just closed a $1.2 million funding round) will send you replacement filters on a recurring schedule, so you never have to think about it again.

Related:Why hasnt Nest thought of this? Keen shows off smart vents at CES 2015

To sign up, homeowners provide their personal information, select their filter size and type, and tell FilterEasy how often they want themshippedlike every three months, for example. The site currently offers air filters in over 40 different sizes and three different quality levels, which should cover most peoples home air filter needs.

Once youve submitted your info, youre done. No more setting reminders, no more driving to the store and spending half an hour hunting down the right filter type. FilterEasy takes care of everything for you, short of physically replacing the filters, of course.

And the best part? The filters dont cost any more than what youd pay in the store.Since partnering and co-locating with U.S. filter manufacturer Flanders, the startup is able to ship filters directly to homeowners at the same price.

See the rest here:
Keep your air clean with FilterEasys subscription-based HVAC filter replacements

Improvements at the micro level of power management have been slow but steady over the last few years, but the real action in power management is at the macro, big-picture level, where a number of long term trends are starting to make their mark.

Over the past few years, we've seen a market rebound, a move towards IGBTs at the expense of bipolar transistors, and a continuing consolidation in semiconductor suppliers.

Design-wise, we've seen a move towards lower voltages and higher switching frequencies, exemplified by the Intel FIVR (Fully Integrated Voltage Regulator) which made its appearance in the Haswell core in 2013 and supplies 1.1V to the rest of the IC with 90% efficiency at a switching frequency of 140 MHz. All in a 22 nm process, no less.

Regulations Worldwide Drive Energy Efficiency Improvements

The last few years have been relatively quiet in the US -- in 2014, for example, only 129 "Public Laws" (laws affecting society as a whole) were passed by Congress and signed by the president. But fear not - regulatory agencies also issued 3541 rules (27 per law) that also have the force of law.

Numerous regulations and updates cover energy efficiency across a broad spectrum of applications including refrigeration, consumer AC-DC power supplies, power distribution transformers, commercial HVAC systems, electric motors, and more. New standards are also being developed to cover computers and servers, portable air conditioners, and reflector lamps. In a worldwide trend, state and local governments have their own sets of regulations. For example, the 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive established a set of binding measures to help the EU reach its 20% energy efficiency target by 2020. Under the Directive, all EU countries are required to use energy more efficiently at all stages of the energy chain, and member countries were required to transpose the directive's provisions into their national laws by 5 June 2014.

Such directives are driving power management changes including increased use of BLDC motors, more sophisticated power supplies, solar panel research, introduction of new lighting technologies, and on and on.

The moral of the story: Before starting your next product design or update, take a closer look at the Code Of Federal Regulations: 175,496 pages as of the end of 2013. Probably pushing 200k today.

New Battery Chemistries Move Close to Commercial Introduction

The incursion of battery power into areas previously dominated by corded devices - or internal combustion engines - has been a consistent trend in power management over the last decade. Li-ion batteries, first introduced in the early 90s, still rule the roost, but they require precise control of charging and temperature to avoid fires caused by thermal runaway. Meanwhile, progress has been slow in developing commercially-viable batteries using other chemistries such as lithium-sulphur, zinc-air, and sodium-oxygen. Issues include availability and cost of the raw materials, stability or safety of the chemical combination, manufacturability, reversibility of the electrochemical reaction, dendrite formation, and operating temperature range.

The rest is here:
5 Power Trends Will Pay Off Soon

SAN JOSE, CA Bentek, a manufacturer of a broad range of OEM power distribution products for the residential, commercial and utility-scale marketplaces, has begun shipment of the Bentek Commercial PV PowerRack-AL for three-phase inverters.

Bentek is pleased to begin shipping our new three-phase commercial Inverter PowerRack-AL, said John H. Buckley, Executive of Sales and Marketing for Bentek. The PowerRack-AL is a cost-effective, easy-to-install racking solution for three-phase commercial inverters.

The universal PowerRack-AL provides a common design that fits ABB, Advanced Energy, Chint, Schneider, SMA, Solar Edge, SolarMax and Solectria three-phase inverters. The Bentek Inverter PowerRack-AL can be shipped directly to any commercial jobsite where three-phase inverters can be integrated and installed on commercial rooftops. Bentek also can integrate commercial three-phase inverters and Bentek AC disconnects in its ISO 9001:2008 factory and ship the Bentek Inverter PowerSkid directly to the commercial jobsite. Bentek PowerSkids, when installed within 10 feet of the PV array, allow for NEC 2014 section 690.12 Rapid Shutdown code compliance while saving the customer time and money in simplifying the installation.

For more information about the capabilities of the Bentek Inverter PV PowerRacks and PowerSkids, please contact Bentek at 1-866-505-0303 or visit http://www.Bentek.com.

About Bentek Founded in 1985, Bentek is a leader in engineered electromechanical and power distribution solutions for industrial applications. Bentek designs and manufactures products such as wiring harnesses, electrical combiner boxes, and custom OEM assemblies for the solar energy and semiconductor markets. Bentek is an ISO certified company. For more information, contact Bentek Solar at 866-505-0303, e-mail SolarSales@bentek.com or visit http://www.Bentek.com.

Read more:
Universal Rack facilitates inverter installation and setup.

Window Cleaning Services (purple-rhino.co.uk) 0800 1577484
http://purple-rhino.co.uk/case-studies/view/school-window-cleaning School Window Cleaning by Purple Rhino, Ashford, Kent The window cleaning at this school h...

By: Purple Rhino

Visit link:
Window Cleaning Services (purple-rhino.co.uk) 0800 1577484 - Video

wagtail swoopstream at action motorsports , window cleaning york pa,window cleaning 17404
Pressure washing services and power washing York PA. Professional window cleaning and exterior cleaning service Central Pennsylvania.

By: John Kimmel

See the original post:
wagtail swoopstream at action motorsports , window cleaning york pa,window cleaning 17404 - Video

MEDIC : AGITATION - Water Fed Window Cleaning
In this video, Dr Douglas Mills M.D discusses the body mechanics of using a #39;linear tool #39; - the Water Fed Pole!

By: FutureOfCleaning

Go here to read the rest:
MEDIC : AGITATION - Water Fed Window Cleaning - Video

Worthing Window at Cleaning (pccom.co.uk) 01273 208077
http://www.pccom.co.uk/window_cleaning.htm Window Cleaning in Worthing by our experienced window cleaning teams. We have been cleaning windows in Worthing and sounding areas for many ...

By: Alex Amel

See the original post here:
Worthing Window at Cleaning (pccom.co.uk) 01273 208077 - Video