Press Release

FSEC Offers New Courses for Professional Engineer License Renewal

Sherri Shields Press Release , , ,

Two four-hour courses designed to assist Florida Professional Engineers in meeting the continuing education requirements for license renewal (four professional development hours every two years in their areas of practice) have been developed by the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa. Read more

James Fenton Named Director of the Florida Solar Energy Center

Sherri Shields Press Release , ,

James M. Fenton, associate director and co-founder of the Environmental Research Institute and professor of chemical engineering at the University of Connecticut, has been named director of the Florida Solar Energy Center. He began his new duties at FSEC on Jan. 3.

Fenton, who has been at the University of Connecticut since 1984, also served as acting head of the chemical engineering department and director of UConn’s Pollution Prevention Research and Development Center funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He co-founded the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center and is part-owner of a University of Connecticut spin-off company, Ionomem Corp., which manufactures high-temperature membrane electrode assemblies for fuel cells. Read more

Early Holiday Gifts for Universities as Florida Solar Energy Center Awards $4.85 Million to Continue Hydrogen Research for NASA

Sherri Shields Awards, Press Release , , ,

Cocoa, December 22, 2004 The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) has awarded $4.85 million to Florida universities to conduct hydrogen research. As welcome as any holiday gift, the new awards will allow university researchers to continue work on existing projects and begin research on fuel cells for flight. Universities participating in the program are Florida A&M University, Florida International University, Florida State University, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of South Florida and University of West Florida. Read more

FSEC-Developed Ceiling Fan Saving Consumers $12.5 Million Annually

Sherri Shields Press Release , ,

The Gossamer Wind. series ceiling fans – the first residential ceiling fans specifically designed and engineered to maximize air movement and improve indoor comfort – have sold more than 678,000 units since being commercially marketed in 2001. It is estimated that these fans are saving users more than $12.5 million in energy costs every year.

The fans were developed by Danny Parker, a researcher at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), following a talk he had several years ago with his father-in-law, a long-time airline pilot. They discussed the shape of airplane propellers and how the design differed from that used in conventional ceiling fans, which are very popular in homes and businesses. Parker thought about the conversation during research he was conducting at FSEC on energy-efficient cooling strategies, and he conceived the idea of a unique propeller-like fan blade design. Working with AeroVironment, Inc., a company that specializes in aerodynamic design, and Bart Hibbs, a CalTech physicist who created the propeller for the first human-powered aircraft (the Gossamer Albatross), the concept was turned into an advanced airfoil designed to effortlessly cut through the air with an even load across its length. Read more