LOCAL/S TATE
Student findings may save energy
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 2, 1998 - 7
By Nick Faizone
Daily Staff Reporter
Imagine you are building a home and
you have the opportunity to save thou-
sands of dollars in long-run energy costs.
ould you spend a little extra money
ront to save a lot in the future?
SNRE graduate students Steven
Blanchard and Peter Reppe have dis-
covered a way for home builders to do
just that.
For their master's thesis, the two grad-
uate-students decided to find the most
energy-efficient way to maintain a home.
"We focused on how much energy
would be saved," Blanchard said. "We
wanted to know if we put in more ener-
upfront, if we would get it back later."
lanchard and Reppe found the extra
funds are definitely worth investing.
By spending money to put in 2 per-
cent more energy upfront, homeowners
could save up to 65 percent in total
long-run energy costs.
Blanchard said one of the most effec-
tive ways of making the home more
energy-efficient is to increase the thick-
ness of the walls.
The average home's wall are four
inches thick. But Blanchard and Reppe
insist that by tripling the size of the
walls, heat insulation can be improved
by up to 60 percent.
The two students also discovered that
installing appliances powered by natur-
al gas can reduce annual electricity con-
sumption by up to 40 percent.
What makes this study especially dif-
ferent from others is the technique the
two students used to analyze the costs
of owning the home - a life-cycle
assessment.
This technique, while complicated,
allowed Blanchard and Reppe to assess
all costs throughout the 50-year average
life of the home electronically.
"We found a house that had been
built and modeled the energy-efficient
changes on computers," Blanchard said.
After completing the study,
Blanchard and Reppe discovered, with
just a 1 percent increase in energy costs
in the next 50 years, homeowners could
save an average of $52,000 by investing
$22,000 extra upfront.
Marc Ross, a University physics pro-
fessor and adviser for the project, said
that while the study is important in
illustrating energy efficiency princi-
ples, there is still a way to go in achiev-
ing changes in the real world.
"It's not so easy to build a house like
this," Ross said. "It's a challenge for
local contractors - a speculative builder
might want to build a cheap house."
Homeowners also might not be inter-
ested in spending more money for an
energy-efficient home. The average
homeowner moves every eight years, so
Fairy court tales
many will not want to invest extra
money in their home until energy effi-
ciency is included in the home's value.
Blanchard, however, said the goal of
the study was not cost effectiveness.
"We did not try to find the optimum
cost between cost and energy savings,"
Blanchard said. "The cost depends on
the architect, the contractor, the market
and the buyer."
Though not everyone is interested in
employing Blanchard and Reppe's tech-
niques, electric companies expressed
their support for the energy-efficient
home.
"The less energy used, the fewer
power plants we have to build," said
Scott Simons, a spokesperson for
Detroit Edison.
Simons said since Detroit Edison
already tries to show its customers how
to use less energy, they would support
the new techniques.
MARROW
Continued from Page 1
to convince to register, may be hesi-
tant because the procedure seems
severe. Kay said that if a match is
found, a donor is put under anesthesia
and a small amount of marrow is
extracted from the hip.
"The bruise looks like a roller blad-
ing accident and the donor can leave
the hospital the same day," Kay said.
But Webbink said any negative
consequences far outweigh the
rewards.
"There's nothing that can hurt you,"
Webbink said. "You can only help
someone else'
Kay warned that prospective donors
should take care in their decision to
register.
"Ifssomeone is going to do it, they
shouldn't feel forced. It would be horri-
ble if there was a match and then the
person decides they don't want to
donate," Kay said.
For Webbink, the motivation to reg-
ister came from past experience.
"Years ago, I had a friend who had
leukemia that needed bone marrow'
Webbink said.
"When my friends and I got tested,
we weren't old enough to be put in the
registry," he added.
Carl Barney, a phlebotomist coordi-
nator for the Red Cross, said there is no
way of knowing if there will be a
match.
"They could find a match in a few
days or a few years,' Barney said.
"They stay in the registry till they are
60."
Normally, there is a S45 fee for
registering, but due to funding from
the Red Cross and My Friends Care,
the fees will be paid for all minority
and for the first 50 white registrants.
To register, Brooks said, students
need to be older than 18 and be in "gen-
eral good health."
The drive continues today in the
Union's Pond Room from 10:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. and tomorrow at the
Furstenburg Commons at the Medical
School.
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OIL DEAL
Continued from Page 1
tion in the world, with S203 billion in
combined revenue last year. Exxon is
about twice Mobil's size in revenue.
The stock swap deal will give Mobil
shareholders 1.32 shares of Exxon. The
deal tops British Petroleum's planned
$57.1 billion purchase of Amoco Corp.
as the largest corporate takeover. At
current stock prices, it also outranks
SBC Communications Inc.'s $70.3 bil-
lion merger with Ameritech Corp. and
the $65.1 union of Bell Atlantic Corp.
and GTE Corp.
The Exxon-Mobil deal was prompt-
ed in part by slumping oil prices. The
average retail price for regular unleaded
gasoline was 97.4 cents this week, the
lowest since the Energy Department
began keeping track in 1990.
At the time of the Persian Gulf crisis
in 1990, the wholesale price of a barrel
of crude oil topped $40. Today, it's
around $11.
Oil prices have been hammered by a
combination of oversupply from OPEC
and weak demand because of the finan- :
cial turmoil in Asia and unusually warm
autumn weather in the United States. t
Analysts say that to slash costs and
boost profits, smaller companies will
continue merging, and larger players
such as Texaco, Chevron, Unocal and
Atlantic Richfield will find partners, too;
"The pressure continues because
anybody who's left in the middle like
Chevron or Arco is going to be feeling
kind of isolated," said Fergus MacLeod,
an analyst with BT Alex Brown.
Executives involved in the Exxon-
Mobil deal expect it to reduce annual
expenses by S2.8 billion in the near term.
In another deal announced yesterday,
France's Total SA will buy Belgium's
Petrofina SA for $11.8 billion to create.
a new European oil power.
Combining Exxon and Mobil raises
the specter of Standard Oil, the trust
busted by the government 87 years ago;
but most analysts said that antitrust
concerns will not be strong enough to
block the deal. Mobil is the former
Standard Oil of New York; Exxon was
once Standard Oil of New Jersey.
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MEET US
AT THE INTERSECTION OF
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School of Information
Student Projects Showcase
1 - 6 p.m.
Wednesday, December 2
411 West Hall
Right above the Arch!
Learn about these and other exciting
graduate school projects:
" Cultural heritage
Community networking
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oseville fifth grader Shelly Palma takes the stand In her role as Dorothy yesterday In Roseville, Mich. Palma and other stu-
dents participate in a mock trial of the People of Fairyland versus the Wizard of Oz.
STABBING
Continued from Page 1
ing,' the accused house member will have the chance to
explain themselves to the other members of the house.
"Basically we're saying 'we don't want you as a member of
our co-operative,"' the house secretary said.
Oon-University students can live in co-ops if they are
voted in by the house's residents.
The decision to hold the hearing was reached during a two-
and-a-half hour emergency house meeting last night.
"We're making collective decisions and choosing to con-
tinue as a co-op," the house secretary said.
The AAPD received a call at 10:14 a.m. reporting the inci-
dent that occurred on the corner of State and Hill streets at the
co-op that members said is not owned by the University, but
rather affiliated in the same way as a fraternity or sorority.
AAPD Sergeant Michael Logghe said original reports point-
ao a possible break-in, but no official report has been filed.
"We don't know much right now" Logghe said, adding that
the incident remains under investigation. "There was appar-
ently bad blood between the people who lived in the co-op."
Nakamura representatives denied reports that the cause of
the fight was a domestic dispute, but said they could not com-
ment on the exact reason for the assault. They added that the
possible break-in to Wilton's room was not necessarily the
only motivation for the altercation.
Inside a dimly lit and solemn hallway yesterday afternoon,
Nakamura residents helped repair the door frame to Wilton's
room, but insisted the damage was not related to the break-in.
The Nakamura co-op is considered a private residence and for
that reason, the front door is locked at all times, residents said.
Entry can be gained by ringing the room of the desired party.
At the meeting last night, house members discussed the idea
of safety within the co-op environment, representatives said.
The ICC would not comment on the incident.
"We don't have all the information yet," an ICC represen-
tative said.
* Java programming
* Children's education
" E-commerce
More info? See www.si.umich.edu
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FRATERNITY
Coitinued from Page 1
envtronment for drinking, if it is to occur.
Hesaid the University must have a tough
time regulating residence halls and off-
campus housing, but the regulation of fra-
ternities and sororities is much tougher.
"There are many people that could
uus down;' Holeman said. "But
t now is the time to change."
Fraternities and1
raided by police
house parties were
after they sent in
undercover operations to obtain alcohol
on two nights in the past four weeks.
Two other fraternities, Beta Theta Pi
and Phi Kappa Psi, were also visited by
police in recent weeks. Beta was placed
on probation within a week of the party,
suspending participation in social
events that included alcohol.
Phi Kappa Psi members were cited for
possession of alcohol a week later than
the other three houses, and their organi-
zation has not yet determined a sanction.
Holcman said he expects a similar set of
guidelines for that house when the
national organization makes its decision.
Representatives from the national
offices of Theta Chi and Sigma Nu were
unavailable for comment yesterday.
Repeated attempts to contact members of
the campus chapters were unsuccessful.
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