MDCSystems® Taking Off with Commercial Drones
MDCSystems® has recently entered the commercial drone industry with its drone for various inspection and engineering evaluation services. The future for the commercial drone industry looks very bright. In 2015 the U.S. commercial drone market size was an estimated...
Privatization of American Water Utilities
Donald R. Keer, P.E., Esq. MDCSystems® Consulting Engineer The pressure is growing on local municipalities to consider privatization of their water and wastewater systems. Both the EPA and the Bush Administration favor privatization as a way for local municipalities...
Building Information Modeling – Boon or Bane?
MDC Systems® has recently become aware of a number of large projects exhibiting major problems despite the ‘spectacular’ abilities of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and other project technologies. Some of these projects have been highlighted in recent industry publications and legal filings. These issues often fall into several common areas which are summarized below.
Modeling of a Residential Photovoltaic System and Model Validation Using Measured Data
Incident Solar Radiation The south facing roof gets the maximum exposure of sun during the day, so this is where the solar panels can be mounted. The incident solar radiation (KW/m2) that the roof will get changes with the time of the day and the month of the year and...
Fukushima Dai-Ichi – Black Swan Event or Engineering Design Error?
By Robert C. McCue, PE MDCSystems® Consulting Engineer Tsunami triggers destruction of nuclear reactors, Japan On the afternoon of March 11, 2011 a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the coast of Japan triggering a massive tsunami that ravaged the country's northern...
Installing a Solar Power System on a Residential House
In the article "Pennsylvania Solar Energy Rebate on Hold: How Consumers Can Still Save Energy" published in the February 2009 edition of the MDC Advisor®, the steps that homeowners can take in order to reduce their energy consumption were outlined. This article...
Comparative Solar System Performance Analysis
Preliminary Analysis of an Industrial Photovoltaic System and Comparison of Its Performance with a Wind Energy System and a Fuel Cell Power System The purpose of this article is to test the feasibility of installing a Photovoltaic (PV) System on an industrial facility...
Treated Wastewater Begins to Flow from Taps Despite “Yuck Factor”
Written by Don Keer, PE MDCSystems® Engineer On February 9, 2012 the New York Times published the following article: “As ‘Yuck Factor’ Subsides: Treated Wastewater Flows from Taps.” This article reviewed the operation of a water reuse plant in San Diego, CA. As...
Water Treatment: Not Just a Third World Issue
Donald R. Keer, P.E., Esq. MDCSystems® Consulting Engineer In March the United Nations celebrated World Water Day 2013 by choosing Water Cooperation (supplying clean, accessible water to vulnerable communities) as its theme. With continuous pressure being put on...
Pennsylvania Solar Energy Rebate On Hold
Amal Kabalan MDC Systems® Former Consulting Engineer How Consumers Can Still Save Energy Last July Pennsylvania state officials announced the $100 million consumer and small business solar energy rebate program -- part of a $650 million Alternative Energy Investment...