Heat Recocery Systems Vol. 2, No. 4, p. 389. 1982 Pergamon Pres~ Printed in Great Britain. BOOK REVIEW Energy Management Principles: Applications. Benefits, Saving. C. B. Smith. Published by Pergamon Press Inc.. New York, 1981. 125 illustrations, 400 pp. Cost £15.00, US$30.00. THIS lS a rather disappointing book from the pen of a senior engineer of wide experience of energy management in the USA. With a dramatic cover, showing a silhouette of a process plant structure against a vivid yello,s background, and 493 pages the book promises a lot but fails to deliver. Perhaps a major cause of the failure lies in the rather confused objectives of the author. In the Preface he claims to be writing for the "'junior, senior or first year graduate engineer" but some 400 pages later the book is for the "senior, graduate or practising engineer or architect". Furthermore whilst the cover implies an interest in process plant energy management the book is heavily biased toward the HVAC field and specifically USA practise. The structure of the book and the presentation of the material is difficult to fault, although the insertion of appendices between chapters is rather an irritating feature. Indeed the appendices comprise nearly one seventh of the book, a rather high percentage which could easily have been reduced. The judicious selection of photographs can enhance the presentation of written material but on this occas- sion Dr. Smith must have had a bad day. Most of the dozen or so photographs he uses must rank among the most uninteresting ever taken, for example, a typical HVAC pump (p. 120), a dirty fluorescent tube (p. 191) and a close-up of an electric motor casing (p. 363). A study of techniques used by primitive Man, and even animals, to produce a comfortable environment can provide Modern Man with salutary lessons in the conservation of energy. However I question the need in a book of this nature to devote four pages to the antics of desert rodents. This book contains much useful information and good engineering practice but the interests of conservation would have been served much better if the tome had been half its present thickness. ALAN WRIGHT 389

Energy management principles: Applications, benefits, savings: C. B. Smith. Published by Pergamon Press Inc., New York, 1981. 125 illustrations, 400 pp. Cost £15.00, US$30.00

Download PDF Report

Upload
alan-wright
View
245
Download
9

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Energy management principles: Applications, benefits, savings: C. B. Smith. Published by Pergamon Press Inc., New York, 1981. 125 illustrations, 400 pp. Cost £15.00, US$30.00

Heat Recocery Systems Vol. 2, No. 4, p. 389. 1982 Pergamon Pres~ Printed in Great Britain.

BOOK REVIEW

Energy Management Principles: Applications. Benefits, Saving. C. B. Smith. Published by Pergamon Press Inc.. New York, 1981. 125 illustrations, 400 pp. Cost £15.00, US$30.00.

THIS lS a rather disappointing book from the pen of a senior engineer of wide experience of energy management in the USA. With a dramatic cover, showing a silhouette of a process plant structure against a vivid yello,s background, and 493 pages the book promises a lot but fails to deliver.

Perhaps a major cause of the failure lies in the rather confused objectives of the author. In the Preface he claims to be writing for the "'junior, senior or first year graduate engineer" but some 400 pages later the book is for the "senior, graduate or practising engineer or architect". Fur thermore whilst the cover implies an interest in process plant energy management the book is heavily biased toward the HVAC field and specifically USA practise.

The structure of the book and the presentation of the material is difficult to fault, a l though the insertion of appendices between chapters is rather an irritating feature. Indeed the appendices comprise nearly one seventh of the book, a rather high percentage which could easily have been reduced.

The judicious selection of photographs can enhance the presentation of written material but on this occas- sion Dr. Smith must have had a bad day. Most of the dozen or so photographs he uses must rank among the most uninteresting ever taken, for example, a typical HVAC pump (p. 120), a dirty fluorescent tube (p. 191) and a close-up of an electric motor casing (p. 363).

A study of techniques used by primitive Man, and even animals, to produce a comfortable environment can provide Modern Man with salutary lessons in the conservation of energy. However I question the need in a book of this nature to devote four pages to the antics of desert rodents.

This book contains much useful information and good engineering practice but the interests of conservation would have been served much better if the tome had been half its present thickness.

ALAN WRIGHT

389