All posts by John Huber

24Jul/18

NORA Technical Workshop Final Agenda

Education, NORA, Research, technology

Once again, the oilheating industry will gather in Newport, RI for a day of technical presentations and discussions as NORA hosts its 3rd Annual Technical Workshop on September 24th and 25th at the Newport Marriott, Newport, RI.

As it was last year, the Workshop will be held in conjunction with the Southern New England Energy Conference which is sponsored by the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, the Oilheat Institute of Rhode Island and the Massachusetts Energy Marketers Association.

The Workshop will highlight the research work being done at the NORA lab, NORA’s sponsored projects, innovations underway in Europe and technology advances from companies within the oilheating industry.

The workshop will offer presentations in the following areas:
  • NORA Goals
  • New Technologies for Liquid Fuels 
  • Achieving Higher Efficiency
  • Biofuels
  • New Ideas for Industry 
  • Panel Discussion on Future

Download the workshop agenda

Registration for the NORA Technical Workshop is included the the Southern New England Energy Conference registration.
 
29Mar/18

FSA Calculator Revised

Uncategorized
The National Oilheat Research Alliance has released the latest update of its popular Fuel Savings Analysis Calculator, a unique tool that accurately predicts the real fuel savings when upgrading an oilfired heating appliance. A technician or sales person can use the FSA to accurately compare predicted fuel use for an existing appliance against a number of new appliance options. The FSA goes beyond the often unreliable AFUE, as it takes into consideration advanced data from the appliance, building and location to show real savings potential.

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10Oct/17

NORA hosts Technical Workshop

NORA, Research, technology, Uncategorized,
 

The National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) held its second Oilheat Technical Workshop on September 18th -19th in Newport, RI. The workshop was held in partnership with the Southern New England Energy Conference. John Huber, NORA President, kicked-off the program describing the workshop’s goals as providing information on the progress of NORA R&D programs and to explore new ideas in an open forum.
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25Jul/17

Learning just got easier @NORAweb

Education, NORA

[ezcol_1half]Oilheat technician training is a priority of the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA). The requirement for training is actually written in the Federal law authorizing NORA. Now it is easier than ever to participate in the NORA Certified Technician program, keep track of your certifications and training, and access online courses.

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20Jul/17

2017 NORA Technical Workshop Call for Presentations

NORA, Research, technology
The National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) will hold a Technical Workshop in coordination with the Southern New England Energy Conference (SNEEC) at Gurney’s Newport, Newport, RI, September, 18-19, 2017.
 
NORA is inviting proposals for presentations at this workshop which will be an open exchange among technical leaders of the oilheat industry.
 
General topic areas to be included are:
  • The direction of renewable heating and cooling in New England
  • Update on NORA-sponsored R&D projects
  • Technical aspects of biodiesel use and new biofuels
  • Advancing oilheat energy efficiency
  • Future directions in controls and diagnostics
  • An open forum on NORA research directions
Those interested should contact or send an abstract to Dr.Tom Butcher, Technical Director, NORA at tbutcher@noraweb.org or 571.234.7756.
20Jul/17

NORA Releases 2018-2019 Budget for Comment

NORA, Uncategorized

The proposed 2018 and 2019 biennial Budget for the National Oilheat Research Alliance has been under development for several months.

The NORA Finance Committee, the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors have reviewed the budget and it is now being released for public comment. At the conclusion of the public comment period, the budget will be forwarded to the Department of Energy.

Anyone interested in commenting on this should forward comments, by September 1, 2017, to JHuber@NORAweb.org.
 

The 2018 and 2010 budget continues the 2014 changes in the NORA statute and emphasizes research and development, and adds and energy efficiency component. Additionally, the budget continues to emphasize the close working relationships with the state associations.Download the Proposed 21018-2019 NORA budget here.

04Jun/17

NORA Releases Biodiesel Use Survey

NORA, Research, technology

The National Oilheat Research Alliance has recently released the results of a survey on the usage and potentials benefits and issues associated with the blending of traditional heating oil with renewable biodiesel for home heat use.

Currently, 5% biodiesel blends (B-5) are being used seamlessly across the oilheat market. Some heating oil fuel marketers are delivering B-20 to all of their customers and a few are delivering much higher blends. This blending into the fuel mix in this market leads to concerns about the impact on reliability and service.