In the broadest sense, energy generation and consumption are affecting the engineering profession in unprecedented ways. America’s future depends on our will as a nation to stay at the forefront of technology and to become energy independent while preserving our natural environment. The connections between these forces will manifest themselves in many ways and the engineering community will be called upon to spearhead the advancements.

我们已经在减少能源消耗，扩大可再生能源的使用并保护宝贵的自然资源作为解决这些问题的方法方面取得了长足的进步。这种趋势是健康的，必须继续保持紧迫感，因为整个建筑，发电和运输行业都感受到了能源消耗的影响。

能源和建筑

当前减少能源消耗和碳排放的全球趋势正在推动建筑业的快速变化和创新。我们国家的建筑物不断加热和冷却，使其能源消费者效率低下。实际上，建筑物消耗了所有能源的40％和美国所有电力的75％。为了消除这种废物，未来的系统将从需要冷却的区域传递到需要供暖的区域的热量，从而消除了首先创建主要加热和冷却的需求。

材料的进步也在改变我们对建筑设计的思考方式。纳米材料代表了一个令人兴奋的新研究领域，它将以新的和戏剧性的方式改变建筑材料的特性。这些材料将有能力使建筑物的外部在夏季反映热量并在冬季吸收热量，从而在不使用绝缘的情况下有效地保持建筑物皮肤的恒定温度。

正在研究的其他区域包括相变的墙壁材料，当房间太热时会吸收热量并在房间太冷时释放热量，有效地使建筑物内部保持恒定温度，而无需使用加热或冷却系统。

此外，建筑物的整个屋顶，皮肤和窗户将成为具有集成光伏材料的功率制作系统。这些技术的净效应将是使建筑物变得更加能量，并最终实现净零能量建筑物的潜力。

含义

能源消耗也在推动需要创新工程的其他行业的变化。例如，我们现有的发电厂将需要变得更加高效和对环境敏感，否则它们将被关闭。清洁燃煤的新技术即将到来，但可行的解决方案却没有。

由于环保主义者和其他人意识到这是一项清洁技术，核能正在获得新的外观，只要实现安全的操作和存储。美国电气传输网格中存在巨大差距，并且分配周期受需求巨大的驱动。一旦封闭传输差距，将采用智能网格技术来优化分销并使生产更具可预测性。

The focus on renewable energy is an excellent example of how the creativity in the engineering profession is being brought to the surface. As fuel prices fluctuate widely and geopolitical forces threaten to disrupt supplies, alternate sources of renewable energy such as wind, solar, geothermal and waste heat are becoming more attractive. Wind generation is a rapidly growing industry that employs thousands throughout the country. Solar power plants being built across the Southwest and new geothermal plants, similar to those operating in New Zealand, are also coming online. Make no mistake: engineering and delivering renewable energy systems to supplement traditional generation has taken root.

The transportation industry will also be transformed in the next 10 years as hybrid and electric vehicles move on to the scene and combustion engines are gradually replaced. Generating and distributing the electricity needed to charge these next generation vehicles will push utilities to do better at planning as demand cycles change.

可能在白天使用PV充电的汽车需要在夜间在家充电，从而增加夜间需求。公用事业将不得不使用各种能源来满足需求，并且随着夜间需要的增长，诸如风力发电之类的技术可以全部使用。