Archive for category: Article

From residential to commercial, sustainable energy and renewable energy development are both at the forefront of everyone’s minds. But what exactly is the difference between “sustainable” and “renewable” energy? Does the sustainable energy definition really differ from renewable? Let’s take a look at sustainable energy vs. renewable energy, especially in terms of what companies can expect today.

What is Renewable Energy?

Renewable energy is perhaps the simplest thing to think about. Renewable energy is energy that comes from renewable sources. An example is crops or biomatter. Energy that comes from, say, oil or natural gas is not renewable, because there is no easy way for these resources to be renewed. Because of the amount of time it takes for natural gas and oil to form, natural gas and oil can eventually be depleted; there is an effectively finite amount.

However, renewable energy from sources such as algae or biofilm can be easily replenished. The reason renewable energy has not eclipsed non-renewable energy is because it takes more time and effort to produce. But it does recover, which is the more important aspect.

Other types of renewable energy include hydro-electric power. While effectively this power is sustainable (it will continue), it does convert energy from water into raw energy that can be used. Because of this, it is dampening the flow of the water, and is not always able to run indefinitely. 

What is Sustainable Energy?

Sustainable energy is energy that can never be depleted and doesn’t need to be produced. Sustainable energy is like the sun and the wind. Technically, the sun’s energy is finite, but not on a scale that matters to us on earth.

Sustainable energy is what most of the world is currently moving toward. Wind and solar power are becoming more affordable and more refined. With sustainable energy sources, energy can be acquired that is not finite, that can continuously be milled.

All sustainable energy can be considered renewable energy. But not all renewable energy can be considered sustainable energy. And renewable resources can potentially become unsustainable. As an example, tidal forces can be used to capture energy, but (in the very unlikely) event that all tidal forces or even most tidal forces were captured, it would be disruptive to the surrounding environments.

Of course, there are still issues. For instance, the machines that need to be built to use sustainable energy may require finite resources. Solar panels can take a lot of energy to produce even today, which means that there is an upfront cost of energy. No system is truly lossless.

Should Businesses Target Sustainable or Renewable Energy?

Both sustainable and renewable energy sources are critical. Often, businesses will use the sources that make the most sense for them. Wind farms may not be feasible in one environment, but hydropower might be. There is not really a major distinction between sustainable and renewable energy. For a large part, when people talk about sustainable and renewable energy sources, they are talking about products that are both. Wind power and solar power are both sustainable and renewable and they are widely considered to be the best, most reasonable, and most feasible replacements for our current non-renewable energy sources.

At the same time, the distinction can be important, because there are resources that are near-sustainable or near-renewable; there are resources that may renew, but may not be able to renew quickly.

Regardless of sustainable energy vs renewable energy, both concepts are very important to the modern business. Today, most businesses are trying to go green. That’s not just for public perception, which is important, but also because sustainability is important for everyone. Without sustainability, things will become more important, and ultimately, the harm to the environment will affect everyone. 

As the economy reopens following the depths of the COVID-19 crisis, it’s likely that construction is going to be booming in quite a lot of areas. So, where is construction booming around the United States?

What is a Construction Boom?

A construction boom is an atypical increase in construction in a specific area of the country. Often, it occurs because of new opportunities in an area. When new industrial developments begin, for instance, residential properties are often created around them. When cities start to expand, properties arise in the surrounding areas as “bedroom communities.” Construction booms can also occur after depressed times (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), because the industry is artificially slowed. Now, following the pandemic, many companies are starting to build again.

Where is Construction Booming?

The construction forecast is interesting because the United States is currently contemplating increased and more permanent reliance on work-from-home infrastructure. It’s difficult to anticipate which areas are going to grow when remote workers may actually be fleeing higher-priced cities. Consequently, it’s possible that some developments may be seen in areas that were traditionally ignored; some developers may be rolling the dice on more rural locales.

Most importantly, the infrastructure market is likely to see some increases. Companies are still hesitant to get into commercial building and residential properties are going to be delayed, often because subcontractors can be difficult to contract following the pandemic. But the White House has announced its intention to invest in infrastructure projects, which means construction companies may be working with government contracts.

The construction industry is facing many challenges. Foremost, it faces the challenges of uncertainty. It’s difficult for anyone to know when the last of the effects from the pandemic will truly end and when people will feel safe and comfortable starting to fully return to commercial office complexes, and otherwise invest in commercial real estate. Many companies are trying their best to protect their employees. And many subcontractors have gone out of business or have paused their subcontracting, which means general contractors are finding it very difficult to get the workers they need. These are universal problems which are going to haunt the construction industry for some time.

What Areas of the US Are Growing?

In 2021, it looks like the states that are seeing the majority growth are Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Washington, and Nevada. These are the states that are most likely to see residential developments, because they are the states that are going to require them.

The fastest-growing cities are still in Texas. Though the oil industry did suffer setbacks in 2020, it’s now starting to recover. This fuels the economy. More people are moving into Texas, which also means that more homes are going to be developed out of a necessity.

Continued growth in the new homes market indicates that new homes are still being built, but largely in areas where the market moves very fast. That includes areas such as New York, Pennsylvania, and New Orleans. And those who are working remotely may take the opportunity not only to move to more rural areas, but also to move to more desirable areas.

Altogether, there’s a lot of reason to believe that while development is slowed, it’s going to start booming soon, and in quite a lot of regions. This is because there are many reasons to build in many areas, whether it’s a growing economy, or a fast-paced housing market.

While we may not see a completely booming construction industry until 2022, the United States is going to see a significant increase in construction throughout 2021. Many projects that haven’t yet broken ground are going to break ground now because the pandemic pause is no longer a factor. One thing is sure, however; there will be need for land property survey companies like Landpoint in advance of all this construction.

26 power line workers are electrocuted every year. It’s a dangerous job. Strangulation, falling, and other hazards are all risks that must be mitigated and guarded against. But all this can be virtually erased with the use of safe, cost-effective, and accurate drone powerline inspections. Drones can be used for everything from solar power inspections to construction site safety surveys, and they’re also revolutionizing the industry of power line inspection. For areas where physical technicians may need to put their safety on the line, drones are essential.

How Drone Powerline Inspection Produces Faster, More Efficient Results

Drones are able to map out an area quickly, zipping through power lines while still avoiding towers and other potential hazards. Since drones are agile, small, and lightweight, they can cover a lot of territory that a traditional aerial vehicle could not. And, because they aren’t manned, they don’t represent any human danger. 

Through the 3D mapping system, drones can determine the most efficient routes through even larger installations. They can fly a complete circuit between areas, and complete complex data collection, including both photography and laser scanning. Once the data has been recorded, it can be viewed by an expert operator, who can identify any potential issues. Drones can even be fitted with sensors so they can detect abnormalities, such as unusual heat signals.

Better and More Frequent Power Line Inspections

When power line inspections require a significant amount of work hours (and potential danger to technicians), they aren’t done as frequently. It’s mildly dangerous to just climb a tower, and no one wants to do that if it isn’t necessary. But with drones, power line inspections can be conducted more frequently, leading to more consistent results and reduced power outages.

Data collected from drones can also be fed into machine learning systems to begin anticipating potential issues, and to generate more accurate maintenance schedules. Together with IoT devices, sensors, and machine learning technology, power-line solutions can become more effective overall.

While drone technology has existed for some time, the new, intelligent drone systems, and better software and hardware, are making drones more effective at more complex tasks. As drone technology continues to advance, it’s likely that a great deal of inspection, scanning, and surveying processes will become off-loaded to them.

Improved Safety and Quality-of-Life for Technicians

With drones, the role of the technician switches from potentially putting themselves in precarious, dangerous positions, and into what they do best: diagnostics and analysis. Better safety leads to a happier and more conscientious workforce, in addition to overall reduced costs and better quality of work. 

No company wants to be responsible for disasters and incidents, but the truth is that any line inspection, whether it’s power lines or telephone lines, has the potential to be dangerous, even with proper safety precautions. Up until fairly recently, manual line inspections were also a necessity. Drone technology has advanced to the point where it can now safely replace many high-risk inspection tasks.

Power line inspections no longer need to be dangerous or time-consuming, and that’s great news for the power industry. From companies that are specializing in wind power, to companies that are managing large scale power distribution networks, drones can be used to ensure that maintenance and upkeep is followed, and that potentially dangerous issues are noted before they become a problem. 

Drones for the Power Industry

But drones aren’t just valuable for inspections. They can also be used during the development of power lines, to survey locations and scan them, and to create 3D models and simulations of the future installations. They can be used throughout the process of developing and setting in power lines to ensure that the development is going smoothly. And they can be used for other elements of the power system, such as inspecting power equipment and power facilities.

As technicians become more accustomed to working from photographs, aerial views, and simulations, they will also become more effective at quickly diagnosing issues without having to introduce high-risk human intervention. The energy market is being transformed with drone technology, leading to lower costs, reduced risk, and better uptime. For more information about how drones can help the power industry, contact the experts at LandPoint.

Land surveying covers a wide variety of products and services, depending on the type of surveying that’s needed for a project. Not only does surveying occur during different stages of a project and for a variety of industries, but it’s also completed with the use of different methods and technologies. Here is a complete overview of the different types of land surveying services, including which types of land surveying are most likely to be of use for you.

Land Surveying Basics: How is Surveying Performed?

Land surveying can be completed through manned aerial missions, unmanned aerial vehicles, and manned ground travel. Surveying is one of the oldest professions in existence. Before anything can be built, the land must be surveyed and perimeters must be marked. The surrounding area must be cleared, any major issues have to be identified, and often environmental studies need to be completed.

Originally, ground travel was the most common method of land survey, and it’s still used when smaller areas are being surveyed. Surveyors use a variety of tools to map out the topography of an area by hand. Usually, this type of land surveying is used to do things like draw out simple boundary lines within suburban and urban areas. It takes time and poses some risk to the surveyors themselves.

Once airplanes and helicopters became a viable method of surveying, large surveys became far more feasible. But there are still some problems with these types of manned aerial missions: They’re expensive and can be dangerous. Even with the rigorous modern safety standards of airplanes and helicopters, there is always some level of risk when it comes to sending a crew into the air.

Today, surveying is often best performed through unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Commonly known as drones, UAVs make it possible to scan terrain quickly without any surveyors ever having to be in the air. But planes, drones, and helicopters are only the methods of collecting the information; surveys also differ in how the information is collected, and how the information is used. Surveying usually uses two different types of technology to collect data: photogrammetric imaging and LiDAR imaging. Photogrammetric imaging captures information through a sequence of photos. LiDAR imaging captures information using highly precise laser scanning, for high precision land surveying.

Types of Land Surveying Services: When Do You Need a Survey?

Boundary surveys, construction staking, easement surveys, land partitions, well staking, topographic mapping, and more: There are countless types of surveying that may be needed for a project. Surveys can be completed pre-design, during the design, to manage the project, and even after the project — for the purposes of maintenance and repairs. When you need a land survey depends on how your project will use the survey, and the surveyor you hire.

Pre-design surveys are often used to simulate how a project will interact with the environment, how it will look and feel, and how much it will cost. During construction, surveys can improve the safety of the work site, and ensure that everything is progressing as it should. Post construction, surveys can be used to identify any potential problems, and to see whether maintenance or repair issues have arisen. 

The Industries of Land Surveying: How Do Different Industries Use their Surveys?

Land surveying is used throughout virtually every industry. Pipeline companies use surveying to identify the ideal routes for their pipelines in the pre-planning stages, as well as identify any potential issues with the surrounding environment. Solar companies use surveys to determine the most efficient placement of their solar panels, and to maintain their solar panels through inspections later. Construction companies often use land surveying as a way of simulating their projects before they even begin, and they can capture information for the future — such as for modifications and expansions.

Altogether, since land surveying is such a broad process, it can be difficult to know exactly what type of land survey service is needed. But that’s why there are land surveying companies. Land surveying companies can go over the details of your project and your needs to determine the ideal land surveying process for you. Contact Landpoint today to start with your consultation.