8 STORM & SECURITY PROTECTION / IBS PREVIEW 2015
Smart Power Management for
Briggs & Stratton Home Generator
Briggs & Stratton Corp., Milwaukee, WI, in October an-
nounced the availability of the Symphony® II power manage-
ment system for its line of residential standby generators. The
Symphony II system lets homeowners prioritize what in their
home they need powered by monitoring and managing the
home's backup power needs.
The new system uses computer technology and remote
power generator modules that are installed directly to a
home's existing wiring. After a home transitions from utility
power to backup power, Symphony II automatically manages
the distribution of power to the electrical loads — including
up to eight high-wattage items like air conditioning units,
electric stoves and electric dryers — to provide power where
it's needed while preventing a generator overload.
"Not all of a home's appliances necessarily require power
at the same time, so this power balancing act managed by
Symphony II technology gives homeowners access to whole-
house power with a smaller, more affordable home genera-
tor," said Greg Inwood, general manager, Briggs & Stratton
Standby Power division.
East Coast Hurricanes Affect Midwestern States
North Atlantic hurricanes have a significant impact as
far inland as Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan, according to a
study by a University of Iowa (UI) researcher and his col-
leagues. The research appears in the September 2014 issue
of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
Gabriele Villarini, UI assistant professor of civil and
environmental engineering, studied the discharge records
collected at 3,090 U.S. Geological Survey stream gauge sta-
tions from 1981 to 2011 and found that the effects of North
Atlantic tropical cyclones impact large areas of the United
States away from Florida, the East Coast and the Gulf Coast.
"When you hear about hurricanes or tropical
cyclones you think about storm surges and wind
damage near the coast," Villarini said. "But it's
much more than that. Flooding from a single
tropical cyclone often impacts 10 to 15 states
located hundreds of miles from the coast and
covering a wide area."
Villarini and his colleagues, Radoslaw Goska,
UI IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering; James Smith,
Princeton University; and Gabriel Vecchi, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, were
able to construct maps for each storm over the
Midwest and eastern states that show the relationship
between inland flooding and tropical cyclones.
The flood ratio map for Hurricane Ike (2008), for
example, shows areas that approach or exceed 10-year
flood peaks at stream gauge stations.
Villarini adds that the amount of financial damage
caused by the storms in the Midwest and the eastern
United States will be the subject of a future study.
Hurricane Museum and Science Center
Receives Donations Toward Construction Goal
The National Hurricane Museum & Science Center
(NHMSC), Lake Charles, LA, has received $1 million in gifts
toward the center's fund raising target for construction. State
Farm Insurance and Entergy, the electric utility serving most
of Louisiana, each donated $500,000 to the center. The two
donations become part of the $38 million raised to date to
build and open the education center along the shoreline of
Lake Charles.
The National Hurricane Museum & Science Center's
mission is to tell the story of the impact of hurricanes on the
people, land and economy of the nation. State Farm and
Entergy share the center's goal of educating the public on
the importance of hurricane preparedness and the urgency of
building storm-resistant communities.
A strong advocate of the project, Louisiana state senator
Ronnie Johns, CEO of Ronnie Johns State Farm Insurance
Agency, said, "At State Farm we have known firsthand,
along with the residents of all of Louisiana, the devastation
brought about by coastal storms and hurricanes. These
storms have had an immeasurable impact on the lives of
coastal residents, as well as an impact in the multiplied
billions of dollars on state and national economies. This
Museum and Science Center will be an important education
piece going forward."
IN/BOX continued
Rendering of the proposed National Hurricane Museum & Science
Center, Lake Charles, LA.
