By Evan Lubofsky, Onset Building energy models (BEMs), which simulate the view of energy use in a building, have been playing a more important role in building performance evaluation over the past few decades. While commonly used in building design, they can be particularly important in retrofit projects, where energy savings need to be identified … [Read more...]
Obama Bypasses Congress and Turns to Big Business to Make Energy Efficiency Happen
May 12, 2014 By
It’s never a bad thing to have the leader of the free world in your corner. And President Barrack Obama made clear again last week that he’s with energy efficiency. At a Walmart in Silicon Valley, Obama laid out his next round of green energy expansion plans. Sexy solar got much of the play in the media coverage. But staid energy efficiency was in … [Read more...]
Don’t be So Sure You Missed Out on this Energy Efficiency Tax Break
January 23, 2014 By
Commercial building owners have been lamenting the loss of a popular energy efficiency tax break that ended with the New Year. But it turns out they still may be able to use it. Section 179D of the Energy Policy Act, (EPACT) offers up to $1.80 per square foot for energy efficiency improvements to building envelope and lighting, along with heating, … [Read more...]
Energy Efficiency MicroNews: Navigant Research, Opower, Tecogen, USGBC, ASHRAE, Kiva.org
December 16, 2013 By
Shipments of advanced sensors for smart buildings will grow from 1.8 million units in 2013 to 28.4 million by 2020, according to a new report from Navigant Research. Efforts to make buildings smarter and more energy efficient have given rise to a new class of advanced sensors, allowing building systems to better anticipate and respond to changing … [Read more...]
Energy Efficiency MicroNews: Conservation Services Group, EnergySavvy, Space-Time Insight, SMUD, ForceField Energy, NYSERDA, EFC, Navigant Research, ASHRAE
December 8, 2013 By
This week in energy efficiency news… Conservation Services Group and EnergySavvy have collaborated on a new program management portal, designed to enhance communication among homeowners, contractors and managers of the Home Performance with Energy Star program at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The New York Home … [Read more...]
MicroNews: Opower, Severstal Columbus, Abengoa, FuelCell, ASHRAE
October 13, 2013 By
This week in energy efficiency news… Opower, in partnership with its 90 utility clients across seven countries, announced that it has saved three terawatt hours of energy, or enough to power 600,000 homes. The company now serves 22 million consumers and businesses worldwide with its cloud-based software platform, saving more than $350 million for … [Read more...]
Reality check: Is green arrogant?
June 25, 2009 By
By Elisa Wood June 25, 2009 During a recent interview, a utility executive used the phrase “the arrogance of renewable energy.” He was talking about the need to keep costs in check and implying that green energy businesses do not. The executive asked that I not attach his name to the phrase. He was afraid he would anger those in the renewable … [Read more...]
