Does the word ‘audit’ give you a warm and fuzzy feeling? Not likely. Yet it’s typically the first service an energy efficiency contractor offers to a prospect. Sometimes the audit is even free, much like the unwelcome kind we receive from the IRS.
Use of words like ‘audit’ ‘retrofit’ and ‘weatherize’ turn off customers. Unless the
Remember when the idea of generating electricity from wind turbines and solar panels seemed really cool? No denying their benefits, but they are sooo last year.
Energy folks have gazed with envy at those who work in telecommunications for a long time. They invented the cell phone. Energy wanted its own thingamabob that would
Again East Coast states have won disproportionate recognition in a national analysis of energy efficiency programs, this time from the well-respected American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
ACEEE named five of the best state-led efficiency programs in a report issued Wednesday. Three of the five awards went
We have seen a marriage of the energy efficiency and solar energy industries as the US has worked to green its buildings. In fact, some financing programs require that all cost-effective efficiency
If you live in Connecticut, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, North Carolina, New Jersey or Ohio your state is doing something right – a lot right – when it comes to energy efficiency.
The ten states deserve kudos, in that order, for policies that encourage energy efficiency, according to a report issued this
As suspected, Energy Star appliances do not always live up to their energy savings claims, according to preliminary results of laboratory tests reported his week by the US Department of Energy (DOE).
The DOE began testing the appliances after watchdogs raised serious questions about the federal labeling program. The
Ben Franklin’s saying, “Out of adversity comes opportunity” seems to characterize the energy sector in US Northeast. Electricity rates are among the nation’s highest. Population density leaves scant room for new power plants and transmission lines. And the region has little indigenous generation fuel.
So what’s the good news?
For a long time the energy efficiency industry operated largely under the two-guys-and-a-truck-model: local businesses made up of small contractors.
Then the ‘super’ energy efficiency service companies (ESCOs) emerged, big operations taking on big contracts often for government, schools or hospitals, like the
Congress has considered some big plans for energy since Obama took office: carbon cap and trade, renewable and energy efficiency standards, cash for caulkers. But at this point it looks unlikely Congress will make any major policy changes this year; next year doesn’t look so good either.
But maybe it doesn’t matter.
Not so long ago, consumers seemed to like energy efficiency just a little bit more than going to the dentist. Clearly that has changed, as evidenced by the recent run on appliance and home retrofit subsidies in several states.
Greens are no longer alone in swooning over front loader washing machines and
Here is a startling fact: US power plants waste more energy than many countries use, including advanced economies like that of Japan. The wasted energy is in the form of heat thrown off when power plants produce electricity.
This is one of the points being brought to light by the International District Energy
Who will play the lead character in Who Revived the Electric Car?, the sequel that is bound to be made to the famous documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car? Many are vying for the role: car manufacturers, battery producers, scientists and now the Obama
While several clean energy technologies play an important role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, none compare to energy efficiency, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency.
“Increasing energy efficiency, much of which can be achieved through low-cost options, offers the greatest potential for reducing CO2 emissions over the period to 2050,” says Energy Technology Perspectives 2010. “It should be the highest priority in the short term.”
The report offers a “Blue Map” that lays out least-cost
And now for a dose of reality.
No doubt smart meters are a good thing, but even their most ardent fans must admit that a degree of hoopla surrounds these little digital boxes. We hear that if consumers can just see how much power they use in real time, and what it costs, our energy woes will be no more.
Smart meters will even cure the blind. The energy blind that is.
“It can be difficult to separate the hype from legitimate claims,” said the American Council for an Energy-