As I mentioned in a previous post, I led a study this summer analyzing the legal policy and process factors impacting commercial building energy efficiency in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The study was commissioned by the Department of Energy-led Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster
What new energy efficiency technologies will change the game? I’d like to use this space on occasion to explore that question and get your feedback on companies that I profile.
This week’s company is FirstFuel Software, which it appears could make the conventional energy
Am I average?
That’s the question that often hits me when someone quotes an ‘average’ statistic. The ‘average’ business or household seems almost mythological. Few of us fall right on that point on the line.
The same is true when it comes to often quoted
You probably weren’t on Cisco’s fourth quarter earnings call last Wednesday. And even if you were, there’s a good chance you would have missed Cisco’s Chief Operating Officer, Gary Moore, casually make the following statement:
“We communicated this week the decision to adjust
That question, as essential as it is to any assessment of global energy consumption, is very difficult to answer. You would think, given how much time we spend in buildings, how big the real estate and construction industries are, and how useful this knowledge would theoretically be to any company that sells lighting, heating, or cooling equipment around the world, that someone ought to know. But, until
Lighting is one of the biggest electricity guzzlers in a commercial building – 40% of it, to be precise.
One of the best ways to find out what to do to save electricity is using a web app that can provide data that can reveal how some retrofitting can benefit the building from an energy-saving and environmental point of
An abundance of technology upgrades offer ways to reduce energy use in commercial facilities.
Trimming energy consumption in commercial buildings is an objective in the campaign to curb fossil fuel use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that is attainable by upgrading mechanical systems with improved technologies.
There are choices for reducing energy use in almost all functional areas of a commercial facility, according to energy expert David Wylie, vice president of ASW Engineering Management Consultants of Tustin, Calif., “as long as owners are willing to look beyond initial costs to see the long-term gains in lower utility costs, less downtime and increased building equity.”
Wylie outlined the latest developments in technologies for commercial building energy efficiency in seven broad categories during a daylong workshop held at the California Center for Sustainable Energy in San Diego, Calif.
Investing in energy efficiency is a critical piece of the climate change puzzle. Given that the built environment accounts for 39 percent of total energy use in the US, real estate investment represents one of the most effective ways to implement energy efficiency strategies. A recent report from Ceres and Mercer, reviewed in Environmental Leader, outlines the business case that investing in energy efficiency enhances value in real estate portfolios. The report draws on key industry and academic research on building efficiency’s economic impacts and outlines steps and best practices for leveraging efficiency in real estate investments, including pertinent case studies about TIAA-CREF and CalPERS.