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energy management

The ABCs of Building Energy Efficiency: Which Building Certification is Right for You?

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DOE. LEED. USGBC. EPA. ISO.

The number of certifications for energy efficiency, as well as the organizations that can help guide you, can make your head swim.

Does the EPA have anything to do with LEED? Can the USGBC help me with my DOE?

It can be quite confusing, for sure.

One thing we all know is that greater energy efficiency positively impacts a company’s bottom line and can even contribute to topline growth as more consumers seek out environmentally responsible businesses. Not to mention more efficiency means less carbon that contributes to climate change.

Here we break down three certifications, noting how – and when – they can help you.

LEED. One of the more well-known certifications, you may have seen a LEED plaque on a skyscraper or car dealership. What does it mean? The company or individual incorporated environmentally responsible building practices throughout the construction or renovation to lessen its impact on the environment for the long run. The U.S. Green Building Council offers many resources to guide you through it, offering different levels of certifications to meet your needs.
ENERGY STAR®. If you’re like 87 percent of households in America, you know the ENERGY STAR label when you see it. But did you know that it’s not just found on refrigerators and dishwashers? Commercial buildings and industrial plants in the U.S. can earn ENERGY STAR certification by meeting energy performance standards defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The benefit? Pursuing ENERGY STAR certification creates networking opportunities among companies where they can share best practices, with EPA facilitating these communications. Furthermore, these sites use less energy, are less expensive to operate and have comparatively fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
ISO 50001. Developed by the International Organization for Standardization, the ISO50001 provides organizations big and small with the requirements for the continuous improvement of an energy management system. With ISO, there are no fixed targets for improving energy performance – benchmarks are set by the user organization or regulatory authorities. If your company has met other standards set by ISO, obtaining ISO 500001 usually only requires a few more steps. By establishing frameworks for organizations across many sectors, it is estimated that ISO standards could influence up to 60 percent of the world’s energy use.

There are also several challenges that inspire companies to continue their aggressive greenhouse gas reductions.

ENERGY STAR® Challenge for Industry. There’s another opportunity within the ENERGY STAR program if your site is industrial (think manufacturing, mining, etc.). The Challenge for Industry helps energy managers set goals to improve energy performance. You meet the challenge if your site reduces energy intensity by 10 percent in five years or less. What’s more, you can reapply and be recognized each time your site achieves another 10 percent reduction. Put simply, if you meet the goal, you meet the challenge. Recognition includes a profile on the ENERGY STAR website and a certificate documenting your savings.
Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge. By joining this U.S. Department of Energy challenge, a company pledges to reduce energy intensity by 25 percent over the next 10 years. Any company in the U.S. manufacturing sector, regardless of size or level of energy management expertise, is eligible for partnership. This challenge is beneficial if you’re looking not only for recognition, but also technical support. Participants receive resources such as a technical account manager, in-plant training sessions for employees and invited guests, and software tools for metrics and development.
ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year. As the EPA’s highest honor for corporate energy management, this distinction recognizes organizations from ENERGY STAR’s 20,000 partners who have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency. Awards are given in several categories to companies across various industries. Organizations go through a stringent application process to be considered. For example, the Energy Management category honors companies who adopt a continuous energy management strategy across their entire portfolio.

There you have it: three certifications and three types of recognition that not only highlight the energy efficiency of your company, but provide you with resources and best practices to help you do it.

Article by Fastlane, appearing courtesy 3BL Media.

August 1, 2014 2 comments

Renewable Energy

Cleantech in Court: Green Patent Complaint Update

written by Eric Lane

A number of green patent complaints have been filed in the last several months in the areas of energy management software, LEDs, smart meters, vertical axis wind turbines, and wastewater treatment. This post covers new lawsuits filed from the end of March through the end of June.

Energy Management Software

Intercap Capital Partners, LLC v. BuildingIQ, Inc.

On April 3, 2014, Intercap filed a patent infringement complaint against BuildingIQ in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. Intercap asserted U.S. Patent No. 8,078,330 (’330 Patent), alleging that the BuildingIQ software of system infringes the ’330 Patent.

Entitled “Automatic energy management and energy consumption reduction, especially in commercial and multi-building systems,” the ’330 Patent is directed to methods of managing energy usage data including monitoring current energy usage of the energy consumption devices in a building, monitoring building temperature, a building humidity, a building CO₂level, a weather forecast and a real-time energy price, and initiating a real-time control of each energy consumption device based on the variables in response to a forecast that a new energy usage peak is approaching.

LEDs

Honeywell International Inc. v. Cree, Inc.

Honeywell sued major LED manufacturer Cree for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,373,188 (’188) and Reissue Patent No. RE41,685 (a reissue of U.S. Patent No. 6,666,567).

The ’188 Patent is entitled “Efficient solid-state light emitting device with excited phosphors for producing a visible light output” and directed to and LED having a phosphor layer and a reflector means adjacent to one side of the phosphor layer for reflecting some of the radiation and light emission that exits from the phosphor layer back into the phosphor layer.

The reissue patent is entitled “Light source with non-white and phosphor-based white LED devices, and LCD assembly” and relates to a light source with an LED coupled to the floor of an optical cavity to permit light to be emitted from the base of the LED and a reflective protrusion below the LED to aid in redirecting light forward.

The complaint was filed March 31, 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Koninklijke Philips N.V. et al. v. Schreder Lighting LLC et al.

Filed May 27, 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Philips’ complaint asserts the following twelve LED patents:

U.S. Patent No. 6,094,014, entitled “Circuit arrangement, and signaling light provided with the circuit arrangement”

U.S. Patent No. 6,234,645, entitled “LED lighting system for producing white light”

U.S. Patent No. 6,234,648, entitled “Lighting system”

U.S. Patent No. 6,250,774, entitled “Luminaire”

U.S. Patent No. 6,513,949, entitled “LED/phosphor-LED hybrid lighting systems”

U.S. Patent No. 6,577,512, entitled “Power supply for LEDs”

U.S. Patent No. 6,586,890, entitled “LED driver circuit with PWM output”

U.S. Patent No. 6,692,136, entitled “LED/phosphor-LED hybrid lighting systems”

U.S. Patent No. 6,788,011, entitled “Multicolored LED lighting method and apparatus”

U.S. Patent No. 6,806,659, entitled “Multicolored LED lighting method and apparatus”

U.S. Patent No. 6,972,525, entitled “LED switching arrangement”

U.S. Patent No. 7,274,160, entitled “Multicolored lighting method and apparatus”

According to the complaint, Schreder’s floodlight, street-light, residential and urban area LED lighting products, including the Alura LED, FV32 LED, Hestia LED, Piano, Teceo, Akila, Isla LED, Modullum, Neos LED and Nemo brands for, infringe one or more of the asserted patents.

Smart Meters

Sensor-Tech Innovations LLC v. Texas-New Mexico Power Company

Austin, Texas-based Sensor-Tech filed a patent infringement suit against the Texas-New Mexico Power Company (TNMP) for alleged infringement of a patent related to smart meter technology.

The complaint, filed in federal court in Marshall, Texas on June 20, 2014, asserts U.S. Patent No. 6,505,086 (’086 Patent). Entitled “XML sensor system,” the ’086 Patent is directed to a sensor sommunication system adapted to transmit a sensor data file in XML format.

According to the complaint, TNMP’s advanced metering system infringes at least three claims of the ’086 Patetn.

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

SAWT Inc. et al. v. Joe Moore Construction Inc. et al.

On May 13, 2014 SAWT filed a complaint for patent infringement in federal court in Los Angeles. SAWT has accused Joe Moore Construction, d/b/a Wind Sun Energy Systems and co-defendant Urban Green Energy of infringing U.S. Patent No. 7,967,569 (’569 Patent).

The ’569 Patent is entitled “Vertical shaft wind turbine and method of installing blades therein” and directed to a vertical shaft wind turbine wherein the airfoil of each turbine blade is an asymmetrical camber airfoil, each blade is installed with only the convex surface facing the vertical shaft, and a rotary angle of each blade is between 0 and 15 degrees.

The ’569 Patent is owned by co-plaintiff Shanghai Aeolus Windpower Technology; SAWT is a non-exclusive licensee. This is an interesting one as it’s rare to see litigation over small (non-utility scale) wind turbines, particularly of the vertical axis type.

Wastewater Treatment

Chaffin v. Braden and LBC Manufacturing

Mark N. Chaffin, an individual, sued LBC Manufacturing for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,932,912, entitled “Wastewater treatment system for residential septic systems” (’912 Patent).

The ’912 Patent is directed to wastewater treatment systems and methods wherein a chlorine supply tube is in communication with a venturi chamber and in constant fluid communication a chlorine supply in a chlorine supply canister. As recirculating pumped sewage effluent flows through the venturi chamber, chlorine from the supply canister is continuously drawn into the venturi chamber and into a recirculation pipe.

Filed April 16, 2014 in federal court in Victoria, Texas, the complaint alleges that the LBC500 liquid bleach chlorinator infringes the ’912 Patent.

July 14, 2014 0 comment

Energy Efficiency

Joule Assets: Unearthing Hidden Revenue for Smaller Energy Efficiency Companies

written by Elisa Wood

Take heart smaller energy efficiency companies. Good times are coming.

That was the positive message from Mike Gordon, CEO of Joule Assets, as his company recently rolled out news of $90 million in financing being offered to 10 US companies with a $270 million pipeline of projects.

“The contractors, the technology integrators, technology providers, vendors – these guys in the market, they are more powerful, with more opportunities than they perceive,” Gordon said in an interview. “It is only getting better.”

The New York-based firm has carved a niche helping smaller energy efficiency companies with its $100 million fund announced earlier this year.

Lacking the federal contracts of the big ESCOs, smaller energy efficiency companies often find it difficult to secure funding and bring their products and services to scale. Joule Assets provides them with backing, so that they can finance deals for customers, close on them and build a portfolio.

Wholesale market money

The New York company also helps contractors aggregate savings and tap into revenue streams from wholesale power markets. These markets are complex and risky, so are often avoided by smaller companies.

Smaller energy efficiency companies typically “have no idea about the permanent demand reductions available in New England or Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland,” Gordon said. “If they do know about them, they don’t necessarily know how to register it. Or if they do know how to register it, they don’t necessarily know how much it is going to be worth. If they do know how much it’s going to be worth, they don’t know what vendors they need to engage.”

The same holds true for capacity demand response, spinning reserve demand response, hourly demand response, and even in some cases rebates, he said. Smaller companies are unaware of these financial opportunities.

“Those are the kinds of things we introduce to these projects to make them more valuable,” he said.

Whiz-bang tech may dominate the headlines, but it was traditional projects that penciled out for Joule Assets in this funding round: lighting, AC, control system upgrades and integration, and energy management software.

For the most part, Joule Assets kept the chosen companies names confidential. But it did highlight one contractor, NorthWrite, an energy information management company that expects to finance 50-100 energy efficiency projects in the next 12 months in schools, restaurants, national chains, offices and other small commercial buildings.

Patrick O’Neill, NorthWrite founder and CEO, said that Joule Assets has “a level of domain knowledge around conditional cash flows that others deeply discount or won’t even consider, which is what makes these projects possible.”

Watching NY, New England and microgrids

Gordon also keeps an eye on how wider market changes might influence the energy efficiency industry. He’s now watching New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision, or REV, which sets up new rules for the grid to create a distributed energy market – somewhat akin to the state’s wholesale energy markets.

Gordon sees a lot to like in New York’s vision, but he is worried about a state recommendation that utilities act as operators of the new, distributed grid.

“I think it is a very exciting vision – New York is exciting. More power to the folks who have begun to formulate it. However, as far as I see it, the devil is in the details,” he said.

In ISO New England, he sees a market with “stark physical need” where prices for peaking products are going up. He doesn’t think a publicly funded roll-out of smart meters is the solution. What will work is a well-designed market with critical peak pricing, no bid limitations on energy nodes, capacity markets, and nodal requirements for “every single product so that you can have some locally based products,” he said.

“If you design your market that way, you are going to have financiers like us lined up, coming out of the woodwork,” he said, adding, “I don’t think you need state funding. You need well designed markets.”

On microgrids, Gordon says he sees interest in the technology emanating in part from a growing sentiment for “power by the people, not power to the people.”

The key to that market, he says, is support for the ”multi-stakeholder microgrid,” a configuration beyond the more common university or military microgrid, something more like a neighborhood microgrid with generation, demand response and control infrastructure that can reliably isolate and operate.

A good example of a multi-stakeholder microgrid is New York’s Co-op City, a 330-acre housing cooperative in the Bronx with a 40-MW combined heat and power plant. This kind of microgrid will emerge more and more once microgrids have full access to market cash flows, he said.

“By that I mean if a neighborhood decides it wants to slowly grow into a microgrid construct , it should be able to create its own power supply – maybe not 100 percent of their use but a portion of their use – then they should be able to sell what they don’t use into the more sophisticated electricity market.”

The bottom line for Gordon? Markets, markets, markets. Get them right and the rest will work.

This article is published under a cross licensing agreement with EnergyEfficiencyMarkets.com

July 9, 2014 1 comment

Renewable Energy

UCSD Microgrid Showcases Smart Grid Opportunities

written by Debrah Dubay

National infrastructures from the grid, and bridges to pipelines in major urban areas are aging and in serious need for redesign and rebuilding. Mission critical microgrids at universities are a leading example of what is possible for the nation’s grid security and the savings they provide to a community could pay for other infrastructure repairs that will be necessary in the coming years.

The University of California at San Diego (UCSD) is taking the lead in developing one of the most sophisticated community power grids in the nation. The ability to island from the local grid in times of peak demand or other crisis is critical for universities to guarantee power for valuable research taking place on campuses, to guarantee the welfare of its students and faculty and other mission critical infrastructure on its campuses.

National and local incentives and grants helped the university purchase some of the new technology that provide financial savings, increase energy efficiency and energy security benefits. The systems now save the school as much as $850,000 a month in utility bills. Across the US conversations about the growing necessity for grid security and smart grids are a growing interest.

UCSD started to diversify their grid in 1962 with two natural-gas cogenerators for the central plant designed to provide gas-fired electricity as well as district heating and cooling for the school’s buildings. Over the years, UCSD gained self-sufficiency by adding steam turbines, solar photovoltaic panels, fuel cells and energy storage.

Power resources across the campus now operate under the control of a sophisticated energy management system, enabling the campus microgrid to generate, store and dispatch electricity as needed for the university and ultimately providing 92 percent of electricity used on campus. The school has become a magnet for new technology and continues to diversify and add to its grid capacity.

Byron Washom is a solar and cleantech entrepreneur who came out of semi-retirement to work at UC San Diego when his son came to the university as an undergraduate. Washom is the chief organizer, fundraiser, motivator and connector of the microgrid. A recent article by Energy & Environment News noted a conversation with David Weil. “When Washom came to campus six years ago, his eyes lit up, and he said, ‘This is the perfect place to do a microgrid,’ said David Weil, a former sustainability director at the university.”

Diverse and innovative technology including CHP, solar PV, backup storage and charging stations in use at UCSD provide a test market showcasing smart grid opportunities that increase energy efficiency, provide energy security and have the ability to save communities millions of dollars annually.

March 24, 2014 0 comment

Energy Efficiency Green Building

Energy Efficiency Market Face Financing, Big Data Challenges in 2014

written by Walter Wang

The efficiency industry, driven largely in 2013 by intelligent innovations such as energy management software and virtual audits, will face financing, big data, education and accountability hurdles this year, according to a survey of executives by GTM Research.

January 8, 2014 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Green Patent Acquisitions: Acuity Buys Adura

written by Walter Wang

Adura Technologies (Adura) is a San Francisco company that provides wireless lighting controls and energy management systems. Adura was recently acquired by a large Atlanta-based commercial lighting company called Acuity Brands.

Adura’s patent portfolio includes at three U.S. patents and at least five published patent applications. The

January 29, 2013 0 comment

Energy Efficiency

Supply Chain Carbon Management: From Disclosure to Better Performance

written by Walter Wang

A company’s supply chain is one of its top levers for addressing climate change. However, as the Carbon Disclosure Project’s latest supply chain report shows, it is challenging in practice to reduce supplier greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to the report, which describes the actions of more than 2,300 suppliers, there remains a significant gap in efforts to reduce GHG

January 28, 2013 0 comment

Renewable Energy

How to Successfully Run an Environmentally Friendly Office

written by Walter Wang

According to CBS Money Watch, homes and businesses release more CO2 into the environment than cars do. What is the solution to reducing the ecological footprint we leave on the environment? Well, everyone needs to do their part. Homeowners need to build greener homes, students and consumers need to become energy and environmentally conscious, but business

January 23, 2013 3 comments

Energy Efficiency

Energy Efficiency: Big Deals and New Ideas

written by Walter Wang

The economic premise behind energy efficiency – that it’s cheaper to save a unit of energy than to make one – has caught on in the US. Energy efficiency spending is up, and our energy use is declining, measured both per capita and per dollar of gross domestic product, according to government figures.

So it is not surprising to see the year begin with

January 10, 2013 0 comment

Renewable Energy

The Most Exciting Developments in Green Investing for 2012

written by Walter Wang

The past ten years have seen major changes in the types of technologies that are used to produce and consume energy. As dwindling oil reserves place greater strain on energy markets, the green energy revolution is likely to accelerate. This is not simply reserved to your typical alternative energy industries such as wind and solar, but is expanding

November 24, 2012 0 comment

Energy Efficiency

How Your Business Can Save Energy This Summer

written by Walter Wang

With summer upon us, now is the time for businesses to take steps to save energy before the temperature rises. Upgrading to high-efficiency cooling equipment and lighting are two ways businesses can use less energy and improve comfort this summer. Here are some specific tips to stay cool, save energy and keep energy costs under control.

August 2, 2012 1 comment

Renewable Energy

Top Ten Sustainable Initiatives of Georgia Institute of Technology

written by Walter Wang

Georgia Institute of Technology, more commonly known as Georgia Tech, is located in Georgia’s capital city of Atlanta. One of the primary concerns for Georgia Tech has always been environmental stewardship. The university wants their students, administration, faculty, and staff to live and work in an environment that is sustainable, and then carry on that experience

June 4, 2012 0 comment

Energy Efficiency Green Building

A System for Living In

written by Walter Wang

A house is not merely the sum of four walls and a roof. As urbanization, rural development, and economics continue to change the way people think about homeownership globally, new formulas for home design, technologies for efficiency, and home value are emerging.

February 28, 2012 0 comment

Energy Efficiency Green Building

In Smart Buildings, Co-opetition is on the Rise

written by Walter Wang

The building equipment and services industries have always been highly fragmented. While leaders such as Honeywell and Johnson Controls have large, multinational presences, most of the market is divvied up among thousands of smaller companies with a relatively narrow regional or technological focus. Even CB Richard Ellis, the real estate firm with

February 7, 2012 0 comment

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