All posts published in 2016
Jeff Perkins, ERS, for Zondits ACEEE held their third Intelligent Efficiency Conference in Austin from Dec 4‒6. This event is designed to focus on how information and communication technologies (ICT) have transformed our economy and revolutionized the relationship between economic production and energy consumption. I was on a panel that discussed how electric, gas, and … Read more
Gita Subramony, ERS, for Zondits Currently, 90% of the homes in Amsterdam use natural gas to provide heat. City Lab takes a look at how the Netherlands’ capital is planning on moving away from natural gas as a heat source. The city is planning on switching buildings over to a district heating system, starting with … Read more
Gita Subramony, ERS, for Zondits Marcus Garvey Apartments in Brooklyn will soon be the site of a hybrid distributed energy system. The housing complex developed and owned by L+M Development Partners will receive a project loan from the New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC) to add fuel cells and storage to the existing PV … Read more
Or Can I Keep Mine Plugged in at Work and Not Feel Guilty? Long Vu, ERS, for Zondits Answer: In terms of energy usage, space heaters use a similar amount of energy to heat up a space as central heating systems do. In fact, space heaters have higher efficiency since almost 100% of the fuel … Read more
Novel refrigerator turns waste heat into sound waves to cool down stuff ZME Science, December 13, 2016 Japanese researchers have demonstrated an innovative refrigerator that employs a thermoacoustic engine to cool things down to a minimum temperature of -107.4 C. This sort of heat engines based on sound waves have been researched since the 1990s for … Read more
Curbing carbon on campus Harvard Gazette, December 8, 2016 The wells that plunge 1,500 feet under Radcliffe Yard are out of sight to those walking over them. But to the facilities team there, they are well known as indispensable tools in the University’s fight against climate change. First installed a decade ago when the technology … Read more
Residential Energy Efficiency Direct Install Programs — Case Study Clean Technica, December 1, 2016 The challenge is that education and behavior can be elastic. Sometimes behaviors become habits. Other times, people regress once they stop seeing visual cues or hearing messages affirming their behaviors. For this reason, hardware improvements are often deemed to be long … Read more
Green Tips for Staying Warm, Comfy and Energy-Efficient Noozhawk, December 7, 2016 With all of the feasts, decorations, travel and gifts to be wrapped, no one wants to be surprised by a large utility bill this holiday season. But, you don’t have to be a Scrooge to save at this time of year. The county-operated emPower home energy … Read more
Clean Energy Investments Pay Off Big Time, New Study Shows NRDC, November 15, 2016 Some have contended that driving down climate-altering carbon pollution inevitably means hefty cost penalties for utility customers, as renewable energy and energy efficiency replace fossil-fueled power plants (many on the verge of extreme old age), but my former NRDC colleague Sierra … Read more
Advocates’ fears realized as Wisconsin directs energy dollars to internet access Midwest Energy News, December 9, 2016 Wisconsin ranks 49th in the country for internet speed and gets low marks for citizens’ access to broadband internet. The situation is hurting the state’s economy, experts say, and few would argue against investments to improve this situation. But clean … Read more