Jeff Perkins, ERS, for Zondits Energy efficiency has been an evolutionary and incremental effort: evolutionary in how and why we do it, and incremental in terms of the technology and the economics to achieve it, as the state-of-the-art has continuously advanced over the years. In this article I am going to take a step back … Read more
Manuel A. Fontan, ERS, for Zondits Solar photovoltaic (PV) power is understandably a hot topic in Massachusetts. This kind of energy has a favorable market outlook, along with other renewable sources and efficiency measures, as cities look toward smarter and cleaner power and in many cases compliance with optimistic greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards such … Read more
Todd Winner, ERS, for Zondits Energy efficiency programs are increasingly looking for new measures that can generate energy and peak demand savings for customers and their programs. Energy efficiency measures typically considered “low-hanging fruit,” such as lighting upgrades in interior commercial spaces and the installation of high-efficiency HVAC units in new construction projects, are becoming … Read more
Cornell wants to drill 2 to 4 miles underground for enhanced geothermal heating ARS Technica, September 19, 2016 Geothermal energy—energy drawn from the internal heat of the Earth—has long been the purview of mountainous, volcano- and earthquake-prone regions like the western United States or Iceland. The US’ eastern states, on the other hand, have been … Read more
Jesse Remillard, ERS, for Zondits In a small, coastal Maine town near the border of Canada, a group called the Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) has been testing undersea turbines to generate power from the large tidal flows characteristic of the area. The units, which resemble vertical wind turbines, are undergoing testing to further refine … Read more
The kilowatt you never use: How National Grid plans to save customers $3.6B through efficiency Utility Dive, August 31, 2016 According to ACEEE, Massachusetts’ approach to efficiency “has resulted in one of the most ambitious fully-funded state savings targets, incremental electric savings targets ramping up from 2.5% to 2.6% from 2013-2015.” And the state gives … Read more
Energy-efficient window tinting goes dark at the flick of a switch New Atlas, August 14, 2016 Current electrochromic window tinting techniques are effective to a point, but there are limitations to the technology. They’re generally slow to change state, struggle to achieve high levels of darkness, and rely on a constant current to maintain their tint. A team at … Read more
Radiator Lock Boxes Slash One-Fifth Off Two Buildings’ Heating Costs Observer, August 4, 2016 The heat of summer can get brutal inside my Crown Heights apartment, but winter is the real scorcher. When there’s snow on the ground, the building-wide steam heat cooks the insides of my first floor digs. This is not unusual for … Read more
Shopping for Energy Efficiency Energy Manager Today, July 19, 2016 Last week, PG&E posted a story on energy savings in groceries that profiled the Save Mart in Ripon, CA. The piece makes the point that groceries are among the most energy demanding of facilities, which means that they need to be flexible. That makes it logical that … Read more
Projects Highlight Ways to Optimize Building Energy Efficiency ACHR News, July 25, 2016 BRICKELL CITY CENTRE Brickell City Centre is a new mixed-use complex in Miami that is built locally but designed with a long-term global outlook. When the development of the Brickell City Centre began, Bosch Thermotechnology Corp.’s FHP water-source heat pumps (WSHP) were an obvious choice for … Read more