All posts published in 2016
How smart cities (will) work Extreme Tech, April 19, 2016. Image credit: davidpheat Energy and Utilities We have a connected electric grid that allows utilities to redirect power based on demand. What we don’t have – broadly deployed at least– is the intelligence to better monitor and control energy usage in homes, offices, factories, and warehouses, … Read more
As Renewables Boom, Companies Explore Energy Storage Technology NPR, April 4, 2016 Batteries can store energy for later, but companies are looking for cheaper alternatives. Three reporters examine technologies that employ air, salt and ice. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Renewable energy like solar and wind is finally coming of age. Costs are way down. Of course, … Read more
Partners Reach Efficiency Milestone With n-PERT Solar Cells Electronics Weekly, April 14, 2016. Image credit: juliacasado1 Belgium-based nanoelectronics research center Imec and Crystal Solar, a California-based company focused on direct wafer-growing technologies, say they have achieved a 22.5% cell efficiency with n-type PERT (passivated emitter, rear totally diffused) silicon solar cells manufactured on six-inch mono-crystalline epitaxially … Read more
Long Beach Announce Energy Efficiency Plan Port Technology, April 13, 2016. Image credit: MichaelFertig In April 2016 the Board of Harbor Commissioners approved the Energy Efficiency Rebate Match Program, creating US $500,000 to reimburse tenants up to 100% of their equipment purchase costs. The port’s rebates would match Southern California Edison rebates for eligible energy-saving equipment but are … Read more
The Carbon Footprint of Imbibing and Smoking Pot in an Infographic Amanda Gassé, ERS, for Zondits. April 18, 2016. Image credit: beeki The world is increasingly looking at businesses, individuals, and their activities through a carbon lens. Talk of reducing our energy imprint is usually focused on the home we heat, the car we drive, or the … Read more
Superspin research project aims to drive more energy efficient computing Tech Crunch, April 15, 2016. Image credit: StockSnap Scientists at Cambridge University are working on combining two fields of solid state physics research, spintronics and superconductors, in order to develop what they hope could become the foundation for the next generation of datacenter technology — perhaps within the next decade. Data … Read more
Pathways to Progress USGBC. Image credit: maxmann Today, according to Campbell, people rarely look beyond three years in terms of investment and the energy profile of their building. “Are people making decisions based upon the 50-year life cycle of the asset? Probably not.” He believes all resources need to be equally valued—the idea being that transitioning … Read more
Even uncommon voices can find common ground on energy efficiency The Hill, April 14, 2016. Image credit: philriley427 Washington, D.C., has earned a reputation in recent years as a city plagued by hyper-partisan gridlock. Yet our two organizations – which often disagree – have found common ground on energy efficiency. It’s instructive to look at why … Read more
Lightbulbs excluded in EU regulations on energy efficiency claims The Guardian, April 12, 2016. Image credit: jacquess27 The EU has voted to close loopholes that allow home appliance manufacturers to make misleading claims about their products’ energy performance, but environmentalists are incandescent that lightbulbs have been excluded from the new rules. Companies will no longer be … Read more
Gita Subramony, April 13, 2016. Image credit: Chris Young The current Habitat Magazine features a profile of a recent cogeneration, or combined heat and power (CHP), project in Queens. The Roosevelt Terrace co-op in the Jackson Heights section planned a multi-phase CHP project that includes two 75 kW systems that have already been installed and another … Read more