Designing Buildings to Protect Urban Residents Next City, May 11, 2016. Image credit: unsplash Improving energy efficiency in buildings could not only dramatically reduce carbon emissions, but could also reduce the energy burden on poor households, improve indoor and outdoor air quality, create green jobs, and save a lot of money, according to a new report by … Read more
Gita Subramony, ERS, for Zondits Brownstoner recently reported on a real estate developer who purchased a seven-unit townhome in Brooklyn for $6.8 million in 2014. The developer plans to substantially renovate the building, creating a single-family dwelling, and the architects chosen for the job, Baxt Ingui, are well known for using passive house and energy … Read more
Protecting Our Health Through Energy Efficiency and Building Upgrades Energy Star, April 28, 2016 Did you know our sister group here at EPA offers an excellent guide about how to protect indoor air quality (IAQ) while making building upgrades? The Energy Savings Plus Health: Indoor Air Quality Guidelines for School Building Upgrades (the Guide) “walks” users … Read more
The Benefits of Energy-Efficiency Improvements in Multifamily MHN, April 29, 2016. Image credit: shard202 MHN caught up with long-time multifamily owner and manager Robert Nelson, president of New York-based Nelson Management Group, to discuss how his company has implemented vast energy-efficiency upgrades at its properties and the importance of energy management in the multifamily industry. MHN: What are … Read more
We’re tracking major US energy efficiency metrics on a new webpage. Check out how 2015 measures up. ACEEE, April 15, 2016. Image credit: PDPics We picked metrics covering residential and commercial buildings, state adoption of building codes, energy savings from appliance standards, industry energy intensity, combined heat and power (CHP) capacity, personal and freight transport energy … Read more
Allison Donnelly, ERS, for Zondits. May 3, 2016. Image credit: Marc van der Chijs Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece by former Obama energy advisor Jason Bordoff entitled, “How Driverless Cars Could End up Harming the Environment.” Among the host of benefits being touted by proponents, one that has been getting increasing … Read more
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) To Tap US Utility Transition With Purchase Of Energy Efficiency Developer Opower Inc. (OPWR) IBT, May 2, 2016. Image credit: Peggy_Marco U.S. software giant Oracle Corp. says it wants a slice of the clean energy transition unfolding across America’s $2.3 trillion utilities industry. Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) announced Monday it will buy software-as-a-service company Opower Inc. … Read more
Gita Subramony, ERS, for Zondits. April 25, 2016. Image credit: philriley427 A new study by Groundswell shows that the poorest American households pay the greatest share of income on electricity. According to City Lab’s summary of the study, the “bottom 20% of earners spend almost 10% of their income on electricity, more than seven times the … Read more
Valerie Eacret, ERS, for Zondits. April 21, 2016. Image credit: kpgolfpro Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing is a novel type of assessment financing meant for projects that benefit a single property. Zondits spoke with Ben Dodge of CleanFund Commercial PACE Capital to learn more about what PACE financing offers today for energy efficiency improvement projects. … Read more
Amber Plante, ERS, for Zondits. April 21, 2016. Image credit: Josch13 With the historic signing of the Paris Agreement this April 22, 2016, the role of reducing carbon emissions falls more squarely on the shoulders of everyday citizens than ever before. Taking this responsibility seriously and leaving a better footprint in which our children’s children can walk … Read more