Resource Site for Corporate Energy, Facility and Sustainability Managers
As we do each spring, this week a team of Groom Energy engineers made the pilgrimage to Lightfair in search of “the next big thing” in lighting. We went to training sessions, walked the exhibit floor and talked with smart folks to develop a collective view of what’s going on, what’s hot and what’s not. [...] Read more »
Harvard economist Robert Stavins recently published a study assessing the impact when US cities require their real estate owners to perform periodic energy analysis on their buildings. As Boston considers passing its own energy benchmarking ordinance, Stavin studied other existing programs and concluded “there is currently no real evidence that these mandatory programs lead to any [...] Read more »
More companies are establishing corporate-wide programs for coordinated energy reduction and improved capital allocation. The execution of these programs is often by lead by a Corporate Energy Manager along with his or her direct and extended team. This role requires new skills and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Look for more companies to staff this position [...] Read more »
During building energy assessments we often find obvious, no-cost behavior changes savings: A compressor running flat-out for an idled production line. Flood lights illuminating an unused parking lot all year long. Warehouse dock doors that stay open all day. Our very technical recommendations come with a smiley face: Step 1. Shut off the [...] Read more »
Over the last year we’ve participated in an increasing number of interviews, conferences and panels discussing the energy-efficiency finance market, including commercial PACE and on-bill repayment programs. Awareness is high, with many policy, government and utility executives generally convinced that if low-cost capital were more readily available, energy-efficiency adoption across residential, institutional, government and commercial/industrial markets would surge. Limited [...] Read more »
If you weren’t one of last night’s 100+ million Superbowl viewers, by now you’ve probably heard that a stadium wide power outage stalled the game for 34 minutes. Was it a conspiracy by CBS to sell more advertising? One brand team used the dark time to quickly execute an Oreo cookie twitter campaign which said “Power Outage? [...] Read more »
So the fiscal cliff drama has resolved itself temporarily, with both solar and wind incentives living on for another year… In the case of wind, Congress even enhanced the incentive, making the industry’s requested language change, so a wind system need only be “in construction” phase, not “fully commissioned” by end of 2013. Since large wind turbine projects take 18-24 months to [...] Read more »
In 2012, we’ve seen many changes in the vendor market for energy management and sustainability software. Energy and sustainability leaders need to be aware of these changes as they evaluate vendors in 2013. Here are four notable trends. 1. BMS vendors begin to open up their closed, proprietary building control systems. Led by Johnson Controls, [...] Read more »
Part one discussed the benefits for energy and facility managers of near-real time data for specific energy loads, work areas, or equipment. We reviewed some of the challenges such as time-starved staffs, misplaced internal corporate incentives for energy improvement, and a long ROI for the actual meter installation. Responses We received responses from many of [...] Read more »
Six weeks till Christmas – which means time to think about cool energy efficiency gifts for your loved ones. Last year, if you had stuffed family’s stockings with the latest LED light bulbs, you would have been one very hip uncle or aunt. But at $50 each, they would have been better gifts under the [...] Read more »
