December 23rd, 2011 by admin
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RESEARCH shows that UK businesses and organisations want to improve their energy efficiency and can now overcome the negatives of the current economic climate with help from a financing scheme.
The estimated market for energy efficiency equipment finance in the UK is enormous, with research estimating that the market over the next three years in England alone, is around £8.8bn ($13.6bn). This analysis, based on official business emissions data from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, reveals the scale of the opportunity for energy cost savings.
» Read more: Energy Efficiency Financing Needed by Businesses and Organsiations
November 24th, 2011 by Steve Hill
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The market for energy efficiency services and equipment is on the rise as national governments look to reduce energy consumption by improving the efficiency of the building stock. With buildings being one of the largest sources of energy consumption, the opportunity to improve efficiency is significant, ranging from high-efficiency heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to the utilization of energy-efficient lighting technologies to business models such as energy performance contracting (EPC) as employed by energy service companies (ESCOs) around the world. According to a new report from Pike Research, the total market for energy efficiency in buildings will reach $103.5 billion by 2017, an increase of more than 50% from the 2011 market value of $67.9 billion.
» Read more: Global Market for Energy Efficient Buildings to Surpass $100 Billion by 2017
October 1st, 2011 by Steve Hill
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“Energy efficiency PR” often refers to public relations campaigns that highlight a company’s efforts to operate in a “green” manner. These days, it’s cool to be green and everybody wants to show off their commitment to preserving our depleted store of natural resources. But there is another facet of energy efficiency PR that may be even more important, namely, PR that raises awareness about efficient products that consumers can incorporate into their everyday lives. This type of energy efficiency PR doesn’t just generate positive press for companies seeking to compete in today’s cutthroat marketplace. It truly promotes a greener world by encouraging consumers to use energy efficient products whenever possible. The new “ENERGY STAR Most Efficient” program serves as a perfect example of this.
» Read more: Importance of Energy Efficiency PR
September 1st, 2011 by admin
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THE American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) have published an interesting white paper entitled: “How to Avoid a Train Wreck: Replacing Old Coal Plants with Energy Efficiency.”
The report highlights that over the past year, the U.S. utility industry has experienced significant angst over pending updates to utility environmental regulations.
Of particular concern is the question of whether to invest in plant updates to comply with these regulations or to retire these plants altogether and replace this capacity with new (and most likely natural gas-fueled) power plants. Many inside and outside the utility industry have painted this situation as a crisis in the making.
» Read more: Energy Efficiency Vital to Avoid U.S. Energy Crisis
August 20th, 2011 by Steve Hill
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THE U.S. Green Buildings Council (USGBC) claim that investing in building energy efficiency is central to the country reducing its energy consumption by 23 percent by 2020, saving $1.2 trillion – showing it truly does pay to improve energy efficiency.
The conclusion comes from a study sponsored by USGBC on the benefits of green buildings, combined with other non-transportation initiatives. Apart from the substantial monetary savings, environmentally it will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.1 gigatons annually.
» Read more: Upgrading Buildings to Improve Energy Efficiency Pays
July 22nd, 2011 by Steve Hill
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WE use them everyday, probably without realising it, they are everywhere and according to the IEA they account for about 45 percent of the world’s power consumption – electric motors.
The IEA (International Energy Authority) has carried out new analysis that highlights that electric motors are by and far the greatest energy consumers, offering tremendous energy saving opportunities. Running in second place of the power consumption league, according to the analysis, is lighting, making up 19 percent of global power consumption.
Regarding the the IEA analysis journalist Joe Hogan explains it in simplified form, that every second power plant is generating electricity just to run electric motors. In detail, the power demanded by motors every 60 seconds, is enough power to supply 13,000 households in India (think about it – that is every minute!) – which is 13,318,113 kWh.
» Read more: Motoring to Energy Saving
June 1st, 2011 by Steve Hill
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THE U.S. Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced the findings of a major study analysing the impact of information-based energy efficiency programmes, which produced impressive results.
The report identifies energy reductions that could generate billions in savings for Americans and reduce carbon (CO2) emissions by more than 8.9 million metric tons per year if extended nationwide.
The EDF analysis released relies on data gathered from 11 different utilities in six states. The data analysed includes more than 22 million meter reads, gathered over periods of a minimum of twelve months from each of the deployments. The report analyses the effectiveness of these programmes and estimates the impact of taking these savings to the national scale.
Kate Robertson, Energy Efficiency Specialist at EDF, said at the launch of the report: “Energy efficiency is widely considered one of the greatest untapped energy resources. This study confirms that simple behavioral changes generate consistent savings across a wide range of utilities and demographics.
» Read more: Information-Based Energy Efficiency Can Save Big
May 20th, 2011 by Steve Hill
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I read a great editorial a while back in Distributed Energy by Elizabeth Cutright.
She highlights how energy efficiency is the way ahead as far as change energy use for environmental, energy security and energy supply reasons.
As she reports – it is what people want to happening compared to new or old forms of power generation. New power stations are needed but the impact of funding into energy efficiency is paramount.
Here is the bulk of the article:
» Read more: Energy Efficiency Is The Way Ahead
May 10th, 2011 by Steve Hill
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The title poses an interesting question. We may all jump on the energy saving and efficiency bandwagon but have we asked this question, or are we following the crowd without stopping to think?
Are we also acting in the best way, using the best strategies to become energy efficient?
To the answer the main question as to why energy efficiency matters, apart from good house keeping in the sense of stopping waste, the environmental concern has got to underline our actions, even if it is the size of our utility bills that provide the prompt.
» Read more: Why Does Energy Efficiency Matter?
April 18th, 2011 by Ken Cheyne
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As an Energy Engineer I use this saying. “A single data point is worth 1000 opinions”.
This phrase will inevitably come up during my discussions with clients who are trying to justify an investment into power monitoring equipment.
Now envision a team of Managing Directors, Procurement and Production Managers all wringing their hands over whether to move forward with an energy monitoring/reduction program. Each personality will enter the discussion from a differing mindset offering their “opinions” as to the usefulness of data monitoring, as with Enigin PLC’s Eniscope.
» Read more: The Importance of Power Monitoring
