March 8th, 2010 by Steve Hill
No comments »
The Sydney Morning Herald carried a great report about a new Australian government report that undermines the view that industry will be detrimentally affected by carbon emission targets.
Apart from an interesting article there was a great quote in the piece that could be used powerfully to industry and commerce.
Rob Murray-Leach, the Chief Executive of the Energy Efficiency Council said:
”Economic purists have been telling us that if there were $100 notes lying around, industry would have already picked them up. This report shows that companies have blind spots – sometimes you have to help them find the $100 notes.”
What a great line, but how true as well.
» Read more: Industry Blind To Money Just Lying There
February 26th, 2010 by Steve Hill
2 comments »
I have just read a great editorial 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
February 3rd, 2010 by Steve Hill
No comments »
I have just read the news about the latest initiative in the U.S. to encourage states to become more energy efficient and sooner than originally planned – this will help the environment but also the economy as it will lead to financial savings.
This should be great headline grabbing news but it is strange how often “spend, spend, spend” is regarded as sexy while being frugal and saving is regarded as nerdy or introverted.
Fortunately the U.S. is taking a lead in changing what is sexy as far as saving money through energy efficiency is concerned. They have just announced that President Obama’s administration has set up the SEE Action Network (State Energy Efficiency Action Network) to help states achieve maximum cost effective energy efficiency improvements.
» Read more: U.S. Making Energy Efficiency Sexy
January 25th, 2010 by Steve Hill
No comments »
GREEN-tech experts reckon 2010 will be dominated by investments in energy efficiency, so claims the Silicon Valley Mercury News.
The US government is certainly driving energy efficiency with US Energy Secretary Steven Chu usually describes himself as an “energy-efficiency nut.”
Venture capital investment in energy efficiency hit a record in 2009: at least 115 deals worth nearly $1 billion, according to a preliminary tally by the Cleantech Group and Deloitte. That’s an increase of 39 percent from 2008. In comparison, solar was down 64 percent from 2008, and there’s increasing talk about solar being “overfunded.”
» Read more: 2010 The Year For Energy Efficiency
January 18th, 2010 by Steve Hill
No comments »
A interesting article has appeared in Water, Energy & Environment magazine (which can be read online here) it reproduced for you to enjoy – go to the site if you wish to subscribe to the magazine:
John Osborne at BSI (British Standards Institute) Training encourages organisations to think of energy management as business critical for cost reasons, but equally important as a means to embed sustainability and change across a workforce…
» Read more: Energy Efficiency – The Key To Sustainability
January 11th, 2010 by Steve Hill
7 comments »
THERE is so much advice out there to help us all save energy, which is a good thing, except myth and sound advice often get mixed. So here are a few MythBusters.
Plus a few tips for the workplace to help you start to save energy right away by dismissing the myths while taking some positive actions to save energy, save money and reduce carbon emissions.
First of all some myths regarding energy saving:
» Read more: Energy Saving MythBusters
December 16th, 2009 by Steve Hill
No comments »
A New York State board has recommended an energy plan to make energy more affordable, particularly through energy efficiency.
In an Energy Efficiency Assesment report issued on Tuesday (click here to see report) New York State provided very interesting recommendations that could move the Empire State to the lead position in the US as far as a clean energy economy is concerned and it makes financial sense as well.
The plan recommends energy efficiency as a major focus for commerce and industry and a new state building code that would also require stricter energy efficiency. Not only will this bring environmental benefits but the costing is a no-brainer, as the return on investment in energy efficiency is substantial – to quote the report:
» Read more: Energy Efficiency For Empire State
November 28th, 2009 by Ken Cheyne
4 comments »
Let’s get straight -doing your part in using less energy is like having your own power generation plant right in your home or business.
Consider this; adding photovoltaic panels (solar energy panels) to your facility might be able to contribute up to 10% of your overall consumption. Given the number of variables, we will have to just assume some facts. This 10% “contributor” to your usage will come at a very high price with your initial cost being about $5 – $8 USD per Watt. Yes, per Watt. This initial expense would cost thousands of dollars. This type of device can take decades before they pay for themselves.
Now lets consider some basic steps to reduce our consumption through behavior changes, conservation and load-side (power reducing) technologies. Simple behavior changes can produce immediate results. Studies have shown that when there is an effective energy management strategy in place, a user can save between 8 – 12% of their consumption. This can be achieved without the outlay of thousands of dollars.
Now you get to decide:
» Read more: Power Generation Or Energy Efficiency?
November 20th, 2009 by Steve Hill
1 comment »
The UK newspaper the Daily Telegraph ran a special report last week which is of interest to all those who want to save energy.
They interviewed Sir John Parker, who is Chairman of the National Grid in the UK, but has been involved in many other varied major industrial and commercial corporations. In most of these he has championed sustainability and has implemented many environmental and energy policies.
Andrew Cave, the writer of the piece, described Sir John as evangelical about the need for companies to invest in energy efficiency. What Sir John stated in the interview was the highlight for me and I would like to share his words with you.
Sir John told the Telegraph regarding energy efficiency:
“It’s the area that doesn’t always seem to me to get the highest attention and it’s the lowest-cost way of reducing one’s carbon footprint,
» Read more: “Start with energy efficiency” – Sir John Parker
November 17th, 2009 by Steve Hill
3 comments »
Anissa S. Febrina has written and interesting article in the Jakarta Post about retrofitting buildings so they are energy efficient.
The article, most of which appears below, states how often finding the money for the energy monitoring solutions and the load-side products can be a stumbling block, but the article explains that the money saved from reduced energy bills over a fairly short period provides a great return on investment.
What is also of interest is the article does highlight how Indonesia is now realising how important it is to become energy efficient. I know from speaking to people from Indonesia that climate change, energy efficiency and security has not been a concern – hence it is good to see they are sitting up and taking notice.
» Read more: Retrofit Energy Efficiency
