Push Begins for 'Building Star' Incentives for Commericial Properties
First there was Energy Star,the long-established energy ratings system. Then came Home Star, An incentive program supported by President Obama. Now the Senate has introduced a bill that would establish a Building Star program to provide incentives to commercial buildings related to their energy efficiency. Building Star would promote energy efficient installations in commercial and multi-family residential buildings. The bill was introduced March 4 by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D.-Ore.) and Sen. Mark Pryor (D.-Ark.). The program is expected to save building owners more than $3 billion on their energy bills annually by reducing peak electricity demand by an equivalent amount of power as that supplied by 22 300-megawatt power plants. If fully realized, the program would help reduce U.S. emissions by 21 million metric tons, the bill's sponsors say.
Building Star is similar to Home Star, a parallel program that offers energy-efficiency assistance to homeowners. Through the umbrella group Rebuilding America, Building Star has the support of the National Electrical Contractors Association, the Energy Future Coalition and the Center for AMerican Progress Action Fund. The American Architectural Manufacturers Assoc. also has pledged its support for the measure.
In February, it was announced that the EPA's Energy Star Leaders prevented the emissions of more than 220,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and saved more than $48 million across their commercial building portfolios in 2009. The EPA says these savings have quadrupled since 2008 and is the single greatest year of savings since the program's launch in 2004.
Among items proposed to be covered by the Building Star incentives are: -building envelope insulation; -mechanical insulation; -windows, window films, and doors; -low-slope roofing; -HVAC equipment, water heaters and boilers; -duct testing and sealing; -variable speed motors; -interior and exterior lighting; -building energy audits, commissioning, tune-ups, and training; -and energy management and monitoring systems. Source: Environmental Leader3/5/10
Lindt Recycles Cocoa Bean Shells into Biomass Energy:
Chocolate maker Lindt USA and Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH), New Hampshire's largest electric utility, will soon be producing renewable power from cocoa bean shells. PSNH's Schiller Station power plant will produce supplemental electricity from cocoa bean shells, considered a biomass fuel source in New Hampshire, supplied by the chocolate maker, according to a press release.
Every ton of cocoa bean shells used to generate electricity will replace the need to burn one half-ton of coal, which also helps the utility reduce a portion of its coal producing power with biomass, says PSNH. Lindt says the partnership will allow the company to reduce its carbon footprint by responsibly disposing of a manufacturing byproduct.
Lindt's biomass partnership is one of many that are being planned or have rolled out over the past month. As an example, Tesco announced that its new distribution center in Widnes, England, will be 100 percent powered by renewable energy generated from food waste.
Other projects include an on-site biomass fueled combined heat and power (CHP) energy station at the University of British Columbia campus, and a potential partnership between Mitsubishi and Weyerhaeuser, which are evaluating the potential of biomass and possibly bio-pellet production facilities in the United States.
Environmental Leader 2/10
Device Mimics Leeches, Ejects Plug When Gadget is Done Charging:
Leeches drink blood until they're full and then fall off of their host, but our plugged-in gadgets keep drinking electricity even once they're fully charged. The Outlet Regulator changes this by ejecting the plug from the electricity source once the gadget is done charging, turning vampire electronics into leeches.
The project works by using a timer circuit and electromechanics to eject its plug which disconnects your device from the wall outlet, stopping electricity consumption. This is an example of a design where you think, "How has no one thought of this before?" It's such an obvious solution and could easily be adopted by everyone.
via Engadget, Ecogeek.org
Light Inspires Energy Efficient Building Design
Artists find inspiration in many ways. But for the artists (architects and researchers) working collaboratively to create the most energy efficient office space in the U.S., the inspiration was simply light. The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), near Golden, CO, will use innovative design elements such as "light louvers" to reduce the need for conventional lighting. The curve of the light louvers, which are suspended within the window, catches the light and bounces it deep into the building, about 10 feet deeper than it would naturally. "The windows are literally the balance point in how the building manages energy," said Philip Macy, project manager. "Get the windows too big and you'll get too much heat gain and heat loss. Too small and you won't get enough daylight to light the interior of the building to the middle of the floor plan.
As another method of reducing energy use, once the building is active, employees will be notified when to open windows to let cool air in or shut them to keep warm air out, as predicted by the needs of the building.
Scheduled to open this summer, the 222,000 square foot facility will house more than 800 staff and an energy efficient information technology data center, built as a showcase to be replicated by the building industry.
Source: National Renewable Energy Lab
