June 2011

Building Owners Expect Energy Price Spike, Target 12% Energy Reduction
     Eighty percent of building owners expect double-digit energy price increases over the next year, which has prompted an average energy reduction target of 12%, according to Johnson Controls annual global energy efficiency indicator survey of nearly 4,000 building owners and operators around the world.  Lighting and heating, ventilation, air conditioning and controls improvements are the most popular energy efficiency improvements.
     The primary motivation for energy efficiency projects continued to be energy cost savings.  Government incentives and enhanced public image were also important, ranking second and third in the survey. Greenhouse gas reduction, which ranked as the second highest motivator in 2010, ranked fourth in 2011. Access to funding topped the list of barriers to energy efficiency projects for respondents in the U.S./ Canada (38%) and Europe (30%).

     Nearly 40 percent of respondents achieved at least one green building certification, twice as many as the prior year.  An additional 32 percent have incorporated green building elements.  There are 39 percent of building owners planning to pursue green building certifications for existing buildings, and approximately 35% have plans to certify new construction.
     The research also found that building owners have greater access to energy data, but few are taking advantage of it.  More than eighty percent measure and record data at least weekly or monthly, but fewer than 20 percent review and analyze that data at least weekly.  Those who have implemented smart grid/smart building technology such as advanced energy metering and management systems are nearly 3 times more likely to review and analyze their data frequently.
     Organizations that set a reduction goal, analyze energy data frequently, add internal or external resources and use external financing, were found to implement four times as many improvement measures as those who did none.  Seventy-seven percent of U.S./ Canada building owners plan to include green building elements in their facility plans in the next 12 months.  Further global and North America survey results were released June 16, 2011 during the 22nd annual North America Energy Efficiency Forum in Washington, D.C..  
Environmental Leader 6/2011


DOE Design Guides "Can Halve Energy Costs"
     The U.S. Department of Energy has released the first in a series of design guides aiming to cut the energy consumption of commercial buildings in half.  The first of the 50% Advanced Energy Design Guides focuses on small and medium-sized office buildings. The DOE says the guides provide a practical approach to help architects and engineers design buildings that achieve 50 percent energy savings compared to the commercial building energy code used in many areas of the country.
     The guidance also supports President Obama's goal to reduce energy use in commercial buildings 20 percent by 2020, and will help drive demand for energy-saving products made in the U.S., the department says.  The guides recommend ways that designers can choose energy efficient designs for daylighting, building envelope assemblies, and heating and cooling systems, among other technologies.  They also recommend commonly available equipment.

     DOE says the guides are designed to reduce the time and money that designers would otherwise spend to individually model energy use for high performance buildings.  The guides will also inform the development of future commercial building energy codes, according to the department.
      The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Condition Engineers (ASHRAE), American Institute of Architects (AIA), U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) are all helping to develop the booklets.
Three more guides, on large hospitals, medium to big-box retail buildings and K-12 schools, will be released in coming months.  
Environmental Leader 5/11

Subway to Submarine

     In what looks like an eco-disaster, retired subway cars are duped into the Atlantic Ocean to create artificial reefs.  For over a decade, the New York City metropolitan Transportation Authority has saved millions of dollars diverting old subway cars from the scrap yard into the Atlantic Ocean.  Instead of carting sweaty straphangers from borough to borough, the cars now serve as a haven for over 150 species of fish and marine life.  According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection , the reefs enhance the marine ecosystem by providing spawning, refuge, and feeding for aquatic creatures.  The cars are stripped of seats, light fixtures, ad banners, lead paint, windows, and doors before being submerged.  Studies show that within a few weeks, blue mussels, sponges, barnacles and after a year, soft corals attach to the structures, and the subway cars develop into fully functional artificial reef habitats.

     Delaware was the first state to participate, using the agency's oldest cars to create the "Redbird Reef."  The site takes its name from the 1,300 dark red subway cars dating back to the sixties that were donated by the MTA in 2001.  A second stage of deployment from 2008 to the present saw another 1,311 B-division cars sent to the ocean floor as reefing material.  Other debris making up these artificial reefs includes armored tanks, naval ships, tugboats, refrigerators, and even washing machines.

     Though some environmental groups initially opposed the process due to the small levels of asbestos in the glue and insulation of the older cars, state and federal environmental officials said the asbestos was not a risk for sea life and has to be airborne to pose a threat to humans.  
Green Source Magazine May/June 2011

Facts from The Sierra Club:

• The United States slips to third in clean-energy spending, behind China and Germany.
• U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2009 were 14 percent lower than they were in 2000.
• In 2010, renewables provided 11 percent of U.S. energy, the same amount as nuclear power.
• Cats kill more than a thousand times more birds than do wind turbines.   Sierra July/August 2011

Room with a View

The QTvan is the world's smallest carbon-neutral caravan.  It has bright green walls, a 19 inch TV, a bar cabinet, and a full-size bed.  Hook it up to a scooter, but don't expect to get anywhere fast: it goes about 5mph. 
Newsweek 5/15/11



Better Fans    
While browsing in a gift shop one day, Pennsylvania biologist Frank Fish came across a sculpture of a humpback whale.  He was surprised to find bumps on the "wrong" side- the front edge- of the flipper. Conventional engineering wisdom said that a smooth leading edge reduced drag, whereas a ragged edge increased it.  If the sculpture was anatomically correct, everything Fish had learned on the subject would be turned on its head.  And it was. Far from being a hindrance, Fish discovered, those flipper bumps, or tubercles, actually reduced drag and improved aerodynamics, allowing the whale to maneuver using less energy.  Today, Fish's WhalePower Corporation develops and markets tubercle-enhanced fan blades.                                                 Readers Digest 6/7/11

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