Posted February 26, 2010 at 10:52 pm by Ray De Varona
If you are in or around Washington DC on March 10th, 2010, you may want to register to attend the Great Energy Efficiency Day event being held at the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The event is organized by the Alliance to Save Energy and promises an in-depth discussion on funding, technology and policy measures required to realize energy efficiency’s full potential.
Thie Great Energy Efficiency Day, which has been going on since 2004, has a very impressive roster of confirmed speakers that will focus on the following topics:
Federal, State and Local Stimulus Dollars Promoting Energy Efficiency: Today and Tomorrow
Stimulus and Smart Communities
Building for the Future: EE Technologies Today and Tomorrow
Admission is free, but you must register in order to attend. Read more about the Great Energy Efficiency Day’s agenda and catch up on past events at the official site.
Posted February 22, 2010 at 10:24 am by Ray De Varona
There has been a flurry of media attention being given to Bloom Energy as they get ready to come out of stealth mode with their Bloom Box fuel cell technology. Bloom Energy has been developing their fuel cell for almost a decade and has received approximately $400M in capital investment from some of Silicon Valley’s biggest names.
K.R. Sridhar, the company’s rocket scientist founder, believes that his fuel cells will be able to power your home in five years at a price tag of around $3,000. In order to get there, they’re going to have to drive the cost of production way down. The company has already signed up some very big names with deployments at Google, eBay and FedEx to name a few. The recent state and federal tax benefits that have been created to spur the industry have helped these companies cut the acquisition cost down from the estimated $700,000 price tag for these installs.
The following video, which aired on CBS’ 60 Minutes on February 21, 2010, gives a very good overview of the technology behind the Bloom Box as well as the background of the company.
What do you think? Is K.R.’s vision realistic or can the utility companies stop worrying that their business model is about to go through a major disruption? Let me know in the comments.
Posted February 21, 2010 at 10:22 pm by Ray De Varona
For years, the standard method of lighting gymnasiums has been the 400W Metal Halide High Bay. This has led to gyms with deteriorating light levels and poor playing conditions that are expensive to operate. New technologies have allowed lighting designers to specify T5 High Output (T5HO) Fluorescent High Bay Fixtures in place of the more inefficient metal halide fixtures. This shift has reduced the power consumption of gymnasium lighting systems, provided better quality light for all sports activities, and has allowed for a more versatile environment in school or recreational center gyms.
This post provides guidance on how to retrofit a gymnasium with more energy efficient lighting. We will use a typical high school gym as a base for our energy savings and provide example lighting layouts with point-by-point light levels.
Posted February 19, 2010 at 12:21 pm by Ray De Varona
At this years TED talks, Bill Gates unveiled his vision for the world’s energy future, describing the need for “miracles” to avoid planetary catastrophe and explaining why he’s backing a dramatically different type of nuclear reactor. The necessary goal? Zero carbon emissions globally by 2050.
You can watch his whole talk below or visit the TED site to view other interesting talks.
TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. The conference has evolved and now drives the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Since most of us don’t get a chance to listen to these discussions live, it’s great that TED makes them available online.
Posted February 19, 2010 at 11:42 am by Ray De Varona
On February 12th, the Obama Administration announced a multi-agency initiative to spur regional economic growth while making buildings more energy efficient. Seven federal agencies, including the Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Labor and the Small Business Administration, issued a combined Funding Opportunity Announcement of nearly $130 million over five years to create a regional research center that will develop new building efficiency technologies and work with local partners to implement the technologies in area buildings.
Since buildings account for nearly 40 percent of U.S. energy consumption, energy efficiency improvements in buildings can provide significant benefits not only to the building owners through lower utility bills, but the entire country through decreased carbon emissions.
“Energy efficient buildings represent one of our best and most immediate opportunities to create jobs, save money and cut carbon pollution.” – U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.
The research center will be based at a university, DOE national laboratory, nonprofit organization, or private firm in what the release calls an Energy Regional Innovation Cluster (E-RIC) that is centered around an Energy Innovation Hub. The center is expected to partner closely with local or state government officials and leverage the expertise of local architects, builders, and manufacturers.
For more details, view the full release on the DOE web site.
Posted February 1, 2010 at 2:11 pm by Ray De Varona
New Jersey’s SmartStart Buildings program offers valuable rebates for commercial and industrial customers looking to implement energy efficiency projects in their facilities. SmartStart is sponsored by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in partnership with local gas and electric utilities and is funded through the New Jersey Societal Benefits Charge. These rebates are available to non-residential retail electric service customers of Atlantic City Electric, Jersey Central Power & Light, Rockland Electric Company, New Jersey Natural Gas, Elizabethtown Gas, PSE&G, and South Jersey Gas. A summary of the available rebates is shown below:
Prescriptive Lighting
T-5 and T-8 lamps with electronic ballast in existing facilities ($15 per fixture, 1-4 lamps)
T-8 to reduced wattage T-8 (28W/25W 4′) retrofit with ballast replacement ($10 per fixture, 1-4 lamps)
Hard-wired compact fluorescent ($25 – $30 per fixture)
Metal halide w/pulse start ($25 per fixture)
LED Exit signs ($10/$20 per fixture)
T-5 and T-8 High Bay Fixtures ($16 – $284 per fixture)
Lighting Controls
Wall mounted occupancy sensors ($20 per control)
Remote mounted occupancy sensors ($35 per control)
Daylight dimmers ($25 per fixture controlled, $50 per fixture for office applications only)
Occupancy controlled hi-low fluorescent controls ($25 per fixture controlled)
HID or fluorescent high bay controls ($75 per fixture controlled)
High bay daylight dimming ($75 per fixture controlled)
This article details the prescriptive rebates available through New Jersey’s SmartStart program as well as the process and requirements for getting these incentives. The experts at Relight Depot can help walk you through the process of applying and qualifying for these valuable rebate dollars. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about what products might be used to replace your existing lighting so that you are sure to get the maximum rebate for your project.
For years, the standard method of lighting gymnasiums has been the 400W Metal Halide High Bay. This has led to gyms with deteriorating light levels and poor playing conditions that are expensive to operate. New technologies have allowed lighting designers to specify 
New Jersey’s 
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