Category Archives: Conservation & Efficiency

Summer Canvass Begins

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p1000042-small1This week, the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) launched an ambitious community outreach and education program to help Cambridge residents save money and reduce their carbon footprint. Eight dedicated climate heroes arrived in Cambridge Massachusetts after completing a 90 mile bike ride that began in Deerfield, MA. Cambridge is the riders’ the first stop on the Massachusetts Climate Summer tour to raise awareness about climate change by biking from community to community, promoting sustainability.

Over the next month, the climate heroes will bike throughout Cambridge, MA, speaking one-on-one with up to 3,000 residents about energy efficiency programs and services. The Climate Summer riders will visit Cambridge neighborhoods from the 17th of June to the 7th of July, offering a unique opportunity for residents to connect to information and resources to make their homes more comfortable and efficient.

During the door-to-door visits, residents will also learn about CEA’s services and programs. CEA helps residents access free and low-cost home energy audits, where an energy professional investigates opportunities to save energy and water for homeowners and tenants.

The CEA-sponsored door-to-door visits will have an immediate impact. Residents visited by the riders will receive a free energy efficient light bulb in exchange for an incandescent bulb from their home. The 5,000 light bulbs were donated by TCP, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio. The light bulb swap will reduce carbon emissions by over 2.5 million pounds over the lives of the bulbs.

The Case for Efficiency…

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…in pretty graphic form: More abundant and cheaper than the alternatives.

Comparison of electricity generation methods

While cleaning out my bookmarks this past weekend—afterall, a little spring cleaning was in order since I’ve collected tens of thousands of links in the past decade on topics ranging from unconventional toilet tank retrofits to a still-useful subway map that predates the MBTA trip planner—I rediscovered these slightly dated but insightful graphs comparing different technologies for furnishing additional electric power. Unfortunately, it does not include figures for my pet mode of generation: Extraplanetary Solar Power.

Holyoke Green Data Center

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In a formal announcement scheduled for today, Holyoke MA will be named the location for  a proposed green data center, a project affiliated with UMass Amherst, MIT, BU, EMC Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc.  According to a recent Mass High Tech article (MHT), the center is still in the initial phases of design and, if successful, will ultimately be a “world-class green research high-performance computing center,” helping to shape the research agenda in Massachusetts.

While it is not clear how “green” such a project would be, the center’s energy claims to be cost effective due to utilizing clean power sources (MHT).   The center would also be a resource for various universities involved in biotechnology and climate modeling and would marry private sector R&D with academia, a relatively unfamiliar pairing.   Additionally, the project would bring new jobs in research and technology to western Massachusetts, an area of the state that could benefit greatly from new job creation.  Holyoke in particular, a post-industrial paper mill city, could use the economic boost and its location alongside the Connecticut River, as well as its proximity to I-91 and high-speed data lines makes it an ideal location for this project.

Warming threats looms larger, but all is not lost

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Our friendly neighborhood researchers at MIT’s Joint program on the Science and Policy of “Global Change“—tomatah, tomahto—released updated predictions from their global warming climate model yesterday, and as the images below show, the results are a mixed bag. Although it seems we are now destined to experience one more degree Celsius of warming, whichever path we choose, the range and likelihood of greater increases in average global temperature are much higher if we continue with the status quo. On the other hand, if we adopt serious policies to shift toward efficiency and renewable resources, we may experience less warming than previously predicted; allowing for one degree of increase due to years of inaction.

The pictures represent possible climate impacts as an intuitive gambling wheel. Each image is clickable for a larger view. The top row features the updated model, and the bottom row the original 2001 model. The left column represents outcomes if we do not undertake serious measures to curb emissions, and the right column shows the impact of emissions thus far, and while in transition to a cleaner economy.

P.S. 1 degree Celsius is 9/5 of a degree (~2 degrees) Fahrenheit.

Massachusetts passes “Stretch Code” for higher efficiency buildings

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MIT Green BuildingLast week Massachusetts passed the Stretch Code, which allows municipalities to adopt more stringent building codes than the state requires.  Current building requirements are set by Massachusetts Building codes and have to be updated every three years to meet the international ICC building standards.

The new stretch code standards would require a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating of 60, which means about 40% lower energy use than a standard built home. Modeling experts estimate that the extra construction cost an additional $8,100 (above the base code), which translates to $530 a year over a 30 year mortgage. But annual energy costs would be reduced on average by $1,360, for a net savings to the homeowner of $830 a year— a net savings of approximately $300 per year. In addition, many of the additional construction costs will be covered by subsidies from the utilities.

Home renovations would require a HERS rating only when feasible and for new commercial buildings there are several options for meeting the Stretch Code.  Commercial renovations, commercial buildings under 5,000 square feet, and specialty commercial buildings under 100,000 square feet (supermarkets, laboratories, warehouses) are all exempt from the proposal.

This is an excellent opportunity for communities like Cambridge, MA to forge ahead and adopt standards that will help it to meet its climate reduction targets.  Buildings contribute to 80% of the total greenhouse gas emissions produced in Cambridge, MA.  Adopting the stretch code could help Massachusetts communities reduce its emissions and save money that would otherwise go towards inefficient heating, cooling, and electric building  needs.

Obama Girl & Double Panes for Energy Efficiency

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Energy Efficiency is cool!

Just check out the latest YouTube videos calling for the  greening of our lifestyle and reducing energy loss in our homes.  Obama Girl made her fame with her audacious “Crush on Obama” video.  In her most recent release “Save Your Energy”, Amber Lee Ettinger, dumps Russel Simmons from America’s Greenest Campus for her new energy efficient beau.

In another green video, a group of students also showcase their love for sustainable solutions with their Double Panes video for  an environmental films project out of Stanford University: www.grassfedfilms.org.  Check out how they promote Efficiency First with their play on Paper Planes by MIA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pezKEkBIhqA

Saving Energy with the Lego Model

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6177_lego_builders_of_tomorrow_box

A company in Western Kentucky has built more than 40 structures, including eight schools, using an innovative construction method called Insulated Concrete Forms. ICF consists of four-inch Styrofoam blocks reinforced by a rebar grid into which concrete is poured. The foam provides insulation while the concrete offers strength and durability.

President Larry Graves says the original ICF “test project” was his own home, built with Insulated Concrete Forms in 2003; “The initial investment costs up to 8 percent more than traditional building methods,  but I made my money back in savings within the first two years.”

Gravesco is the exclusive provider of this building technology which, according to Graves, results in utility bills 50% lower than those generated by a traditionally constructed house; “Regardless of how hot or cold it is outside, the temperature of the structure stays the same,” he said. “Our electricity bills come from from our boys running their Playstation units all day long, the dozens of loads of laundry they generate, and the lights they forget to turn off.”

Putting Australia’s natural resources on the grid

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Australia

Various reports from our friends Down Under indicate Australians have also been looking at readily available alternatives to the use of non-renewable, greenhouse gas emitting forms of energy. And decided using less energy overall is the first and easiest step to take.

This report from an Warm Home Cool Planet colleague visiting Queensland:

One of the best things I’ve noticed, which is all over the place on TV and billboards, is the ClimateSmart Home Service. It’s run by the Queensland Government to save energy, money and the environment, and is part of the ClimateSmart Living Intitiative. For just $50 a qualified and licensed electrician comes to your home to install a wireless energy monitor for you to keep and conduct a constant energy audit of your home. You also get free water-and-energy efficient shower heads, and up to 15 free energy efficient light bulbs.

There is, however, another reason why are utility company trucks are prowling the streets of Australia’s capital cities handing out free Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs.

If Australia continues to grow demand for electricity at historic rates, energy retailers will need to generate 70,000 GWh/year in renewable energy to meet the Australian Government’s 2020 Mandatory Renewable Energy Targets (MRET). Penalties will be up to $40 for every MWh they fall short.

With current renewable energy generation in Australia around 25,000 GWh/y, tripling the amount of renewable energy on the grid over the next 1o years will be challenging to say the least. Energy retailers have decided that helping consumers to reduce their energy consumption should dampen overall energy demands,  making MRETs more achievable.

With Obama Administration’s stated intention to focus on energy policy as soon as the current economic crisis subsides, will Renewable Energy Targets soon be enacted here? If they are, look for the price of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to skyrocket.

Dow Corning gets boost from Economic Stimulus Package

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The Pink Panther saves the World?
The Pink Panther saves the World… and Newark.

Dow Corning, the largest maker of residential insulation in the US, can expect their economic recovery to start ahead of time due to the tax rebates and incentives for housing weatherization included within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Obama last month.

“The weatherization program is the sort of activity that is likely to spur demand,” said Owens Corning spokesman Scott Deitz. “No doubt, people will install insulation because of this program. We just don’t know how many.”

This could also boost employment at Dow Cornings’ largest US insulation manufacturing plant in Newark, which has lost over 700 jobs in the last decade.

An estimated 80 million homes in the United States are currently under-insulated. Any home built before the mid-1980s and that has not been remodeled is unlikely to meet  insulation building codes in force today.

Daylight Saving. Does it also mean energy savings?

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Now that we’ve all had the chance to get up and stumble into work an hour earlier, it’s time to examine if extended daylight savings is actually doing what it’s supposed to do. The original intention of giving us an extra hour of daylight between March and and the first week of November–beyond increasing the time available for outdoor activities–was to put a little less strain on our electrical grid. With sunlight coming into our homes for another hour each evening, we would need less light and–for the first months in the North East–less heat.

Warm Home Cool Planet  has seen lots of opinions on both sides of the issue. The consensus seemed to be yes, it does reduce our energy needs. But not to the degree you might expect.

The US News and World Report publishes a correction of sorts stating their previous article on that matter, which claimed that daylight savings is an energy drain, was incorrect. This is on the heels of the Department of Energy Report documenting that electricity demands declined by an average of  0.5% for each day of extended daylight. That comes out to 0.03% of total electricity demand. It doesn’t sound like much until you realize it adds up to 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours, enough to power about 122,000 average U.S. homes for a year.

Lost in this smaller calendar debate is the fact daylight savings for 38 weeks of the year will save enough electricity to power 1.16 million homes. To put that into perspective, enough electricity to power every home in Boston, Cambridge, Newton and Somerville.