DOE is setting updated efficiency standards for new federal buildings. DOE published a rule sets ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004 as the minimum efficiency standard for new commercial and multi-family high-rise federal buildings, the same standard as applies to most of the rest of us.

However, the rule also requires new federal buildings to be designed to be 30 percent more energy efficient than these standards (worth six LEED points, by the way), if doing so is found to be cost effective over the life of the building. If a 30 percent efficiency improvement is not cost effective, designers must successively evaluate incrementally lesser goals, such as a 25 percent improvement, a 20 percent improvement, et cetera.

How do you determine the right energy efficiency target for your building project, Federal or otherwise? Use Energy Modeling to project energy consumption between a base case and an as-designed case. Click on link below if you’d like more information on Energy Modeling.

Have you thought about hiring an energy manager to lead the energy conservation program at your facilities? If so, consider contracting for that person with Energy Ace. There are several advantages.

Any large institution should have an energy manager who is dedicated to finding ways to save energy dollars for the university. It has been shown time and again that energy managers pay for themselves quickly but also that they eventually work themselves out of a job.

If you contracted for an energy manager provided by a third-party such as Energy Ace, you would keep that person as long as you wanted or needed to, and would receive a trained energy manager who would be supported by Energy Ace resources.

This approach has the additional advantage that a contract Energy Manager would not be limited just to utilities management; she would be available for assignment for any energy-related need that you have. Furthermore, this need not be a full-time slot; only as needed. Another advantage is that this “person” may actually be several persons provided by the contractor, each with their own particular specialty.

Wal-Mart Corporation, long considered more of a friend to the bottom line than a friend of the environment, is getting greener and greener. In September Energy Ace reported on the EPA’s “Change a Light, Change the World” campaign and now Wal-Mart has announced that it wants to sell compact fluorescent lamps for one million homes.

We don’t know if Wal-Mart’s CEO read our article (wink) but he has recently stated "the environment is begging for a Wal-Mart business model."

A compact fluorescent has clear advantages over the widely used incandescent light — it uses 75 percent less electricity, lasts 10 times longer, produces 450 pounds fewer greenhouse gases from power plants and saves consumers $30 over the life of each bulb. But it is eight times as expensive as a traditional bulb, gives off a harsher light and has a peculiar appearance. As a result, the bulbs have languished on store shelves for a quarter century; only 6 percent of households use the bulbs today.

Which is what makes Wal-Mart’s goal so wildly ambitious. If it succeeds in selling 100 million compact fluorescent bulbs a year by 2008, total sales of the bulbs in the United States would increase by 50 percent, saving Americans $3 billion in electricity costs and avoiding the need to build additional power plants for the equivalent of 450,000 new homes. However, Wal-Mart sold only 40 million CFL’s in 2005, compared with about 350 million incandescent bulbs

For that to turn around, Wal-Mart will have to persuade its traditional consumers that it is worth paying a bit more at the checkout counter to save a significant amount money down the line, a seemingly simple task that few companies ever accomplish. It is particularly difficult at a retailer that has long emphasized “always low prices.”

Source: news articlesNo matter how it turns out for Wal-Mart, Energy Ace says it can turn out well for you. Lighting energy conservation generally offers the fastest payback of any energy retrofit that is easily accomplished in existing facilities. Contact Energy Ace for Energy Audit information.

Source: news articles

Politicians everywhere are jumping on the ethanol bandwagon (powered, we assume, with renewable fuels) including the President in his State of the Union message, proposing that the US use 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels by 2017, or 15 percent of projected total transportation fuels in that year. Granted, this can be achieved with a variety of fuels - including corn ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel, methanol, butanol, and hydrogen – but the fuel on everyone’s mind is corn-based ethanol.

It is on investors’ minds too because investments in clean energy companies increased by 167 percent in 2006, driven mainly by a surge of investments in biofuels in the United States. Investments in biofuels more than quadrupled while investments in solar energy more than tripled, and wind power investments more than doubled.

Yet, this week’s U.S. News & World Report’s cover story on ethanol shows that the “law of unintended consequences” is still operative. Says USNWR, the “ethanol surge could cause more problems than it solves. Last year’s astounding growth gobbled up 20 percent of the U.S. corn crop.” The new demand has doubled corn prices in a year; good for the farmer but not so good for those of us who eat. There are environmental consequences, too. Much fossil fuel is used to produce corn-based ethanol; for instance, the trucks that deliver corn use diesel and so do the trucks that deliver the finished products to filling stations.

Cellulose-based ethanol is thought to be a better long-term solution: better energy balance and does not compete with the food supply for humans or livestock but it has not yet be tried on a commercial scale. Plants are now in design or construction, including one near Augusta, Georgia, so maybe pretty soon we’ll see. Meanwhile, if you see ethanol-blended gasoline, buy it (Enmark is one supplier we know of) and support the movement.

From the website www.treehugger.com we learn that the carbon footprint of a hamburger is estimated to be 6.3 to 6.8 pounds of carbon emissions per burger. This includes a myriad of factors, from growing the feed for the cattle for the beef and cheese, growing the produce, storing and transporting the components, as well as cooking them all, and he appears to have done a fairly thorough job. The average American eats three burgers per week, or about150 burgers per year; that's a lot of beef, cheese, shipping and grilling, and it really adds up. According to estimates, America's love of burgers contributes approximately 941 to 1023 pounds of greenhouse gas per person, per year -- the rough equivalent of the annual carbon output from 7,500-15,000 SUVs if the 300 million US citizens hit the 3 burgers/week average.

LEED for Commercial Interiors Technical Review Workshop in Rock Hill, SC (between Charlotte and Columbia) on Thursday, March 15, 2007. This workshop is an in-depth discussion of the credit requirements and certification process for LEED for commercial interiors. Instructors will address the basic principles of sustainability as they relate to tenant improvement projects, and presents the definitive standard for what constitutes a green interior. You'll also learn about technologies and strategies for achieving LEED credits to optimize performance of leased spaces. Visit http://chapters.usgbc.org/southcarolina/ for more information.

The "Caribbean Solar Energy Society" will hold their 7th Annual Sustainable Applications for Tropical Island States Conference in Cocoa, Florida, USA June 3-6. . The conference brings together scientists, technologist, environmental organizations and industry from in and outside of the Caribbean to present, discuss and develop views on various areas of sustainable energy, its use and supply. Submit an abstract to present your latest work or display your renewable energy products as an exhibitor. The event is hosted by the Florida Solar Energy Center with registration on-line at www.caribbeansolar.org or contact Bill Young, young@fsec.ucf.edu.

South Carolina hosts its annual Tri-Association of Facility Managers Conference in Myrtle Beach March 3-6, 2007. The Tri-Association is made up of three energy-related state associates: the Association of South Carolina Energy Managers – ASCEM, the Association of State Planning and Construction Officials - ASPACO and the South Carolina Association of Physical Plant Administrators – SCAPPA. Energy Ace will moderate a panel on Performance Contracting. Contact Debbie Cauley at dmc@fmc.sc.edu for more information.