Imagine going through school and receiving no marks on your tests, essays or final exams. At the end of the year you received a single mark -- not even broken out by subject. How much value would that mark have? Would you be able to improve? Read more: http://bit.ly/4SD2Yd … [Read more...] about Real time feedback & pricing key to efficiency gains
In electricity planning, everything is geared to peak demand. About 15% of the total generation capacity in Ontario is required because of peak demand for 50 out of the 8,760 hours a year. In other words: Billions of dollars of capital cost are spent in developing the capacity to prepare for and supply demand which occurs only 0.57% of the time. Read more: http://bit.ly/6uSkdw … [Read more...] about Ice Bear Keeps Utilities from Feeling the Heat
As of Sept. 1, 2009, 100-watt incandescent light bulbs can no longer be manufactured in or imported into Europe. European households will save up to $80 a year on electricity bills, leading to EU-wide savings of up to $7.9-billion to $15.8-billion, according to European Union estimates. Read more in my column at the National Post : http://bit.ly/4Nh9yY … [Read more...] about Europe bans Incandescent Light Bulbs
My column of August 28th in The National Post is all about steps corporations can take to reduce their electricity costs through virtualizing their server systems. Read the whole story here: http://bit.ly/6CvSvV … [Read more...] about Upgrading data centres can slash electricity costs
By: Jordana Levine The first of its kind in North America, the Drake Landing Solar Community (DLSC) is heating its homes with solar energy and reducing five tonnes of greenhouse gases per year in every house. The community, located in Okotoks, Alberta, has 52 homes heated by seasonal thermal energy storage; the solar heat is stored underground in the summer and used in the homes during the winter. The project, which was first created by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), began collecting solar energy in June of 2007 and, after five years, the community is expected to receive 90 percent of its heat from solar alone. The need for non-renewable fossil fuels will diminish and shift to a cleaner and more sustainable unlimited source of energy: the sun. The DLSC project leader, Doug MeClenahan, says that there are almost no other projects like this one anywhere in the world. “You could probably count them on two hands.” The community’s space and water heating comes from solar energy, which is collected by 800 panels arranged on garage roofs around the community. Each panel generates about 1.5 MW of thermal power on a summer’s day. There is a combination of seasonal and short-term thermal storage (STTS), with boreholes in the ground to store the seasonal energy. When heat is transferred to the homes, there is an automatic valve in the basement of every house that shuts off the heat transfer when the temperature of the thermostat in the home is … [Read more...] about DLSC homes decrease GHGs by 5 tonnes each/yr
By: Jordana Levine After much debate and analysis, Intel is preparing to open its first green-registered building.[1] The research and development building in Haifa, Israel will cost $600,000 of green investments, which will be paid off in just three years.[2] The building will follow the Leadership in Energy and Environmental (LEED) rating system, which is a voluntary, consensus-based standard to develop sustainable and efficient buildings.[3] The Intel building is receiving the LEED certification for a variety of technologies that the building is being outfitted with; it will have an environmentally friendly construction process with green materials, natural lighting via an internal patio that distributes light from an atrium, efficient electricity and air conditioning and an irrigation system that uses recycled water only.[4] It is set to open in early in 2010.[5] Intel hopes that the building in Haifa will lead to more LEED certified office buildings and, ultimately, to Intel’s first LEED certified Fab. A Fab is a semiconductor fabrication plant, meaning it is a factory that fabricates designs for other companies to use as well.[6] Although Intel has reduced its overall needs for freshwater in the long run, the corporation’s water consumption actually rose by four percent between 2007 and 2008. Intel says this increase is probably because of production growth and the complexity of its new manufacturing processes, which require more water.[7] Although … [Read more...] about Intel to open LEED certified building in Israel
By: Jordana Levine Google is creating yet another application personalized to its users. The Google PowerMeter will soon allow customers to see detailed description of their homes’ energy consumption. Although many homes have ‘smart meters,’ which allow people to access information about their electricity, they don’t yet have an easy way to look at the details of their energy usage. The PowerMeter works by sending the information from the smart meter to the internet, where it is read and analyzed. The PowerMeter will show customers the elements of their energy usage through a Google gadget... for free! Google found that for every six households that save 10 percent on electricity, it is the equivalent of reducing carbon emissions by one regular car. Studies show if you get to look at your personal energy information, it is likely that you’ll end up saving 5-15% on monthly power bills – and people who actually take the time to replace old energy-draining appliances can save much more. So using the PowerMeter could help lower emissions immensely. The product isn’t widely available yet, but it’s being tested on a handful of Google’s employees and utility partners. Toronto Hydro is participating in the test run, along with eight other partners from the US and India. The PowerMeter is expected to go public later in 2009. To find out more, go to the Google PowerMeter website. … [Read more...] about New Google gadget shows energy consumption online
By: Jordana Levine Energy efficiency, renewable energy and co-generation alternatives provide cheaper, more secure, and less wasteful forms of electricity generation than nuclear, concludes a new report, Powerful Options: A review of Ontario’s options for replacing aging nuclear plants. Increased funding for electric utilities’ energy efficiency programs, establishing fees for natural gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) and making long-term electricity supply agreements with Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador would all provide the power Ontario needs in the future as aging nuclear plants are phased out. The research report by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA) was released in May 2009. By 2021, 47 percent of Ontario’s nuclear power will be gone because the generators will be past their service life. That means 60.4 billion kWh of nuclear power will need to be replaced. The Government of Ontario plans to sign a contract to build two nuclear reactors at the Darlington Nuclear Station east of Oshawa. The report points out that conservation and efficiency would cost only 2.7 cents per kWh and, if the power authority was to aggressively promote efficiency -- demand for electricity will fall by 28.6 billion kWh between 2008 and 2021. The OCAA doesn’t support replacing old nuclear reactors with new ones, and recommends that, instead, the provincial government require the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to get serious about energy … [Read more...] about Energy Efficiency cheapest way to replace Ontario’s aging nuclear power
By: Jordana Levine. If renewable energy production in the US was increased 20% by 2020, 185,000 new jobs would be created in renewable energy development. Consumers would also save $10.5 billion on electricity and gas bills and farmers, ranchers, and rural landowners would have $25.6 billion added to their total income. The Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory in Berkeley discovered that renewable energy not only creates more jobs per megawatt of power installed, but also more jobs per unit of energy produced and per dollar invested compared to the fossil fuel energy sector. In the European Union, net employment growth in the EU is projected to increase to 950,000 with current policies, and up to 1,666,000 jobs by 2010 under the Advanced Renewable Strategy (ARS) that has been implemented. Renewable energy would also make up 22.1% of the EU’s total energy by 2010 The Environmental Energy Study Institute has a fact sheet discussing jobs from renewable energy and energy efficiency both within the US and around the world. It lists the improvements in energy resources, including the increase in wind, geothermal, solar and tidal energy and well as biofuels and clean-coal plants. The fact sheet shows the immense number of jobs that these industries add to the economy. The full fact sheet can be downloaded at the EESI website … [Read more...] about Renewable energy creates more jobs than fossil fuels
By: Jordana Levine Up to 10 percent of household electricity is wasted in homes around the world. Even when electrical appliances and equipment are not being used, they still draw away power, causing electricity bills to swell and contributing to one percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.[1] Standby power, also called vampire power, phantom power, or leaking electricity, is the power that is used by anything electronic when it is not switched on. Although it may seem that an appliance is idle, it usually uses electricity to be prepared for a remote control, show the time on a digital clock or standby light, or, much of the time, do nothing at all. When something is plugged into the wall, it sucks away power, acting as an “electricity vampire.” Although many products have some sort of indicator to show that they are an electricity vampire, such as a display, remote control, or rechargeable batteries, some are secret suckers. The only way to tell with those ones is to use a meter to measure the energy they use. A DVD player can use over 10.5 watts of energy when it is turned off, a garage door opener uses an average of 4.48 watts when it is idle and ready, and a rear-projection television uses nearly 7 watts on average when it is turned off, but it can use up to 48.5 watts, depending on the model.[2] Each watt used costs an average of $1 US per year for any one of the 28 countries that is a member of the International Energy Agency (IEA). … [Read more...] about 10% electricity wasted by ‘vampire power’ in homes
