Enhancing Code Compliance Part I - How do we Measure it?

clock September 15, 2011 02:28 | commentComments (0)
States who accepted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding are required to adopt building energy codes that meet or exceed the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code for residential buildings and the ASHRAE 90.1-2007 standard for commercial buildings.  Additionally, these states agreed to develop and implement training and enforcement programs to achieve 90% compliance with the target codes by 2017.  This final provision requires that states measure and ... [More]
Categories: Building Energy Codes | Tools and Events | Webinars | Permalink
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Leveraging Contaminated Sites for Renewable Energy Opportunities

clock September 1, 2011 03:53 | commentComments (0)
Renewable energy (RE) investments are seen by many as “iffy” propositions. Relying on regulatory measures, fossil fuel energy prices, and often some form of government subsidies, conventional wisdom would argue that burdening such projects with yet even more regulated activities would be foolhardy, at best. Decades of efforts to remediate and re-use previously contaminated lands have resulted in the clearing of all property buildings to make them competitive with “greenfield... [More]
Categories: Renewable Energy | Tools and Events | Permalink
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Electric Vehicle Charging Stations – Are They Accessible?

clock August 11, 2011 05:50 | commentComments (0)
Are you thinking about buying a new car?  Is an all-electric vehicle, or EV, even a possibility?  Most EVs have a range of about 100 miles before requiring a battery charge.  While this covers 99% of household trips in the US, the location of charging stations becomes more important for midrange or longer excursions, which account for 15% of all miles driven.  The Alternative Fuel and Advanced Vehicles Data Center provides a graphical display of all electric charging stations... [More]
Categories: Tools and Events | Transportation | Permalink
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Solid State Lighting: LM-79 and LM-80

clock August 4, 2011 05:14 | commentComments (0)
“The finer things in life lights are rigorous test reports” The last post on solid-state lighting (SSLs, which are also commonly known as LEDs, or light-emitting diodes) explained one of the consequences of the rapid pace of technological improvement: the vastly different quality levels of new products at any given time. The post provided guidelines and shortcuts that consumers can use to help choose the right product from an enormous selection. To help consumers further narrow... [More]
Categories: Best Practices | Street & Traffic Lighting | Tools and Events | Permalink
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Solid-State Lighting: Choose Wisely

clock August 1, 2011 05:09 | commentComments (0)
“How to check the fine print without a microscope… or an engineering degree” In a previous post, we highlighted a new resource for municipalities looking to find out how solid-state lighting (SSL, a.k.a. LED) can help reduce energy costs while helping to meet efficiency goals.  The SSL Playbook  calls attention to the variability in LED product quality and performance. In some cases, such as shown in the figure below, the tested “efficacy” of LED pro... [More]
Categories: Best Practices | Street & Traffic Lighting | Tools and Events | Permalink
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