Originally published on the NRDC Expert Blog. by Joe Vukovich NRDC sued the U.S. Department of Energy yesterday for once again altering its energy efficiency standards-setting process to make it more difficult to set rigorous energy-saving levels for America’s appliances and equipment. We believe this change will harm consumers — especially … [continued]
Visitors know the Hawaiian islands for many things: ample sunshine, beautiful beaches, and friendly people. Residents know these things as well, but also are all too aware of high electricity prices, an aging electrical grid dependent on foreign oil, choke traffic, and other problems associated with the “cost of paradise.”
Whether we are speaking domestically or abroad, or even the east and west coast of the United States, energy conservation methods vary depending on the region because the climate ranges a great deal. Of course, home owners get to see the saved money in their bank account everywhere, which is … [continued]
Residential buildings account for approximately 20 percent of the total U.S. energy use and carbon dioxide emissions, and one of the major inefficiencies in the average house is the commonplace window. Poor seals, inferior curtains, and a host of other factors can turn an older window into a critical problem for the energy and budget concious home-owner. However, a new study released Tuesday has shown that retrofitting older windows yields similar efficiency results as replacing them, but is also much cheaper than the alternative. […]
A new report shows that multifamily buildings—analyst-speak for apartment buildings—could save residents and owners both up to $3.4 billion across America if simple energy efficiency upgrades were made.
Keeping a building cool is the focus of a new study launched by the University of Melbourne and the City of Melbourne which shows that painting the roof of a building white can go a long way to reducing the interior and exterior temperatures. The research results—which will be available … [continued]
Energy Star has a “Be an Energy Star” video challenge going on right now (on YouTube & Facebook), geared at highlighting the many great things people around the country are doing to save energy. Interestingly, I didn’t run across news of this via any of my normal cleantech avenues, but found it on sister site sustainablog. Jeff over on sustainablog chose the video below as his favorite so far (though, there are still a number of videos to come, as the contest runs until September 16). I have to admit it’s pretty cool and cute.
Painting roofs white in order to reduce energy consumption is hardly a new concept, but adding his name to the list of those who endorse the idea is sure to give it a boost.
A serious challenger has emerged to take on graphene’s title as the miracle material of the 21st century, and that is a common, silvery looking mineral called molybdenite. Like graphene, molybdenite occurs in nano-thin sheets. It could play an important role in engineering the next generation of super small, super … [continued]
The U.S. Department of Energy has just named the winners of its eighth annual Lighting for Tomorrow competition, and the focus was squarely on new high efficiency LED designs that could help cut lighting energy use by 25 percent. LEDs (light emitting diodes) also have a big advantage over conventional bulbs when it comes to longevity, which could add even more on top of the $120 billion in energy savings that DOE expects from LEDs over the next 20 years – if enough building owners can be convinced to make the shift.
