Okay, so maybe Damon Runyon was not thinking about a government-supported energy efficiency research project when he wrote, “the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that’s how the smart money bets.” But if he was alive today, he might have been thinking of … [continued]
Tints block out excess sunlight during the summer, but continue to block it out when it is needed during winter, so Dow Corning is developing a controllable window which enables you to switch between a clear window and a translucent tint with the flick of a switch. During the … [continued]
From the 1960s to the 1980s many affordable housing projects were developed. As these units have begun to age, they require frequent repair and upgrades to address health, safety, and energy efficiency concerns. The Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership (SWMHP) found that incorporating energy efficiency measures into its housing accommodations … [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. […]
There are plenty of ways manufacturers can meet the standard of being “energy efficient”. A lot of it is pretty technical for average people. From the homeowner’s point of view, when you are purchasing energy efficient, you are looking to purchase windows that represent a measurable improvement in keeping cold out on cold days and heat out on hot days. Obviously, the idea is keeping things cool when you want it cool and warm when you want it warm. Windows play a huge part in what comfort result you are experiencing inside your house by greatly influencing the costs to keep it the way you want it.
In what is considered to be a first in new materials science, a team of engineers at the Brookhaven and Los Alamos National Laboratories have created a light-absorbing material that efficiently generates charge and charge separation. What’s more, these “films” are transparent, making them perfect for windows. Soon, perhaps, your … [continued]
Now that Snooki has introduced the TV-viewing world to the glories of spray-on tans, the concept of spray-on solar power doesn’t seem so far fetched. In the solar powered world of the future you can spray-paint energy producing photovoltaic cells onto just about any surface, including windows. That’s what a … [continued]
The Empire State Building is in the middle of a green makeover. It is aiming to reduce energy usage by about 38%. Next on the makeover list is a change to its 6,500 windows. This improvement is predicted to not only protect the environment from tons of CO2 emissions, but … [continued]
The California Public Utilities Commission has approved the largest energy efficiency program in U.S. history, authorizing $3.1 billion in consumer rebates and efficiency programs over the next three years. This brings the state a giant step closer to implementing AB32, according to Lara Ettenson, director of California Energy Efficiency Policy at the NRDC.
Ettenson told me that the funding comes from the part of the budget that California’s regulated utilities may use to invest in conventional electricity. This may include “negawatts” or energy efficiency measures, which is cheaper than building new plants and transmission.
The Obama Administration in March announced $5 billion in funding to weatherize low income homes, but today little of that money has been spent. The logjam of Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) money that should be going to upgrade windows and insulation has been blamed on the Departments of Energy and … [continued]
