Energy Management and Home Automation with Clipsal C Bus

African Power Generation

2011-10-14T03:16:00.000-07:00

Angola’s Kambambe hydroelectric dam to operate from October 2012

The Kambambe dam
Luanda, Angola --- ESI-AFRICA.COM --- 14 October 2011 - It’s been announced that the Kambambe hydroelectric dam, located in Kwanza Norte province of Angola, and with a total installed capacity of 180 megawatts (MW), will start its operation in full from October 2012.

This information has been released here by the administrator of production of the National Electricity Company, José Carlos Neves, during a morning programme on Radio Nacional de Angola (RNA).

The Kambambe Dam, according to Neves, is benefiting from rehabilitation and modernisation of two units, involving the replacement of major instruments of supervision and control of the venture, which had previously reduced its production by 50% of installed capacity.

He stressed that the project aims to ensure greater operational capability and availability of the project, and confirmed that completion was scheduled for October next year.

“With full operation of the hydroelectric dam the power supply to Luanda and other regions of the country will be improved,” he said.

Alternative energy

2011-07-18T07:06:00.001-07:00

Green: Lighting the Hopes of the Grid-less
Jul 16, 2011 New York Times
Felicity Barringer

Green: Politics

From Lenin to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 20th-century political leaders made the provision of universal electricity a centerpiece of their programs and oratory. “Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country,” one slogan went. Or, in the case of F.D.R.’s Tennessee Valley Authority, “T.V.A.: Electricity For All.”

A rural family in southern India with a solar-powered light fixture.SelcoA rural family in southern India with a solar-powered light fixture.

In this century, the United Nations has updated the concept in addressing the problem that 1.4 billion people in the world are living without electricity. The new buzz phrase is “Sustainable Energy For All,” but the approach is very different, because in many cases these people cannot be connected to a grid. Given that the vast majority of the unconnected live near the equator, where the sun is at its zenith, the solutions being tried are almost all based on solar power.

One of the chief proselytizers is Richenda Van Leeuwen, who oversees the energy-access efforts of the United Nations Foundation, a philanthropic organization that works to support many of the United Nations’ humanitarian efforts. Like a Hollywood producer trying to bring together a script, a director, some actors and some financial angels, she spends her waking hours trying to assemble packages of financial resources, new technologies and new payment practices and to pinpoint willing recipients of the products.

“There are so many different targeted applications to help people solve problems on a daily basis,” she said in an interview — things like a solar-powered lantern that an Indian midwife can hang above the bed so that both of her hands are free, for example. Or the desk lamps made by the San Francisco-based company d.Light Design. Or solar-powered drip irrigation systems being used in Benin and India, or solar-powered lights for voting booths in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ms. Van Leeuwen’s goal is to provide emerging companies making these technologies with access to funds from socially conscious investors who are willing to tolerate higher risks and less financial reward. First she seeks to ensure that the price of the products is within the reach of the people who will be using them. Then there is a need for a supply chain that can distribute the devices, and a support system that ensures that there are spare parts and local people who can do repairs.

A lot of this would not have been as possible a decade or two ago, when solar power technologies were less robust and electrical lighting usually required energy-hungry incandescent bulbs. Now, Ms. Van Leeuwen said, advances in light-emitting diodes, which provide more light with less energy, and in small-scale solar power technology are spawning a new generation of devices for people who lack access to a grid.

The effort evokes the spread of cellular phones, swiftly adopted in places around the world that had no land lines. Ms. Van Leeuwen cited a recent prediction by the United Nations publication World Energy Outlook that said that if the goal of 100 percent access by 2030 is achieved, 70 percent of those with new access will get it either through a mini-grid or off-grid devices like those mentioned above.

If the prices of the new devices can be scaled to their means, these people will form a significant potential market. “If you can get a cellphone in the remotest village,” Ms. Van Leeuven said, “you can get a small-scale energy solution, too.” In 2010, she pointed out, more money was invested in renewable energy in the developing world (mostly China) than in the developed world

lighting control and energy management

2011-07-18T07:05:00.001-07:00

Future for incandescent lightbulbs looking dim
Jul 18, 2011 Miami Herald
So, how many members of Congress does it take to screw up a light bulb?
It only sounds like a joke. The fate of the incandescent bulb, the oldest and most common of household electrical devices, has morphed into a political litmus test, one championed by conservative leaders from Rush Limbaugh to Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann.

In a vote along party lines, the House last week blocked a GOP effort to repeal efficiency standards that will begin phasing out the worst watt-wasters next year. But backers like Florida Rep. Bill Posey who sees the notion of regulating bulbs as evidence of a “nanny state’’ run amok, haven’t abandoned the right to light fight.

“This is a sore spot with people,’’ said the Rockledge Republican. “My constituents overwhelmingly don’t want the government to decide what kind of light bulb they want.’’

Whichever way the Washington debate goes, the future is dimming for cheap, old-school filament bulbs, which haven’t changed much since Thomas Edison patented his design more than 130 years ago.

Along with now-common compact florescent bulbs, a new generation of light emitting diode (LED) bulbs claiming up to 23 years of life has begun showing up on store shelves and their eye-popping initial prices of $50-plus have started to drop. Both kinds last years longer and sip roughly a quarter of the juice of their predecessors.

David Schuellerman, a manager for General Electric Lighting, said demand for standard bulbs has dropped by half over the last five years, a trend he expects to continue as homeowners begin following the LED lead of business, which has already put the technology in everything from refrigerator cases to traffic signals.

Maintenance and energy saving easily justify higher initial costs, he said. “It’s compelling when you think that these large companies that have the capacity to crunch the numbers — Starbucks, Walmart, Target — like LED for their stores,’’

At Light Bulbs Unlimited in Fort Lauderdale, purchasing agent Marek Luce has seen increasing interest in LEDs, which are fully dimmable, burn much cooler and are so versatile they come in rope or tape strips now popular under kitchen cabinets. But he’s also noted some runs on incandescents by customers worried about “bulb ban” rumors.

“At times, if they need one, they’ll buy 10. It’s not like they’re buying 200 or 300,’’ said Luce, who believes consumer education will ease concerns. “Nobody feels like anybody’s opinion was asked. A lot of people are afraid of not being left with a choice.’’

The backlash has flummoxed environmentalists and energy efficiency advocates.

“Because the light bulb is so iconic, it’s being used a poster child for a political debate about how much government should regulate,’’ said Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit whose members include 150 major corporations and organizations. “To me, it’s mind-boggling that we would try to take a step backwards from what we’ve been doing on a regular basis.’’

The standards — produced with bipartisan congressional support and signed by President George W. Bush in 2007 — were drawn up with the goal of reducing national energy demands and pollution. They mirror regulations that have been applied to appliances from refrigerators to water heaters since the 1970s.

Supporters insist the standards will save consumers billions of dollars over the long haul.

By 2020, when all bulbs will have to be about 28 percent more efficient than current standard bulbs, the average household bill is expected to drop by 7 percent, or $85 a year, according to an analysis by the National Resources Defense Council. Another study by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy put overall savings for Americans at $12.5 billion a year, over $900 million in Florida alone. The study also claims the new standards would eliminate the need for 33 power plants nationwide.

The rules, which match standards already in place in Europe, have support from lighting manufacturers, trade associations and the Obama administration.

Last week, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu dismissed claims by critics that the standards amounted to a de facto ban of incandescents.

They do effectively phase out the cheapest standard bulbs by 2014, starting with 100 watt ones that are supposed to be off store shelves by January. But manufacturers say they already have halogen-based incandescents available that offer similar quality light and dimming options but will cost a bit more.

“The only difference is they help American consumers save more money,’’ Chu said.

But to some conservatives, the bulb regs have become a lightning rod.

Limbaugh, on his radio show, called them an assault on personal choice, proclaiming, “Let there be incandescent light and freedom.’’ Bachmann, the Minnesota representative and Tea Party favorite considered an early GOP presidential front-runner, proposed one bill to repeal the standard.

The House voted on a second similar one from Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas. It won a majority, 233 to 193, but failed because it was introduced under a rule requiring two-thirds approval.,

The debate extends beyond Washington. Last month, the Texas Legislature passed a bill allowing use of incandescents — but only if they’re made in the state. South Carolina and Pennsylvania are considering similar measures

Critics point to the high cost of alternatives and pollution concerns from mercury used in compact florescent bulbs, which are supposed to be recycled and require careful cleanup if they’re broken — both concerns supporters contend have been exaggerated,

Maureen Martin, senior fellow for legal affairs at The Heartland Institute, a free-market think tank based in Chicago, believes congress has long overstepped its authority with efficiency standards.

“Just because we have always done something in the past doesn’t make it right,’’ she said. But she also acknowledged that the debate was bigger than the bulb.

“It has become a symbol for low-flow toilets and all the other restrictions that have been imposed on everyday things,’’ she said. “People are so fed up at the grass roots level.’’

Florida Rep. Posey supported the repeal, even though it was opposed by an LED manufacturer in his district, Satellite Beach-based Lighting Science Group.

The company’s chief executive, Jim Haworth, issued a statement crediting the tougher standards with sparking industry innovation, helping his company grow from 100 to 350 employees in the last year and reducing energy use and pollution. Haworth called lighting, which consumes 19 percent of global electrical output, the “low hanging fruit’’ in energy conservation.

Posey, who said he used both traditional and florescent bulbs in his home and offices, stressed the repeal wasn’t intended to promote aging light bulb technology but aimed at preserving consumer choice and cutting through the regulatory red tape.

“To have 40 pages of federal code over what kind of light bulb you can have is ridiculous,’’ he said.

Though the repeal failed, foes have already launched a back-door attack with an amendment that would strip the efficiency program of funding, but with the Senate controlled by Democrats, their hopes appear to be flickering.

Bob Keefe, a spokesman for the environmental group NRDC, said GOP ideologues had hijacked a common sense measure that had already made many appliances more efficient.

“I don’t think anybody really wants to go back to ice boxes or 1960s refrigerators, do they?’’

Electricity no longer a cheap commodity

2011-06-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

Eskom may lose management of national electricity grid

Cape Town, South Africa --- ESI-AFRICA.COM --- 08 June 2011 - The Cape Chamber of Commerce has welcomed plans to take away the management of the national electricity grid from Eskom, and to allocate it to a new and independent operator.

Business Live reports that the changes were outlined in the Independent System and Market Operator Establishment Bill that is to go before Parliament shortly. The Bill was published on 13 May and the public have until 13 June to comment on it.

“This is a long overdue development and we hope it will create a level playing field for independent power producers (IPPs) to contribute to solving the country's energy crisis,” said, Chamber president Michael Bagraim.

Eskom's failure to conclude purchase agreements with IPP’s has been heavily criticised, as have the long delays in making use of co-generation projects.

“The problem is that when Eskom is given the job of buying in power it will naturally favour its own power stations, and the IPPs will just not feature until we have another emergency on our hands,” said Chamber energy portfolio committee chairman Peter Haylett.

He explained that the Bill provided for the new company which, like Eskom, would be owned wholly by the state, and would take over the distribution network and control the purchase and sale of electricity. This model had been successful in other countries and it should also work in South Africa.

Haylett said that the new company would inevitably employ former Eskom distribution staff, but he hoped there would be some new blood at the top in order to develop a culture of independence and win the confidence of IPP’s.

“I think the government has realised that it needs help in financing new power stations and the best way to do this is to bring in the private sector,” he suggested. The big bonus is that this will open up opportunities to use new methods of generating electricity, such as combined-cycle gas power stations and more wind power, which complement each other perfectly. Both gas and wind power projects can be constructed in under three years, while coal and nuclear plants take eight to 10 years to build. This will speed up the supply of new capacity,” he pointed out.

Haylett said breaking Eskom into two independent companies should make it easier to manage the electricity industry as each company would be able to focus on its specific task. It would also introduce competition with IPP’s and this should improve efficiency and keep costs in check.

“We are sure the frustrated IPP’s which have been watching from the sidelines will welcome this Bill. The challenge now will be to make it all happen as quickly as possible,” Haylett concluded.

electricity crisis

2011-05-26T06:49:00.001-07:00

return to the top
3. Google And Citibank Each Throw $55m To The Wind
May 25, 2011 Associated Press
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) -- Google Inc. is throwing $55 million to the wind in California.
The Mountain-View-based Internet search giant says it's partnering with Citibank to help finance the Alta Wind Energy Center wind farm in the Tehachapi Mountains.

The Los Angeles Times reports Google and Citibank are each plunking down $55 million.

The Kern County wind farm will generate 1.5 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power 450,000 homes through Southern California Edison.

The Alta Wind project is being built in phases. Segments are already generating 720 megawatts of energy and another 300 megawatts goes online by the end of the year.

Google and Citibank are buying the fourth phase of the project, known as Alta IV, and will lease it back to developer Terra-Gen to operate over a long-term contract.

---

Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com

Building Management and control

2011-05-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

. White House sees compromise with Republicans on some energy issues
May 26, 2011 Platts
The White House believes an energy package that supports development of electric vehicles, energy efficiency and energy research and development could attract the bipartisan support needed to pass in the current Congress, a presidential adviser said Wednesday.
"We have a tremendous opportunity with electrification of the fleet and energy efficiency at large," said Heather Zichal, deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change. "There is bipartisan support."

Speaking at an energy event moderated by National Journal, Zichal said provisions supporting EVs and efficiency could serve as the base for additional bipartisan provisions approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to advance domestic energy production and research and development.

"We've been focused on finding those areas where there is a history of bipartisan support," Zichal said. "The administration has been working very closely with both sides of the aisle [in] both the House and Senate to answer that question -- what is doable -- because it is an imperative."

Rather than the large comprehensive energy bills of the past, lawmakers focused on high gasoline prices appear to be "coalescing around a smaller package" that includes research and development, efficiency and can attract the bipartisan support necessary to get through Congress, she said.

A bill (S. 948) by Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley and Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander to advance electric vehicle deployment "has a lot of great ideas" and the White House has included components from the bill its in budget proposal, Zichal said.

"We are hopeful it can serve as the unpinning for [moving] a broader package through Congress," she said.

A bill in the House of Representatives to expand the use of natural gas vehicles through tax breaks has not been "specifically embraced" by the White House, but the administration is "open to working with Congress" on the legislation, she said.

That Republican bill (H.R. 1380) has some Democrats among its 188 cosponsors and is expected to pass the House. But whether legislation from the Senate geared toward EV development could gain support in the Republican-controlled House remains in question.

On Thursday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is expected to vote on bills that would create an agency to provide financial assistance to develop and deploy low-emission energy technologies, to amend the Federal Power Act to protect the grid from cyber attacks and other threats, and to authorize the Department of Energy to demonstrate long-term geological storage of carbon dioxide from power plants.

The committee is expected to debate and vote on Merkley and Alexander's EV bill in June.

In a separate discussion with National Journal, Alexander said he believed the best way to deal with high gasoline prices "is to create an environment for electric vehicles to succeed."

Alexander said that his bill with Merkley is aimed at creating a five-year "jumpstart" for putting EVs on the road nationwide. The plan would require about a $3-billion commitment from the federal government, he said. The bill would create a program under DOE for communities to compete for federal grants to help deploy EVs and provide other incentives to get EVs on the road.

Electricity that goes unused overnight across the country equates to generation from 60 nuclear power plants and could fuel 40% of the nation?s cars and light trucks, according to Alexander. "All we have to do is plug it in at night," he said. "And we get a cheaper fuel than oil."

Energy management

2011-04-27T23:14:00.001-07:00

Retailers need to save money to make money
Apr 26, 2011 Guardian
The spike in oil prices undoubtedly has piqued consumers' interest in energy-efficient products. When they visit retailers to make such purchases, however, the venues in which they shop are notorious for their energy waste. Lights are often left on 24 hours a day; refrigerators do a good of a job chilling shoppers as well as products; and packaging is often excessive. Furthermore, most consumers simply do not have an appreciation for how much energy is used transporting products from factory to warehouse to store. Yet, as the retail sector becomes even more competitive, thin margins make it incumbent on these companies to invest in initiatives that can both reduce energy consumption and maximise profits.
Walmart has won plenty of recognition for its energy efficiency initiatives. The world's largest retailer's trucking fleet delivered 77 million more cases in 2009 while driving 100 million less miles (161 million kilometres) in 2008. More stores boast everything from white roofs (which reflect sunlight), LED lighting installations, and additional energy-saving features that are specific to local climate conditions. Walmart's success, however, has not gone unnoticed by its competitors.

Minnesota-based Target also has aggressively worked on reducing its carbon footprint. Like Walmart, the chain partners with the US government's "Energy Star" coalition, and 150 of Target's stores and facilities have met the program's strict standards for energy efficiency. Low-wattage light fixtures illuminate most stores' floors, and enclosed refrigerated cases have sensors that only light them up when shoppers traipse by them. In addition, Target reduces its overall energy consumption by boosting recycling efforts at stores, which decreases the amount of waste sent to landfill. Meanwhile, at its headquarters, the central office has done its share to save electricity by installing an automated system that nudges computers into standby mode after business hours.

Just as Walmart's focuses on energy efficiency in its stores abroad, European retail chains with extensive global operations work on reducing their utility bills, too. Ahold, the Dutch conglomerate that operates both the omnipresent Albert Heijn in the Netherlands and Giant supermarkets along America's east coast, has incrementally reduced its CO2 emissions per square metre of sales area in the last few years. Design is a large part of Ahold's energy efficiency agenda. At Albert Heijn stores, integrated heating and cooling systems use wasted energy from cooling systems to heat the stores, eliminating the need for natural gas for heat. Across the pond, Ahold removed many unnecessary lighting fixtures in its Giant and Stop & Shop stores, reducing energy waste. Other stores benefit from daylight harvesting, a system in which photosensors reduce light fixtures' illuminance during daylight hours, which not only make the stores appear more airy, but reduces energy consumption. Finally, Ahold has given its stores the flexibility needed to experiment with alternative energy systems, from fuel cells to solar arrays to the purchase of renewable energy credits in places where renewable energy technologies are not feasible.

The investment in energy efficiency goals is not cheap. France-based Carrefour, for example, spends 30M euros (US$42.3M or GDP£26.4M) annually on energy efficiency programs, a tiny sum compared to its worldwide revenues (90 billion euros) but 3% of its net profit. But just as making small changes within a home can reduce consumers' energy bills, retailers' can reap sizeable dividends by attaching freezer doors, streamlining trucking fleets' delivery routes, and installing cost-effective lighting systems. Automation also can add to the bottom line by the quick detection of refrigerant leaks and shutting down information and communication systems when they are not needed.

While solar panel and wind turbine installations make for great public relations campaigns, they are at a pilot stage. Not only is this large equipment expensive to install, but retail stores face numerous constraints when they attempt to do so, including the fact that they often lease, not own, the land and buildings on which the equipment operates. With their vendors already supplying them with consumer products at the thinnest of margins, retailers will continue to invest in energy efficiency programs and experiment with renewable energy pilot projects. Cutting energy use is not only about good public relations, but – while economies are still weak and as energy prices are on the rise – about staying competitive

Electricity no longer a cheap commodity

2011-04-11T05:58:00.000-07:00

Wasteful energy consumption isn’t what it used to be. Once merely an act of inattentiveness that held little consequence, gluttonous energy consumption practices now significantly impact the bottom line of both individuals and businesses. As energy costs continue to skyrocket and environmental concerns move to the fore, running an energy-efficient business becomes a mission-critical practice that not only saves significant money, but also helps create a positive identity that attracts publicity and ongoing business

Green Energy Alternative Energy

2011-04-05T23:26:00.001-07:00

Take that!
This is the content of a short speech given on Friday night in Cape Town by Lewis Gordon Pugh OIG (a.k.a. the Human Polar Bear) about the proposed fracking for gas in the Karoo, by Shell. He received a sustained standing ovation !

Please read it to the end and pass it on if it matters to you….

Ladies and gentlemen, thank for the opportunity to address you. My name is Lewis Pugh.

This evening, I want to take you back to the early 1990's in this country. You may remember them well.

Nelson Mandela had been released. There was euphoria in the air. However, there was also widespread violence and deep fear. This country teetered on the brink of a civil war. But somehow, somehow, we averted it. It was a miracle!

And it happened because we had incredible leaders. Leaders who sought calm... Leaders who had vision. So in spite of all the violence, they sat down and negotiated a New Constitution.

I will never forget holding the Constitution in my hands for the first time..

I was a young law student at the University of Cape Town. This was the cement that brought peace to our land. This was the document, which held our country together. The rights contained herein, made us one.

I remember thinking to myself - never again will the Rights of South Africans be trampled upon.

Now every one of us - every man and every women - black, white, coloured, Indian, believer and non believer - has the right to vote. We all have the Right to Life. And our children have the right to a basic education. These rights are enshrined in our Constitution.

These rights were the dreams of Oliver Tambo. These rights were the dreams of Nelson Mandela. These rights were the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi, of Desmond Tutu and of Molly Blackburn. These rights were our dreams.

People fought – and died – so that we could enjoy these rights today.

Also enshrined in our Constitution, is the Right to a Healthy Environment and the Right to Water. Our Constitution states that we have the Right to have our environment protected for the benefit of our generation and for the benefit of future generations.

Fellow South Africans, let us not dishonour these rights. Let us not dishonour those men and women who fought and died for these rights. Let us not allow corporate greed to disrespect our Constitution and desecrate our environment.

Never, ever did I think that there would be a debate in this arid country about which was more important – gas or water. We can survive without gas.... We cannot live without water.

If we damage our limited water supply – and fracking will do just that we will have conflict again here in South Africa. Look around the world. Wherever you damage the environment you have conflict.

Fellow South Africans, we have had enough conflict in this land – now is the time for peace.

A few months ago I gave a speech with former President of Costa Rica. Afterwards I asked him "Mr President, how do you balance the demands of development against the need to protect the environment?"

He looked at me and said : "It is not a balancing act. It is a simple business decision. If we cut down our forests in Costa Rica to satisfy a timber company, what will be left for our future?"

But he pointed out : "It is also a moral decision. It would be morally wrong to chop down our forests and leave nothing for my children and my grandchildren."

Ladies and gentlemen, that is what is at stake here today: Our children's future. And that of our children s children.

There may be gas beneath our ground in the Karoo. But are we prepared to destroy our environment for 5 to 10 years worth of fossil fuel and further damage our climate?

Yes, people will be employed – but for a short while. And when the drilling is over, and Shell have packed their bags and disappeared, then what? Who will be there to clean up? And what jobs will our children be able to eke out?

Now Shell will tell you that their intentions are honourable. That fracking in the Karoo will not damage our environment. That they will not contaminate our precious water. That they will bring jobs to South Africa.

That gas is clean and green. And that they will help secure our energy supplies.

When I hear this – I have one burning question. Why should we trust them? Africa is to Shell what the Gulf of Mexico is to BP.

Shell, you have a shocking record here in Africa. Just look at your operations in Nigeria. You have spilt more than 9 million barrels of crude oil into the Niger Delta. That's twice the amount of oil that BP spilt into the Gulf of Mexico.

You were found guilty of bribing Nigerian officials – and to make the case go away in America - you paid an admission of guilt fine of US$48 million.

And to top it all, you stand accused of being complicit in the execution of Nigeria's leading environmental campaigner – Ken Saro-Wira and 8 other activists.

If you were innocent, why did you pay US$15.5 million to the widows and children to settle the case out of Court?

Shell, the path you want us to take us down is not sustainable. I have visited the Arctic for 7 summers in a row. I have seen the tundra thawing.

I have seen the retreating glaciers. And I have seen the melting sea ice. And I have seen the impact of global warming from the Himalayas all the way down to the low-lying Maldive Islands. Wherever I go – I see it.

Now is the time for change. We cannot drill our way out of the energy crisis. The era of fossil fuels is over. We must invest in renewable energy. And we must not delay!

Shell, we look to the north of our continent and we see how people got tired of political tyranny. We have watched as despots, who have ruled ruthlessly year after year, have been toppled in a matter of weeks.

We too are tired. Tired of corporate tyranny. Tired of your short term, unsustainable practices.

We watched as Dr Ian Player, a game ranger from Natal, and his friends, took on Rio Tinto (one of the biggest mining companies in the world) and won.

And we watched as young activists from across Europe, brought you down to your knees, when you tried to dump an enormous oil rig into the North Sea.

Shell, we do not want our Karoo to become another Niger Delta.

Do not underestimate us. Goliath can be brought down. We are proud of what we have achieved in this young democracy – and we are not about to let your company come in and destroy it.

So let this be a Call to Arms to everyone across South Africa, who is sitting in the shadow of Goliath: Stand up and demand these fundamental human rights promised to you by our Constitution. Use your voices - tweet, blog, petition, rally the weight of your neighbours and of people in power.

Let us speak out from every hilltop. Let us not go quietly into this bleak future.

Let me end off by saying this - You have lit a fire in our bellies, which no man or woman can extinguish. And if we need to, we will take this fight all the way from your petrol pumps to the very highest Court in this land. We will take this fight from the farms and towns of the Karoo to the streets of London and Amsterdam. And we will take this fight to every one of your shareholders. And I have no doubt, that in the end, good will triumph over evil.

Energy Management

2011-03-24T02:08:00.001-07:00

BOUT EARTH HOUR
Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries/territories participating. Global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, CN Tower in Toronto, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.

In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries/territories officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative.

On Saturday 27 March, Earth Hour 2010 became the biggest Earth Hour ever. A record 128 countries and territories joined the global display of climate action. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Asia Pacific to Europe and Africa to the Americas switched off. People across the world from all walks of life turned off their lights and came together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet.

Earth Hour 2011 will take place on Saturday 26 March at 8.30PM (local time). This Earth Hour we want you to go beyond the hour, so after the lights go back on think about what else you can do to make a difference. Together our actions add up.

Visit our Beyond the Hour platform to share your stories and to get inspiration from the actions our supporters have shared with us already.

Earth Hour by WWF
Earth Hour is organized by WWF. With almost 5 million supporters and a global network in over 100 countries/territories, it’s one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature.

Earth Hour timeline
Turn back the clock on Earth Hour and discover why, how, where and when it all started.

Why get involved?
Put simply, because our future depends on it!

Earth Hour has done a lot to raise awareness of sustainability issues. But there’s more to it than switching off lights for one hour once a year. It’s all about giving people a voice and working together to create a better future for our planet.

lighting control and energy management

2011-03-15T22:56:00.000-07:00

Wireless Lighting Controls Offer Flexibility And Cost Savings in Commercial Buildings
BY CRAIG DILOUIE, ON MARCH 11, 2011

Image courtesy of Leviton.
Radio-frequency (RF) wireless communication is a significant emerging lighting control technology. In a typical hardwired lighting control system, control signals are sent using communication wires. In a wireless RF system, control devices communicate through the air using radio waves, eliminating the need for control wiring. The resulting advantages enable advanced lighting control with greater installation flexibility and lower labor installation cost, ideal for hard-to-wire applications non-accessible ceilings, hard ceilings, asbestos abasement issues, and brick and mortar existing buildings.
Wireless RF lighting control first became popularized in residential applications, with typical applications including home theater, kitchens and other common areas, master bedrooms and exterior and security lighting. In recent years, however, wireless RF lighting control has emerged as a viable alternative to hardwired controls in commercial building applications. What benefits does RF wireless communication provide?

The first benefit is flexibility. Wireless control devices can be placed where they are needed without limitation imposed by wiring, including areas that are difficult to wire. More flexibility is provided in unique applications. Electrical planning may be shortened. After installation, devices can be moved and the system expanded with relative ease.

The second benefit is labor and material cost savings, which may result in net installation savings after the typically higher product cost is figured. Wireless control eliminates the need for dedicated control wiring and associated switch legs, traveler wires and other raw materials. The system installs more quickly, producing labor savings. With no damage to walls or ceilings, and little to no disruption to business operations, wireless control lends itself well to existing building applications demanding the benefits of advanced lighting control.

Image courtesy of Leviton.
The advantages of wireless control make these solutions particularly suitable for commercial building applications where the cost of running control wires is too costly or simply not possible, such as outdoor lighting, parking garages, warehouses and retrofits.
RF Control Systems

Wireless RF control devices for commercial applications include occupancy sensors, photosensors, low-voltage relay switches, line-voltage controls, plug controls, hotel card switches, shade controls, HVAC and valve controllers, door/window sensors. Despite similarities between products, various manufacturers may take significantly different approaches.

In the simplest wireless RF system, a sensor, such as an occupancy sensor, communicates to a controller that controls the load, such as a wall switch with embedded RF receiver, using radio waves instead of wiring. The level of communication is pier to pier—two devices communicating within range. To extend the range, a repeater is required.

Wireless control devices may be powered by batteries or through energy harvested from the operating environment. High-quality batteries offer a rated life of 10 years. Self-powered devices are available using EnOcean’s wireless RF technology. For example, the simple motion of pressing a light switch harvests a sufficient amount of energy to send a control signal to a receiver. Sensors are powered by ambient light or via temperature differences. Hotel key card systems are powered by the motion of the placement of the card into the device.

Image courtesy of Ledalite.

Image courtesy of Ledalite.
Mesh Networking

More sophisticated control needs, involving a greater complexity of loads and integration of multiple control strategies, will involve larger systems such as mesh networks. In a mesh network, control signals are passed along, or routed among, all of the wireless devices that make up the system, or network nodes, providing multiple, redundant pathways for signals to get to their intended receiver(s). As such, repeaters are not necessary. In a typical system, each device is connected via at least two pathways. If two-way communication is enabled, devices can acknowledge receipt and request retransmission of data, enhancing reliability.

Image courtesy of Zensys.
Communication of a robust control signal is therefore enabled via the most efficient path between devices that have no direct path to each other or are out of range. This approach makes it possible for devices with relatively low transmitting power to communicate reliably over long distances. Mesh networks are “self healing,” meaning if one of the devices is not functioning, the signal simply routes through another functioning device. This type of configuration is easily scalable. Note that configuring a mesh network is more difficult than a non-mesh network. And the selected solution should include a method for locating and identifying devices for installation, operations and maintenance.
Protocols

For wireless RF control devices to be interoperable within a given control system, they must be compatible with the same protocol. Today, there are four main types of RF communication protocols: ZigBee, Z-Wave, EnOcean and proprietary.

ZigBee is an open-source protocol (IEEE 802.15.4) that is supported by the ZigBee Alliance of manufacturers. Vendors offering products based on the 2.4 GHz ZigBee platform include Sensor Switch, Crestron and Control4. ZigBee enables complex control functions and mesh and star networking configurations.

Z-Wave was developed by Zensys, a home controls manufacturer, and is shared with partnering companies through the Z-Wave Alliance, making this protocol a de facto open standard. Vendors offering products on the 900 MHz Z-Wave platform include Leviton, Cooper Wiring Devices and Intermatic.

EnOcean technology was developed by EnOcean and is shared with partnering companies through the EnOcean Alliance, making this protocol another de facto open standard. Manufacturers offering self-powered products based on the 315 MHz EnOcean platform include Leviton, Ledalite Architectural Products, Illumra and Zumtobel.

Some manufacturers develop proprietary protocols unique to their products operating as part of an engineered system. Manufacturers include Vantage Controls (900 MHz), WattStopper (900 MHz) and Lutron Electronics (400 MHz).

Image courtesy of Leviton.
Range
Wireless RF control devices in a network communicate with a radio range of 30-100 ft., more or less depending on whether the signal must travel through open space or obstacles such as dense walls. Range can be extended by adding devices, either repeaters or additional control devices in a network. Passing the signal through obstructions can impact range; the range given by a manufacturer as “open air” distance is not the same as what will occur in a structure.

Not just physical obstructions such as walls, but the type of material in the obstruction—steel, wood, brick, cement, etc.—will affect range. Installation in metal enclosures such as a metal junction box with a stainless steel faceplate will similarly affect range. Finally, range may be dependent on what protocol is used; the EnOcean Alliance, for example, claims a range of 50-150 ft. (through walls and ceilings). A device such as an RF signal strength meter (“sniffer”) should be used to check locations for these devices prior to installation.

Startup

Control devices in a wireless lighting control system work together in much the same way they would in a wired system. What is different is the way in which the devices interact and the level of intelligence required. In a hardwired system, the devices intended to work together can be simply wired. In a wireless system, the devices must be programmed or mapped to each other so they know to which control signals they should be responsive, and how they should respond. Additional intelligence is not new; it has been deployed in networked lighting systems for some time.

Along with the flexibility of wireless lighting controls comes some added complexity. Important questions to ask include how the devices are set up and commissioned, and by whom. It is recommended that programming be performed prior to physical installation, as the operating range is reduced during programming. It is further recommended that the wired receiver device be installed first and then the wireless device programmed within 10 ft. to ensure mapping.

Integration

While wireless RF control systems may be standalone, wireless devices may also supplement, expand or otherwise interface with an existing control system.

The wireless RF solution may be required to integrate with the hardwired lighting control system as well as other building monitoring and control systems such as BACnet, LONworks, Modbus, DALI and TCP/IP (Internet). Additionally, it may also be required to operate with other wireless control devices. Selected devices should not interfere with each other, should be FCC certified, and should be secure from intrusion. EnOcean modules, for example, contain a unique 32-bit ID number to prevent overlap with other wireless controls. Additionally, some wireless controls also use 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) security for communications.

Wireless Expands Lighting Control

RF wireless lighting controls are growing in popularity both as a more flexible alternative to hardwired systems in new construction and as an economical way to retrofit existing spaces with minimal cost and disruption.

More information:

See LCA’s new online course on wireless lighting controls here.

See Lutron’s offering of wireless controls here.

See Leviton’s offering of wireless controls here.

See WattStopper’s offering of wireless controls here.

Alternative energy

2011-02-14T03:40:00.001-08:00

Urk - On an outcrop near this town's lighthouse, a woman in stone perpetually scans the horizon for the fishing fleet returning home. To the dismay of townspeople, her view may soon be obscured by some of the world's tallest wind turbines.

In this eco-friendly nation where windmills are embedded in the culture, it may seem strange that a spat over wind power threatens to land in the country's highest court.

But these turbines are very different from the squat four-bladed mills used for centuries to drain the swamps and create new land from the sea. They are giants, with gray metallic blades that will scrape the clouds at 200m - and residents say they will destroy a way of life.

"They are the highest buildings in Holland," said Leen van Loosen, Urk's undertaker who is campaigning to stop the project. "It's just crazy."

As wind turbines sprout up across Europe - and increasingly off its coastlines - tussles between energy developers and local opponents are increasingly common. In the US, too, wind farm proposals often face determined defiance, most famously the Cape Wind project off Cape Cod that took 10 years to win approval.

Long-term answer

But with oil prices again toying with $100 a barrel and global concerns mounting over climate change, electricity from wind, solar, biogas and other renewables is seen by many as the long-term answer to energy security, pollution and curbing greenhouse gases.

Among those emerging resources, wind is the cheapest and its technology well developed.

In 2010 alone nearly 10 000MW of wind power capacity was installed in the EU, lifting the EU's total to 84 000MW, or nearly 10% of the EU's power generation, the European Wind Energy Association said in a report this month.

Worldwide, wind capacity grew by nearly 36 000MW last year, or 22.5% nearly half of it in China, said the Brussels-based Global Wind Energy Council.

But if the Dutch can't learn to love wind power, what hope is there for the world to adopt it as a major energy source?

"In Holland, there's hardly any project that doesn't get delayed," said Michiel Muller, the wind unit manager of Ecofys, a research and consultancy firm on sustainable energy, who is not connected with the Urk project.

Across Europe, each installation faces a slew of hurdles, starting from the required Environmental Impact Assessment to regulatory approvals by often more than a dozen authorities. It takes an average of 55 months to wade through the bureaucratic tangle before work can begin, the wind energy association said.

Target

Of some 200 wind energy projects studied in 2007 - 2008 in Europe, 40% were ensnared in lawsuits, and 30% more faced slowdowns because of local resistance or questioning from non-profit environmental groups, the association said. It had no figures on how many projects were killed before they got started.

With 430MW of capacity, the wind park near Urk, population 18 000, would provide enough electricity for 400 000 homes and rank among Europe's largest. It would help the Netherlands as it races to catch up with the stiff target set by the EU to generate 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

The Dutch now have a capacity of 2 237MW from wind - far short of its 12 000MW national target for 2020.

The 86 turbines are to be erected in three rows, 38 on land and 48 off shore. The first will be 1.6km from the statue of the fisherman's wife, a 1986 monument on the north side of town that is encircled by plaques with the names of hundreds of Urk's fishermen lost at sea since 1717.

Residents cite a long litany of dangers from the wind park. Fishing and tourism will suffer, they say. The tranquil panorama of the local lake will be disrupted, the town will tremble with the constant rumbling noise of blades, birds will be traumatised, and the whole project could undermine a dike slated to host turbines.

"We are all for green energy, but this is out of proportion," said Van Loosen.

Advocates dismiss such concerns as misinformation, saying the turbines will be far enough from the town that they will not be heard and barely will be seen. One of their leaders said the modern mills simply follow a hallowed Dutch tradition.

Hostility

"Windmills belong to the Netherlands," said Janneke Wijnia-Lemstra, who represents the farmers behind the privately-financed €1bn project. Government subsidies will guarantee a competitive price for the energy produced.

While the focus today is turbines, they're not the only target of Dutch resistance to environmental projects. Hostility by the citizens of Barendrecht killed a proposal in 2009 to bury carbon dioxide under their town that is siphoned from a Royal Dutch Shell refinery in nearby Rotterdam.

Instead, the plan for the experimental project was shifted to the more sparsely populated north of the country, but it has now run into equally fierce protests from villagers there. The government has said it will decide in a few weeks whether to go ahead.

Economics Minister Maxime Verhagen said the wind project, set to go up 90km northeast of Amsterdam, fits with the energy mix that the Netherlands needs, and that every energy source has a down side.

"You could say 'no' to wind energy because it will spoil the view. You can say 'no' to nuclear energy because of the waste. And you can say 'no' to coal as well - leaving us with no energy at all in the Netherlands," he told Dutch television when asked about Urk's revolt.

After eliminating seven turbines from the plan, the government signed off on the wind farm in January - 12 years after it was first proposed. The town says it won't back down unless another 15 turbines are ditched, and vows to appeal to the Council of State, the country's highest court, and possibly to European courts.

The farmland where the turbines are to be built is under the authority of the municipality of Noordoostpolder, Urk's neighbour.

Resentful

Noordoostpolder's council decreed against more windmills being erected on individual farms, partly because the scattered turbines would be too unsightly. That's when it was decided to concentrate them in a large park along the coast.

Urk has been inhabited for some 1 000 years. Nearly all the town's revenue derives from fishing or the tourists who come to see the harbour and the old quayside cottages.

Until the 1940s it was an island, and residents are still resentful that they were not consulted before a dike was built that created the North East polder - land reclaimed from the sea - connecting the mainland to their rocky knoll. Ironically, it's just behind this dike that nearly half the turbines will rise.

"It's an island culture and history," said Urk Mayor Jaap Kroon.

To accusations of indulging a not-in-my-back-yard attitude, the mayor retorts: "This is not our back yard. It's our front yard."

- AP

Home Automation and Energy Management

2011-01-19T21:23:00.001-08:00

Green: For Devotees of Wind Power, a New Product Label
Jan 19, 2011 New York Times
JOHN COLLINS RUDOLF

Consumers already face a blizzard of labels on store shelves appealing to the better angels of their nature, from “fair trade” coffee and “dolphin-safe” tuna to chocolate bars whose makers pledge to devote part of their profits to saving endangered species.

WindMade

A growing number of goods in Britain and Japan even feature “carbon labels” that inform shoppers of the carbon dioxide emissions — and global warming impact — tied to their purchases.

Now, a group of companies and environmental organizations, including the wind turbine maker Vestas and the World Wildlife Fund, have unveiled a new label that they hope will tug at consumers’ heartstrings by detailing to what extent wind power was used to make various products. Called “WindMade,” the label will be run by a nonprofit foundation and will require participating companies to undergo certification.

Exactly how the certification process will work has not yet been decided, and further details will be announced this month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the group behind the initiative said.

A major aim of the label is to harness consumer preferences for sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels to help stimulate demand for turbines, Ditlev Engel, chief executive of Vestas, the Danish turbine maker, said in a statement.

“We hope that this will create a strong element of consumer pull, which will accelerate the pace of wind energy development globally,” said Ditlev Engel, Vestas chief executive.

The wind energy market could certainly use a boost. After a record year in 2008, the wind industry has struggled with declining demand as a result of the global recession and an unexpected glut of cheap natural gas in the United States.

The slump caused turbine orders in the third quarter to plunge 27 percent from a year earlier, Vestas said in its latest quarterly report. To cut its losses, the company said it planned to close several turbine factories, mostly in Denmark, and eliminate roughly 3,000 jobs.

Energy Management

2011-01-19T05:56:00.001-08:00

Johannesburg, South Africa --- ESI-AFRICA.COM --- 14 January 2011 - In the event of the electricity outages envisaged by national power utility Eskom being implemented, the country could be facing loss of production and further retrenchments.

Making this point in a report here today, Business Report warns that although sacrifices made by the industry to scale down production by 10% could give Eskom a reprieve, there is uncertainty about job stability in the industry, which employs some 500 000 people.

The report adds that the impact on mining houses is likely to vary according to the extraction methods. Gold producers use intensive deep level mining methods, which are high in electricity usage, while coal producers use open cast mining, which uses the least electricity.

Coal of Africa CEO John Wallington said that the company did not have contingency plans should Eskom fail to put in place a safety net to deal with the energy gap. He added that job losses were inevitable if power issues were not resolved. “When the economy is reduced, jobs are lost. I hope a quick solution can be found,” he said.

Xstrata corporate affairs manager Songezo Zibi said the company would play it by ear.
“If the grid is under pressure, we reduce our production.” He said the company was operating under the assumption that the impact would be manageable. “However, if it’s more severe there is a greater possibility of job losses then,” he added.

Anglo American spokesman Pranill Ramchander said production at its platinum and coal operations had been negatively affected during the load shedding in 2008.

He added that Anglo had introduced energy efficiency measures throughout its operations and was working closely with the government and the industry on further investigating energy-efficient strategies.

De Beers spokesman Tom Tweedy said it was difficult to predict how its diamond mining operations would be affected. “It is very difficult to estimate what the impact of outages will be on our production because we haven’t been notified on the details of how long this could go on and which parts of the country it will hit hard, so we don’t know how expensive this can be to us.” Tweedy said the company would manage its operations better with forewarning.

Labour unions are up in arms over the issue, with Solidarity warning of the dire consequences of blackouts, according to Business Report.

“If the power grid is under pressure, mines will be forced to shut down as a measure of cutting production. This could have an impact on job losses and on retrenchments, depending on the pressure on the grid,” said Solidarity health and safety researcher Leigh McMaster.

National Union of Mineworkers general secretary Frans Baleni said any power outages that might result from a shortage of generating capacity would be “catastrophic”.

“If you are going to have blackouts, production will be negatively affected. The first thing that mining companies can do after that is to reduce overheads by cutting labour,” Baleni added.

Eskom CEO Brian Dames warned last week that the power utility would struggle to keep the lights on this year and next year. He warned of an energy gap in 2012 equal to about 1 000MW of base-load capacity, and called for a range of cross-cutting interventions, including the acceleration of the procurement process for renewable energy

Home Automation

2011-01-19T00:37:00.001-08:00

Q. Can home automation with Clipsal C Bus be integrated with solar power for lighting, water heaters and power for operating remote gates etc to further reduce electricity consumption from the main grid?

A:Answer: Yes the Clipsal C bus system can most definitely be connected to and control the following items

1. Connected to a Battery back up and inverter charged via photovoltaic cells is exactly the same principle as conventional electricity as C bus is connected "After" the main point of entry and only controls downstream of the main point of entry. The advantage one has with installing the Clipsal c bus is that lights can be dimmed, geysers switched off and the electrical load can be effectively managed to suit the amount of stored energy available. When using Solar generation and batteries, Time Of Use, becomes a major part of the efficiency of the installation. C Bus can manage the time of use per appliance / connected load, effectively further reducing demand

2. Solar water heaters usually have back up electrical connections, This power can be managed in several ways not only to reduce the demand in one particular Villa, but allow for load shedding so that no more than 5 water heaters in a development or township could be drawing current at the same time, further reducing power demand and usage. For holiday villas these geysers would only have to be activated when the unit is occupied and switched off when not. This type of control could be done remotely from anywhere in the world via laptop or cell phone or just from the main reception area in the resort.

3. External proximity-sensors can be used to activate solar powered or standard 220v pathway lights to burn only when movement is detected as someone walks by or drives by, automatically switching off a few seconds after the person or vehicle has passed by. Drastically reducing battery usage or electrical usage or both

4. Remote gates can be hooked up to the a free standing Solar panel and post designed for this application and opened via hand held, personal remote controls and there is little benefit from hooking them up to C bus unless "international remote control" is required. Typically opening the gate for the maintenance crew whilst sitting in your office in the UK perhaps!

5. In a conventional installation, energy management can be achieved just by using occupancy sensors, dimming lights and scheduling geysers. A 50% reduction in power consumption is quite easily achieved

Q. We have heard that there are huge extra costs in terms of wiring for the Clipsal C Bus Automation system

A: The Clipsal C bus system requires only marginally more 220v wire than a conventionally wired installation and certainly far less 220v wiring required for any other automation system currently on the market.

Q. How can you be so sure of your facts when you only specialize in one product namely Clipsal C Bus

A: Well we have in our group Amandla Electrical Contractors; we have made it our business to tender on electrical projects where different automation products have been specified. So we do consider ourselves experts. We have on site, practical experience with several so called home automation products. These installations cannot compare with the C Bus products and this is why we are so proud of the Clipsal C Bus System

Q. We have been told that the distribution boards occupy a whole wall or require a special room

A: Again an area where our competitors fall short, our control boards in a typical residential installation will not be bigger than one half of domestic stable door 900mm x 600mm. In some instances we would require two or three such boards, but with our electrical contracting experience, intelligent design and the flexibility afforded by C bus we can locate some control boards upstairs to service that floor or at the main gate to service garden lights, spools, water features etc.

Q What happens when there is a power failure?

A: The same as with a normal electrical installation - you would have no power. When power is returned the c bus system will revert back to the position/ mode it was in when power was lost. In other words the non volatile memory would ensure that if your lounge lights were on before the power failure then that same lounge light would be in the on position when power returned.

Q. Do I have to reboot the system? Is it driven via a PC?

A: No this is not an issue, all C-bus components are stand alone and have their own intelligence so if the Touch screen is smashed the installation will not be affected and control from all the other input devices would still be 100% accurate. In fact one can disconnect the entire bus network and still have effective manual control via the output devices located inside the control panel/Db. When I demonstrate this and other reliability tests in our training facility it literally blows you away and you realize that there is just no other product as comprehensive

Q. How sensitive is the system to power surges and lightning

A: The system is amazingly robust, however as with all specialized electronic equipment; we specify and install comprehensive lightning and surge protection equipment.

Q. Is the system user friendly?

A: Another reason why 80% of new homes in Australia are fitted with C bus, the answer “Absolutely” even for a Sparkie like me. So much so that some of our clients have confessed that they could never live I a non C-Bus home again !

Q. Why make use of occupancy sensors

A: This aspect gets me really excited, I am a little lazy and I hate having to walk around after staff, kids and visitors switching off bathroom lights, pantry lights, scullery lights, garage lights, especially during daylight when most of them did not need to switched on in the first place.
The occupancy sensors, well I love them and we able to adjust the lux levels so that they will come on during the day if for example there are storm clouds. Or the garage door is closed. These units are so well designed and multifunctional again this level of automation is what separates C Bus from any other product.

Q. Can I run my swimming pool and irrigation system from C Bus?

A: Yes with amazing levels of intelligence that you will not find in any of the off the shelf devices sold by both respective trades. The logic is there in the colour touch screen to prevent the irrigation from turning on whilst it is raining, or to control the water level in your rim flow pool “wow” , need we say more?

Q. Can you control our garage doors and gates?

A: Absolutely and we can even give you a graphic representation on your touch screen which will show whether the door or doors are open or closed, same goes for driveway gates or pedestrian gates

Q. What advantage is there in integrating with the alarm and CCTV SYSTEM?

A: Our Minder Pro Premise Automation alarm and security panel comes with a host of added features that take your security, intercommunication, voice mailboxes and “away Mode” random switching of lights etc, to another level. Too much info to discuss here.

Q. Can you give me individual audio control for multiple users?

A: Yes and we have a new product that comes complete with a hand held selection and control device which will give you a visual play list including song, album, title genre, volume control, zone control and all in a wireless hand held device, quite fantastic. This is the revolutionary system developed by SONOS, Check out www.Sonos.com

Q. Can we add on to the system when we extend our home?

A: Yes but there are considerations, again we are more than able to assist

Q. Can we save on electricity bill?

A: Energy saving is the worlds buzzword and yes our system will save you on your electricity usage

Q. Does this system add to our re sale value?

A: Difficult question. The answer is Yes to a buyer who in interested in home automation, No to the buyer who isn’t, same as Granite kitchen tops or wooden kitchen tops, however it will have more resale value than curtains, or even floor finishes.

Q. Who takes responsibility for the system once it is installed and you have been paid?

A: As we are also responsible to issue a compliance certificate it is us, however there are a number of qualified C Bus System-Integrators that could continue with your project if something were to happen to us. There is super back up from Clipsal SA and Group Schneider SA so you will not be left hanging, ------ever.

Q. My electrician says that he is not prepared to issue a certificate of compliance for your C Bus installation so where does that leave us?

A: He is quite right and why should he. He must however issue a certificate for his installation and exclude the C Bus installation. We will install, commission, program all our own product and issue a certificate of compliance to cover our Installation

Q. Can we re program this ourselves?

A: Yes provided the necessary hardware has been allowed for to enable you to do this . We have clients with I.T. backgrounds who happily re programme their homes

Q. What sets the Clipsal C – Bus system apart from the other systems on the market?

A: EVERYTHING

Carbon Credits

2010-12-06T21:55:00.001-08:00

Branson sails on with "Operation Rock the Boat"
Dec 6, 2010 Business Green
The Carbon War Room has today launched an online database ranking the environmental performance of most of the world's ocean-going vessels in a bid to help the shipping industry cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than half a billion tonnes a year by 2020.
The lobby group, which was founded by Richard Branson 18 months ago, said the new ShippingEfficiency.org site will list fuel efficiency data for around 60,000 ships, including the majority of the world's container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, cargo ships, cruise ships and ferries.

The site aims to help businesses and individuals make better informed decisions about the ships they use by rating vessels using a simple A to G grading system.

The group said it has used rating methodology developed by the United Nations' International Maritime Organization's under its Energy Efficiency Design Index and combined it with data from the world's largest ship registry, IHS Fairplay.

The site is the latest project from The Carbon War Room's so-called "Operation Rock the Boat" initiative, which aims to encourage shipping operators to invest in lower carbon technology to cut emissions and operating costs.

It says a new global fleet based on the most efficient available technologies could cut CO2 emissions by half a billion tonnes a year by 2020, putting it on a path to cut more than one billion tonnes of carbon annually by 2050.

Today's launch forms part of the group's five-pronged attack on shipping emissions, which also calls for the industry to update key charter contracts and accelerate the adoption and enforcement of new national shipping legislation.

In a recent interview with The Economist, Branson said the group is also trying to convince ports in the US to give preferential treatment to lower-carbon vessels when docking.

Shipping is thought to account for about three per cent of the world's carbon emissions, but because it is not covered by the Kyoto Protocol the sector currently has no mandatory targets for cutting emissions.

Energy Management

2010-12-06T21:35:00.000-08:00

. Schneider Electric Data Center Showcases Server Consolidation and Energy Efficiency
Dec 5, 2010 Server Watch
APC (now owned by Schneider Electric) has set up a new data center outside of St. Louis, Mo. As well as consolidating two of the company's data centers, it is using a host of APC and Schneider Electric gear including its EcoStruxure architecture for intelligent energy management.
"EcoStruxure is an approach to creating intelligent energy management systems," said Kevin Brown, vice president of IT Business at Schneider. "We chose St. Louis in order to have a central location for the consolidation of the many North American data centers we previously operated."

The facility will act as a showcase of company technology in the areas of building, power, and data center infrastructure. Prospective customers will be able to view the equipment they are thinking of buying and see how well it operates in the real world. Research and development work is also part of the plan at what is known as the Schneider Electric Technology Center (SETC).

"Through efficient design, monitoring and lower cost per kilowatt hour, we have documented significant electricity cost savings over a 12 month period at the Schneider Electric Technology Center," said Jim Simonelli, CTO for Schneider Electric's IT Business.

*

Energy management

2010-11-29T21:59:00.001-08:00

8 Electric-Car Myths Busted
Nov 29, 2010 MotherJones
I'm about as far from a gearhead as it gets, but even so, I was excited about the release of the nation's first two consumer plug-in electric vehicles: the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. The Volt can go 40 miles on battery power and another 310 thanks to an auxiliary gas engine, which kicked in smoothly as I floored it up a hill during a recent test drive. The Leaf is—even cooler—completely electric, with a range of about 100 miles. In 2011, Ford, Mitsubishi, and Mercedes-Benz plan to introduce their own tailpipe-free models. GE has ordered up thousands for its sales force, and the federal government has set a target for 1 million electric vehicles by 2015. (A good step, even considering the 246 million or so gas vehicles already on the road.) Are we finally ready after years of false starts? Despite widespread public jitters, the experts I polled said yes. Herewith, eight e-car worries not to spin your wheels over.
1. Our grid can't handle the added burden. While electric cars do use a great deal of juice, utilities have been working behind the scenes for years to make sure the cars don't fry the grid. Blackouts are "extremely unlikely," notes Simon Mui, a scientist who studies clean vehicles and fuels for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Advanced charging technology will help distribute power loads more evenly, and many home charging stations will operate only during off-peak hours—which is more efficient and usually cheaper. "Smart chargers," slated to hit the market in 2011, will decide when to charge based on the time and distance you commute, local rates, and electricity demand in your neighborhood.

2. My utility bill will skyrocket. Yep, you'll spend more on amperage, but your savings on gas will more than cover it. If you drive a battery-only car 12,000 miles a year at going power rates, you'll pay an extra $27 or so per month for electricity, but save about $97 on gas. Some utilities offer special rates during off-peak hours—in California, you might pay as little as $13 a month (roughly half-price) to charge up at night. The one drawback of cheaper fuel is, well, cheaper driving, which some experts worry will lure commuters away from public transit, carpools, and bikes.

3. Coal-burning utilities mean electric cars will make emissions worse. Hardly. Even in predominantly coal-burning regions, an electric car releases 35 to 60 percent less CO2 than a comparable conventional car, according to industry think tank Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). In areas with an ecofriendly power mix, the emissions are up to 75 percent lower. EPRI transportation expert Mark Duvall points out that "as the grid gets cleaner—which it almost certainly will—electric cars will get cleaner, too." Bonus: Unlike gas, which is refined largely from imported petroleum, electricity flows from domestic sources.

4. Electric cars already flopped once, so why should I believe they'll succeed? Climate worries, obviously, have gained traction since the 1990s, but the main reason to believe in a comeback is economic. Perhaps you've noticed that Detroit seems, uh, a little leaner than it was during the Clinton years. To compete with foreign automakers in places with high gas prices and tougher climate regs—think Europe and California—the industry needs to roll out efficient models. "Automakers see this as a necessity," says Mui. Technology has really improved, too; old-school e-car batteries, famous for exploding and generally sucking, have joined your wallet chains and Crash Test Dummies albums in '90s heaven.

5. Government rebates on electric cars favor the rich. To ease sticker shock (the Volt starts at $40,280; the Leaf, $32,780), the feds are offering a tax credit of up to $7,500 to the first 200,000 buyers of each model. If you still can't afford one, there's a consolation prize: As Mui points out, the reductions in emissions and pollution will benefit everyone. Plus, prices are sure to come down. The very first iPods, you may recall, set you back more than $400.

6. Electric cars handle like roller skates. I'm not the savviest driver, but I thought the Volt felt pretty much like a regular mid-size. Car and Driver writes that it "drives surprisingly well, with a reassuringly steady suspension." The Leaf gets dinged for its short range, but its transmission works so smoothly in stop-and-go traffic "that we started rationalizing our range concerns."

7. Lithium-ion auto batteries are as crappy as lithium-ion laptop batteries. Now here's something that might be worth fretting about. Although battery technology is light-years beyond where it was back when GM was peddling EV1s, it's far from perfect. Lithium-ion cells are sluggish in cold weather—and cranking the heat, AC, or stereo will reduce your range. More worrisome: No one can predict how long they'll last. "There will be degradation of the battery over its lifetime," says EPRI's Duvall. "But we don't know exactly how much." The good news: Recent breakthroughs in battery technology promise faster charging and greater reliability. In the meantime, both Volt and Leaf come with eight-year battery warranties.

8. I'll run out of juice in the sticks. This is only an issue for fully electric cars, and as long as you're within range of a socket, you'll make do. A full charge takes about 10 hours using a standard outlet, or half as long with a home 220-volt station that'll run you about $2,000. Meanwhile, the federal government plans to spend $115 million to help cities set up 15,000 pay-as-you-go chargers in public places. Electric vehicles "do require a lot of planning, but not as much as you might think," says Mark Vaughn, an AutoWeek editor who blogged last summer about his trial run with Mitsubishi's i MiEV—comparable to the Leaf. When Vaughn showed up at a hotel with a low battery, he told me, a kitchen employee offered to snake an extension cord out to the parking lot. "You really learn as much about people as you do about amps and volts and things like that."

Energy Issues

2010-11-29T05:58:00.000-08:00

Governance problems at NERSA - shades of Eskom?
by Chris Yelland, managing director, EE Publishers
(follow EE Publishers on Twitter)

To comment and respond to this article, and/or to any of the views and positions expressed, visit EE Publishers' blog: "The best from EE Publishers..."

Once again, public sector governance issues, and battles between the CEO, the board and the responsible minister have rocked South Africa. Eskom, SAA, Transnet, the SABC... and now, in the latest saga, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA)... (more)

On 15 November 2010, Chairperson Cecilia Khuzwayo indicated that the regulator had suspended its CEO, Smunda Mokoena, for "alleged gross transgression of NERSA's code of conduct".

Whilst official spokesman Charles Hlebela would not be drawn on the specifics, an article in The Times on 15 November went a step further, quoting a source alleging that that "quite recently he (the CEO) chaired a meeting completely drunk", and that "he had a drinking problem that was getting out of hand".

In the meantime, pending an internal investigation, Nomalanga Sithole, NERSA's executive manager for corporate services, was appointed as acting CEO.

Then, only ten days later, another bland press release issued by NERSA on 24 November stated without elaboration or explanation that the board had decided to lift the suspension and reinstate the CEO, and that the allegations against the CEO would now be investigated by the office of the minister of energy.

This immediately gave rise to perceptions of undue political interference, and that a "political" solution was being sought, rather than following an objective administrative and disciplinary process.

NERSA is a statutory body established by an act of parliament (No. 40 of 2004: The National Energy Regulator Act, 2004), to make independent regulatory decisions in the electricity, piped-gas and petroleum pipeline industries.

In terms of the Act, the minister of energy appoints the four full-time and five part-time board members of NERSA, and designates one of the part-time members as chairperson, another part-time member as deputy chairperson, one full-time member as CEO, and the other three full-time members as responsible for each of electricity, piped-gas and petroleum pipeline regulation, respectively.

Thus although in practice the board may recommend the candidate for the position of CEO to the minister of energy, the final appointment of the CEO is the prerogative of the minister.

The Act also states that the minister of energy may prematurely terminate the appointments of board members, including the CEO, but only under specified criteria. These include failing to act independently of any undue influence or instruction, and/or failing to act in a manner that is required and expected from the holder of a public office.

Whilst "undue influence" probably relates to matters of corruption or executive interference, a legal opinion indicated that "perhaps the context could be extended to the undue influence of alcohol. One would certainly expect that an appointment at this level would include the presumption that the CEO should act in a manner that is seen to be competent, which would obviously include competency of mind".

It should be noted that in this case the board did not terminate the appointment of the NERSA CEO - it merely suspended him pending an investigation, which presumably would result in a report to the minister of energy, who could then make an informed decision on termination in terms of the Act.

Former NERSA board member and head of infrastructure reform and regulation at University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business, Prof. Anton Eberhard, does not believe that the role of the minister as detailed above necessarily prevents the independence of NERSA. "Regulatory independence is about being able to make independent regulatory decisions (licensing, tariff setting, technical standards, etc.) without these being arbitrarily overturned by any other person or agency, except through pre-specified appeal mechanisms, for example the high court. NERSA enjoys this independence", he said.

While the Act indicates that if the chairperson is unable to perform his or her functions for any reason, the deputy chairperson must perform them until the minister designates another chairperson, it is silent on procedures if the CEO is unable to perform his or her function, for example due to suspension.

A legal opinion indicated that "procedurally, this would then depend on what disciplinary code is in place, and to avoid the risk of legal exposure and litigation, NERSA would need to follow its code meticulously - they certainly won't want a legal claim against them for not following procedure and/or an unlawful termination." In the energy sector, the current case of Jacob Maroga vs. Eskom and the minister of public enterprises springs to mind!

This new saga is perhaps symptomatic of ongoing governance issues resulting from unclear lines of authority, accountability and communication between the CEO, the board and the responsible minister, in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and statutory bodies.

For companies established in terms of the Companies Act, the shareholder(s) elect and appoint the board of directors, and the directors in turn appoint (and may dismiss) the CEO. The CEO reports to the board, and the board is responsible to the shareholders.

In the case of SOEs and statutory bodies, there are a number of grey areas. As the position of the CEO is effectively an appointment by the shareholder minister, and not the board, does the board have the authority to suspend the CEO and appoint an acting CEO pending an investigation? Who is the CEO accountable to, and does the CEO report to the board or the shareholder minister? May the CEO communicate directly with the minister, and may the CEO take instructions directly from the minister? Is the regulator truly independent of the minister, government and politics in its administrative and regulatory decisions?

There may indeed be considerations other than procedural issues at play in the rapid about-face and reinstatement of the CEO by the board. NERSA spokesman, Charles Hlebela indicated to EE Publishers that "the five-year terms of the full-time regulator members, including the CEO, ended in September 2010", and that "the minister had extended their terms till March 2011".

Perhaps the reinstatement of the NERSA CEO is a pragmatic endeavor to avoid inevitably damaging and expensive litigation, extending over several years, resulting from the governance and accountability issues that have been experienced in other public entities such as Eskom. It may simply make sense to allow Smunda Mokoena to see out his contract in the next few months, and leave with his reputation intact.

But whatever the case, NERSA is undoubtedly a critical regulatory body in the South African economy, and its ongoing independence is essential. Despite the criticisms and shortcomings of NERSA, the regulator is in fact the thin line between the customer and some very powerful monopolies. Therefore, surely we should all work to strengthen and support NERSA, and not to destroy it?

Recently NERSA approved Eskom price increases of 25% per annum for three consecutive years, on top of a 32% increase the previous year. This week, NERSA will be heavily involved with the public hearings of the National Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity, IRP 2010.

One trusts and expects therefore that NERSA's deliberations are characterised by sound judgment and sober mind

lighting control and BMS

2010-11-15T21:32:00.000-08:00

CONTROLS FRIDAY: TYPICAL ENERGY SAVINGS FOR USING ADVANCED LIGHTING CONTROLS
Posted on November 5, 2010, 6:31 AM, by Craig DiLouie, under Controls, Energy, Research.
How much energy is saved when a building uses lighting controls? The typical answer is the ever-present lighting term, “It depends.” Research, however, is suggestive:

Space Type Controls Type Lighting Energy Savings Demonstrated in Research or Estimated as Potential

Study Reference

Private Office Occupancy sensor 38% An Analysis of the Energy and Cost Savings Potential of Occupancy Sensors for Commercial Lighting Systems, Lighting Research Center/EPA, August 2000.
Multilevel switching 22% Lighting Controls Effectiveness Assessment, ADM Associates for Heschong Mahone Group, May 2002.
Manual dimming 6-9% Occupant Use of Manual Lighting Controls in Private Offices, IESNA Paper #34, Lighting Research Center.
Daylight harvesting (sidelighting) 50% (manual blinds) to 70% (optimally used manual blinds or automatic shading system) “Effect of interior design on the daylight availability in open plan offices”, by Reinhart, CF, National Research Council of Canada, Internal Report NRCC-45374, 2002.
Open Office Occupancy sensors 35% National Research Council study on integrated lighting controls in open office, 2007.
Multilevel switching 16% Lighting Controls Effectiveness Assessment, ADM Associates for Heschong Mahone Group, May 2002.
Daylight harvesting (sidelighting 40% “Effect of interior design on the daylight availability in open plan offices”, by Reinhart, CF, National Research Council of Canada, Internal Report NRCC-45374, 2002.
Personal dimming control 11% National Research Council study on integrated lighting controls in open office, 2007.
Classroom Occupancy sensor 55% An Analysis of the Energy and Cost Savings Potential of Occupancy Sensors for Commercial Lighting Systems, Lighting Research Center/EPA, August 2000.
Multilevel switching 8% Lighting Controls Effectiveness Assessment, ADM Associates for Heschong Mahone Group, May 2002.
Daylight harvesting (sidelighting) 50% Sidelighting Photocontrols Field Study, Heschong Mahone Group, 2003.

Electrical Energy Management

2010-11-01T01:44:00.000-07:00

Oct 29, 2010
Australia’s biggest office landlords are switching off lights and installing more efficient air conditioners ahead of rules demanding reporting of energy use in the nation with the developed world’s second-highest greenhouse gas emissions per person.
The largest property managers are ahead of legislation which comes into effect Nov. 1 requiring owners to reveal office buildings’ energy efficiency to tenants and buyers, according to Simon Wild, Sydney-based principal at sustainable design consultants Cundall. Cundall worked with the U.K. Green Building Council on a study of the nation’s sustainability rating tool, the results of which were released in August.
“The industry, particularly the tier one landlords, have been disclosing for a long time,” Wild said. “Australian companies are very much market-driven about how they can attract the big players in town to reside within their buildings.”
GPT Group, Australia’s second-biggest diversified property trust by market value, cut its buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent between 2005 and 2009 by installing more efficient air conditioners and recycling more waste. Morgan Stanley-backed Investa Property Group’s 21-story Ark building in North Sydney can generate electricity, recycle rainwater and recharge electric cars.
Australia boasts some of the most environmentally friendly real-estate groups in the world, a survey of global companies by Netherlands-based Maastricht University found this year. Sydney- based GPT heads the Dow Jones Sustainability Index’s 21-company real-estate leader list, a third of whose members are Australian, more than any other country.
Energy Efficiency
Australia had the second-highest carbon dioxide emissions per capita among developed nations, according to 2008 figures from the International Energy Agency, the latest data available from the group. Only Luxembourg’s emissions were higher.
The legislation requires owners of office buildings leasing or selling more than 2,000 square meters (21,528 square feet) to reveal their day-to-day energy efficiency on the five-star National Australian Built Environment Rating System. Companies pay A$770 ($752) for a rating to New South Wales state’s Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, which administers the program nationally, and about A$3,000 for an assessor to review documents including the previous year’s bills, said Yma ten Hoedt, the department’s principal program manager.
The rules will affect 10 percent of office buildings nationally every year, DECCW estimates. Companies must also disclose tenanted areas’ lighting systems’ performance and provide a statement on buildings’ efficiency from Nov. 1, 2011.
Smaller owners, who may not have ratings or necessary documents, will be most affected, said Rebecca Pearce, Sydney- based head of sustainability at CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., the world’s largest commercial property broker.
Tenants
Government agencies, which occupy about a third of offices nationally, will require buildings they lease or own to have a minimum 4.5 star energy rating by next year. The national average is 2.5 stars, with the biggest landlords targeting 4.5 over the next two to four years.
“To have a building vacant because it’s not efficient or rated so tenants don’t want to go into it, we don’t even want to go there,” said Rowan Griffin, head of sustainability at Colonial First State, the asset management arm of Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Colonial manages 34 office properties, valued at about A$4 billion.
Almost 300 tenants occupying about 1.5 million square meters, have committed to the CitySwitch Green Office program, including accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, property broker DTZ, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country’s biggest bank, pledging to achieve at least a four-star tenancy rating.
Improving Performance
PricewaterhouseCoopers has spent A$800,000 replacing light switches in its Sydney office with sensors, according to the CitySwitch website. DTZ is saving A$3,500 a year on the energy bill at its Sydney headquarters by introducing steps such as installing shared printers and setting computing equipment to turn off automatically, the website said.
A one-star efficiency gain means A$2 to A$4 in annual savings per square meter, a Citi Investment Research study in January found. For a 10,000-square-meter office building, that equates to savings of as much as A$40,000 a year.
A University of California, Berkeley, study found buildings rated under a U.S. plan similar to the system used in the incoming Australian rules commanded rents of about 3.5 percent more than comparable properties, and sale prices rose as much as 16 percent. A similar Australian study is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2011.
Building Management
Companies reach up to four stars by better timing lights and equipment use, installing more efficient systems during upgrades, and better training staff, said Craig Roussac, general manager for sustainability, safety and environment at Investa. The company improved one of its building’s performance by 1.5 stars more than expected by adjusting the way it was run by its manager, he said.
“You can have an efficient car, but you can be driving it with the handbrake on and completely stuff things up,” Roussac said. “Conversely, you can have someone who’s passionate and skilled, and see an increase in returns.”

Electrical Energy Management

2010-10-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

Energy efficiency costs, budget to increase in Vt.
Oct 21, 2010 Bloomberg
The budget of Vermont's statewide energy efficiency program and the costs to ratepayers are going up.
Ratepayers currently pay less-than-a-penny tax per kilowatt-hour on their electric bills to support power-saving programs administered by Efficiency Vermont.
Under a Public Service Board order issued Wednesday, the tax on residential ratepayers will increase Feb. 1 from about from about seven-tenths of a cent to about nine-tenths of a cent. Put another way, for a homeowner using 600 kilowatt-hours a month, the efficiency charge will climb about 19 percent from $4.64 to about $5.51.
The money goes to support the $38.5 million that will be spent next year to encourage energy efficiency measures, with about two-thirds going to commercial and industrial applications, where the big potential energy savings are.
Blair Hamilton, policy director with the Burlington nonprofit Vermont Energy Investment Corp., which runs Efficiency Vermont under contract with the state, said ratepayers save in two ways: Families and companies using less power see smaller bills. Also, reducing the state's growth in demand for electricity causes Vermont power companies to reduce their purchase of expensive wholesale electricity for resale to their customers.
"If we weren't paying the energy efficiency charge and had not paid it for the past 10 years, rates would not be like what you're paying now, less the energy efficiency charge," Hamilton said. "We'd be paying a lot more."
Sandra Levine, a lawyer with the Conservation Law Foundation, said new power generation costs more than twice what conservation does.
"Energy efficiency continues to meet our power needs at far less than half the price of power supply, and that's particularly important with, for instance, the Hydro-Quebec deal at roughly 6 cents per kilowatt-hour," Levine said.
The state recently announced a long-term deal between Vermont power companies to buy power at a starting wholesale price of about 6 cents per kwh from the provincial utility, which has ample excess hydropower capacity.
William Driscoll, vice president of Associated Industries of Vermont, a manufacturers' group, said his group had argued that the Efficiency Vermont budget was growing too fast. The Public Service Board, which regulates utilities, said the budget would climb about 15 percent in 2011.
Businesses opting not to invest in new efficiency measures are paying to help others that make such investments, he said. Some of his group's member companies worry about "paying the efficiency charge, versus having that money for payroll investments or other business costs," he said.
Hamilton said Efficiency Vermont has begun to expand beyond conserving electricity and into helping Vermonters save on other energy sources used for heating. Other projects range from installing more efficient pumps for municipal water systems to helping grocery stores install more efficient refrigerators.
Last week, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy ranked Vermont No. 5 in the country for its energy efficiency programs. It gave the state high marks for conserving electricity, less so for heating efficiency and energy usage in transportation.

Lighting control and Energy Management

2010-10-21T04:11:00.001-07:00

Are Performance-Based Models the Future of Commercial Building Energy Codes?

by Craig DiLouie, Lighting Controls Association

Posted October 2010

Commercial building energy codes are largely prescriptive, combining mandatory requirements for lighting controls with limits on lighting loads by application. The typical lighting load metric is lighting power density (LPD) measured in watts per square foot.

This approach is intended to ensure that a building is built (or renovated) to a certain standard of efficiency, but does not require that the building operate within a target limit for ongoing energy use for the simple reason that it does not account for the operating time of the building. Additionally, as energy codes become more restrictive and continue the prescriptive LPD approach, critics charge that they limit design flexibility.

As a result, code authorities are considering approaches to energy codes that are performance based instead of mainly prescriptive. In a performance-based code, the building would be designed so that it would operate within a target limit for energy consumption—using annual kWh/sq.ft. instead of W/sq.ft. as the primary metric. The limit, in turn, might be developed from whole building monitoring, historical data that is considered the most accurate, and/or building modeling.

"The performance basis can seem like a much more straightforward and potentially more effective way to show that a building is energy efficient," says Eric Richman, senior research engineer for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "Limiting energy use is, after all, the true goal of energy codes."

He points out that a performance-based code is more directly linked to actual or expected energy use, potentially allows maximum component tradeoff flexibility between building systems, is considered a way to achieve higher energy savings, and can more easily accommodate alternative energy features such as renewable energy.

One approach of a performance method is to compare modeled energy use for a proposed building against a predetermined energy target. In this approach, few items would actually be prescriptively required with the main goal being to comply with the energy consumption limit. This would provide maximum tradeoff flexibility between building systems, but establishing the right (and fair) target would be difficult considering the large variation in building types and uses. Another approach is to monitor the building's actual energy performance after occupancy over a period of time and compare it against the target. This would provide the most accurate measure of building energy use, but would require building departments to monitor buildings after construction, and begs the question of what happens if a given building fails to achieve its target.

These are questions that must be debated before effective solutions can be considered for policy, but Richman says there is a great deal of interest among the lighting community in a kWh approach as a way to slow down perceived excessive ratcheting down of LPD limits. If target energy savings can be realized through controls, for example, this would give breathing room for lighting power allowances. Energy advocates, meanwhile, are also interested in performance-based codes as a way to harvest missing energy savings.

Lighting sections of energy codes already consider energy consumption, however, by virtue of the fact that each generation of codes contains more extensive mandatory requirements for advanced lighting control strategies such as automatic shutoff and daylight harvesting. Because of this, significant additional energy savings accounting for time of use may not be realized by implementing a performance-based code.

"This is the very reason that it is not clear that a performance-based method will automatically save more energy than the newest energy code requirements," Richman says. "Building modeling as a compliance method does offer additional flexibility and is currently allowed in all major energy codes. However, it is not clear that setting building energy targets of future building operation as the comparison for compliance is accurate or practical and/or that it will garner additional energy savings."

As a result, policy makers may find it difficult to turn the ideal of a performance-based code into a practical reality that will be accepted by designers and building departments. But they have time: Richman says do not expect such a code anytime soon—or at least one that functions smoothly or fairly.

"There is work being done on methods to implement performance-based approaches but since changes for the two major national code standards—90.1 and IECC—are already 'in the can' for 2010 and 2012, I don't expect to see anything for a couple of years, at least."

Energy Management

2010-10-19T23:37:00.000-07:00

Poor municipal service delivery is largely due to a shortage of artisans, which are not being produced in sufficient numbers to operate and maintain municipal infrastructure.

John Botha, the general manager of the Production Management Institute, a subsidiary of Adcorp, said this week: "When you scratch the surface of poor delivery, you inevitably find that the one constant factor is a lack of skills. We just don't have enough artisans to do the work. We are producing less than half the number we should be."

He was commenting on recent reports that at least R2 billion was left unspent by local government, with many municipalities plagued by poor infrastructural maintenance.

Artisans are critical for the operation and maintenance of municipal infrastructure and equipment. This includes heavy-current electricians, plumbers, fitters and turners, welders, carpenters, bricklayers and handymen.

He said the main reason for the shortage of artisans was the lack of suitably qualified candidates with qualifications in science and maths, the foundation of many artisan trades.

Prior to 1990, artisan trades were restricted to those who had passed Standard 7 (now Grade 9) - a level denied to most black people. "Currently, the school system is turning out woefully insufficient numbers of black science and maths students," said Botha.

Another reason for the shortage is that Eskom and Telkom, which used to train a large number of artisans through apprenticeships, no longer do so due to the commercialisation of their operations.

Emigration has also dented the skills base as has the fact that companies have scaled down their training as Seta learnerships have replaced company apprenticeships

Lighting control and Energy Management

2010-10-19T01:54:00.000-07:00

Energy SETA placed under administration
After many years of both the ECA(SA) and employers having to deal with the dysfunctional Energy SETA, it was placed under administration on 17 September 2010. The director general of the Department of Higher Education, Prof. Mary Metcalf, by notice in the Government Gazette has suspended all members of the board and the operation of the ESETA's constitution. Accordingly, all of its committees are also suspended. The chief executive officer was also dismissed by the accounting authority before that date.

Tsakani Matshazi has been appointed as the administrator for six months, and her appointment will be reviewed on the expiry of that period. She will have all the powers, rights and duties that previously rested with the accounting authority.

The ECA(SA) has been asked by the administrator to meet with her regarding its specific requirements, to ensure that skills and educational instruction within the sector are developed, implemented and approved. Hopefully a meeting will take place shortly, and extensive training will once again take place to address the current skills shortage

Energy Management

2010-10-07T00:04:00.000-07:00

When Selling Energy Efficiency, Don't Say 'Retrofit,' Say 'Upgrade' -- Study
Oct 5, 2010
JENNY MANDEL of
Give the people what they want. Know your customer. Make it easy to do the right thing.
These are some of the common-sense recommendations featured in a new report that highlights just how unprepared many energy program designers are when it comes to selling efficiency to the public.
In a study (pdf) of programs aimed at improving residential energy efficiency, researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found much to learn from. The results, they say, should serve as a guide to the more than 2,000 towns, cities, states and regions with stimulus funding to spend on clean energy programs and with minimal experience to draw from.
For starters, the researchers said, don't offer "audits" or "retrofits" -- customers shy away from the negative connotations. Instead try offering "energy assessments" and "upgrades," but focus messaging on health benefits, improved comfort, community pride or other benefits that consumers tend to care more about.
Other suggestions included working with trusted local partners, minimizing the paperwork and hassles that customers face, and following the marketing rule of thumb that it takes three "touches" to convince most people that something is worth buying into.
A key partner for such programs should be the contractor workforce, the authors said, because contractors know the marketplace for residential construction work and will be the "face" that customers see when they interact with the program. Ensuring that contractors are well-trained, they added, can help to avoid problems and consumer backlash.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu is fond of saying that his goal is to make people save money through energy efficiency. But the new report underscores the psychological components to energy consumption patterns that have historically proven difficult to change.
"Convincing millions of Americans to divert their time and resources into upgrading their homes to eliminate energy waste, avoid high utility bills and help stimulate the economy is one of the great challenges facing energy efficiency programs around the country," said Merrian Fuller, an author of the study and energy analyst in the Berkeley Lab's Electricity Markets and Policy group.
"Usually, when policymakers address the issue of energy efficiency benefits, they ... neglect the issue of how to motivate consumers to take advantage of home energy upgrade programs," she said. "This is often a missing element in policy discussions and a primary impetus for us in writing this report."
The study examined 14 home efficiency programs that the authors felt were successful, including one by the Bonneville Power Administration in the Pacific Northwest and efforts in Houston, Minneapolis, Kansas, Boston, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and the District of Columbia.
Click here (pdf) for the report.
Copyright 2010 E&E Publishing. All Rights Reserved.
For more news on energy and the environment, visit www.greenwire.com.
Greenwire is published by Environment & Energy Publishing. Read More »

Electrical Energy Management

2010-09-28T06:18:00.000-07:00

SA is nearing peak coal, say scientists

27 September 2010 - South Africa has more coal than it can ever burn, right? If you think this, as many of us do, think again.

Research by international and local scientists has shown that coal, like other resources, is finite and can be expected to comply with peak resources theory.

The theory shows that production in commodities such as oil grows until a peak is reached, whereafter production declines. In the case of South African coal, the studies show production has already reached its peak, or soon will.

“It is commonly believed that South Africa has abundant coal reserves which will last 200 years or more,'' says Jeremy Wakeford, chair of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil (Aspo) in South Africa, in the organisation's latest newsletter.

“But recent research [from] three scientific journals suggests that usable reserves are much smaller than previously thought, and that annual production could reach a peak and begin to decline within a decade -- or might even have peaked already.''

Wakeford says that “given the country's overwhelming dependence on coal, this issue has huge ramifications for our future development path''.

Coal provides 70% of the country's energy supply, supports 90% of electricity generation, is used to make a quarter of the country's liquid fuels using the Sasol process and is a big earner of foreign exchange through exports to foreign users.

Geologist Chris Hartnady, in a paper to be published in the SA Journal of Science, has forecast peak production in 2020 at about 285-million tonnes a year.

This compares with total production last year of 242-million tons. This was mostly used by Eskom (123-million tonnes), Sasol (40-million tonnes) and export (66-million tonnes).

Eskom's current expansion programme could use an additional 50-million tonnes, and if the Sasol Mafutha project goes ahead it will need another 20-million tonnes annually, says Wakeford.

David Rutledge, a professor at the California Institute of Technology, has meanwhile forecast South African production to peak in 2011 at about 253-million tonnes a year.

This is supported by research by two American professors, says Wakeford, Tadeusz Patzek and Gregory Croft, published this year in the journal Energy.

“They estimate that South Africa's coal production from existing coal fields, when measured in energy units, peaked in 2007.

“They further contend that future mines are unlikely to reverse the trend since the economics of mining dictates that most accessible reserves are mined earlier on, so that the net energy return from the coal mining declines while the production costs rise over time,'' says Wakeford.

Eskom chief executive Brian Dames bemoaned the poor quality of coal Eskom is receiving in a briefing to parliamentarians earlier this month. Dames said that Eskom was losing 1 000 megawatts of power each day because of the low quality of coal it was being supplied.

He warned that the utility may have to start paying higher prices to improve the quality of its coal supplies and that these costs would be passed on to consumers.

Hartnady said that between 2003 and 2004 the then department of minerals and energy downsized substantially South Africa's coal reserves from about 50-billion tonnes to 30-billion tonnes.

Reserve data is so open to interpretation and, you could say, manipulation, that peak resource theorists typically base their analyses on actual production data rather than on claims of what is mineable.

Patzek and Croft in their article, which was published in May this year, said that world energy from coal production could peak as early as next year, leading to a spike in coal prices as demand continues to outstrip supply.

They predicted that production rates of coal internationally will decline after 2011, reaching 1990 levels by the year 2037. They noted that Transnet has had difficulty in achieving the 70-million tonnes nameplate value for the Richard's Bay Coal Terminal.

They quote acting chief executive Chris Wells, who said that undersupply problems from the mines had led to rail volumes falling over a three-year period.

“Rail volumes last year fell to a very disappointing 61.9-million tonnes, capping a three-year trend in underperformance.'' Wakeford said that the implications of peak coal are stark.

“The cost of coal is almost certainly going to maintain a rising trend -- albeit with greater volatility -- resulting in increasingly expensive electricity and steel.''

“Domestic demand for coal could increasingly compete with exports, raising questions around how the country's natural resources should best be utilised and the role and rights of privately owned mining companies. This is nothing new in the global energy context.''

Wakeford said that leaving aside social and environmental concerns around carbon dioxide emissions, water scarcity, pollution and health impacts, entrenching dependence on a depleting fossil fuel is taking the country down a cul-de-sac.

He said that the solution is to embark on an aggressive drive for energy conservation and efficiency while diversifying our energy mix away from coal as an imperative.

“We should not wait until coal becomes too expensive or scarce, but invest now in renewable energy infrastructure and industries.

“Renewables have proven environmental benefits, are becoming increasingly cost-competitive with fossil fuels, generate more jobs per rand invested and are essential for South Africa's long-term sustainable development

Electrical Energy Management

2010-09-27T22:55:00.001-07:00

1. High-tech tools to save energy in center city
Sep 24, 2010 Charlotte Observer
Duke Energy and corporate-government partners unveiled plans Thursday to deploy cutting-edge technology to save energy in uptown Charlotte's commercial core.
The initiative, which Duke calls the first of its kind, would apply the smart-grid devices Duke is already testing in south Charlotte homes to the energy-hungry buildings in the center city.
The goal, by 2016, is to cut energy use 20 percent in about 60 buildings, including most commercial structures inside the Interstate 277 loop.
Smart grid refers to the use of digital technology and sensors to update an electrical system that has changed little, in its basics, since Thomas Edison. It uses electricity more efficiently, in part by giving consumers more information and control over their energy use.
In uptown, digital displays in each building's lobby will track its real-time energy use. Building managers will use the information to fine-tune heating, cooling and lighting. Workers, Duke hopes, will be motivated to turn off lights.
With Thursday's announcement, Duke, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County - which control about 12 million of the 15 million square feet of commercial space inside the loop - agreed to make it a joint effort.
Organizers hope to expand it to most other commercial buildings in the uptown loop.
"We're putting control in the hands of our major customers and we're making our city one of the most energy-efficient in the world" as energy costs rise, Duke CEO Jim Rogers said in New York, where the plan was announced at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. The Clinton initiative promotes government-private sector partnerships.
Duke worked with Charlotte Center City Partners, the uptown development group, to design a signature test of energy efficiency. It will be the first in a series of public-private projects focused on green values under an umbrella initiative called Envision: Charlotte.
Duke and technology company Cisco will front the $5.3million cost of outfitting Charlotte's commercial buildings with energy-management equipment. Duke hopes to recover some of its costs through a small energy-efficiency rider that would be added to customer bills.
Apart from saving electricity, one of the goals is to heighten awareness of energy conservation.
"One of the biggest challenges in succeeding with smart grid is changing behavior," said Ed Carney, a Cisco vice president.
Uptown buildings might compete with each other to save power. Their total energy use will be compared with that of Raleigh, Atlanta and New York.
"The real power of smart grid lies in the power of information," said Yi Deng, dean of UNC Charlotte's College of Computing and Informatics, which will help Duke analyze the energy data that's produced.
"A substantial part is behavior and how can you better manage the buildings. Right now, we don't have the information to answer those questions."
Commercial buildings waste about 30 percent of the energy they buy, the Environmental Protection Agency says. Bank of America and Wells Fargo, which together control 10 million square feet uptown, have both set corporate energy-saving goals and erected new towers that meet high efficiency standards.
Charlotte has also staked a claim as an energy capital because of the presence of Duke, 13,000 energy-related jobs in the broader region and training programs such as UNCC's Energy Production & Infrastructure Center.
"We are the right city at the right time," said Brett Carter, president of Duke Energy North Carolina.

Electrical Energy Management

2010-09-22T23:58:00.001-07:00

On ESI-Africa dated 29th of April 2010 - President Jacob Zuma has called on South Africans to save energy in an effort to avoid the load-shedding that plunged the country into darkness in 2007 and 2008.

“As we continue to look for other alternatives to save energy, let me remind all that we must continue to save electricity. We must switch off our appliances when they are not in use. Let us share this responsibility as citizens of this country and electricity users." said Zuma.

In the region of Gauteng in April and May large areas have suffered from further electricity blackouts, notably the East Rand in Johannesburg. It is now obvious that Eskom is still not managing to meet the high demand for electricity. As the winter weather closes in, so does higher electricity demand due to electrical heaters and warming devices, which means more electricity blackouts if we don’t do something about our electricity usage.

That said, even if electricity blackouts are not affecting you directly, the new prices definitely will. The increases announced in February 2010 will total to 75.8% from 2010 to 2013. This is without the increase of 31% last year, which will take the increases in electricity up to a staggering 106.8%.

If not the load-shedding, then the price of electricity is forcing us all consumers to start thinking of cutting down on use or at least making usage of electricity more efficient. Taking responsibility means that it is time to seriously start looking at managing our electricity consumption. To start saving we must start measuring our electricity consumption, because we can’t save something we can’t measure.

You can save 20%-40% on your electricity bill. To start saving we suggest you start measuring your electricity consumption with electricity monitors and make modifications to you consumption so that you can reduce your bills and help us all, just maybe save on having to endure winter blackouts.

Lighting control and Energy Management

2010-09-14T06:29:00.000-07:00

Fluorescent Magnetic T12 Ballast Phaseout: It's Time to Upgrade Existing Lighting and Control Systems

by Craig DiLouie, Lighting Controls Association

Posted August 2010

Last month, we covered regulations covering fluorescent ballasts that have essentially eliminated the magnetic T12 ballast with few exceptions, including F40T12, F96T12 and F96T12HO ballasts for both full-wattage and energy-saving versions of these lamps.

Two years later, in 2012, additional regulations will take effect, creating new energy standards for selected linear T5, T8 and T12 lamps. The net result, with few exceptions, is a majority of 4-ft. linear and 2-ft. U-shaped T12, many 8-ft. T12 and T12HO, and some low-color-rendering 4-ft. T8 lamps will be eliminated.

Based on these facts, one could make a simple argument that it is now time to upgrade existing lighting and control systems to improve energy efficiency and lighting quality.

Replace individually or in a planned upgrade?

A basic choice will be whether to replace the existing T12 lighting system all at once in a planned upgrade or replace individual components as they fail.

At first glance, replacing individual components as they fail appears to be the easiest path forward as it avoids the upfront cost of equipment and installation labor and potential disruption of a renovation.

However, a planned upgrade presents several major advantages:

good lighting performance, uniformity and space appearance by switching from T12 to T8 all at once, avoiding confusion resulting from maintaining two incompatibility lamp and ballast types in inventory; and most importantly:
higher energy savings and greater lighting quality resulting from reevaluating the existing lighting system and upgrading it to current best practices. Once a decision is made to upgrade the lighting system, the owner has taken control of the situation and can maximize the benefit of the new lighting.
The biggest energy-saving and lighting quality opportunities are in:

older, overlighted buildings that use older technologies such as T12 systems
where utility costs are very high; and
where lighting is uncontrolled and left ON all night.
T12 systems, for example, can be upgraded to realize energy savings as high as 50% or more in offices, classrooms and other applications, according to the National Lighting Bureau.

Retrofit or redesign?

The next basic choice facing the facility manager is whether to retrofit or redesign. In a retrofit, new lamps and ballasts are installed in existing fixtures and existing controls replaced. In a redesign, the fixtures themselves may be replaced or moved.

Good lighting quality accounts for factors such as visual comfort, glare, uniformity, color rendering, lighting on walls and ceilings, and harsh patterns, shadows and flicker. If the building’s primary spaces have been retasked to new purposes for which the existing lighting system provides insufficient lighting conditions, or uniformity is poor, or there is little light on walls and ceilings, or there are obvious, unaddressed sources of glare, and if occupants are unhappy with their lighting, then the space may benefit from a redesign.

The owner may benefit prior to the upgrade by simply asking occupants—the people who use the lighting regularly—whether they are satisfied with their lighting, what their lighting problems are, and what they want.

Lamps and ballasts

Energy-efficient lighting technologies have had decades to develop and so many good, reliable solutions are now available from manufacturers.

Regarding lamps and ballasts, consider T8 systems. There are now 23W, 25W, 28W, 32W (normal output) and 32W (high output, or “Super T8”) T8 lamps available offering a choice of power and light output.

There are also electronic ballasts available with a range of efficiencies and ballast factors enabling further tuning of light output. The most efficient ballasts carry the NEMA Premium mark on the ballast label. Dimmable ballasts are becoming more efficient, versatile and affordable, making dimmable general lighting a reality.

Regarding fixtures, consider T5 systems, direct/indirect lighting and, if recessed, volumetric-distribution fixtures that place some light on walls to eliminate the “cave effect” common with some parabolic fixtures. LED lighting offers exciting opportunities to dramatically improve efficiency but as the overall technology is still relatively new, owners should proceed with caution, particularly when confronted by options such as LED T8 lamp replacements, which have not faired well in independent product testing at the Department of Energy.

Lighting controls

According to the New Buildings Institute, advanced lighting controls can generate up to 50% lighting energy savings in existing buildings. Effective strategies include automatic shutoff, light reduction control, daylight harvesting and demand response.

The biggest challenge to incorporating advanced control strategies to an existing building is adding low-voltage control wiring, generally limiting opportunities for installation of sophisticated control systems. As a result, the simplest upgrade options involve the least amount of rewiring or simply swapping out older ballasts and controls for new controls.

The easiest controls retrofit involves replacing components with the least amount of rewiring. While this often leads to occupancy sensors and lighting panelboard upgrades, new wireless controls and the falling cost of dimming ballasts are expanding the potential role for lighting control in building upgrades. Photo courtesy of WattStopper.

The first lighting control strategy to consider is automatic shutoff. It is considered the easiest, lowest-risk path to energy savings and is relatively simple to set up and commission. If LEED (for existing buildings) is used as a model path or actual requirement for the upgrade, this will be essential, as LEED requires that buildings meet the ASHRAE 90.1 energy standard as a prerequisite to gaining points for transcending it.

Start at the lighting panel. Are there large, open spaces in the building with predictable hours of operation? Are there public spaces where the lights must stay ON even when a space is unoccupied? If so, consider upgrading the existing lighting panelboard to an intelligent lighting control panel that offers programmable scheduling. Be sure to give local users override capability with a maximum 2- to 4-hour override.

Next, consider replacing the wall switch. Are there smaller, enclosed spaces in the building that are intermittently occupied during the day and are lighted with instant-ON light sources? If so, consider replacing toggle wall switches with occupancy sensors. If there is a clear line of sight between the switch and the primary task area, PIR sensors can present a cost-effective option. If greater sensitivity is needed for small levels of motion or if there are obstacles between the wall switch and the task, consider ultrasonic. For the ultimate in reliability, consider dual-technology sensors.

If the space is a private office already circuited for bilevel switching, consider replacing the manual switches with a manual-ON/auto-OFF occupancy sensor for the highest positive energy savings and some flexibility. If the space requires an occupancy sensor be installed in a location other than at the wall switch, consider wireless occupancy sensors that run on batteries or ambient light in the space harvested using an integral solar cell. These sensors install anywhere within range of the receiver switch, which replaces the wall switch, and present no wiring requirements, although wireless technology is presently a premium option. Similarly, wireless photosensors are also available.

If the upgrade involves replacing light fixtures, consider integral controls. In a workstation-specific open office lighting layout, for example, direct/indirect fixtures can be installed that include an integral occupancy sensor and/or, if placed in a daylight zone, a photosensor and dimmable ballast, with the control wiring located inside the fixture. If the space is a hibay lighting application where metal halide is being replaced by fluorescent fixtures, consider fixture-integrated or mounted line-voltage occupancy sensors, which can be an economical addition to a new fluorescent fixture or separate add-on that is field installed. Photosensors could be similarly added for control of fixtures mounted over spaces that receive ample daylight from skylights.

Light levels can be stepped using a single ballast called a step dimming or light level switching ballast. If the existing space is already circuited for bilevel switching, step-dimming ballasts can be installed to ensure light levels are reduced uniformly, without a checkerboard pattern. These ballasts can operate without low-voltage wiring. Most products are programmed-start T8 ballasts, which may experience a loss of efficacy during light level reduction; dimming to 50%, for example, may reduce wattage by 40%. Instant-start step-dimming ballasts are available that offer proportional reductions in light output and input watts, although instant-start operation is not recommended by some manufacturers for applications with five or more ON/OFF cycles per day. Other hi/lo switching opportunities include corridors that receive a lot of daylight (with a photosensor) and stairwells (with an occupancy sensor).
Continuous-dimming ballast costs have been falling for years, putting this control method within reach of many upgrade projects. Efficiency has also improved such that dimmable ballasts are available that are as efficacious as standard instant-start fixed-output ballasts. Look for the NEMA Premium label for the most efficient ballasts.

Step-dimming ballasts provide uniform light level reduction without a checkerboard pattern. Photo courtesy of Universal Lighting Technologies.

Some dimming ballasts are available that communicate with lighting controls using existing line-voltage wiring. Two-wire phase-control dimming ballasts use existing line-voltage lines for both power and communication and are suitable for any application where greater flexibility is desired, such as conference rooms, boardrooms and private offices. A dimming range of 100-5% is available for T8 lamps and CFLs, and 100-1% for T5HO lamps. The lighting is typically controlled via local controls accessible to occupants.
Line-voltage stepped dimming (“load shedding” or “demand response”) ballasts may be combined with specialized energy management systems enabling a preset light level reduction, with a fade transition between light levels, in response to a variety of control inputs such as photosensors and schedules. The ballast may be combined with a signal transmitter that initiates load shedding in response to some type of demand response program. While demand response is still emerging as a trend, it will likely play a larger role in lighting in the future.

The ultimate control upgrade involves creating a fully realized lighting control system combining multiple strategies. In spaces where stationary tasks are performed, dimming will be preferable to switching while the space is occupied. If the ballasts will be replaced with dimmable ballasts, then multiple strategies should be enacted to make this installation more economical. When wiring a control system enacting multiple strategies around a dimmable ballast, one should consider a digital communication architecture, which eliminates multiple home runs and produces installation savings. If a digital architecture is chosen, one can consider creating a system out of DALI-compatible components, or specifying a proprietary system built around relays in distributed power packs and occupancy sensors, or digital dimming ballasts.

Finally, if the existing installation already includes automatic lighting controls that will be retained after the upgrade, ensure these controls are working properly by re-commissioning them as part of the project. The system may have been improperly designed, installed or commissioned when first put in place, or its operating parameters may have drifted out of sync with the space and how its lighting is used. Re-commissioning can therefore become a source of energy savings by itself.

The bottom line is that in most spaces, simple control strategies can be economically incorporated into lamp/ballast upgrades and fixture replacement projects, accelerating energy savings and, in some cases, improving flexibility.

Electrical Energy Management

2010-09-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

The Energy Management Standard is Coming, is Your Organization Ready?
Whether in the United States or across the world, in industrial or commercial settings, energy must be managed. End users of energy often cannot control energy prices, political events or global economic shocks, but they can manage how they use energy. The ISO Energy Management Standard (ISO 50001) offers a promising mechanism to help end users proactively assess, measure and manage their energy consumption.
The ISO 50001 Energy Management System Standard has the potential to impact up to 60 percent of global energy demand based on broad applicability across multiple sectors. Once finalized in 2011, the ISO 50001 Standard will be able to help a wide variety of organizations in multiple sectors implement an energy management system for continuous improvement. By conforming to this standard, companies and other organizations will have a methodology that will enable them to manage energy use, address carbon emissions and demonstrate corporate social responsibility.

ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard
Today, energy management is a subjective concept with an array of programs across companies and institutions. The ISO 50001 Standard addresses this very issue. As an internationally recognized standard, ISO 50001 will provide a uniform framework under which an adopter may develop its own Energy Management Plan tailored to its personnel, facilities, operations and resources. ISO 50001 also will help companies and governments achieve continuous progress toward energy efficiency gains, quantifiable energy reduction and third-party verification of energy savings.

ISO 50001 currently is available as a Draft International Standard. The standard is being developed through a project committee consisting of 41 participating countries and 10 countries with observer status and is expected to be approved and published by the middle of 2011.

The ISO 50001 Standard will establish a framework for industrial plants and commercial facilities, as well as government and institutional organizations to manage energy use by integrating energy efficiency into their management practices. This is accomplished by requiring organizations to establish, implement, maintain and improve their energy management systems, enabling systematic achievement of continual improvement in energy performance, energy efficiency and energy conservation. To this end, the ISO 50001 Standard contains requirements on energy supply and consumption, including:

•Measurement
•Documentation and reporting
•Design and procurement practices for energy-using equipment and systems
•Processes and personnel
ISO 50001 applies to all factors that can be monitored and influenced by the organization to affect energy use. In addition, the ISO 50001 Standard is designed to be used independently and to be compatible with other ISO management systems such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, which are widely used worldwide.

Implementation of the ISO 50001 Standard could have several significant potential impacts. By managing energy more effectively, industrial plants and commercial and institutional buildings could achieve energy-savings of between 10 and 30 percent, and even more in some cases. Because of its widespread applicability, the ISO 50001 Standard could influence up to 60 percents of the world’s energy use across many economic sectors.
Adoption of ISO 50001 will be driven by companies seeking an internationally recognized response to:

•Corporate sustainability programs
•Energy cost-reduction initiatives
•Demand created along the manufacturing supply chain
•Future national cap and trade programs; carbon or energy taxes; increasing market value of “green manufacturing” and reduced carbon footprint
•International climate agreements
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports the development of ISO 50001 because it will complement their efforts to reduce energy intensity in U.S. industrial facilities. The DOE views the ISO 50001 Standard as a foundational tool that any facility can use to manage energy consumption. To that end, DOE supports the industry-led Superior Energy Performance (SEP) program; a voluntary program that certifies industrial facilities for energy efficiency; a key condition of certification is conformance to ISO 50001.

Alternative energy

2010-08-31T23:20:00.001-07:00

Zuma in China: Renewables high on agenda

South African
President Jacob Zuma

26 August 2010 - Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd, China's largest maker of solar panels, said on Thursday that it has signed a deal to develop solar plants in South Africa with up to 100 megawatts in capacity as the country looks to boost clean energy output.

The signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU), which coincided with the visit by South African President Jacob Zuma to China, was one of a dozen deals involving investments in energy, power transmission and railways between the two nations.

Zuma has urged China to invest more in infrastructure and manufacturing in his country, as his government seeks to broaden South Africa's economic appeal beyond mines and resources.

Analysts say total investment for building a 100 MW solar power plant could be between $350 million and $400 million.

"This (deal) highlights that there are so many markets that are completely off the radar screen for people who follow the sector, South Africa being one of them," said CLSA analyst Charles Yonts. "It's good for Suntech most definitely."

Suntech sells solar equipment to Australia, Germany, Japan, Peru, Spain, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

The deal also highlights China's desire to export its infrastructure and building expertise, with Beijing offering cheap loans to countries that agree to let Chinese companies build power plants, roads and telecommunications networks.

Suntech's non-binding MOU had no financial terms, Rory Macpherson, director of investor relations, told Reuters. He declined to name the South African companies in the project.

"We're exploring development of solar projects with an unnamed solar firm," Macpherson said, declining give a timetable for the investments.

"Obviously, we are committed to developing the solar market in South Africa. We will look for solar opportunities as soon as possible," he said, adding that the total size of the photovoltaic market in South Africa could be more than $1 billion.

Suntech's agreement is the latest among Chinese renewable energy companies looking to enter South Africa.

China Longyuan Power Group Corp Ltd, the nation's biggest wind power producer, has said it is setting up wind projects in South Africa, according to media reports. Longyuan was not immediately available for comment.

Those deals included a 240 million euro loan agreement between South Africa's third-largest mobile phone operator, Cell C, and China Development Bank, and a memorandum of understanding signed between South Africa's Standard Bank Group and China Railway Group Ltd to cooperate on funding for rail and infrastructure projects in Africa.

Electrical Energy Management

2010-08-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

Iran provides finance for Zimbabwe's energy sector

A Zimbabwean diplomat announced that Iran has opened a multi-million-euro credit line to aid the African state in financing its energy sector.

Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Iran Nicholas Kitikiti said that Iran's €40 million credit line will finance energy, banking and industrial projects in the African country.

The funds would be used to rehabilitate the country's main power station to increase electricity supplies and reduce rationing, Kitikiti has said.

"The facility is there and waiting for us to harness. I am sure this will go a long way in assisting us in our economic development programs," Nicholas Kitikiti said, referring to the Iranian credit line.

He said Zimbabwe had already opened negotiations with Iran for further lines of credit covering the agriculture, health and technology sectors.

In April 2010, Iran and Zimbabwe signed 11 documents for expansion of cooperation between the two countries in different fields.

The protocols, signed during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the African state, envision cooperation in the fields of tourism, science, technology, youth affairs, transportation, aviation and education as well as lifting political and service visa issuance.

Furthermore, Iran's Export Guarantee Fund and Zimbabwe Finance Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the meeting as the two countries' officials agreed on formation of mutual investment companies and drawing up executive plans for scientific, cultural, and technical cooperation.

Lighting Control

2010-07-20T00:32:00.001-07:00

Fluorescent Magnetic T12 Ballast: RIP

by Craig DiLouie, Lighting Controls Association

Posted July 2010

This month, Federal efficiency standards regulating fluorescent magnetic T12 ballasts entered their final phase, effectively eliminating these ballasts from the market, with few exceptions.

Between 2005 and 2010, efficiency standards created by Department of Energy regulations became phased into effect, covering magnetic ballasts designed to operate full-wattage F40T12, F96T12 and F96T12HO lamps.

By 2006, ballast manufacturers were no longer allowed to sell them to fixture manufacturers and fixture manufacturers were no longer allowed to sell them to the public.

As of July 1, 2010, ballast manufacturers were prohibited from manufacturing even replacement ballasts that did not meet the new standards.

Between July 2009 and July 2010, additional rules created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 went into effect that expanded the energy standards to cover energy-saving versions of these T12 lamps (e.g., 34W F40T12 lamps).

As no ballasts meet these standards, the industry's least-efficient fluorescent ballasts have been eliminated from the market, which will result in a shift to higher-efficiency ballasts (i.e., electronic) in existing installations. The market has already largely shifted to electronic ballasts in new fixtures but a significant number of magnetic ballasts are sold each year for replacement purposes in existing buildings. For example, according to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), about 7% of the ballast market was magnetic ballasts.

Even as owners begin to upgrade existing buildings, magnetic ballasts will continue to be sold, however. These include recognized exceptions, including ballasts designed:

• for dimming to 50 percent or less of their maximum light output;
• for use with two F96T12HO lamps at ambient temperatures of -20ºF and for use in outdoor signs; or
• labeled for use only in residential applications and have a power factor of less than 0.90.

On July 14, 2012, recently enacted DOE regulations will take effect that will also eliminate the T12 lamps that the ballasts operate.

The new DOE rules expand on efficiency rules established by the Energy Policy Act of 1992 by strengthening standards for covered lamps types while also covering 8-ft. T8 lamps, 4-ft. T5 lamps and more wattages of 4-ft. T8 and T12 lamps. The net result, with few exceptions, is a majority of 4-ft. linear and 2-ft. U-shaped T12 lamps, many 8-ft. T12 and T12HO, and some low-color-rendering 4-ft. T8 lamps will be eliminated. While no longer popular in new construction, an estimated 30 percent of fluorescent 4-ft. lamps sold every year are T12, according to NEMA market data.

For more information about the law and current product availability, consult the ballast manufacturers

Lighting control and energy management

2010-07-06T07:18:00.001-07:00

China Fears Warming Effects of Consumer Wants
Jul 5, 2010 New York Times
GUANGZHOU, China — Premier Wen Jiabao has promised to use an “iron hand” this summer to make his nation more energy efficient. The central government has ordered cities to close inefficient factories by September, like the vast Guangzhou Steel mill here, where most of the 6,000 workers will be laid off or pushed into early retirement.
Already, in the last three years, China has shut down more than a thousand older coal-fired power plants that used technology of the sort still common in the United States. China has also surpassed the rest of the world as the biggest investor in wind turbines and other clean energy technology. And it has dictated tough new energy standards for lighting and gas mileage for cars.
But even as Beijing imposes the world’s most rigorous national energy campaign, the effort is being overwhelmed by the billionfold demands of Chinese consumers.
Chinese and Western energy experts worry that China’s energy challenge could become the world’s problem — possibly dooming any international efforts to place meaningful limits on global warming.
If China cannot meet its own energy-efficiency targets, the chances of avoiding widespread environmental damage from rising temperatures “are very close to zero,” said Fatih Birol, the chief economist of the International Energy Agency in Paris.
Aspiring to a more Western standard of living, in many cases with the government’s encouragement, China’s population, 1.3 billion strong, is clamoring for more and bigger cars, for electricity-dependent home appliances and for more creature comforts like air-conditioned shopping malls.
As a result, China is actually becoming even less energy efficient. And because most of its energy is still produced by burning fossil fuels, China’s emission of carbon dioxide — a so-called greenhouse gas — is growing worse. This past winter and spring showed the largest six-month increase in tonnage ever by a single country.
Until recently, projections by both the International Energy Agency and the Energy Information Administration in Washington had assumed that, even without an international energy agreement to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, China would achieve rapid improvements in energy efficiency through 2020.
But now China is struggling to limit emissions even to the “business as usual” levels that climate models assume if the world does little to address global warming.
“We really have an arduous task” even to reach China’s existing energy-efficiency goals, said Gao Shixian, an energy official at the National Development and Reform Commission, in a speech at the Clean Energy Expo China in late June in Beijing.
China’s goal has been to reduce energy consumption per unit of economic output by 20 percent this year compared with 2005, and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases per unit of economic output by 40 to 45 percent in 2020 compared with 2005.
But even if China can make the promised improvements, the International Energy Agency now projects that China’s emissions of energy-related greenhouse gases will grow more than the rest of the world’s combined increase by 2020. China, with one-fifth of the world’s population, is now on track to represent more than a quarter of humanity’s energy-related greenhouse-gas emissions.
Industry by industry, energy demand in China is increasing so fast that the broader efficiency targets are becoming harder to hit.
¶Although China has passed the United States in the average efficiency of its coal-fired power plants, demand for electricity is so voracious that China last year built new coal-fired plants with a total capacity greater than all existing power plants in New York State.
¶While China has imposed lighting efficiency standards on new buildings and is drafting similar standards for household appliances, construction of apartment and office buildings proceeds at a frenzied pace. And rural sales of refrigerators, washing machines and other large household appliances more than doubled in the past year in response to government subsidies aimed at helping 700 million peasants afford modern amenities.
¶As the economy becomes more reliant on domestic demand instead of exports, growth is shifting toward energy-hungry steel and cement production and away from light industries like toys and apparel.
¶Chinese cars get 40 percent better gas mileage on average than American cars because they tend to be much smaller and have weaker engines. And China is drafting regulations that would require cars within each size category to improve their mileage by 18 percent over the next five years. But China’s auto market soared 48 percent in 2009, surpassing the American market for the first time, and car sales are rising almost as rapidly again this year.
One of the newest factors in China’s energy use has emerged beyond the planning purview of policy makers in Beijing, in the form of labor unrest at factories across the country.
An older generation of low-wage migrant workers accepted hot dormitories and factories with barely a fan to keep them cool, one of many reasons Chinese emissions per person are still a third of American emissions per person. Besides higher pay, young Chinese are now demanding their own 100-square-foot studio apartments, with air-conditioning at home and in factories. Indeed, one of the demands by workers who went on strike in May at a Honda transmission factory in Foshan was that the air-conditioning thermostats be set lower.
Chinese regulations still mandate that the air-conditioning in most places be set no cooler than 79 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. But upscale shopping malls have long been exempt from the thermostat controls and have maintained much cooler temperatures through the summers. Now, as the consumer economy takes root, those malls are proliferating in cities across China.
Premier Wen acknowledged in a statement after a cabinet meeting in May that the efficiency gains had started to reverse and actually deteriorated by 3.2 percent in the first quarter of this year. He cited a lack of controls on energy-intensive industries, although the economic rebound from the global financial crisis may have also played a role.
Global climate discussions, in pinning hopes on China’s ability to vastly improve its efficient use of energy, have tended to cite International Energy Agency data showing that China uses twice as much energy per dollar of output as the United States and three times as much as the European Union. The implicit assumption is that China can greatly improve efficiency because it must still be relying mainly on wasteful, aging boilers and outmoded power plants.
But David Fridley, a longtime specialist in China’s energy at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, said that the comparison to the United States and the European Union was misleading.
Manufacturing makes up three times as much of the Chinese economy as it does the American economy, and it is energy-intensive. If the United States had much more manufacturing, Mr. Fridley said, it would also use considerably more energy per dollar of output.
“China has been trying to grab the low-lying fruit — to find those opportunities where increased efficiency can save money and reduce carbon-dioxide emissions,” said Ken Caldeira, a climate change specialist at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Stanford, Calif. “It is starting to look like it might not be that easy to find and grab this fruit.”

Lighting control and automation

2010-06-01T07:18:00.001-07:00

Take the IEEE Green Your World Challenge to Celebrate World Environment Day, 5 June 2010
Jun 1, 2010 Canada NewsWire Group
PISCATAWAY, N.J., Jun. 1, 2010 (Canada NewsWire Group delivered by Newstex) -- /CNW/ --
In celebration of the 2010 World Environment Day (WED), and the positive impact global sustainability technologies have made on the environment, IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, initiates a call-to-action: asking citizens of the world to accept the IEEE Green Your World Challenge.
Take the Challenge! Starting 1 June 2010, and continuing throughout the week leading up to WED (5 June 2010), IEEE invites individuals from around the globe to take one or more of the five challenges, and commit to making simple, yet powerful changes in daily life that can benefit humanity and the environment:
-- Step into the (Energy Efficient) Light: Replace incandescent light
bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) or light emitting
diode (LED) light bulbs
-- Be an e-Waste Hero: Find a local electronics recycler, and
eco-consciously dispose of old computers, TVs, and mobile phones
-- Every Drop Counts: Reduce your daily in-home water usage
-- Reforest Your Community: Plant a tree or garden and create a
sustainable future
-- Stop 'Energy Vampires' from Draining Your Resources: Unplug standby
electronics
"When it comes to our environment, we must be agents of change in our daily routines and in our support for sustainable developments through advancements in technology," said Pedro Ray, 2010 IEEE president and chief executive officer. "IEEE and its members are working globally to capitalize on the impact technology plays in sustainability efforts - from implementing water conservation and irrigation systems in underserved areas, and lowering the carbon footprint of consumer devices by engineering smaller, faster semiconductors, to preserving the Earth's natural resources by exploring new alternative energy sources. I encourage every individual to take the IEEE Green Your World Challenge and do their part to better serve this planet."
Take the IEEE Green Your World Challenge and commit to an environmental change that will impact our future: http://www.ieeegreenyourworld.org.
After taking the Challenge, explore which challenges other people have taken around the globe, and check out the IEEE Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ieeegreenyourworld and Twitter feed (@IEEEorg) - to get regular updates on the IEEE Green Your World Challenge.
The IEEE Green Your World Challenge is registered with the United Nations Environmental Programme - WED 2010, which aims to be the most widely celebrated, global day for positive, environmental action. By celebrating WED, IEEE is linking individuals around the globe in support of environmental issues.
About IEEE
IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, is dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Learn more at http://www.ieee.org.
Newstex ID: PRN-0001-45597194

Green Energy

2010-05-24T06:47:00.001-07:00

6. Anti-plastic bag drive gains momentum
May 24, 2010 Bangkok Post
Pitsinee Jitpleecheep
May 24, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Retailers of all sizes are being asked to co-operate with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) on its new environmental programme to reduce the usage of plastic bags in Bangkok.
Porntep Techapaibul, a BMA deputy governor, said the capital generated about 10,000 tonnes of garbage per day. Of the total, up to 1,800 tonnes are plastic bags, the use of which rises by about 20% a year. The BMA has to allocate about 600 million baht to get rid of such garbage each year.
Given high concern about global warming, the BMA will encourage residents to take part in the 'Krungthep Yim Sod Sai Rai Tung Plastic' campaign, under the slogan under 'No Bag No Baht'. A pilot project started at the Chatuchak weekend market last week.
The campaign will expand to another eight markets owned by the BMA including Sanam Luang II, Prachachuen and Min Buri to test consumer response.
Under the campaign, customers who buy goods at shops at nine BMA markets will receive a one-baht discount for every 100 baht they pay if they bring fabric bags. At the same time, shoppers have to pay one baht per plastic bag. The measure will be enforced officially from Environment Day on June 5.
Proceeds from the "bag tax" will be used to help solve global warming problems or produce recycled bags.
Apart from the markets, the BMA also negotiated with leading retailers such as The Mall Group, Central Department Store, Tesco Lotus and Home Pro to join the campaign. Tesco Lotus and Home Pro are already taking part and more retailers are expected to join over the next two to three months.
"We hope the campaign will help gradually change the behaviour of Bangkokians and cap usage of plastic bags in Bangkok at 1,800 tonnes per day. However, if anything changes and the usage of plastic bags is more than 1,800 tonnes per day, we will consider some tax measures or increase household garbage collection fees to 360 baht per year from 240 baht currently," Mr Porntep said.
Newstex ID: KRTB-0199-45332329

Home Automation

2010-05-10T02:41:00.001-07:00

7. China’s Soaring Energy Use Weakens Pledge on Efficiency
May 7, 2010 New York Times
HONG KONG — Even as China has set ambitious goals for itself in clean-energy production and reduction of global warming gases, the country’s surging demand for power from oil and coal has led to the largest six-month increase in the tonnage of human generated greenhouse gases ever by a single country.
China’s leaders are so concerned about rising energy use and declining energy efficiency that the cabinet held a special meeting this week to discuss the problem, according to a statement Thursday from the ministry of industry and information technology. Coal-fired electricity and oil sales each climbed 24 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, on the heels of similar increases in the fourth quarter
Premier Wen Jiabao promised tougher policies to enforce energy conservation, including a ban on government approval of any new projects by companies that failed to eliminate inefficient capacity, the ministry said. Mr. Wen also said that China had to find a way to meet the target in its current five-year plan of a 20 percent improvement in energy efficiency.
“We can never break our pledge, stagger our resolution or weaken our efforts, no matter how difficult it is,” Mr. Wen said. Western experts say it will be hard to meet the target, but that China’s leaders seem determined.
“No country of this size has seen energy demand grow this fast before in absolute terms, and those who are most concerned about this are the Chinese themselves,” said Jonathan Sinton, the China program manager at the International Energy Agency in Paris.
China has been the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases each year since 2006, leading the United States by an ever-widening margin. A failure by China to meet its own energy efficiency targets would be a big setback for international efforts to limit such emissions.
Such a failure would also be a potential diplomatic embarrassment for the Chinese government, which promised the world just before the Copenhagen climate summit meeting in December that it would improve energy efficiency.
The issue has major economic implications for China and for global energy markets. The nation’s ravenous appetite for fossil fuels is driven by China’s shifting economic base — away from light export industries like garment and shoe production and toward energy-intensive heavy industries like steel and cement manufacturing for cars and construction for the domestic market.
Almost all urban households in China now have a washing machine, a refrigerator and an air-conditioner, according to government statistics. Rural ownership of appliances is now soaring as well because of new government subsidies for their purchase since late 2008.
Car ownership is rising rapidly in the cities, while bicycle ownership is actually falling in rural areas as more families buy motorcycles and light trucks.
General Motors announced on Thursday that its sales in China rose 41 percent in April from a year earlier, virtually all of the vehicles made in China because of high import taxes.
Zhou Xi’an, a National Energy Administration official, said in a statement last month that fossil fuel consumption was likely to increase further in the second quarter of this year because of rising car ownership, diesel use in the increasingly mechanized agricultural sector and extra jet fuel consumption for travelers to the Shanghai Expo.
The shift in the composition of China’s economic output is overwhelming the effects of China’s rapid expansion of renewable energy and its existing energy conservation program, energy experts said.
The increase in energy consumption in the first quarter was twice as fast as economic growth of about 12 percent during that period, a sign that rising energy consumption is not just the result of a rebounding economy but also of changes in the mix of industrial activity. The shift in activity is partly because of China’s economic stimulus program, which has resulted in a surge in public works construction that requires a lot of steel and cement.
Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, which many scientists describe as the biggest man-made contributor to global warming.
President Hu Jintao pledged in November that by 2020 the Chinese government would slow its growth in greenhouse gases by sharply improving energy efficiency. Mr. Wen went to the Copenhagen climate meeting three weeks later and opposed any international monitoring of China’s energy efficiency effort or binding limits on China’s overall energy consumption.
China’s current five-year plan, from 2006 to 2010, already sets an efficiency target that the country may now be less likely to meet.
The plan calls for the energy needed for each unit of economic output to decline by 20 percent in 2010 compared to 2005.
For a while, China seemed to be on track toward that goal. According to the ministry of industry and information technology, energy efficiency actually improved by more than 14 percent from 2005 to 2009.
But it deteriorated by 3.2 percent in the first quarter, the ministry said on Thursday.
Mr. Wen said that this deterioration would make it “particularly difficult” for China to meet the 20 percent target.
Without big policy changes, like raising fuel taxes, “they can’t possibly make it,” said Julie Beatty, principal energy economist at Wood Mackenzie, a big energy consulting firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Mr. Hu promised last November that China would improve the energy efficiency of its economy by 40 to 45 percent by 2020. The ministry statement on Thursday did not mention whether Mr. Hu’s promise might still be achievable.
Complicating energy efficiency calculations is the fact that China’s National Bureau of Statistics has begun a comprehensive revision of all of the country’s energy statistics for the last 10 years, restating them with more of the details commonly available in other countries’ data. Western experts also expect the revision to show that China has been using even more energy and releasing even more greenhouse gases than previously thought.
Revising the data now runs the risk that other countries will distrust the results and demand greater international monitoring of any future pledges by China. If the National Bureau of Statistics revises up the 2005 data more than recent data, for example, then China might appear to have met its target at the end of this year for a 20 percent improvement in energy efficiency.
China’s recent embrace of renewable energy has done little so far to slow the rise in emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.
Wind energy effectively doubled in this year’s first quarter compared with a year earlier, as China has emerged as the world’s largest manufacturer and installer of wind turbines. But wind still accounts for just 2 percent of China’s electricity capacity — and only 1 percent of actual output, because the wind does not blow all the time.
Meanwhile, fuel-intensive heavy industry output rose 22 percent in the first quarter in China from a year earlier, while light industry increased 14 percent.
Rajendra K. Pachauri, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations research unit, said in an e-mail message that he believed China was serious about addressing its emissions.
“There is a growing realization within Chinese society that major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions would be of overall benefit to China,” he wrote after learning of the latest Chinese energy statistics. “This is important not only for global reasons, because China is now responsible for the highest emissions of greenhouse gases, but also because its per capita emissions are increasing at a rapid rate.”
To some extent, China’s energy consumption now might actually help limit its global warming emissions in the future.
China, for example, used 200 million tons of cement in building rail lines last year, while the entire American economy only used 93 million tons, said David Fridley, a China energy specialist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Although production of that cement raised energy use and emissions of global warming gases, it also expanded a rail system that is among the most energy-efficient in the world.
China currently moves only 55 percent of its coal by rail, for example, which is down from 80 percent a decade ago, as many coal users have been forced by inadequate rail capacity to haul coal in trucks instead. The trucks burn 10 or more times as much fuel per mile to haul a ton of coal, Mr. Fridley said.
But now, with new high-speed passenger lines leaving more room on older lines to haul coal and other freight, the percentages could begin shifting away from energy-inefficient trucking, he said.

home automation

2010-05-04T03:08:00.001-07:00

Climate bill could be harmed by Gulf spill
May 1, 2010 Associated Press Online
By MATTHEW DALY and NOAKI SCHWARTZ
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2010 (AP Online delivered by Newstex) -- A historic environmental protection bill is in danger after a massive oil spill put a new focus on the perils of offshore drilling, a feature that was supposed to win wider support for the legislation.
The bill, supported by President Barack Obama, calls for new offshore drilling -- a concession by environmentalists. But with the tragedy off the Gulf Coast growing daily, even conservationists who have waited a decade for the legislation are now saying it will fail if offshore drilling remains in the bill.
"When you're trying to resurrect a climate bill that's face-down in the mud and you want to bring it back to life and get it breathing again, I don't think you can have offshore drilling against the backdrop of what's transpiring in the Louisiana wetlands," said Richard Charter, energy adviser to Defenders of Wildlife. "I think it's flat-lined."
Some Democrats, including two of New Jersey's congressmen and both of its senators, threatened Friday to pull their support if offshore drilling is included in the bill designed to curb emissions of pollution-causing gases blamed for global warming.
Introduction of the legislation was postponed on Monday for an unrelated reason. The bill aims to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, and it also would expand domestic production of oil, natural gas and nuclear power.
Obama called for new offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean from Delaware to central Florida, and the northern waters of Alaska. He also asked Congress to lift a drilling ban in the oil-rich eastern Gulf of Mexico, 125 miles from Florida beaches.
The images of last week's explosion and the growing, uncontrolled spill in the Gulf of Mexico made the bill's road to approval much more difficult. The accident, which threatens wildlife and fishing grounds along the Gulf Coast, will likely force many wavering lawmakers to reconsider whether they support expanded drilling.
"I think that's dead on arrival," U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida, told CNN on Friday.
But South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Friday he has not wavered in his support. "We've had problems with car design, but you don't stop driving," he told The Greenville News. "The Challenger accident was heart-breaking but we went back to space."
A White House spokesman said this week that President Barack Obama remains committed, at least for now, to plans to expand drilling to new areas of the Outer Continental Shelf.
But David Jenkins, a spokesman for Republicans for Environmental Protection, said the politics of offshore drilling are "changing by the minute" as the spreading slick of oil threatens coastal states that traditionally support drilling.
"If this plays out, how many politicians will be jumping up and saying they won't vote for this because it doesn't include offshore drilling?" Jenkins said.
While the environmental community never embraced drilling, some muted or at least downplayed their opposition to Obama's proposal for the sake of the larger climate bill, said Steve Cochran, with the Environmental Defense Fund.
While the spill essentially kills any proposal for more drilling, he said it also demonstrates more than ever the need for a comprehensive energy bill that protects the environment.
"We need to take advantage of the opportunity of this bill to make sure we never face this situation again," he said.
Carl Pope, chairman of the Sierra Club, agreed. He said the authors of the bill will have to come up with a new formula to attract support from moderate Democrats, independents and Republicans.
"The oil industry spent 40 years building a story line that it knew what it was doing underwater and because it knew what it was doing we could allow it to turn our most sensitive coastline into oilfields," he said. "We've now been reminded once again that oil and water do not mix."
Newstex ID: AP-0001-44515662

Energy Management

2010-04-23T03:53:00.000-07:00

________________________________________
On the 25th of February 2010 new electricity tariff increases have been announced. It was made public and final that NERSA has approved 3 tariff increases for 2010, 2011 and 2012.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) released its decision on Eskom’s tariff application. The final announcement has sent a strong message to both consumers and Eskom.
The tariff increases were announced as follows:
2010/11: 24.8%. This makes the average Eskom electricity price for post paid meters 41.31c per kWh.
2011/12: 25.1%. This makes the average Eskom electricity price for post paid meters 51.68 c per kWh
2012/2013: 25.9%. This makes the average Eskom electricity price for post paid meters 65.06c per kWh
The first increase will take effect on 1st of April 2010, which is the start of Eskom’s financial year, ironically enough also known as April Fools day.
It is to be remembered that the increases are arriving after the 31.3% increase in electricity tariffs from the 1st of July 2009, which was less than the 34% which Eskom asked for.
That said some municipalities can and probably will put an additional markup in addition to these increases, which in effect makes the increase in tariffs even greater than the once published.
We wrote in 2009 and asked, what happens 9 months from July 2009?
Now we know for sure that the increases in electricity prices have reached 107.1% since 2009 until 31st of March 2013.
The Star with Business Report on the 14th of October 2009 had an interesting article which detailed how much electricity one would pay on a R900 bill in 2009.
The paper has estimated the following:
In 2010/2011 the R900 will end up in a bill of R1,435
In 2011/2012 the R900 will end up in a bill of R2,080
In 2012/2013 the R900 will end up in a bill of R3,016
By the figures now published in February 2010, it looks like these estimates are getting closer to reality than we ever thought possible.
It is not only the electricity bill that will be crippling the economy directly. Indirectly there are goods and services that will increase due to such high electricity bills. Manufacturers, distributors and entire supply chains will pay more, a lot more than a household on their electricity bills, which of course they will pass down to the consumer in one way or another, even if not the entire amount.
The problem also lies with the fact that not only one company in the supply chain will do this, but many, hence one product from manufacturing to consumer can incur several small increases in price, which will add up to one larger increase.
Adding to that, many products can suffer of such increases if the production and distribution becomes more expensive due to electricity and compound also due to other increases in costs that as consumers we are far less aware of.
Where does this all lead to?
It leads us to take control of our power consumption immediately as a matter of necessity and it leads large organizations and leadership to look at alternative efficient and far most cost effective use and production of electricity.
If light saving light bulbs where an option until now; these may have become an absolute necessity, and if geyser timers where a consideration, now these have become a critical factor in reducing our monthly electricity bill.
Saving electricity is no longer optional, nor is it about saving the planet anymore; it is about saving our pockets and our budgets as consumers. We at least have the power to do that, and hope that leadership will have the power and the knowledge to deal with the bigger picture of the energy crisis.
We invite you to read more about saving on your electricity and monitoring your home to become and efficient electricity user: 6 Easy Ways to Save on Your Electricity Bills.

For more information on Energy Saving Monitors please visit: www.ElectricityMonitor.co.za

Energy Efficiency

2010-04-22T04:54:00.000-07:00

1. 1E Previews NightWatchman® Server Edition 2.0 and NightWatchman® 6.0
Apr 20, 2010 1E News Release
1E Previews NightWatchman® Server Edition 2.0 and NightWatchman® 6.0 at MMS 2010
Suite of Energy Efficient NightWatchman Solutions Now Addresses 60 Percent of IT Power Usage
LAS VEGAS (Microsoft Management Summit) – Tuesday 20th April 2010 – 1E, a software and services company that improves IT efficiency by identifying and reducing costs and waste in hardware, software, energy and time, today announced two significant advances in IT efficiency: NightWatchman® Server Edition 2.0 and NightWatchman® 6.0 at the Microsoft Management Summit 2010 (MMS)
With nearly 14 million licensed users of its software deployed across 1100 organizations in 42 countries worldwide, 1E’s energy efficiency solutions have helped its customers save in excess of $360M in energy costs alone, cutting CO2 emissions by three million tons. NightWatchman is the world’s leading PC power management solution with four million licensed users worldwide.
“We’re proud to join Microsoft at MMS as a Gold Certified Partner and offer this loyal community a first look at our innovative suite of NightWatchman solutions,” said Sumir Karayi, CEO, 1E. “1E continues to lead the industry in empowering IT efficiency, reducing costs and saving energy for our customers.”
For System Center customers, NightWatchman provides increased return on investment (ROI) through genuine power savings and enhanced computer health, reporting and remediation. For example, 1E’s Nomad Enterprise allows branch office server consolidation and zero touch Windows 7 deployment. In addition, Configuration Manager customers using 1E’s Shopping software will benefit from self service through a highly customizable work flow-based Web portal.1E solutions have been maximizing efficiencies to the System Center Configuration Manager infrastructures for more than a decade.
“By working together with 1E’s best-of-breed energy efficient IT solutions, we offer customers a powerful combination of automation, reduced infrastructure and power management. As a result, customers can gain a deeper insight into their operations and drive efficiencies across their physical and virtual IT environments,” said Brad Anderson, corporate vice president, Management and Services Division at Microsoft Corporation.
NightWatchman Server Edition, the latest innovation from 1E, addresses the $24.7 billion of IT spend wasted each year on servers not doing any useful work. Traditional monitoring tools primarily focus on availability and performance but provide little insight on whether a server is providing any business value. NightWatchman Server Edition provides detailed efficiency and power reporting so that decisions such as decommissioning wasteful servers are made much simpler and the efficiency of productive servers can be further enhanced with Drowsy Server® technology.
1E will be presenting a session on Wednesday, April 21st at 10:15am, providing the audience with a sneak preview of NightWatchman Server Edition 2.0 and NightWatchman 6.0, which will be generally available later in 2010. Presentations and demonstrations of 1E solutions including NightWatchman, WakeUp, Shopping and NightWatchman Server Edition will take place throughout the week at the 1E booth [# 410]. Attendees will also discover how Nomad Enterprise can be used to simplify and reduce the cost of Windows® 7 deployment.
About 1E
1E believes that every one of its customers should expect more from their IT. Founded in 1997, 1E pioneered advanced PC power management with the release of our ground-breaking solutions NightWatchman® and WakeUp™. That innovative approach has continued with the development of revolutionary concepts like Useful Work™, Drowsy Server© and Computer Health™ as part of a unique range of industry-leading solutions.
Headquartered in London and New York and with nearly 14 million licenses deployed world-wide, over 1100 organizations in 42 countries have trusted us to help them to work effectively, productively and sustainably. To date, we have helped our customers save in excess of $360m in energy costs alone, cutting CO2 emissions by 3 million tonnes. Our customers include AT&T, Allstate Insurance, Blue Cross, Bovis Lend Lease, British Airways, CSC, Dell Inc., DWP, Ford Motor Company, HSBC, ING Investment Management, Marks & Spencer, Microsoft, Nestlé, Reed Elsevier, SABMiller, Syngenta, the US Air Force on behalf of the Pentagon and Verizon Wireless.
We have many imitators, but there is only one 1E. For further information, please visit www.1e.com

Enery management at home

2010-04-15T06:04:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy today jointly announced changes to the Energy Star product certification process to ensure that only products meeting the program requirements can receive an Energy Star label. These changes accelerate steps DOE and EPA have initiated over the past several months to bolster the verification, testing and enforcement aspects of the Energy Star program.
“The Energy Star program started out small and has grown quickly, and now the brand is immensely valuable to consumers and businesses,” said Gina McCarthy, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. “The safeguards we’re putting into effect are essential for the millions of consumers who rely on Energy Star products to help save energy, money and the environment.”
“Consumers trust the Energy Star brand to save them money and reduce carbon pollution,” said Cathy Zoi, DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “The steps we are taking to strengthen the program will ensure that Energy Star continues to be the hallmark for energy efficiency in the years to come.”
Effective immediately, manufacturers wishing to qualify their products as Energy Star must submit complete lab reports and results for review and approval by EPA prior to labeling. Following a thorough review of the Energy Star qualification approval process, EPA has strengthened its approval systems and is no longer relying on an automated approval process. All new qualification applications will be reviewed and approved individually by EPA. EPA will begin accepting new applications by the end of the week.
Additionally, companies applying to be program partners will not be able to access the Energy Star certification mark until EPA has approved a specific Energy Star-qualified product submitted by the company.
EPA and DOE are further strengthening the certification process with a requirement effective at the end of the year that all manufacturers must submit test results from an approved, accredited lab for any product seeking the Energy Star label. Testing in an accredited lab is currently required for certain product categories including windows, doors, skylights and compact fluorescent lighting. The new process will extend the requirement to each of the more than 60 eligible product categories under the Energy Star program.
These efforts are in addition to enforcement and testing procedures already in place to ensure compliance with Energy Star specifications. The Department of Energy is conducting off-the-shelf product testing for some of the most common household appliances and a recent Inspector General audit found that 98 percent of products tested fully complied with Energy Star requirements.
The EPA and DOE are committed to continually strengthening and improving the Energy Star program, which provides information to consumers to help identify the most energy efficient products on the market that will save them money and reduce carbon pollution.

Intelligent buildings

2010-04-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

1. Why Intel Wants to Get into Energy
Apr 14, 2010 GreenTech Enterprise
Why Intel Wants to Get into Energy
Intel’s new device can read your dryer’s mind.
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Intel will show off an experimental device this week in China that could someday substantially cut the costs of wiring homes and offices for energy efficiency, one more step in the company's foray into energy.
The device is a server/sensor that monitors the power consumption of the various appliances in a home or small commercial building in real time. The device then sends the data, via Wi-Fi, to a phone, PC or a home energy management console, like the one Intel showed off at CES earlier this year.
"Turn-on and turn-off signatures are like fingerprints," said Justin Rattner, Intel's chief technology officer in an interview. "Compressors, motors, TVs, stereos -- all of them have a unique signature. It is relatively easy to train the system to recognize these things."
In the first stage, these devices will merely provide data to home energy consoles, but over time, remote control capabilities will be added so that lights can be turned off or thermostats turned down -- either by a person or a computer -- to save energy. Think of it as a Digital Mom ("Did you turn the lights off in your room...," etc.) without the guilt. Intel will work with Flextronics to get the first commercially available versions out later this year.
Ideally, these sorts of devices and the pattern recognition software that powers them will curb the amount of hardware that will be required for home automation. Everyone loves the idea of home automation. The problem is the cost: outfitting lights and appliances with sensors and radios scares white-goods makers. With devices like this, manufacturers might be able to get away with inserting only basic computing functions into appliances and letting a central server conduct more of the computing tasks needed. In other words, forget intelligent appliances and say hello to the merely competent refrigerator.
A million homes or small office buildings rigged with automation equipment could curb the need to build a good number of 600 and 700 megawatt power plants, he said.
"We believe that 30 percent of energy consumption is controlled by the consumer," said Rattner, who will show off the device and conduct other demonstrations during a speech at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing this week.
Part of Intel's interest in home automation stems from the lopsided nature of energy consumption when computing is compared with the rest of the world. Computers and IT equipment only account for two percent of the world's power consumption.
"If we were to hugely succeed and cut IT power in half, we'd only improve things by one percent," he said.
A bigger motive, however, lies in the opportunity to sell more chips. Intelligent appliances will need processors, boards and communications silicon. Last year, Intel began to vaguely discuss the opportunity in home automation (see the story we broke on the effort here) before coming out with its energy console and making it official.
Some of the technology behind these energy management applications to some degree can be traced back to sensor research Rattner and others showed off at IDFs in the early 2000s. (Here's a walk down memory sensor lane for you silicon fans.) With energy, remote sensors are finally finding a lucrative application to exploit.
Sensor servers and management consoles in some ways could also allow consumers and even utilities to postpone or downgrade smart meter rollout. Who needs a smart meter if your DSL router can already control your home? These devices, however, need data to work; hence, Intel is part of a coalition to get utilities to give third parties access to consumer energy consumption data.
Here's a laundry list of some of Intel's other energy efforts:
--Smart grid. Intel is working with the State Grid Corporation in China. It is also a big supporter of Grid Net, the company that wants to use WiMax in the grid. Intel has been behind the WiMax concept since the beginning.
--Wind. There are ten processors in the average wind turbine. Intel sells to some large vendors already.
--Demand response and efficiency. The company is already an investor in CPower.
--Green IT. Intel in 2001 kicked off an effort to reduce power consumption in chips. That was to prevent computers from melting. The company shifted its emphasis to power savings as electricity prices climbed.
--Solar. Intel has spun out a few startups in solar already and Intel Capital has invested in some as well. Solar cells are basically just semiconductors. Intel may not ever produce solar cells itself, but expect it to try to get its technology for chips more integrated into solar.
--Talent. A growing number of green startups are headed by Intel alums. The company has a knack for producing people well-versed in technology and marketing, running employees ragged and wearing down anyone that tries to resist their sales pitch. VCs love that. Others not listed in that link are Carlos Perea, CEO of Miox, Dan Russell, CEO of PowerMand, and First Solar president Bruce Sohn.

Energy Saving and LED lamps

2010-04-12T23:29:00.000-07:00

Integrated LED Replacement Lamps and Existing Dimmers: Compatibility Issues

by Craig DiLouie, Lighting Controls Association

Posted April 2010

With more than 4 billion incandescent lamps installed in homes, retrofit represents the biggest opportunity for LED technology in residential applications. Currently, directional LED replacement lamps are beginning to offer suitable alternatives to directional incandescent lamps, and manufacturers are working on viable replacements for omnidirectional incandescent lamps. LED technology has the potential to offer significant benefits to consumers, such as energy savings, no radiated heat or ultraviolet output, no contained mercury, and long service life.

An issue of critical importance will be compatibility with the large installed base of lighting controls. It is estimated that there are some 150 million incandescent dimmers installed in American homes. Consumers value high-performance dimming, which offers the benefits of energy savings and mood setting. Additionally, application of energy-saving vacancy sensors continue to increase, driven largely by the Title 24 energy code.

Aside from poor performance with some low-end motion sensors, switching usually does not present any issues; well-designed integrated LED lamps turn ON and achieve full brightness instantly, making them friendly with switches, and frequent switching does not affect lamp life, making them friendly for use with vacancy sensors.

At first glance, LED technology appears to be very friendly with dimming control, with dimmable integrated LED lamps available. However, the given integrated lamp must be rated as compatible with the given line-voltage dimmer.

This whitepaper describes current LED dimming issues and offers application guidance to avoid unwanted performance.

Dimmer operation and user expectations

Line-voltage dimmers, typically forward phase-cut devices due to their simple design and economical cost, turn incandescent lamps ON and OFF 120 times per second, imperceptibly to the naked eye, usually with an electronic device called a triac switch. The dimmer enables the user to alter the proportion of ON time to OFF time, raising or lowering average voltage and resulting lamp power and light output.

Integrated LED replacement lamps may receive several potential positive benefits from dimming.

Many users’ visual performance expectations have been shaped by their experience with dimming incandescent lamps, and therefore should be taken into account when evaluating the dimming performance of an integrated LED replacement lamp. Incandescents, for example, can be dimmed to very low light levels, with dimming range expressed as a percentage of the full light output level, and the lamps started at the minimum light level setting. Light level changes smoothly and quickly, without flicker or shimmer effects. A group of lamps operated by a single dimmer will dim uniformly. The lamps and control will make very little noise. And the lamp will become “warmer” in color tone at lower light levels.

Dimming and LEDs

Integrated LED replacement lamps may receive several potential positive benefits from dimming. For example, unlike compact fluorescent and incandescent lamps, LEDs produce light output that is proportional to electrical input. An LED operating at 50 percent of its initial rated power will produce about 50 percent of its initial rated light output. Towards the lower end of the dimming range, efficacy actually increases, the result of dimming lowering internal temperatures in the LED device and thereby increasing its light output. For example, as shown in Table 1, a sample LED product, which can dim from 100 percent to 10 percent of full output, experiences a dramatic increase in LED efficiency at its maximum dimming level.

Table 1. Example of LED dimming system performance. Source: NEMA LSD 49-2010.

Parameter
Value

Total power at full output
10W

Power supply overhead at full output
1.5W

LED power at full output
8.5W

Lumens at full output
600 lumens

System efficacy at full output
60 lumens/W

LED efficacy at full output
70.6 lumens/W

Maximum dimming level
10%

Total power at max DIM
1.17W

Power supply overhead at max DIM
1W

LED power at max DIM
0.17W

Lumens at max DIM
60 lumens

System efficacy at max DIM
51.3 lumens/W

LED efficacy at max DIM
352.9 lumens/W

Increase in LED efficiency at max DIM
400%

Meanwhile, dimming may extend LED product life. Unlike compact fluorescent and incandescent lamps, integrated LED lamp life is based on lumen maintenance—specifically L70, or the point at which the lamp is producing only 70 percent of its original light output (general lighting) or L50, at which the lamp is producing only 50 percent of its original output (decorative lighting). Because reducing LED internal temperatures increases light output, the LED product’s useful life is likely to be extended, as show in Table 2. Additionally, high operating temperatures can cause a color shift towards blue among most white LEDs as their phosphors fail; by reducing temperatures, this color shift can be delayed.

Table 2. Typical lifetime of light sources at full light output and when dimmed. Source: NEMA LSD 49-2010.

Light Source
Typical Life at Full Light (h)
Typical Life When Dimmed (h)

Incandescent
750-1500
1500-6000

Halogen
3000-5000
3000-20000

Non-dimmable CFL
6000-8000
N/A

Dimmable CFL
8000-10000
De-rated

Fluorescent
15000-40000
No change

Non-dimmable LED
20000-50000
N/A

Dimmable LED
20000-50000
Increases

Compatibility issues

Not all LED replacement lamps are compatible with all existing dimmers, and not all lamps are even compatible with dimming at all. Some lamps are line-voltage AC LED products that do not use driver circuits or power supplies, and work directly on 120VAC power and with compatible existing dimmer controls, but may present a risk of flicker. Other lamps contain integrated drivers and power supplies, which provide required current at a high frequency and thereby enable dimming with minimal flicker. The driver may be a constant current or voltage device; constant-current drivers regulate current and allow output voltage to adjust, while constant-voltage driver regulate voltage regardless of the current drawn by the load. Constant-current drivers are generally recommended for integrated LED replacement lamps. For the product to be dimmable, the driver must be designed to interpret control signals and produce a range of LED current; the added control circuitry and broader current range can produce higher energy savings but with a tradeoff of lower driver efficiency.

As LEDs are still a young technology and standards are still being developed, selecting LED replacement lamps and matching them with existing dimmers should be approached with caution. LED lamps and controls should be verified as compatible (assume they are not until proven otherwise). Any chosen product should meet safety performance requirements as well as power quality and industry standard specifications. The driver should have a rated life comparable to the LED array (20,000 to 50,000 hours). If layering dimmable and non-dimmable LED lighting in the same space, these different systems may age differently, resulting in diverging light output levels and degree of color shift. Because light output increases at the low end of the dimming range, the light output and dimmer setting may drift out of proportion at this low end. And because incandescent line-voltage dimmers are designed specifically for incandescent lamps, their requirements—such as constant leakage current path, minimum load, resistive impedance, which are met by most incandescent lamps—must be met by the given LED product, or else the product may flash, flicker, not turn ON or operationally fail.

Ask the right questions

Below is a list of questions to ask when evaluating compatibility between given dimmers and integrated LED replacement lamps:

Are all components in the system rated as compatible and supported by their manufacturers?
Has the system’s particular component combination been tested to ensure it will work as specified?
What is the maximum dimming level of the lamp?
Is the relationship between the dimmer control position and light output known?
What is the maximum load allowed by the dimmer? Is there a minimum load requirement?
Does the LED product turn ON at all dimming levels of the dimmer?
Does the LED product turn OFF or “cut out” during the travel of the dimmer?
Is there noticeable flicker or stroboscopic effect when the LED product is dimmed?
Is there any color shift when the LED product?
Does the dimmer make audible noise during dimming the LED product?
Many of these questions are related to a device designed to dim incandescent lamps being used to dim LED lamps. In short, incandescent lamp dimmer reliability is ensured if each of the stresses when the dimmer drives non-incandescent loads is less than the stress when the dimmer drives the rated incandescent load.

For more information

These and other compatibility issues are covered in greater technical detail in a whitepaper recently published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA): LSD 49-2010 Solid State Lighting for Incandescent Replacement: Best Practices for Dimming, produced by the organization’s Solid State Lighting Section. This whitepaper provides recommendations for the dimming and design of screw-based incandescent replacement solid-state lighting products. The main object of the paper is to encourage coordination among control, power supply and LED module manufacturers to achieve desired performance and product harmonization throughout the market. The paper is a precursor to a NEMA standard that will provide metrics for evaluating LED dimming compatibility and performance.

Saving Energy

2010-04-12T22:29:00.000-07:00

1. 2,000 Huntington, Long Island residents targeted to reduce energy consumption with the use of EnerPath software
Apr 9, 2010 EnerPath News Release
The Town of Huntington announced yesterday the launch of an energy efficiency program targeting local residents. The Huntington Town Council will hear a recommendation next week to use LI Green, a local not-for-profit corporation affiliated with the Advanced Energy Center at Stony Brook University, to perform home energy assessments and provide education, recommendations and support for residents in order to significantly reduce energy use. LI Green is partnering with EnerPath to bring large-scale energy efficiency to Long Island through the use of EnerPath's specialized software and best-practices expertise.
EnerPath (www.enerpath.com), with offices in Boston, MA and Redlands, CA, has been delivering large-scale energy efficiency programs for over ten years. EnerPath software enables energy assessment information to be electronically captured and analyzed on-site. Within seconds, a custom report can be printed for homeowners, showing opportunities for energy efficiency savings. Real-time dashboards of program progress are available to LI Green and the Town of Huntington through an EnerPath web portal.
"The Town of Huntington shows incredible foresight in recognizing the importance of green-tech opportunities for creating local jobs and addressing residents' concerns to lower their energy bills," said Stephen Guthrie, EnerPath Founder and CEO.
EnerPath champions a tiered approach to energy efficiency and has a track record of incredibly high customer enrollment and satisfaction. By starting with Tier 1 measures, which are low-cost, easy to install and have quick-payback periods, customers embrace energy efficiency and associated energy savings. Customers with positive Tier 1 experiences will go on to implement Tier 2 and Tier 3 measures, which tend to be more complex and costly.
The tiered approach to energy efficiency, adopted by The Town of Huntington, and endorsed by the US Department of Energy will enable LI Green to provide a Free Tier 1 Home Energy Assessment with recommendations on low-cost, quick-payback energy efficiency measures to Huntington residents. Energy assessors will provide education on Tier 1 energy efficiency measures and explain Tier 2 audits and other opportunities for energy savings throughout the home, as well as other financially supported programs customers can enroll in to save energy. Energy assessors will also provide education on Tier 3 measures like renewable energy and government incentive programs for these measures including solar and wind energy alternatives.
"The program being implemented between LI Green and EnerPath in Huntington is a true partnership which is focused on helping Long Island families," said Chuck Schwartz, Director of LI Green. "EnerPath has a history in the energy efficiency business of providing cost effective and large-scale community programs. The use of mobile wireless computers and the superior design of EnerPath's software will allow us to operate better, faster and smarter. With this technology platform, trained LI Green Engineers and Technicians will provide Huntington homeowners with preliminary home energy assessments in under an hour. The system's ability to prepare and print customized reports for immediate review with the resident, as well as EnerPath's proven methods for implementing and verifying energy efficiency measure installations and ensuring residents achieve the targeted reduction in their monthly energy bills, makes this a program that will exceed all expectations."
"Even more exciting is that the Tiered Delivery Program being implemented complements the outstanding energy efficiency programs being implemented by LIPA, NY State and the LI Energy Efficiency Retrofit Ramp-up Consortium, a partnership of eight Long Island townships," continued Mr. Schwartz. "The Huntington program will act as a pre-qualification, screening program that will lead to greater outcomes. It complements these regional and statewide efforts while at the same time very quickly delivering significant energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions from more families in the near term."
The Town of Huntington expects to have 2,000 residences assessed in the first phase of this program which will last for 24 months.
EnerPath licenses its award-winning energy efficiency audit software and deploys large-scale energy efficiency programs nationwide. Working with utility companies, municipal governments and green-tech partners, EnerPath executes customized programs that make tens-of-thousand of homes and small business more energy efficient each year.

Energy Management and Lighting Control

2010-04-11T22:51:00.000-07:00

6. World Bank approves loan for coal-fired power plant in South Africa
Apr 9, 2010 Washington Post
Reuters

The World Bank on Thursday approved a controversial $3 billion loan for the development of a coal-fired power plant by the South African state utility Eskom despite lack of support from major shareholder countries.

The United States, the Netherlands and Britain said they abstained from supporting the loan because of environmental and other concerns about the project.

Eskom has defended the development of the 4,800-megawatt Medupi plant in the northern Limpopo region, saying it is critical to ease the country's chronic power shortages as well as to ensure electricity flows to neighboring states.

The World Bank said the loan would help "South Africa achieve a reliable electricity supply." In addition to the $3 billion loan for the coal plant, the World Bank approved $750 million in financing for renewables and energy-efficiency projects.

"Without an increased energy supply, South Africans will face hardship for the poor and limited economic growth," Obiageli Ezekwesili, World Bank vice president for Africa, said in a statement.

The U.S. Treasury said it abstained because of "concerns about the climate impact of the project and its incompatibility with the World Bank's commitment to be a leader in climate change mitigation and adaptation."

The Treasury also said the project was inconsistent with guidelines the Obama administration issued in December on coal-related lending by development banks. It said that although it recognized South Africa's pressing needs, it was concerned the project would produce "significant" greenhouse gas emissions.

A Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman cited concerns that Eskom was not doing enough to develop alternatives to coal. Britain's Department for International Development said the project raised "several sensitive and potentially controversial issues" that it couldn't resolve because of an election campaign.

The opposition to the Eskom loan has raised eyebrows among some observers, who note that Britain and the United States are allowing development of coal-powered plants at home even as they raise concerns about those in poorer countries. The South African plant is using the same technology used in the United States and other developing countries to lower carbon emissions.

The Environmental Defense Fund called the bank's decision a setback. "This was a missed opportunity for the U.S. and the World Bank to move away from a traditional focus on fossil-fueled growth and toward a new model of low-carbon economic development," said Peter Goldmark, director of the fund's climate and air program.

6. World Bank approves loan for coal-fired power plant in South Africa
Apr 9, 2010 Washington Post
Reuters

The World Bank on Thursday approved a controversial $3 billion loan for the development of a coal-fired power plant by the South African state utility Eskom despite lack of support from major shareholder countries.

The United States, the Netherlands and Britain said they abstained from supporting the loan because of environmental and other concerns about the project.

Eskom has defended the development of the 4,800-megawatt Medupi plant in the northern Limpopo region, saying it is critical to ease the country's chronic power shortages as well as to ensure electricity flows to neighboring states.

The World Bank said the loan would help "South Africa achieve a reliable electricity supply." In addition to the $3 billion loan for the coal plant, the World Bank approved $750 million in financing for renewables and energy-efficiency projects.

"Without an increased energy supply, South Africans will face hardship for the poor and limited economic growth," Obiageli Ezekwesili, World Bank vice president for Africa, said in a statement.

The U.S. Treasury said it abstained because of "concerns about the climate impact of the project and its incompatibility with the World Bank's commitment to be a leader in climate change mitigation and adaptation."

The Treasury also said the project was inconsistent with guidelines the Obama administration issued in December on coal-related lending by development banks. It said that although it recognized South Africa's pressing needs, it was concerned the project would produce "significant" greenhouse gas emissions.

A Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman cited concerns that Eskom was not doing enough to develop alternatives to coal. Britain's Department for International Development said the project raised "several sensitive and potentially controversial issues" that it couldn't resolve because of an election campaign.

The opposition to the Eskom loan has raised eyebrows among some observers, who note that Britain and the United States are allowing development of coal-powered plants at home even as they raise concerns about those in poorer countries. The South African plant is using the same technology used in the United States and other developing countries to lower carbon emissions.

The Environmental Defense Fund called the bank's decision a setback. "This was a missed opportunity for the U.S. and the World Bank to move away from a traditional focus on fossil-fueled growth and toward a new model of low-carbon economic development," said Peter Goldmark, director of the fund's climate and air program.

Energy Management

2010-04-01T03:23:00.000-07:00

Dora-1 Geothermal Project - VCS
Available for purchase on the website

The Dora-I Geothermal Project is a 7.9 MW renewable energy geothermal power plant located in the the Salavatli village of Aydin city in Turkey. Using geothermal energy, the power plant generates electricity that is exported to the national grid of Turkey. Some of the waste heat is planned to be used in local greenhouses to support the regional horticultural industry.

This pioneering Project is the first private geothermal power plant in Turkey and it uses state-of-the-art technology. By developing one of the first projects demonstrating the operational capability of geothermal power plants, the project operators have taken significant first mover risks and helped to stimulate the growth of the geothermal power industry in Turkey.

Project Details More Resources:

Location: Salavatli village,
Aydin city in Turkey

Coordinates: 37°53’22.85’’N / 28°06’33.50’’E
view location on map

Type: Geothermal

Standard: Voluntary Carbon Standard

Vintage: 2008/09

Status: Voluntary Carbon Standard Issued

Project Operator: Menderes Geothermal Elektrik
Uretim A.g and South Pole
Carbon Asset Management Ltd.

Home Automation

2010-04-01T03:15:00.000-07:00

Appliance and Equipment Standards
Energy efficiency standards and labels for appliances, equipment, and lighting products are a very cost-effective and powerful policy for conserving energy. By forcing a shift to more efficient technology, standards "raise the floor" for efficient use of energy.

For information on selecting energy efficient products, the Alliance strongly suggests the EnergyStar website. EnergyStar is a joint program of the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that endorses energy-efficient products.

The Alliance to Save Energy is working to improve appliance standards and labeling through research and advocacy. We support the following projects dedicated to standards development in the United States and internationally.

The Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) is dedicated to increasing awareness of and support for appliance and equipment efficiency standards in the United States. Founded in 1999 by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Alliance to Save Energy, ASAP is led by a steering committee that includes representatives from the environmental community, consumer groups, utilities and state government. ASAP provides advice and technical support to parties interested in advancing state standards.

The Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP) facilitates the design, implementation, and enforcement of energy efficiency standards and labels for appliances, equipment, and lighting products in developing and transitional countries throughout the world. CLASP was formed in in 1999 by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), the International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC), and the Alliance to Save Energy.

Other resources include:

Agence de I'Environnement et de la Maitrise de I'Energie (ADEME), a public body which is industrial and commercial in nature, overseen by the French ministries of the Environnement, Industry and Research. NOTE: This web site is written in French.

Energy Efficient Strategies (EES) provides policy development, technical and economic support for the development and implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.

American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a private, nonprofit organization (501(c)3), administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system.

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) advocates voluntary technical standards which promote free trade, the safety of workers and consumers, interoperability of networks, environmental protection, exploitation of research and development programmes, and public procurement.

International Energy Agency (IEA), based in Paris, is an autonomous agency linked with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). IEA Member governments are committed to taking joint measures to meet oil supply emergencies. They have also agreed to share energy information, to co-ordinate their energy policies and to co-operate in the development of rational energy programmes

Energy Management

2010-03-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

By GARANCE BURKE
FRESNO, Calif., Mar. 28, 2010 (AP Online delivered by Newstex) -- After a year of crippling delays, President Barack Obama's $5 billion program to install weather-tight windows and doors has retrofitted a fraction of homes and created far fewer construction jobs than expected.
In Indiana, state-trained workers flubbed insulation jobs. In Alaska, Wyoming and the District of Columbia, the program has yet to produce a single job or retrofit one home. And in California, a state with nearly 37 million residents, the program at last count had created 84 jobs.
The program was a hallmark of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a way to shore up the economy while encouraging people to conserve energy at home. But government rules about how to run what was deemed to be a "shovel-ready" project, including how much to pay contractors and how to protect historic homes during renovations, have thwarted chances at early success, according to an Associated Press review of the program.
"It seems like every day there is a new wrench in the works that keeps us from moving ahead," said program manager Joanne Chappell-Theunissen. She has spent the past several months mailing in photographs of old houses in rural Michigan to meet federal historic preservation rules. "We keep playing catch-up."
The stimulus package gave a jolt to the decades-old federal Weatherization Assistance Program. Weatherization money flows from Washington to the states, where it is passed to local nonprofits that hire contractors to spread insulation and install efficient heaters in people's homes.
Energy officials said the stimulus infusion is on track to create thousands of career-pathway jobs and support an industry that lowers carbon emissions while saving consumers money.
"This is the beginning of the next industrial revolution with the explosion of clean energy investments," said assistant U.S. Energy Secretary Cathy Zoi. "These are good jobs that are here to stay."
But after a year, the stimulus program has retrofitted 30,250 homes -- about 5 percent of the overall goal -- and fallen well short of the 87,000 jobs that the department planned, according to the latest available figures.
As the Obama administration promotes a second home energy-savings (OOTC:HESV) program -- a $6 billion rebate plan -- some experts are asking whether that will pay off for homeowners or for the planet.
"A very rosy picture was painted that energy efficiency would be a great way to create jobs and save money," said Michael Shellenberger, an energy expert who heads the Breakthrough Institute, an Oakland-based think tank that is financed by nonpartisan foundations and works on energy, climate change and health care issues. "The Obama administration risks overpromising again."
Many states held off on weatherizing under the stimulus over concerns about a Depression-era law that requires contractors to pay workers wages equal to those paid for local public works projects. The U.S. Labor Department issued wage rules for every county in the country in September but after receiving about 100 complaints, changed the wage rates again a few months later.
Bureaucratic delays kept officials in Austin, Texas, from weatherizing anything while they waited to hire furnace technicians under a $7.4 million federal grant, of which they received the first installment this month.
The recession itself has compounded the problems, since hiring freezes in some states meant there weren't enough public employees to administer the program.
In California, where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered many state workers to take "Furlough Fridays," the program had created 84 jobs and weatherized 849 homes at last count, in December. Officials estimate several hundred jobs have been created since then.
Energy Department spokeswoman Jen Stutsman said the program produced 8,500 jobs nationwide from October to December 2009, but said she could not provide job creation figures for the last full year since federal guidelines for measuring the program's impact changed in the fall.
Zoi said the number of jobs created and homes completed would rise quickly as the program emerged from its startup phase, and that it was on target to meet overall goals. Now that the money is trickling down more quickly, auditors are fretting over how to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
The Energy Department plans to hire one program officer for each state to watch for waste, fraud and mismanagement.
That also will help to ensure crews' performance is up to snuff.
In Illinois, the staff of the department's inspector general, Gregory Friedman, discovered that one agency weatherization inspector missed a dangerous gas leak on a newly installed furnace. State and local officials told auditors they would make sure the leak was fixed and retool statewide training materials.
In Indiana, where workers were required to go through a state weatherization training program, local managers say they have spent hours teaching new recruits to do their jobs properly.
"We keep getting inundated with all kinds of people who want a paycheck, but just aren't qualified to do this kind of work," said Bertha Proctor, who heads a nonprofit contracting agency in Vincennes, Ind.
Still, some of the stimulus program's flexible standards have allowed for innovation.
In Portland, Ore., local officials are reporting an energy-saving boon that has helped minority-owned businesses in the job-starved construction industry. Ohio, which had a strong weatherization program in place at the outset, had completed 6,814 homes by the end of last year, more than a fifth of the total nationwide.
Legislation authorizing a second energy savings program is moving slowly through Congress. Many details of the plan, including how long it will run and its total cost, still need to be worked out. The Obama administration said the "HomeStar" program would reward homeowners who buy energy-saving equipment with an on-the-spot rebate of $1,000 or more, and hope it could become as popular as last year's Cash for Clunkers money-back program for cars and trucks.
Micheline Guilbeault, 65, of Lawton, Okla., whose home was weatherized through the stimulus package, said she thought the new proposal would encourage more homeowners to go green.
"My house doesn't shudder anymore when the wind blows," Guilbeault said. "With the door that they just put in, I'm sure that the bill will go down because myself, I can feel the difference."
Still, some government watchdog groups said taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook paying for home improvements if the government has yet to release figures showing how much weatherizing saves.
"The government should have stayed out of the weatherizing business in the first place," said Leslie Paige of Washington-based Citizens Against Government Waste. "This is a way to rapidly expand and entrench an existing program without ever going back and looking at the rationale or intent or effectiveness."

Home Automation

2010-03-22T23:36:00.000-07:00

Researchers Study Demand-Responsive Dimmable Lighting

by Craig DiLouie, Lighting Controls Association

Posted March 2010

Electric bills paid by commercial building owners often have a consumption and a demand component. The consumption component is the amount of electric energy, measured in kWh, that the building consumes in a given month. The demand component reflects maximum demand, measured in kW, that the building uses over a given time period. Peak demand is the most expensive power that a generator produces and can represent a significant part of the electric bill.

Utilities, Independent System Operators (ISOs) and other power providers servicing commercial buildings share a common interest with their customers to reduce peak demand. This is because shaving the peak enables these organizations to satisfy customer demand while avoiding the high cost of building new capacity or having to buy very expensive power from other markets during an emergency or demand spike. Besides charging more for power used during peak demand periods, a number of utilities and ISOs offer financial incentives to building owners to curtail load on request, usually during an emergency grid event such as during brownout or imminent blackout conditions.

Role of code and standards

Demand response is now beginning to be required by codes and standards—in particular, at present, California’s Title 24-2008 energy code and ASHRAE 189.1 standard for designing high-performance green buildings.

California’s Title 24-2008, which became effective January 1, 2010, requires demand-responsive lighting controls in retail buildings that have a sales floor area larger than 50,000 sq.ft. The code defines demand-responsive lighting control as “control that reduces lighting power consumption in response to a demand response signal.” In this case, the lighting controls must be able to uniformly reduce lighting power by at least 15%. The requirement does not apply if the building’s lighting already has 50% or more of the total lighting wattage controlled by daylight harvesting controls.

Section 7.4.5.1 of ASHRAE 189.1 requires peak electric load reduction capability. The building must contain automatic systems capable of reducing peak electric demand by at least 10%, not including standby power generation.

The role of demand response in codes and standards is likely to intensify in the future. According to the Department of Energy, about 281 gigawatts of new generating capacity will be needed by 2025 to satisfy growing demand for energy, much of which will be allocated solely to satisfy peak demand. This is nearly a thousand 300MW power plants.

Role for dimmable lighting

To reduce peak demand, we can turn equipment off, turn it down or use it more efficiently. Strategies include equipment downsizing, duty cycling, thermal storage, improved maintenance, commissioning. Lighting, at first glance, has a small role to play. While we can use it more efficiently, it is difficult to turn lighting off in routinely occupied spaces for obvious reasons and cannot be turned down in many spaces without installing dimmable ballasts. But what if we did just that—replace every fluorescent ballasts in a commercial office with dimmable ballasts? It is commonly accepted that typical levels of automatic dimming, occurring in strategies such as a daylight harvesting, is unlikely to be noticed or found irritable by occupants. Researchers at the National Research Council Canada – Institute for Research in Construction (NRC-IRC) put this notion to the test, conducting a study to determine how far, how fast and over what period lighting can be dimmed before occupants notice and are adversely affected.

The researchers conducted two laboratory studies in full-scale office mockups where various dimming scenarios were studied with typical office workers performed office tasks, and then designed a field study, conducted during the summer, that included an open-plan office with 330 dimmable light fixtures and a college campus with 1,850 dimmable fixtures in several buildings. Load shedding was undertaken during afternoon hours over several days. The rate of dimming spanned one to 30 minutes with dimming reductions up to 40%. Occupants were warned that an experiment would be conducted over the summer involving afternoon dimming, but were not told which days.

In the field study, lighting loads were able to be reduced by 14-23% without occupant complaint. Based on this data coupled with the lab study data, NRC-IRC developed several recommendations.

Stage 1: This type of demand response involves dimming by amounts that are not noticed by the large majority of occupants. Dimming can occur rapidly, over as little as 10 seconds, by 20% with no daylight, 40% with low prevailing daylight, and 60% with high prevailing daylight. If dimming occurs slowly, over 30 minutes or more, and with no immediate expectation of diming occurring, levels may drop by 30% with no daylight and 60% with high prevailing daylight.

Stage 2: This type of demand response involves more load reduction, with steeper reductions in light levels but still acceptable to a large majority of occupants. Dimming can occur rapidly, over as little as 10 seconds, by 40% with no low daylight and 80% with high prevailing daylight. If dimming occurs slowly, over 30 minutes or more, and with no immediate expectation of diming occurring, levels may drop by 50% with no daylight and 80% with high prevailing daylight.

The researchers emphasize that these recommendations relate only to situations where load shedding is performed to alleviate the effect of temporary—and infrequent—grid stress events, with dimming lasting a few hours at most. The recommendations are not intended to replace current lighting practice and support daily load shedding

Energy Crisis

2010-03-09T06:18:00.000-08:00

Mar 9, 2010 USA Today
Poll: African Americans will pay higher energy bills to reduce global warming
African American voters want Congress to enact legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, even if it means higher energy bills, a just-released survey by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has found.
The Washington-based think tank, which tracks voting trends in the black community, also found that African American voters are following this year's congressional races closely and plan to vote in large numbers.
The findings are the result of a survey conducted during the last three weeks of November. The Joint Center contacted 500 African American adults in each of
four states: Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, and South Carolina. President Obama got sky-high approval ratings from black voters in all four states.
Large majorities of African Americans in all four states said they are willing to pay an extra $10 per month for electricity to combat global warming, the survey found. But the numbers drop off sharply if the hypothetical energy bills rise: Only about one in six of those surveyed said they would be willing to pay as much as $50 extra a month to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
While a majority of African Americans in all four states believe global warming is a problem, the Joint Center survey found a generation gap when it comes to Congress' proposed solution: Older black voters opposed the "cap and trade" system proposed in a House-passed bill. It would require companies that exceed government-set levels of greenhouse gas emissions to pay fines or buy credits from other companies. The youngest black voters -- those under 25 -- supported the plan.
The black voters surveyed said they are likely to vote in the fall midterm elections, a forecast that could bode well for Democrats running in some key Senate races. African Americans gave high marks to Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln, a top GOP target this year, and to Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, running against Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., to take the place of retiring Sen. Kit Bond, a Republican.

Enery Management

2010-03-02T21:29:00.001-08:00

2. Obama to outline rebates for energy efficiency
Mar 2, 2010 Associated Press Online
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
WASHINGTON, Mar. 2, 2010 (AP Online delivered by Newstex) -- Consumers would collect on-the-spot rebates of $1,000 or more for buying insulation, water heaters or other equipment to make their homes burn energy more efficiently under a new rebate program to be announced by President Barack Obama.
Obama was traveling to Savannah, Ga., on Tuesday to outline the Home Star program. Obama called for energy rebates in his State of the Union address, and officials hope the plan will be as popular as last year's Cash for Clunkers money-back program for autos.
"We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities -- and give rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy-efficient, which support clean energy jobs," Obama said in January.
He has said shifting the U.S. toward cleaner, renewable sources of energy and making homes -- particularly older houses -- more energy-efficient will help accomplish three goals: reducing America's dependence on foreign energy sources, creating much-needed jobs and saving consumers money on their utility bills.
Obama was stopping at Savannah Technical College to visit students who are learning how to install insulation and other equipment.
The new program has two levels of rebates. Various vendors, ranging from small, independent contractors to national home improvement chains, would promote the rebates, give the money to consumers and then wait for reimbursement from the federal government.
Some details of the program, including how long it will run and its total cost, remain to be worked out with Congress, according to senior administration officials who spoke anonymously Monday to describe the program before Obama's formal announcement.
The price tag for Home Star could be in the range of $6 billion, said one official.
Cash for Clunkers was a $3 billion program that ran for about a month last year, from July 27 to Aug. 25.
Under the first level of energy rebates, to be called Silver Star, consumers would be eligible for rebates between $1,000 and $1,500 for a variety of home upgrades, including adding insulation, sealing leaky ducts and replacing water heaters, HVAC units, windows, roofing and doors. There would be a maximum rebate of $3,000 per home.
Under the second level, Gold Star, consumers who get home energy audits and then make changes designed to reduce energy costs by at least 20 percent would be eligible for a $3,000 rebate. Additional rebates would be available for savings above 20 percent.
"The simple act of retrofitting these buildings to make them more energy-efficient -- installing new windows and doors, insulation, roofing, sealing leaks, modernizing heating and cooling equipment -- is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest things we can do to put Americans back to work while saving families money and reducing harmful emissions," Obama said in December while visiting a Home Depot (NYSE:HD) in Alexandria, Va.
Once the program is enacted, the administration expects millions of households will boost demand for insulation, water heaters and the like -- the same way consumers pumped up car and truck sales last year by trading in their gas-guzzling autos with more fuel-efficient models.
Senate Democrats included an energy rebate program in their jobs agenda.
Newstex ID: AP-0001-42475813

Home Automation

2010-02-25T23:42:00.000-08:00

How sparks flew in Eskom boardroom
Hogan tells how Bobby Godsell and Jacob Maroga tore into each other over disputed resignation
Feb 25, 2010 11:27 PM | By SIPHO MASONDO

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Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan was forced to walk out of a meeting with then Eskom chairman Bobby Godsell following a fierce altercation between him and ousted former chief executive Jacob Maroga.

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Hogan had to ask Maroga to leave a subsequent Eskom board meeting after he insisted on presiding despite a dispute over his status as chief executive.

These are some of the revelations contained in Hogan's responding affidavit filed at the Johannesburg High Court this week.

Maroga, who was fired in November, is suing the electricity utility and demanding reinstatement or R85-million for loss of income. He has accused the Eskom board and the minister of conspiring to fire him illegally, under the veil of a voluntary resignation.

In her court papers, Hogan refutes Maroga's claims and details dramatic events at the parastatal before and after his axing. The minister argued that, even if the court found that Maroga was unfairly dismissed, he should not be reinstated as chief executive.

A day after a heated Eskom board breakaway session - during which Maroga is said to have resigned - Hogan had a meeting with Godsell to discuss the matter. But as Godsell was describing the events leading to the resignation, Maroga walked into the room and handed the minister a letter.

"He said to me he had not resigned. A heated disagreement ensued between [Godsell] and [Maroga]. At that stage, I left the two gentlemen and proceeded to meet the rest of the board members," Hogan said.

An insistent Maroga, however, followed her into the board meeting.

"He then attempted to chair the meeting, which was plainly an inappropriate action on his part, whereupon he was politely asked by me to leave the meeting room."

Hogan also revealed that Maroga's troubles at Eskom began long before her May 2009 appointment as public enterprises minister and that, soon after taking office, she and her deputy, Enoch Godongwana, attempted to resolve the chief executive's differences with his management team.

In her papers, Hogan attaches a letter written by Eskom senior managers in July in which they accuse Maroga of failing to provide leadership at the troubled parastatal. The managers were angered by his decision to hire American consultants "without following due process". They warned of "continued haemorrhaging of Eskom's finances and some of its key staff" if Maroga were not axed.

"He appears unable to even make decisions in respect of simpler measures, for example, that all local travel is economy class, and other proposed operational savings, and these cannot be implemented as the entire proposal awaits Maroga's decisions for months," the managers said.

Hogan confirmed that, at the height of the crisis brought about by Maroga's refusal to vacate his office, despite the board's claim that he had resigned, President Jacob Zuma held separate meetings with both Eskom and Maroga.

According to Hogan, after Maroga's meeting with Zuma, the axed chief executive argued that he was still in charge at Eskom.

In a subsequent letter to Hogan, contained in her court papers, Maroga said: "I remain CEO and director of Eskom. The shareholder at the highest level [Zuma] has confirmed that any action regarding my status as chief executive and director of Eskom must be requested formally and granted by the shareholder. I have affirmed that no request has been formally lodged and none has been granted. I have been told all unauthorised action taken by the board of directors since October 28 2009 are rescinded. I am at work in my office at Megawatt Park. As a director, I will fully participate in all board activities."

Hogan pointed out that, in terms of the law, she is the "representative shareholder in Eskom" by virtue of being public enterprises minister. She said she approached Zuma about the letter and that the Presidency asked lawyer Yunis Shaik, brother of convicted fraudster Schabir, to mediate.

Maroga has alleged in court papers that Shaik attempted to force him to step down and, when he refused, Shaik became abusive.

"Who the f... do you think you are that you can hold the entire country to ransom?" Shaik said, according to Maroga.

"If I did not accept the termination of my contract he would ensure I never work for the government in any capacity again," Maroga said.

Home Automation

2010-02-24T02:14:00.000-08:00

Schneider Electric Sponsors Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Build in Indiana to Provide Energy Efficiency Products, Donation

Employees from Peru, Ind., plant volunteer, supporting Schneider Electric’s community relations program in the United States and around the world

Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, announced today its sponsorship of this week’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition build near the company’s Peru, Ind., facility. As Benefactor Sponsor, Schneider Electric will provide energy-efficient products, volunteer support from the local plant and a financial contribution to support the family receiving the custom-built home.

Today, Ty Pennington and the show’s design team will knock on the door of one lucky family in Indiana to notify it that it will receive a brand-new custom-built home. The family will then meet the Build team, sponsors and community that will be building its new home in just one week. The build will take place from Oct. 21 through 27 when the newly constructed house will be revealed to the homeowners, also known as the time for “Move that bus!”

“Schneider Electric has a long-standing commitment to both community involvement and sustainable development,” said Amy Huntington, president, Schneider Electric USA. “This sponsorship enables our company and employees from our facility in Peru to positively impact the lives of local residents by supporting this family in need.”

As part of its commitment to help people make the most of their energy, Schneider Electric will donate the following products, which will help reduce energy consumption and lower costs for the homeowner:

• Juno® Recessed LED Downlights, advanced LED technology resulting in brighter and whiter illumination, provide 50,000 hours of operation, resulting in more than 11 years of maintenance-free operation based on 12 hours of usage per day. Energy Star®-rated and environmentally friendly Juno LED fixtures save 85 percent in energy costs annually over traditional incandescent fixtures.

• Load Center and Circuit Breakers, including the Square D® 240V NQ lighting panelboard from Schneider Electric that is easier to get to a job site and install compared with similar products. This helps maximize a contractor’s ability to meet tight deadlines and keep a project on schedule. Square D QO® circuit breakers are easily recognized by the red Visi-Trip® Indicator, which makes it easy to spot a tripped circuit breaker. The Square D exclusive Qwik-Open® protection is standard on all 15A and 20A circuit breakers — trip reaction within 1/60th of a second. No other circuit breaker trips faster.

• Whole-house Surge Protection, namely the Surgebreaker® Plus whole-house surge protector, provides surge protection ratings of 80,000A, and whole-house protection for valuable appliances and home electronics with surge protection that addresses the electrical, telephone and TV systems.
In addition to product donations, Schneider Electric is making a cash donation to the family, bringing the company’s total donation to approximately $40,000. Throughout the build this week, employees from Schneider Electric’s facility in Peru will volunteer on-site. This facility, which manufactures panelboards for Schneider Electric, is a primary employer in the region.

Other business and community partners include: Hallmark Homes, Inc., Anderson University, Carter Lumber, BiltBest Windows, Reese Wholesale, ClimateMaster, J&N Stone, Modern Trailer Sales, Blakley’s Flooring, Madison Millwork and Ball State University.

For more information about this week’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition build, visit www.hallmarkextreme.com, the Web site of the primary sponsor of this build, Hallmark Homes.

For more information on Schneider Electric's Square D lighting controls, visit www.squaredlightingcontrol.com.

As a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries,
Schneider Electric offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in energy and infrastructure, industrial processes, building automation, and data centers/networks, as well as a broad presence in residential applications. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, efficient, productive and green, the company's 114,000 employees achieved sales of more than $25 billion in 2008, through an active commitment to help individuals and organizations “Make the most of their energy.”

Lighting and Control

2010-02-22T22:11:00.000-08:00

Waukesha, Racine, Madison to test energy efficient streetlights
Feb 19, 2010 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Laurel Walker
Feb. 19, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- WAUKESHA -- Anyone who's debated switching LED Christmas lights for the old strings, or who has bought a new refrigerator with bright white LED lights instead of the old soft-light appliance bulbs, will have a sense of what Waukesha is up to.
The city has $657,000 in federal stimulus money from the Department of Energy to spend on new streetlights that will trim its energy bill. But first, residents are invited to help with an experiment.
City crews have begun to install the first of 21 energy efficient streetlights of different types and manufacturers in the median of Moreland Blvd. from about Summit Ave. to Delafield St.
In this pilot program over the next three to six months, city workers will keep tabs on how easily the light poles are retrofitted with the new lights, how much energy is saved, how the light is distributed -- and what the public thinks of them.
Too bright? Too white? Do they spread enough light? People can comment on what they think by calling a city project engineer at (262) 524-3587 or e-mailing kjelacic@ci.waukesha.wi.us.
Fred Abadi, director of public works, said one of the first lights installed -- induction technology as opposed to LED -- already has been panned.
"The one installed last week was so terrible," he said. "We've already got complaints from people. It was so dark. There's not enough lighting."
More LED lights were installed Thursday afternoon. For the test, an energy efficient light will be installed in place of every other existing high pressure sodium light along a two-block stretch.
Eventually, the city will pick a preference and replace about 1,000 of its 1,400 streetlights -- the ones on metal poles that the city owns, Abadi said. Lights on wooden utility poles are owned by We Energies (NYSE:WEC) , though the city pays for the electricity they use.
Goal: Save $250,000
The city spends just more than $500,000 a year on electricity for street lights, project engineer Katie Jelacic said. It expects to save about half of that -- and help reduce carbon emissions in the process -- with the new lights.
The city doesn't have enough money to replace all of its lights, Abadi said. Jelacic added that another 700 ornamental lights won't be tampered with because of their decorative design and the inability to match fixtures.
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, about $37.2 million was awarded to certain Wisconsin cities, counties and the state for energy efficiency projects in recent months.
Waukesha County, for example, got $2.2 million, much of what will be used for a new maintenance building at Retzer Nature Center that will use geothermal technology, energy-efficient lights in parking lots and buildings and possible solar energy for the jail, said Dale Shaver, parks and land use director.
Racine, Madison projects
Like Waukesha, a few other cities plan to replace streetlights with more energy efficient fixtures.
Racine is using its $795,000 federal grant to replace 1,000 of its 3,600 sodium lights, all that it can afford, said Richard Jones, commissioner of public works
So far -- with about 600 lights replaced with LEDs -- so good, he said.
"The majority of people like the fact that it's white light," compared to the amber glow thrown off and outward by the high pressure sodium street lights, Jones said. More of the LED light shines down on the street, making it "night-sky friendly," he said.
Jones said Racine expects a 40% reduction in its electrical use with the change to LED lights, which will translate into significant budget savings. While the old lights have a three- to five-year lifespan, he said he expects the LEDs to last up to 20 years.
Madison is testing about a dozen LED lights from two manufacturers on a section of E. Washington Ave., where reconstruction was finished last fall. While the cost was paid from the project budget, Madison has earmarked about $100,000 of its $2.38 million federal energy block grant for replacing street lights next year, said Dan Dettmann, traffic operations engineer.
By then, he said, technology might improve and costs on the LED lights could be lower.
Abadi, Waukesha's public works director, said different manufacturers give different estimates of lifespan and savings on the LED lights.
"The problem with LED technology is there is no history on it," he said.
Waukesha is among those communities making that history by relighting its byways.
Newstex ID: KRTB-0130-42190678

Energy Crisis and Green Buildings

2010-02-17T23:40:00.001-08:00

Construction Management Degree
Guide to online construction management schools and degrees The Fixer-Upper Blog
The Fixer Upper is a blog which covers issues ranging from finance, energy, technology, home ownership and maintenance, and any other issue of importance to homeowners. In addition to the discourse we foster on this site, we also attempt to introduce you to other sites and blogs which are likely of interest to homeowners.
50 Excellent Open Courses For Architecture Enthusiasts
With cable television, the internet, and more, architecture enthusiasts can find many sources in which to get their fix. However, watching a show or reading an article is not enough if you are truly devoted.

With the emergence of open course ware and other educational tools, why not take advantage? Below, we have gathered 50 excellent open courses for architecture enthusiasts that include videos, notes, assignments, and other fun tidbits.

Excellent Undergraduate MIT Open Courses For Architecture Enthusiasts

A leader in both education and open courses, there are several options for architecture lovers.

1. Introduction to Building Technology : An excellent place to start, get a fundamental understanding of the physics related to buildings. The course also teaches the various issues that are combined to offer the building’s occupants a physical, functional and psychological well-being. Students will examine both independently and in the manner in which they interact and affect one another.

2. Introduction to Integrated Design : Students explore the basic questions of architecture through several short design exercises. Working with many different media, students discover the interrelationship of architecture and structures, sustainability, history and the visual arts. Both lectures and assignments are provided for the open course.

3. Architectural Design: Intentions : The open course introduces a full range of architectural issues through drawing exercises, analyses of precedents, and explored design methods. Students develop design skills by conceptualizing and representing architectural ideas and making judgments about building design. Click on projects to see some of the student’s completed works.

4. Architecture Studio: Building in Landscapes : This subject introduces the skills needed to build within a landscape establishing continuities between the built and natural world. Students learn to build appropriately through analysis of landscape and climate for a chosen site, and to conceptualize design decisions through drawings and models. There is also an image gallery with more.

5. Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings: A highlight of this class on energy in buildings is that it includes a complete set of assignments and class projects, along with a detailed set of readings called out in the calendar. Thermo-sciences are taught to students interested in architecture and building technology. Fundamentals in energy, ventilation, air conditioning, and comfort are introduced.

6. Architectural Construction and Computation : This architecture open course investigates the use of computers in architectural design and construction. It begins with a pre-prepared design computer model, which is used for testing and process investigation in construction. It then explores construction from all sides of the practice: detail design, structural design, and both legal and computational issues.

Excellent Graduate MIT Open Courses For Architecture Enthusiasts

Is your love and knowledge of architecture unquenchable? Then give these graduate open courses a look.

7. Introduction to Design Inquiry : Explore the nature and exercise of design intelligence with this architecture open course. It aims to pursue research and open vistas on the teaching of design and professional design practices. Also included are a bibliography and class log.

8. Introduction to Urban Design and Development : Examine both the structure of cities and ways they can be changed with this open course. Its scope includes historical forces that have produced cities, models of urban analysis, contemporary theories of urban design, and implementation strategies. Core lectures and guest speakers are also included.

9. Urban Design : In the Urban Design Studio, the course focuses in on an area adjacent to Cambridgeport and the western end of the MIT campus. The goal is to discover the ways in which good urban form, an apt mix of activities, and effective institutional mechanisms might all be brought together. The full report and all seven chapters are available in the projects section.

10. Urban Design Politics : This is a seminar about the ways that urban design contributes to the distribution of political power and resources in cities. In this view, design is not some value-neutral aesthetic applied to efforts at urban development but is an integral part of the motives driving that development. Readings and assignments are both featured.

11. Special Problems in Architectural Design : This open course teaches architecture students to expect the unexpected. It focuses on representation tools used by architects during the design process and attempts to discuss the relationship they develop with the object of design. Exercises and submissions are also available for the viewing.

12. Theory of City Form : Theories about cities and the form that settlements should take are discussed in this open course. Attempts will be made at a distinction between descriptive and normative theory by examining examples of various theories of city form over time. Lecture notes and loads of readings are included.

Excellent Green Open Courses For Architecture Enthusiasts

If your love for architecture has a green frame of mind, check out these open courses.

13. Sustainability in the Built Environment : Get an international education with this open architecture course from Hong Kong University. The course aims to develop understanding of sustainability in built environment for students in all disciplines. It focuses on raising the awareness of the built world’s connection to environmental issues, examining sustainable architecture and exploring the methods for reducing impact.

14. Sustainable Design and Technology Research Workshop : This workshop investigates the current state of sustainability in regards to architecture, from the level of the tectonic detail to the urban environment. Current research and case studies are investigated, and students propose their own solutions as part of the final project. Assignments and completed projects are featured.

15. Energy Efficiency in Building : Another open course from HKU, it introduces the basic concepts of energy efficiency in buildings, energy efficient technologies, and the common methods for building energy analysis. Students study the topics through readings, discussions, and project analysis. It is hoped that the knowledge and skills acquired could help generate innovative architectural designs and improve performance of building systems.

16. Nature and the Built Environment : This course explores the evolutionary roots of form and order in the built environment. While grounded in scientific evidence, a broad perspective of humanism is emphasized throughout, with discussions of how ideas animate societies and thereby give form to the things they make. Lectures, readings, and more are included.

17. Environment and Sustainable Development : The United Nations University offers this open course totaling 15 hours. Students examine policy responses to environmental problems caused by economic development with special attention to innovation. The central topic of the course is innovation for the environment, which is explored through a number of lectures and discussion meetings.

18. Soil-Based Hazardous Waste Management : Worried about the impact structures have on the environment? Then check out this open course from Utah State University. Students learn analysis and design emphasized through problems, examinations, and report writing.

19. Environmental Ethics : This open course is an introduction to the study of modern human interaction with other species and the environment. Students begin with a brief introduction to moral theory, then move to in-depth investigations of some of the main topics in contemporary environmental ethics. Architect enthusiasts wondering where to draw the ethics line will appreciate it.

20. Epidemiological Thinking For Non-Specialists : Similar to the above, this open course focuses on changing the ways architects, and other professionals, think. Special attention is given to social inequalities, changes over the life course, heterogeneous pathways, and controversies with implications for policy and practice. A syllabus, schedule, and assessments are available.

Excellent Lectures For Architecture Enthusiasts

Listen to these free architecture lessons on your iPod, jog, or next car trip to give your enthusiasm for architecture a boost.

21. Introduction to Computer Architecture : You don’t have to be a student of architecture in India to learn more. This one hour lecture from the IIT in Delhi is available for free at YouTube. Professor Anshul Kamar of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering shows how computers can be helpful to architects.

22. Sustainable Building Systems : This small lecture series is brought to architecture enthusiasts from Hong Kong University. Principles discusses include sustainability, green building, basic principles, and design issues. There are various video presentations totaling hours.

23. Information Architecture : Get a lecture on architecture form the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Professor Gary Marchionini lectures on the topic of Information Architecture. Related videos are also available.

24. CCA Architecture Lecture Series : Paul Lewis is head of a leading architecture firm in New York. Here, he speaks at the California College of Arts on design, limits, and more. A useful watch for those wanting to enter the field of architecture professionally.

25. European Graduate School : Greg Lynn is an American architect, thinker, philosopher and science-fiction writer discussing and lecturing about the future of architecture and many other topics. Get it all for free in eleven parts on YouTube.

26. This Land is Our Land Greening Architecture, Ethics, and Environment : Ian Ritchie is a UK-based architect, artist, environmentalist, and innovator in engineering, construction and materials. In a lecture presented by USC, he discusses his pioneering work and issues of sustainability. A discussion also follows.

27. Defending A Vision For Architecture : Any architect enthusiast knows the name Frank Gehry. This video lecture was taken in 1990 when a younger Gehry discusses his craft. He even discusses his own Venice Beach house using multiple slides.

28. Nice Building, Then What? : An older and wiser Frank Gehry discusses architecture. He also gives takes on the power of failure, recent buildings, and the “then what?” factor. Coming in at only 22 minutes, it is worth a look if you are an architecture enthusiast.

29. Architecture, Design, Art : Get strategies for survival in all three fields with this video from USC. Featured speakers include Teddy Cruz, Marjetica Potrcˇ, and Krzysztof Wodiczko. Practices are discussed, along with possible intersections.

30. Creativity at a Crossroads : Another USC lecture, this one focuses on the intersection of both art and architecture in China. Three of China’s most influential figures in these areas come together to talk about their work. A good watch for architecture enthusiasts who want an international point of view.

Excellent TED Lectures For Architecture Enthusiasts

A worldwide leader in educational lectures, see what these enthusiasts have to say about architecture.

31. 17 Words of Architectural Inspiration : Daniel Libeskind builds on very big ideas as a designer of breathtaking buildings. Here, he shares 17 words that underlie his vision for architecture including raw, risky, emotional, radical. An excellent lecture for offering inspiration for any bold creative pursuit.

32. Architecture That Repairs Itself? : TED Fellow Rachel Armstrong discusses her research on metabolic materials. Using Venice, Italy as an example, she demonstrates how the city can be saved. She proposes a not-quite-alive material that does its own repairs and sequesters carbon.

33. Cradle to Cradle Design : Architect William McDonough believes that green design can prevent environmental disaster — while also driving economic growth. His theory inspires what architecture would look like if buildings and products were designed with all children in all times in mind.

34. The Quirky World of Manspaces : Sam Martin is the senior editor at frog design and the editor-in-chief of “Design Mind” magazine. In his short lecture, he shares photos of a quirky world that is trending with the “manspace.” These spaces are designed with the man in mind and all they entail.

35. Architectural Inspiration : If you still haven’t had enough, click on this link. It contains over 20 other lectures on architecture by global experts. There are also online discussions to take part in.

Other Excellent Open Courses For Architecture Enthusiasts

Other universities offer this open course ware in relation to architecture.

36. Architecture and Planning : MIT World brings this series of speakers on both topics. Over 40 entries deal with everything from the past of architecture to its future. There are also videos on innovation, business, public policy, and much more.

37. Architecture : Get loads of study tools for architecture enthusiasts from Columbia Interactive. Learning tools include Falling Water Interactive tours, the architecture of New York city, and even a guide to Columbia’s own architecture. There are also events, journals, and newsletters.

38. Introduction To Roman Architecture : Get a comprehensive overview of one of the most recognized architecture systems with this open course. A wide variety of Roman buildings are covered in the course and linked to the theme of Roman urbanism. Best of all, there are tons of video lectures from a leading Yale professor.

39. Planning and Zoning : This topic can be a breeze or a nightmare for architecture enthusiasts. Make it the former with the help of this open course from MSU. It covers the planning official, looking back to look forwards, and how zoning works.

40. Architecture : Get an introductory and short open course to the topic from the King Fahd University. It has a syllabus and instructor information. There are also engineering and other courses to choose from.

Excellent Miscellaneous Courses For Architecture Enthusiasts

See how these open courses apply to architecture by giving them a look.

41. The City : Stop here for a course that explores what a city is, what shapes it, and how architecture can effect it. Learn how cities constantly being built and rebuilt shapes them. The open course includes journals, assignments, readings, and more.

42. Design Like You Give A Damn : Not exclusively for architects, but there is much to be found on these design talks from TED. They focus on mechanical, medical, and many other forms of design. Speakers are featured from across the globe.

43. Blender 3D Design : The software has many design applications, including for architecture enthusiasts. It explores basic mesh modeling, applying textures and materials to 3-D objects, lighting, animation, and rendering. The course provides a good basis for further independent study in architectural, engineering, and theatrical modeling and even game design.

44. Wildfire Management and Planning : Architect enthusiasts can learn both the causes and prevention of fires with this open course. Students see how the interactions of fire with its environment influence assessments of fire behavior. This course will also introduce mathematical fire models available to help predict fires.

45. CityScope: New Orleans : With both American and French influences, New Orleans is a city unlike any other. Until Hurricane Katrina hit. This open course explores what can and should be done to help the city recover.

46. Understanding Societies : Get a better look at architecture by learning more about the societies that build them. Sociology is the science of understanding social relationships, human behavior, and the society that we live in. Lecture notes, readings, and quizzes are offered.

47. Invention and Innovation: An Introduction : The Open University offers this 55 hour advanced open course. It provides an understanding of invention, design, innovation, and diffusion as ongoing processes with a range of factors affecting success at each stage. It can help any architecture enthusiast inspire all sorts of ideas.

48. Thinking About Architecture: In History and At Present : Get a look at both the past and future of architecture in this open course. It studies the interrelationship of theory, history, and practice as it relates to architecture and the architect. A calendar and readings are also included.

49. Exploring A Romano-African City : Did you know that Rome has architecture influences from Africa? In this open course, the city of Thugga is explored in video sequences. Students are taught to undertake activities identifying Roman and indigenous elements in the city.

50. Visual Communication Design : Enthusiasts of both architecture and design will appreciate this course. It is intended to teach how to design successful technical documents. Students also learn how to establish effective visual hierarchy by consistently using variables such as type size, type weight, and spacing.

True architecture enthusiasts can spend loads of hours on their passion with the help of the above 50 excellent open courses for architecture students. There are also many other related open courses at many universities, with dozens more at MIT alone.

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Will there be a need for electricity in Africa in the Future?

2010-02-17T23:01:00.000-08:00

The African Crises
Electricity! Who will be able to purchase it anyway?

>> White people will no longer be able to open hairdressers, advertising
>> agencies or bakeries in Zimbabwe under black empowerment regulations
>> hastily signed into law by president Robert Mugabe's side of the
>> government. Morgan Tsvangirai, Mr Mugabe's estranged prime minister,
>> described the new law as "null and void" because he had not been
>> consulted. But analysts say he will likely be unable to reverse it. The
>> Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Regulations force executives of
>> white-owned companies with assets of more than Â£320,000 to commit to
>> hand over 51 per cent of their shares to black Zimbabweans within 75 days
>> of 1 March â€“ or face five years in jail. The executives cannot choose
>> their new shareholders: they must pick from a database set up by the
>> empowerment ministry, headed by former secret service operative Saviour
>> Kasukuwere, who has vast business interests of his own. "This says to
>> investors: Don't you dare come here," said political analyst John
>> Makumbe, of the University of Zimbabwe.
>>
>> The new regulations will affect several London-listed banks and mines:
>> Barclays Bank and Old Mutual have a significant presence in Zimbabwe. The
>> law also sets out an impressive list of traditionally lucrative smaller
>> sectors now reserved for black Zimbabweans. Among the "sectors reserved
>> against foreign investment" are hairdressers, beauty salons, employment
>> and advertising agencies and bakeries. Whites and foreigners will no
>> longer be allowed to open estate agencies or valet services, nor will
>> they be allowed to engage in the retail trade or grow cash crops. "This
>> comes down to loot and pillage," a Tsvangirai aide said. "It disqualifies
>> a lot of black-owned foreign companies, including ones from South Africa,
>> which shows it has nothing to do with black empowerment. They (Mr
>> Mugabe's Zanu PF party] just want things for free like the farms."
>> Mr Tsvangirai, the head of the former opposition Movement for Democratic
>> Change (MDC) party, met Mr Mugabe to register his disapproval of the new
>> law. The 84-year-old president made the astonishing claim that he "knew
>> nothing about it". The regulations were passed by the Zanu PF-dominated
>> parliament in 2007 but put on ice, leading many to believe they'd been
>> permanently shelved. They were quietly published last Friday, exactly a
>> decade since Mr Mugabe launched a violence-riddled land reform programme
>> that has turfed about 4,000 white farmers off their land and seen
>> Zimbabwe's agricultural production plummet. The first white farm
>> invasions were in February 2000. South African lawyer Willie Spies, who
>> has fought to protect white farmers from Mr Mugabe's land grab said: "The
>> new development calls for more drastic measures by the South African
>> government to assist its citizens affected by Mugabe's controversial
>> policies."
>>
>> Mr Tsvangirai said: "The regulations would have scared off foreign
>> investors, already jittery about Zimbabwe, as well as disenfranchising
>> citizens." Only this month the former opposition leader assured the World
>> Economic Forum in Davos that "confidence has returned" to Zimbabwe's
>> battered economy. Analysts said the regulations represented another slap
>> in the face for the premier from his rival, who has been bolstered by
>> South African president Jacob Zuma's recent taking of sides during
>> negotiations to revive a stalled unity deal signed in September 2008. Mr
>> Zuma told Mr Tsvangirai he should be "more flexible" in what looked like
>> a plea for the MDC leader to drop his demand that Mr Mugabe's central
>> bank governor and attorney general be replaced. Mr Mugabe insists he will
>> make no concessions until western sanctions on him and 200 close
>> associates are removed.
>>
>> I would point out to all South Africans and investors from anywhere that
>> it will eventually happen in South Africa. Mr Zuma our President
>> announced publicly that Julius Malema the ANC Youth leader will,
>> eventually be the president of South Africa. Such an idea is cause for
>> laughter but Zuma was deadly serious and dodged questions by the press on
>> that subject. Malema is just as much of an idiot as Mugabe. He demands
>> very loudly that the Reserve bank , all the mines and many other
>> companies be Nationalized. Sadly the South African electorate can be
>> relied on to elect such people.

Energy Crisis and Green Buildings

2010-02-17T03:48:00.000-08:00

Feb 15, 2010
Energy efficiency - silent gun in clean technology arsenal
By EHUD ZION WALDOKS
US has cut a third of energy use through simple measures, visiting US expert says.
Energy efficiency is doing more to power the economy in the US than any other fuel mainstay including coal, says Alliance to Save Energy President Kateri Callahan.
Callahan is in Israel this week for the Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Conference as a guest of the Israel Energy Forum.
When policymakers look at the basket of renewable energies at their disposal, energy efficiency is the most potent for the least cost, Kateri told The Jerusalem Post in Tel Aviv on Sunday.
Without the energy efficiency measures implemented thus far, the US would use 50 percent more than it does now, she pointed out. “And the US is the biggest energy consumer in the world.”
Those savings were achieved through relatively straightforward regulations and incentives, not some complex process, Callahan said.
She pointed to appliance standards, building codes, and vehicle fuel economy standards as three methods which have proven effective in the US.
The next steps in the US include phasing out incandescent lighting in favor of energy efficient lightbulbs and increasing fuel economy standards even more to reduce usage by another 7%, she said. Carbon emissions will be reduced by 9%.
While 9% may not seem like much, it is actually equivalent to the total emissions of South Korea – the ninth largest emitter on the planet.
“Fifteen to 20% of utility bills go towards lighting,” she added.
Appliance standards dictate which appliances can be sold in the US as well as prohibit the sale of inefficient ones. The Energystar program, which tells the consumer if the product is efficient or not, has been in place in the US since the early 90s and has achieved tremendous success, according to Callahan. Appliances with Energystar certification are on average 30% more efficient than those not on the list, she added.
Similar appliance standards have existed in Israel for awhile and a new set to cover more appliances was passed recently.
One of the Alliance’s goals is to encourage net zero energy capable buildings to be the code requirement by 2030 in the US. This means buildings would produce as much of their own energy as possible – through solar panels, wind turbines, or other sources, she explained.
“Homes and buildings in the US use as much electricity as India and Japan’s economies combined,” she said, illustrating the importance of building codes.
While it is easy to demonstrate why energy efficiency is critical in the US, the average Israeli is unaware how critical it is here.
The Israel Electric Corporation quietly panics every time it gets too hot or too cold for fear of brownouts or blackouts. Electricity reserves are hovering at 2%. That basically means if more than one or two generators go down at a time, then the electricity goes out.
But the government is having a hard time conveying to the public the electricity crisis. Experts wryly say there’s no Lake Kinneret to demonstrate how low the safety margin is. Some even say the electricity crisis is worse than the water crisis as demand continues to rise by about 4% every year.
The Israeli government recently passed a decision to reduce demand by 20% by 2020. However, some of the crucial accompanying legislation still lags, like creating an energy efficiency fund from a portion of the electricity tariff. Electricity prices went down even though that’s not good for reducing demand partly because there is no law on the books to create such a fund. If it had existed, prices might have been lowered somewhat, but not by the 10% they will drop on Monday.
Callahan said the most effective way to sell energy efficiency is through economic benefits. The government and the utility companies have been very active in the US in encouraging efficiency through tax breaks, tax rebates and refunds, Callahan said.
“Out of the $80 billion the Obama administration has pledged towards clean technologies, $26 billion has been tagged for energy efficiency,” she said to highlight how serious the US viewed energy efficiency.
Energy efficiency also costs three times less to implement than any other energy cost, she added.
“In the US, efficiency costs 1 to 3 cents per kilowatt hour. Coal costs 10 cents per kilowatt hour,” she said.
Israel Energy Forum head Yael Cohen Paran said she thought coal in Israel was a bit cheaper, about 3-5 cents per kilowatt hour.
Callahan predicted that the next big push would be to examine smart development of cities and suburbs, taking into account energy efficiency. Right now in the US, NGOs and academics have begun to explore the notion of urban versus rural benefits but it is not yet mainstream.
Founded in 1977, the Alliance to Save Energy is a non-profit coalition of business, government, environmental and consumer leaders.

What Happens to lamps when they are recycled

2010-02-15T01:11:00.000-08:00

http://www.lightnowblog.com/2010/02/what-happens-to-lamps-when-they-are-recycled/

Green Energy

2010-02-10T22:24:00.000-08:00

2. More green-energy stimulus aid sought
Feb 9, 2010 Columbus Dispatch
More green-energy stimulus aid sought
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 3:11 AM
By Mark Niquette
Federal stimulus dollars are helping Ohio companies make components for wind, solar and other energy production, but some "clean energy" advocates say that more assistance is needed to continue creating green manufacturing jobs.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is pushing to more than double the $2.3 billion in stimulus funding approved nationwide for the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit program.
Brown hosted a roundtable in Columbus yesterday with executives of seven Ohio companies that have received $125 million from the program. One, DuPont Co., is adding 80 workers as part of a $175 million expansion in Circleville to make a film called Tedlar used in solar panels.
The Democratic senator noted that China, Germany and other counties are investing billions of dollars in alternative-energy production, and he said Ohio and the United States cannot afford to fall behind.
"If we don't act we're going to replace our dependence on foreign oil with a dependence on other countries manufacturing solar panels and wind-turbine components and so many other very, very important components of our energy future," Brown said at the Ohio Manufacturers' Association.
A recent expansion at First Solar in Perrysburg probably would have occurred in Germany instead if not for $16.3 million from the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit program, said Matthew A. Dills, the company's director of human resources.
The tax-credit program drew about 500 applications nationwide, but only about 165 awards were made, Brown's office said. Details about how many applications from Ohio were unsuccessful were not available.
Brown will work to have the funding increased to about $5 billion as part of a new jobs bill being discussed, a spokeswoman said.
DuPont is getting $50.7 million in credits for the expansion at its Circleville plant and expects to increase its Tedlar lines, although it's difficult to say whether that would happen in Circleville, plant manager Tony Eichstadt said.
"There will be a lot of very tough competition to get that investment," Eichstadt said.
Critics say the stimulus has been ineffective while adding to the federal deficit, but Brown said the stimulus has helped create or preserve jobs and that other factors, including two wars, are more responsible for the deficit.
Separately yesterday, Gov. Ted Strickland announced that 18 Ohio projects will receive more than $11.8 million in energy-efficiency grants also funded with stimulus dollars through Ohio's $96 million State Energy Program.
Companies in targeted industries such as advanced energy applied for funding from the state program to make energy-efficient improvements in their manufacturing facilities.
The largest grant was $1.2 million to Timken Co. in Canton to install a new boiler and replace outdated gas burners to save energy and reduce emissions.
John Grabner, the president of Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co. in Bedford Heights, Ohio, is another recipient of the tax credits. He said his company's business was increasing quickly because of demand for the fasteners it makes for wind turbines. The company, soon to run out of capacity, has bought new equipment and plans to double employment to 100 this year, Grabner said.
"Demand is exceeding our original expectations, so we have to figure how we're going to cope with that," he said. Grabner said that Cardinal has displaced suppliers of wind parts from Europe and Asia to the U.S. market.

Carbon trading and efficiency

2010-02-09T21:28:00.000-08:00

5. Australian Carbon Plan More Cost-Effective, New Energy Says
Feb 9, 2010 Business Week
Australian Carbon Plan More Cost-Effective, New Energy Says
By Ben Sharples
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Australia’s climate-change bill, which includes plans for a carbon trading system similar to one used in Europe, is more cost-effective than an alternative proposal from the opposition, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said.
The Liberal-National opposition’s plan to create a fund to support emission reductions can’t guarantee a specific level of cuts and offers fewer incentives to abate carbon, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said in an e-mailed statement today.
The Labor government’s bill for its plan was blocked in the Senate last year when the Liberal-National coalition teamed up with other parties to vote against the proposed laws. The opposition’s fund would invest as much as A$1.2 billion ($1.04 billion) annually in projects that lower emissions and improve the environment, Leader Tony Abbott, 52, said last week.
“The coalition’s latest proposals do not pass muster and risk taking the debate backwards not forwards,” Guy Turner, head of carbon market research for Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said in the statement.
The plan by Australia’s Labor government will cost less than A$1.5 billion during the first four years, not A$40.6 billion estimated by the opposition, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said. The opposition’s proposal will cost A$3.2 billion during that period, Abbot said Feb. 2.
The government’s plan, reintroduced into parliament last week by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, aims to cut carbon output by 5 percent by 2020 through a cap-and-trade system. While Rudd has a majority in the nation’s lower house, he needs the backing of seven non-Labor senators in the upper house to enact legislation. Australia is scheduled to hold a federal election later this year.
Abbott said his plan would encourage households to use more renewable energy, with homes gaining additional rebates for installing solar panels. It will also use the fund for the sequestration of carbon in soil.
--Editors: Clyde Russell, Alex Devine.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at +61-3-9228-8732 +61-3-9228-8732 or bsharples@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Clyde Russell at +65-6311-2423 +65-6311-2423 or crussell7@bloomberg.net

Green Energy

2010-02-08T05:22:00.001-08:00

5. Backing down on climate change
Feb 5, 2010 Los Angeles Times
If changes in the public mood and the party alignment of the U.S. Senate have stalled healthcare legislation, they may have thrown the highly anticipated climate bill under a bus.
Even before Republican Scott Brown's stunning election to the Senate in traditionally Democratic Massachusetts last month, it was proving hard to corral moderate Democrats to support a bill capping greenhouse gas emissions. Now they're afraid to back anything that could be perceived as harmful to the economy. "Realistically, the cap-and-trade bills in the House and the Senate are going nowhere," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told the New York Times. That's a distressing comment coming from one of the three senators supposedly crafting a compromise climate bill that's capable of achieving a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
President Obama has backed down too. On Tuesday, he signaled that cap-and-trade could go the way of healthcare reform's "public option," saying it could be removed from the climate bill. That would eliminate the market mechanism for pricing greenhouse gas pollution and without setting such a carbon price, other measures under consideration, such as a national renewable energy standard, won't go far enough to significantly slow global warming.
Global emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases rise every year, and within decades are expected to hit a worrisome atmospheric concentration threshold of 450 parts per million. At that point, there's a high probability that average global temperatures will be at least 2 degrees Celsius higher than they were in 1850 (they're already 1 C higher). Our children would live in a world of mass migrations, wars and conflicts fueled by scarce water supplies, infrastructure destruction as rising sea levels swallow coastlines, extreme weather events, wildfires and increased poverty and disease. These are not the predictions of wild-eyed liberal pundits but of thousands of climate researchers around the world, along with organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the National Academies of Sciences.
It gets worse. No one really knows what would happen if average temperatures hit 5 C higher than 1850 a level we could easily reach within a century under a business-as-usual scenario but changes to the physical geography of the planet become probable: land masses would vanish; ecosystems would collapse. Human civilization would change, and not for the better.
This process can still be slowed at a moderate economic cost, but time is short delays make both fighting climate change and adapting to it dramatically more expensive, and eventually could make it impossible. It's foolish to say we can't afford to pass a climate bill during a recession. We can't afford not to.

Energy Crisis and Green Buildings

2010-02-03T22:00:00.001-08:00

12. Panel Suggests 100 Ways Buildings Can Be Greener
Feb 2, 2010 New York Times
By Mireya Navarro
A panel of experts convened by the mayor and City Council issued more than 100 recommendations Monday on how to make New York City’s building codes more environmentally sound by imposing energy-saving requirements on construction and renovation work.
The measures, presented to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the Council’s speaker, Christine C. Quinn, include rules for insulating glass skyscrapers and a plan that would place temperature controls in individual apartments, eliminating the winter ritual of opening windows to vent excess heat.
Many of the proposals would need to be approved by the City Council.
“A lot of these are incremental gains, but together they amount to a big gain,” said the panel’s chairman, Russell Unger, the executive director of the New York chapter of the United States Green Building Council, which certifies green design and construction. “By changing code, everybody can have lower utility bills.”
The recommendations are the city’s latest attempt to reduce the greenhouse gases produced by its buildings, which are estimated to be the source of about 75 percent of the city’s emissions over all. In December, the City Council passed legislation requiring owners of New York’s largest buildings to pay for energy audits, upgrade lighting and take other steps to reduce energy consumption.
But as with previous green proposals for buildings, many of the improvements suggested on Monday could substantially increase the costs of renovation or construction.
The panel of experts, including representatives of the building industry and from environmental groups, said at a briefing that the city must find ways to secure financing and offer other incentives to help developers and managers make the changes.
“In general, the industry supports the overall goal,” said Charlotte Matthews, vice president for sustainability at the Related Companies, a major New York developer that has a representative on the task force.
She noted that some measures would be less palatable than others, and that in difficult economic times “any change is a little unnerving.”
But she said a stiffer code regulating buildings’ energy use was essential in meeting the city’s long-term environmental demands and “ensuring that all New Yorkers have a healthy home, school and workplace.”
The panel’s wish list includes requiring all commercial and residential buildings that are four stories or taller to meet the nation’s latest energy standards. Other proposals call for such buildings to be more airtight and to have minimal insulation.
One proposal would impose higher efficiency standards for heating systems and ban inefficient boilers in the city’s largest buildings. Another would phase in individual apartment temperature controls over a 10-year period.
Ms. Quinn said about half of the measures would not involve significant expenditures. The real estate industry’s participation in the process should help address concerns about costs, she added.
“It’s kind of a new way of looking at how we do business with a green perspective,” she said.
In a statement, Mayor Bloomberg said the recommendations by the panel, which was convened 18 months ago, were critical to meeting the city’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2030.

Clean power. where is the US?

2010-02-01T05:59:00.000-08:00

China Leading Global Race to Make Clean Energy
By KEITH BRADSHER
TIANJIN, China — China vaulted past competitors in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United States last year to become the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, and is poised to expand even further this year.
China has also leapfrogged the West in the last two years to emerge as the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels. And the country is pushing equally hard to build nuclear reactors and the most efficient types of coal power plants.
These efforts to dominate renewable energy technologies raise the prospect that the West may someday trade its dependence on oil from the Mideast for a reliance on solar panels, wind turbines and other gear manufactured in China.
“Most of the energy equipment will carry a brass plate, ‘Made in China,’ ” said K. K. Chan, the chief executive of Nature Elements Capital, a private equity fund in Beijing that focuses on renewable energy.
President Obama, in his State of the Union speech last week, sounded an alarm that the United States was falling behind other countries, especially China, on energy. “I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders — and I know you don’t either,” he told Congress.
The United States and other countries are offering incentives to develop their own renewable energy industries, and Mr. Obama called for redoubling American efforts. Yet many Western and Chinese executives expect China to prevail in the energy-technology race.
Multinational corporations are responding to the rapid growth of China’s market by building big, state-of-the-art factories in China. Vestas of Denmark has just erected the world’s biggest wind turbine manufacturing complex here in northeastern China, and transferred the technology to build the latest electronic controls and generators.
“You have to move fast with the market,” said Jens Tommerup, the president of Vestas China. “Nobody has ever seen such fast development in a wind market.”
Renewable energy industries here are adding jobs rapidly, reaching 1.12 million in 2008 and climbing by 100,000 a year, according to the government-backed Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association.
Yet renewable energy may be doing more for China’s economy than for the environment. Total power generation in China is on track to pass the United States in 2012 — and most of the added capacity will still be from coal.
China intends for wind, solar and biomass energy to represent 8 percent of its electricity generation capacity by 2020. That compares with less than 4 percent now in China and the United States. Coal will still represent two-thirds of China’s capacity in 2020, and nuclear and hydropower most of the rest.
As China seeks to dominate energy-equipment exports, it has the advantage of being the world’s largest market for power equipment. The government spends heavily to upgrade the electricity grid, committing $45 billion in 2009 alone. State-owned banks provide generous financing.
China’s top leaders are intensely focused on energy policy: on Wednesday, the government announced the creation of a National Energy Commission composed of cabinet ministers as a “superministry” led by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao himself.
Regulators have set mandates for power generation companies to use more renewable energy. Generous subsidies for consumers to install their own solar panels or solar water heaters have produced flurries of activity on rooftops across China.
China’s biggest advantage may be its domestic demand for electricity, rising 15 percent a year. To meet demand in the coming decade, according to statistics from the International Energy Agency, China will need to add nearly nine times as much electricity generation capacity as the United States will.
So while Americans are used to thinking of themselves as having the world’s largest market in many industries, China’s market for power equipment dwarfs that of the United States, even though the American market is more mature. That means Chinese producers enjoy enormous efficiencies from large-scale production.
In the United States, power companies frequently face a choice between buying renewable energy equipment or continuing to operate fossil-fuel-fired power plants that have already been built and paid for. In China, power companies have to buy lots of new equipment anyway, and alternative energy, particularly wind and nuclear, is increasingly priced competitively.
Interest rates as low as 2 percent for bank loans — the result of a savings rate of 40 percent and a government policy of steering loans to renewable energy — have also made a big difference.
As in many other industries, China’s low labor costs are an advantage in energy. Although Chinese wages have risen sharply in the last five years, Vestas still pays assembly line workers here only $4,100 a year.
China’s commitment to renewable energy is expensive. Although costs are falling steeply through mass production, wind energy is still 20 to 40 percent more expensive than coal-fired power. Solar power is still at least twice as expensive as coal.
The Chinese government charges a renewable energy fee to all electricity users. The fee increases residential electricity bills by 0.25 percent to 0.4 percent. For industrial users of electricity, the fee doubled in November to roughly 0.8 percent of the electricity bill.
The fee revenue goes to companies that operate the electricity grid, to make up the cost difference between renewable energy and coal-fired power.
Renewable energy fees are not yet high enough to affect China’s competitiveness even in energy-intensive industries, said the chairman of a Chinese industrial company, who asked not to be identified because of the political sensitivity of electricity rates in China.
Grid operators are unhappy. They are reimbursed for the extra cost of buying renewable energy instead of coal-fired power, but not for the formidable cost of building power lines to wind turbines and other renewable energy producers, many of them in remote, windswept areas. Transmission losses are high for sending power over long distances to cities, and nearly a third of China’s wind turbines are not yet connected to the national grid.
Most of these turbines were built only in the last year, however, and grid construction has not caught up. Under legislation passed by the Chinese legislature on Dec. 26, a grid operator that does not connect a renewable energy operation to the grid must pay that operation twice the value of the electricity that cannot be distributed.
With prices tumbling, China’s wind and solar industries are increasingly looking to sell equipment abroad — and facing complaints by Western companies that they have unfair advantages. When a Chinese company reached a deal in November to supply turbines for a big wind farm in Texas, there were calls in Congress to halt federal spending on imported equipment.
“Every country, including the United States and in Europe, wants a low cost of renewable energy,” said Ma Lingjuan, deputy managing director of China’s renewable energy association. “Now China has reached that level, but it gets criticized by the rest of the world.”

Energy management for consumers

2010-02-01T05:38:00.000-08:00

Shopping Efficiently: Refrigerators
January 2010 – Because unplugging the refrigerator is hardly a practical way to reduce household energy consumption, a consumer's best option for saving money with this 24/7 appliance is to shop for the right model - and use it wisely.

Go With ENERGY STAR
If you're not sure whether to replace your refrigerator, first check the age on your current model. If it's from the 1970s, best get rid of it: you could save four times more energy by replacing it with an ENERGYSTAR model - nearly $200 a year.

The same goes for a 1980s model: replace it with an ENERGY STAR refrigerator and your utility bills should drop about $100 each year. And whatever you do, don't relegate the old one to the basement to hold overstock: refrigerators consume energy no matter where they're plugged in.

Tried and tested, ENERGYSTAR refrigerators are up to 20 percent more energy efficient than modern conventional models. You can even find out how much a particular ENERGYSTAR model will cost you per year by checking the yellow EnergyGuide label on the refrigerator. The guide also allows you to compare the energy use of similar models and estimate the annual savings.

Things to Look for
When shopping for a new model, consider a few features that make a huge difference to efficiency.

Top-mounted freezers use 10 – 25 percent less energy than bottom-mounted or side-by-side models; this can amount to hundreds of dollars over the lifetime of the fridge.

Also, think about skipping the ice-maker and door dispenser. Automatic ice-makers increase energy use by 14 – 20 percent; as an additional feature, they also raise the retail price by $75 – 250. Through-door ice dispensers often interfere with the door’s insulation and sometimes require their own additional cooling elements.

Use it Wisely
By following a few simple maintenance tips, you can reduce a refrigerator's energy use, no matter what the model.

1.Keep your refrigerator at 35 – 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Any colder, and you'll risk freezing the contents - a waste of food and energy.
2.Keep your fridge in a cool place, away from heat sources (oven, dishwasher, direct sunlight, etc.) that will force your fridge to work harder to keep its contents cool.
3.Check to make sure the seals around the door are airtight: a tight seal saves energy. If you can feel cold air around the edge, or if the door won't hold a piece of paper in place when it's closed, it's time to replace the seals.
Finally, keep the door closed! If you minimize the amount of time the refrigerator door is open, you reduce your utility costs, save money and keep your food fresh

Lighting control and Management

2010-01-25T23:28:00.001-08:00

Watt Stopper Introduces Its First Astronomical Time Switch to Help Homeowners Control Lighting for Security and Energy Savings

WattStopper has launched the RT-200 Astronomical Time Switch, augmenting the company’s already extensive line of energy-efficient residential lighting controls. The new user-programmable time switch turns lights, or other electrical loads, on and off relative to dusk or dawn, or at selected times of day, providing energy savings and security both inside and outside the home. It is compliant with the requirements of California’s Title 24-2008 for outdoor lighting control.

The RT-200 is the first astronomical time switch produced by WattStopper, and was developed to give homeowners a wider range of lighting control options. It includes a bright organic LED (OLED) display, hidden programming buttons and a large on/off control button. The time switch may be programmed with up to eight control schedules to activate lighting at different times on one or more days of the week. After entering the local time, date, latitude and longitude, users navigate through simple menus to establish the control schedules. The OLED display facilitates wide-angle viewing of the menus, and the control button allows residents the option of manually switching lighting on or off. Advanced features include an optional audible beep and/or a visible flash to warn of an impending off-time.

When programmed relative to dusk or dawn, the Astronomical Time Switch saves energy by automatically making daily adjustments to on- and off-times throughout the year, so lighting is only turned on when it is needed as the days become longer or shorter. The RT-200 was developed primarily for control of outdoor lighting, spas and entryway lighting, where it also provides security by turning lighting on to make the home feel inviting and appear to be occupied. The internal clock automatically resets for daylight savings time.

The low-profile, decorator-style RT-200 Astronomical Time Switch complements WattStopper’s countdown time switches and residential vacancy sensors, and is available in five colors. It operates most common types of residential lighting, including energy-saving LEDs, as well as motor loads up to 1/6 horsepower. WattStopper’s residential vacancy sensors and controls are available from electrical distributors and retailers, including hardware stores and home improvement centers. WattStopper’s award-winning “Quick Guide to Reducing Lighting Energy Use at Home” and an online multimedia program educate consumers about the benefits of energy-saving lighting controls and how to select the right product for each application

Energy Management

2010-01-22T21:25:00.000-08:00

11. Past Decade Warmest Ever, NASA Data Shows
Jan 22, 2010 New York Times
By John M. Broder
WASHINGTON — The decade ending in 2009 was the warmest on record, new surface temperature figures released Thursday by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration show.
The agency also found that 2009 was the second warmest year since 1880, when modern temperature measurement began. The warmest year was 2005. The other hottest recorded years have all occurred since 1998, NASA said.
James E. Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said that global temperatures varied because of changes in ocean heating and cooling cycles. “When we average temperature over 5 or 10 years to minimize that variability,” said Dr. Hansen, one of the world’s leading climatologists, “we find global warming is continuing unabated.”
A separate preliminary analysis from another NASA office, the National Climatic Data Center, found that 2009 tied with 2006 as the fifth warmest year on record, based on measurements taken on land and at sea. The data center report, published earlier this week, also cited the years 2000 to 2009 as the warmest decade ever measured. The new temperature figures provide new evidence in the scientific discussion of global warming but are not likely to be the last word on whether the planet’s temperature is on a consistent upward path.
Dr. Hansen, who has been an outspoken figure in the climate debate for years, has often been attacked by skeptics of global warming for what they charge is selective use of temperature data. The question of whether the planet is heating and how quickly was at the heart of the so-called “climategate” controversy that arose last fall when hundreds of e-mail messages from the climate study unit at the University of East Anglia in England were released without authorization.
Critics seized on the messages as evidence that, in their view, climate scientists were manipulating data and colluding to keep contrary opinion out of scientific journals. But climate scientists and political leaders affirmed what they called a broad-based consensus that the planet was growing warmer, and on a consistent basis, although with measurable year-to-year variations.
The NASA data released Thursday showed an upward temperature trend of about 0.36 degrees Fahrenheit (0.2 degrees Celsius) per decade over the past 30 years. Average global temperatures have risen by about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) since 1880.
“That’s the important number to keep in mind,” said Gavin Schmidt, a climatologist at Goddard. “The difference between the second and sixth warmest years is trivial because the known uncertainty in the temperature measurement is larger than some of the differences between the warmest years.”
Policy makers at the United Nations climate change summit conference in Copenhagen last month agreed on a goal of trying to keep the rise in average global temperatures to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 2 degrees Celsius, to try to forestall the worst effects of global warming.

Energy management and control

2010-01-06T00:11:00.000-08:00

2010 brings federal rebates for EnergyStar appliances
Jan 3, 2010 Washington Post
Vinnee Tong
SAN FRANCISCO -- This year may be to appliance buyers what 2009 was to car buyers: time for government rebates.
Modeled after the popular "Cash for Clunkers" program, which was intended to get cars with low gas mileage off the road, a federal appliance rebate program is starting in early 2010. It offers a boost to people buying energy-efficient clothes washers, refrigerators and other appliances -- those that qualify for the federal "Energy Star" designation -- and to manufacturers, whose sales fell 10 percent in 2008 and an additional 12 percent through mid-December of 2009.
The program has only $300 million, one-tenth as much money as Cash for Clunkers, or about $1 per U.S resident, so the money could run out fast. States are receiving roughly the same amount per capita, with California getting the most at $35.2 million, but what's eligible varies by state.
Here's what to keep in mind as you decide whether to swap your washer for that supposedly whisper-quiet model or your old white refrigerator for a shapely stainless-steel number.
-- What's my state offering? For state-by-state information, visit the federal Web site http://www.energysavers.gov and click on "State Appliance Rebate Program" on the right.
California residents, for example, can get cash back on three types of appliances: $100 for washing machines, $75 for refrigerators and $50 for room air conditioners. Wisconsin offers rebates on washers and fridges plus $200 for boilers or furnaces, $75 for central air conditioning or geothermal heat pumps, $50 for freezers, and $25 for dishwashers.
(Also in effect through Dec. 31, 2010, is a federal tax credit for 30 percent of the cost, up to $1,500, of equipment for a primary residence.)
-- How do I know it's a deal? Joe McGuire, president of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, said buying Energy Star appliances can mean hearty power savings. But it's important to make sure you save enough in water and energy bills over time to justify paying for a new unit.
"A good example is a 10-year-old clothes washer," he said. "With Energy Star, you could reduce utility costs by $145 a year and save 5,000 gallons of water a year." At that rate, a typical $500 to $700 washer would pay for itself in four years. In larger households that use more power and water for laundry, the payoff can come much sooner.
It's probably not worth replacing appliances less than five to seven years old just because rebates are available, unless you plan to upgrade to a far more efficient model. That's because newer appliances are already more efficient. But switching from a top-loading to front-loading clothes washer could in itself cut water use enough to make a purchase worthwhile.
The older the appliance, the greater the possibility of saving money by buying a new one. McGuire says a 20-year-old refrigerator uses three times as much power as Energy Star-approved units made today, some of which run on less than 60 watts.
"You would save over $250 a year on an average 20-year-old refrigerator if you replaced it," McGuire said. "That's about $1,200 over five years. That is real savings to consumers." The Energy Department estimates Americans saved more than $19 billion on utilities in 2008 using Energy Star products.
-- When will it end? Rebates will be available until February 2012 or until the money's gone. And Jen Stutsman, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department, expects the funds to run out fast.
-- Associated Press

Saving electricity

2009-12-08T05:03:00.000-08:00

Biomimicry is this the answer to our prayers

2009-12-02T22:26:00.000-08:00

What is Biomimicry?Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is a design discipline that seeks sustainable solutions by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies, e.g., a solar cell inspired by a leaf. The core idea is that Nature, imaginative by necessity, has already solved many of the problems we are grappling with: energy, food production, climate control, non-toxic chemistry, transportation, packaging, and a whole lot more.

Check out www.asknature.org

Green Energy is critical

2009-11-30T21:42:00.000-08:00

3. Dalai Lama urges world to act on climate change
Nov 30, 2009 Associated Press Online
By KRISTEN GELINEAU
SYDNEY, Nov. 30, 2009 (AP Online delivered by Newstex) -- The world's leaders must prioritize the issue of global warming above all else, the Dalai Lama said Monday, adding that he feels encouraged by next month's climate change summit in Copenhagen.
The revered Buddhist figure and Nobel Peace Prize winner, in Australia for a series of lectures on universal responsibility and the environment, said politicians must focus their energy on finding a solution to climate change.
"Sometimes their number one importance is national interest, national economic interest, then global (warming) issue is sometimes second," he said during a news conference. "That I think should change. The global issue, it should be number one."
The Dalai Lama plans to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his Nobel Peace Prize in Australia on Dec. 10. He will present seeds he has blessed to attendees of his talks as a symbol of individuals' responsibility to act on climate change.
The 74-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader said he couldn't predict what the outcome of the United Nations summit would be, but was heartened by the very fact that it is being held.
"I think it's very, very encouraging," he said.
The Dalai Lama's trip to Australia comes as the nation's leaders remain locked in a bitter debate over the fate of a contentious bill aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Last week, several top opposition party officials resigned over their leader's support for the legislation.
Australia is one of the world's worst carbon dioxide polluters per capita because of its heavy reliance on its abundant coal reserves. As the driest continent after Antarctica, it is also considered one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has made climate change issues a priority of his leadership, and said he wants the legislation passed as an example to the world before the Copenhagen summit.
The government plan would institute a tax on industries' carbon emissions starting in 2011 and limit Australia's overall pollution. The government wants to slash Australia's emissions by up to 25 percent below 2000 levels by 2020 if the U.N. can agree on tough global targets at Copenhagen.
Newstex ID: AP-0001-40073309

Electricity or the lack of it

2009-11-16T05:54:00.000-08:00

Energy Management, Green Buildings, Going Green, Carbon Credits, Kilowatt hour rate per square metre, Solar energy, Wind energy, Instant water heaters, Occupancy sensors, Lighting control and automation systems, Intelligent buildings, Intelligent homes, Carbon Neutral buildings, Renewable energy, Rising electrical tariffs, cost of generation, damage to the environment, carbon emissions, Eco estates and so the list goes on and on, What does this all mean ????????

Essentially, what one can gather from this hype is that the world is nearing its end of generosity and that we have depleted the earths recourse's . We may be too late to prevent the inevitable, God bless the generation that is alive when the earth finally gives in.

Going Green

2009-08-05T07:16:00.000-07:00

Personal Footprint
You can take steps to address your carbon emissions right now.
First you need to calculate the emissions you release from driving your car, your air travel, and the electricity you use in your home.
We'll then calculate how many carbon credits you need to offset your emissions. Our safe online payment process makes it easy for you to make a difference in just a few clicks.
You can also use the calculators to measure and offset flights, car trips and electricity associated with an event, such as a birthday or wedding celebration or honeymoon.
When you buy carbon credits through Climate Friendly, you're in effect putting renewable energy back into the power grid to replace the energy from fossil fuels that you have used.
Most of us do our best to address global warming by switching off lights and appliances, reducing our waste and walking or cycling more. But the global average emissions for an individual remains 5 tonnes a year, rising to 28 tonnes in countries such as the US and Australia.
Climate Friendly helps you to take immediate and meaningful action against global warming - contributing to an effective, long-term solution.
20 tips for energy saving
You don't need to be a Climate Friendly customer to reduce your carbon emissions. Here's 20 tips to get you started.
Buy renewable energy. Make the switch to save around 30% of your household greenhouse gas emissions a year.
Drive less. Cars contribute to a high percentage of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Before getting into your car, think about walking, riding your bike or taking public transport instead. It's better for your health and the planet.
Turn off lights and switch your bulbs. Turning off the lights when you leave a room or office and switching to compact fluorescent bulbs can make a big difference to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And it saves you money in energy costs.
Insulate your home and body. Look for ways to keep warm in winter without heating. Insulate ceilings, walls and your hot water heater, and wear a coat instead of turning up the heat.
Open the window, turn off the air conditioning. Air-conditioning is a great contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. In summer, open your window, use a fan instead of air-conditioning, and always turn off air-conditioning when not at home.
Switch off standby. As much as 10% of your home's emissions may be from appliances like computers, televisions and other home entertainment devices left on standby. Try to always turn off appliances at the source.
Conserve water. Use less water when possible. Install a rainwater tank or even a grey water system that channels water from showers and baths to toilet and garden systems.
Fly less. Take international trips sparingly and make the most of local destinations. Do business remotely via conferencing units or online conferencing applications. This will mean fewer flights, less travel time and savings of up to 10 tonnes of emissions per international trip. If you need to fly, consider offsetting your flight emissions.
Use alternatives to electricity. Switching to solar hot water or gas heating can save as much as 3 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
Buy efficiency. When buying high energy-using equipment or appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers, try to choose the item with the best energy rating.
Dry washing outside. One t-shirt can send 4 kg of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere during its lifetime, mostly due to washing and drying. Whenever possible, use the power of the sun or a clothes horse instead of the dryer.
Choose a hybrid, biodiesel or fuel-efficient car. When buying your next car, make the move to a greener vehicle. It can save up to 3 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year.
Work from home. Even one day a month working from home can make a difference by reducing transport emissions. Ask your boss if you can work from home occasionally and skip the commute.
Pay bills online. Paying your bills online saves paper, transport energy and time.
Own just one refrigerator. Old, inefficient second refrigerators and freezers are huge energy users and often have other environmental issues such as leaking chemicals that damage the ozone layer. If you don't really need it, look into local buy-back schemes or dispose of old refrigerators and freezers properly to ensure ozone-depleting chemicals are not released into the atmosphere.
Eat lower on the food chain. Producing meat uses a lot of energy and water and often requires pesticides and other chemicals. In fact, producing meat generates about 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Eating less meat is good for you and the environment.
Buy local. Buy food and other products that are grown and produced locally to reduce emissions from transportation and to support your local community.
Green your event. If you are holding a conference, family reunion or wedding, do what you can to reduce the environmental impact by buying locally, choosing energy-efficient and environmentally aware venues, and offsetting remaining emissions.
Buy recycled and 'vintage'. Buying used or recycled goods avoids the energy used and emissions released in making a new product. Always try to recycle your waste and unwanted goods.
Check your tires. Inflating your car's tyres to their proper level means the car runs more efficiently, uses less energy and produces fewer harmful emissions

Energy Management

2009-08-02T23:37:00.000-07:00

July newsletter
In the news today - Energy University - Supply Chain Simplification Project - Customer Care Centre - The Power of Business - What's on - General Comments and suggestions welcome, kindly email your response to the address below Email: belinda.aslett@za.schneider-electric.com Website: http://www.schneider-electric.co.za/ http://www.myenergyuniversity.com/
Schneider Electric launches Energy University to drive Energy Management Awareness and Education Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, today announced the debut of Energy University™ by Schneider Electric, a vendor-neutral, on-line educational community that provides the fundamentals needed to implement successful energy efficient solutions scaling various applications. The courses are designed to provide anyone involved in the decision-making, management, planning, design, or construction of a space impacted by energy, a level of expertise to address efficiency issues and apply safe, reliable and cost effective measures. Visit http://www.myenergyuniversity.com/
Supply Chain Simplification Project
Schneider Electric has launched a Supply Chain Simplification Project and in order to achieve these objectives the Clipsal Bloemfontein and Durban branch warehouses have been consolidated into the JHB warehouse, and George warehouse consolidated into the Port Elizabeth warehouse. All sales orders for these three regions have to be placed with our Customer Care Centre in Midrand, JHB. Direct access numbers for the Customer Care Centre Tel: 011 254 6550 Fax: 011 254 6700 / 6704 / 6712 The direct email address for the placing of New Clipsal Orders is ccc@za.schneider-electric.com
Customer Care Centre To continuously improve our customer service we have implemented the following: Self Help Tool: This gives our customers access to the Schneider Electric ERP system via the internet, and enables customers to check the status of their orders, stock availability, pricing as well as invoice and account information. For access rights and training, Pro-active information: Customers will receive an automatic notification if we cannot meet our first scheduled delivery date and will then be advised of the new delivery date. This tool will be available soon. Contact Mike Phillips, 011 254 6625 or mike-b.phillips@za.schneider-electric.com
The Power of Business - on Summit TV As Eskom confirms the 31.3% tariff increase and talks of Punitive Tariffs being implemented to those users who do not remain within a predefined energy usage limit, has caused industry and the public to sit up and take notice of their energy consumption. Watch as we unpack these issues and discuss the big challenges faced by various industries from building and retail to mining now forced to take active steps in order to save power. For weekly programme updates and vodcast of the interviews, visit http://www.schneider-electric.co.za/
What's on... Decorex show 6 - 10 August at Gallagher Convention Estate, Midrand JHB Clipsal national road shows during the month of August - October Wiser - new product launch end August
General Clipsal Durban branch has moved and from 3rd August their new contact details are: 270 Brickfield Road Overport Durban New telephone number: 031 268 1111 New fax number: 031 268 1140 Congratulations to the Clipsal Port Elizabeth branch for selling the most promo packs in the Clipsal Livingreen promotion and to Grant Christian nominated as the top salesman for the Livingreen promotion. Well done!

Energy

2009-06-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Jun 28, 2009
New York Times
A Funding Roadblock Ahead for Clean Energy
By KATE GALBRAITH
NEW YORK — A landmark climate bill that narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday would cap greenhouse gas emissions across the United States for the first time and also create a national target for renewable energy production.
Environmentalists and advocates of clean energy hailed the news in a flurry of statements. Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called it a “dramatic breakthrough for America’s future.” Denise Bode, executive director of the American Wind Energy Association, described the renewable energy target as “a key first step in balancing our electric generation mix.”
The legislation, however, remains far from becoming law. The House passed the bill only narrowly — and it has been weakened since being introduced months ago — and the fight in the Senate may be even tougher.
In the meantime, there is also the pressing matter of financing renewable energy projects. Since the economic crisis began last autumn, the once red-hot activity by wind and solar developers has slowed sharply. The U.S. government’s stimulus package is supposed to help (although some portions of its aid for renewable energy have not yet been disbursed).
But many advocates of renewable energy are thinking longer term. What happens when the stimulus funding runs out, as it is scheduled to do for the industry’s projects in the next year or two?
“One of my big fears is that we will fall off a cliff,” the director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google, Dan W. Reicher, said in an interview in New York last week.
Lowell Ungar, the policy director for the Alliance to Save Energy, an efficiency advocacy group, echoed the sentiment. “The concern is that you spend billions of dollars building up this industry, training people and creating new jobs and new companies, and it all disappears,” he said.
Perhaps because of its relative newness and small size, the renewable energy industry has been hobbled by a history of uncertain funding.
In the United States, a tax credit to aid wind energy has threatened to expire about every year or two over the past decade, causing the industry to complain that long-term planning is impossible. Congress has repeatedly extended the credit on a short-term basis, but manufacturers of wind turbines have hesitated to establish plants in the United States for fear that the demand for their product might evaporate. (The three-year extension provided in the stimulus package has given a measure of stability, although it arrived — as per the definition of stimulus — just as private investors had pulled back.)
Solar energy in Spain is another classic example of roller-coaster funding. There, the government provided a strong feed-in tariff — a high payment to producers of renewable energy — and solar companies rushed into the country. Last autumn, however, the government decided that the explosive growth was costing too much and capped the amount of solar power that could qualify for the incentive.
“By having something that kind of shot out through the roof and fell back to earth, that shocked the system,” said Julie Blunden, the vice president for public policy and corporate communications at SunPower, a major solar manufacturer. “The boom and bust was very disruptive to building a base of business in Spain.”
Greece and the Canadian province of Ontario have also had yo-yo policies on encouraging solar power, Ms. Blunden said, though she added that both governments were trying to address the problem.
In the United States, the industry is planning for the period after the stimulus package, to avoid a falloff.
“There is already discussion in the market about ‘what comes next’ when the stimulus spending has run its course,” the head of the renewable energy group at the law firm Alston & Bird, Tom Amis, said in an e-mail message.
“Given the volatility of fossil fuel prices (natural gas, the key marginal price driver, has recently been at record lows), and the continued need for a long-term manufacturing increase to achieve the necessary economies of scale, there is a consensus in the industry that there needs to be a ‘second act.”’
Should the climate legislation passed in the House become law, it could lead to one type of solution. The cap-and-trade provisions would effectively raise the price of generating electricity using fossil fuels. This would help clean energy technologies — which are expensive relative to coal and natural gas — to become more competitive.
Because a cap-and-trade system, depending on its final structure, would also be likely to auction off some allowances to pollute, it would create a revenue stream that could be plowed back into energy efficiency and the renewable energy industry.
The auction provisions in the climate bill are weaker than many environmentalists had hoped, however. There would also be relatively few allowances auctioned off in the early years of the legislation, which would take effect in 2012 if passed — leaving a gap after the stimulus funds run out. Mr. Ungar of the Alliance to Save Energy suggests a mechanism that would let state governments borrow in advance against expected future revenues from the climate bill’s allowance provisions and use that money to maintain smooth funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Another solution, pushed by Mr. Reicher and others, would establish a government-backed clean energy bank, modeled on the Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corp.
Such a funding apparatus, which is under consideration in various forms in Congress, could be loosely affiliated with the Department of Energy and provide aid like loan guarantees and direct loans designed to help the small renewable energy industry to scale up. Such a bank could continue some of the renewable funding measures in the stimulus package. It would also extract clean energy policies from the bureaucracy of the Department of Energy, which has complicated the release of some stimulus funds.
To be sure, the ultimate hope is that the renewable energy industry can stand on its own, without permanently relying on the government for financing. As the stimulus provisions expire, the industry hopes that the banks will be back on their feet and able to finance projects. From the companies’ perspective, standing on their own would have the benefit of avoiding the risks and uncertainties that accompany sometimes-fickle government policy.
But as the industry works up to a meaningful scale from tiny and often experimental technologies, renewable energy developers will be happy to take the help.

Energy Management Green energy

2009-06-28T22:57:00.001-07:00

Here is an example of a client who as part of there renovation installed solar geysers for the bedrooms, guest rooms and servants quarters. This renovation made it easy to position the geysers optimally and to get the thermal collectors in the best position possible.

The house presented us with a large surface area, ideal for Solar collection. North facing roof is ideal!

Large Double story house with high pitched roof means scaffolding has to be used. Collectors need to be properly positioned for maximum benifit.

Geysers are positioned above the collectors on the inside of the roof. This allow for the hot water created on the collector outside to rise naturally into the geyser, where it is stored for use within the house.

A vey neat and attaractive result is left on the renovated house, plust they are saving massive amounts on there energy usage

2009-06-28T22:55:00.001-07:00

Bonus: World’s Largest Landfill Gas Recuperation PlantPuente Hills in Whittier, Calif.
Producing power from the gas that seeps out of landfills is a better alternative than simply flaring it. (Though it’s debatable whether or not landfill gas constitutes a renewable resource, because yields of combustible gas from landfills decline between 2 and 15 percent per year after a landfill is capped and no more garbage is being added, according to Jeff Pierce, vice president of power plant development company SCS energy). Landfill gas is about half methane and half carbon dioxide and also contains water vapor, which makes it more difficult to handle than conventional natural gas.
The world’s largest landfill gas plant sits atop the Puente Hills landfill—the largest in the U.S.—which accepts trash from Los Angeles County. Pierce says that because this active landfill is still growing, production at the 20 year old Puente Hills landfill gas plant has not yet peaked, and averages about 50 megawatts.
Another 50-megawatt landfill gas plant sits atop another gigantic dump in Incheon, South Korea. Currently there are no plans for units larger than either the Puente Hills or Incheon facilities.

Lighting Control

2009-05-20T22:26:00.001-07:00

Retrofitting standard metal halide hi-bay fixtures to fluorescent hi-bay fixtures can generate energy cost savings of about 50 percent. How does reducing the resulting energy consumption by another 30+ percent sound—made possible by switching to fluorescent?
While tapping what remains arguably the hottest lighting retrofit market, distributors should understand the full advantages of fluorescent over probe-start metal halide, such instant-on and re-strike, which enables the use of switching strategies typically not practical with HID light sources.
Example: An occupancy sensor installed in each fixture senses a lack of occupancy in the area, or a photosensor senses high light levels due to daylight contribution, and either switches off the fixture or its outboard lamp. This provides a choice of energy savings and, if desired, flexible selection of light levels.
An additional 30-80 percent energy savings using occupancy sensors and 10-30 percent savings using daylighting controls can be achieved in a hi-bay fluorescent upgrade, says John Ireland, OEM channel manager for Watt Stopper/Legrand.
Mike Connolly, market development manager for Lithonia Lighting - Industrial Products, says inboard/outboard switching—achieved by separating circuiting ballasts within the same fixture, enabling 0/50/100 percent and 0/33/66/100 percent lamp output/power—is an inexpensive way to gain the benefits of flexibility from the lighting system. “For example, in a gym, light levels can be lowered for school productions or other needs outside of athletics,” he says. “Multi-lamp fluorescent fixtures offer many light level possibilities for user control, daylight harvesting and other applications.”
Occupancy sensing is the predominant strategy, particularly in applications such as distribution centers, warehouses and bulk storage areas. “Any area of 50 percent or less usage levels will accelerate the project’s payback period—even with relatively modest electric rates of $0.07 per kWh,” says Connolly. To optimize lamp life, particularly when the fixtures have high switching activity—more than six on/off cycles per day—programmed-start ballasts and a minimum 15-minute sensor time delay are recommended.
Passive-infrared (PIR) technology is standard in occupancy sensors used in hi-bay applications. “Besides its low cost, most spaces in hi-bay applications are within the line of sight of the sensor, large motion is usually being detected, and little adjustment is required after installation,” says Tom Leonard, director, marketing and product management for Leviton Lighting Management Systems. In hi-bay applications, the sensor may have a lens that provides 360-degree coverage for open areas or a narrow linear coverage for warehouse aisles

Reduce Energy consumption

2009-05-08T00:12:00.000-07:00

Priority Energy lights a regional award winning tennis complex
Date Announced: 05 May 2009
Hillcrest Racquet Club is one of the top tennis facilities in the North Eastern United States being awarded the club of the year 2008 by the USTA Middle States, operating in Reading, Pennsylvania. Hillcrest Racquet Club was looking to find a lighting solution to reduce their monthly demand for lighting while improving the light output for the tennis courts and the general area. The project has completed the first phase of the general area using the U-tube replacement, 4ft replacement, PAR 30 and the medium Incandescent replacement LED lights of Priority Energy. The second phase of the project will be to convert the court lighting from the 1,000W Metal Halides. The major concern of the tennis club was to ensure the best color of light as well as to have sufficient light output throughout the large 10 court facility. Priority Energy installation was to replace 4 fluorescent products with 3 of the 15W LED products achieving higher light output and the track lighting for the Pro Shop. "Hillcrest Racquet Club are thrilled with their new lights knowing that they have been one of the first sports facilities to have a higher quality light while reducing their huge monthly operational costs of their lighting which represent 80% of their electrical bill." said Paul Prior CEO of Priority Energy. Hillcrest Racquet Club have not only reduced their monthly electricity bill already by $500 per month but have also reduced their carbon footprint by 760 MT. "We expect that with the completion of phase 2, Hillcrest Racquet Club will see a 65% reduction in their electrical bill each month." added Mr. Prior.
ContactPriority Energy Toll Free 801 938-5296
E-mail: info@myprioritycorp.com
Web Site: www.myprioritycorp.com/priority_company_004.htm

Energy Crisis

2009-04-16T06:47:00.000-07:00

Obama's goal for the hybrid cars will be a challenge
Apr 16, 2009
Omaha World Herald
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's campaign pledge to put 1 million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015 is fraught with difficulties, from technical and engineering hurdles to the realities of the economy and the price of gasoline.
It took eight long years to get 1 million hybrids on the road in the United States, and even a White House task force says one of the leading new plug-in cars being developed is too expensive to gain popularity any time soon.
Obama's goal could help revitalize the struggling U.S. auto industry and begin shifting motorists away from the gas pump. But to many, it's overly optimistic.
President Barack Obama on a tour of the Edison Electric Vehicle Technical Center in Pomona, Calif., last month.
"The economics won't make sense for the majority of Americans in the next several years," said Brett Smith, who studies plug-in hybrids at the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Center for Automotive Research.
Plug-in hybrids allow motorists to drive a limited number of miles on battery power before the engine switches over to run on gasoline or other fuels. A driver can plug the car into a conventional wall outlet at night and be ready to go electric again in the morning.
The cars could dramatically reduce gasoline use because many commuters drive less than 40 miles a day.
Obama last month toured a California electric car facility where he announced $2.4 billion to develop advanced batteries and electric cars. The administration has said the vehicles would play a role in its goal to reduce dependence on foreign oil, cut greenhouse gas emissions and create "green" jobs.
"Even as our American automakers are undergoing some painful adjustments, they are also retooling and reimagining themselves into an industry that can compete and win," Obama said in Pomona, Calif.
During his campaign, Obama promised $4 billion in tax credits to automakers to revamp their plants to build plug-ins, and a $7,000 tax credit for consumers who buy early versions of the cars. He even pledged to convert the White House vehicle fleet to plug-ins within a year, as security permits, and require half the cars bought by the government to be plug-in or all-electric by 2012.
To automakers, battery makers and utilities, the pledge was akin to one made by President John F. Kennedy generations ago. "That's a 'Go to the moon' kind of goal," said Nancy Gioia, Ford's director of hybrid vehicle programs. She said it would demand "unparalleled collaboration" among the government, the industry and academia.
Automakers are already committed to plug-ins and electric vehicles. Toyota Motor Corp. will produce a few hundred plug-in Prius hybrids later this year as a test fleet, General Motors Corp. plans to release an extended range electric plug-in called the Chevrolet Volt in limited numbers in late 2010, and Nissan Motor Co. is planning to sell an all-electric car next year. Chrysler, Ford and Daimler are all developing plug-ins and electric cars.
But numerous questions remain about the cars. One of the biggest hurdles is whether their large lithium ion batteries are ready for mass production. Some analysts have pegged the cost of the batteries at $1,000 per kilowatt hour, which could add about $16,000 to the cost of a first-generation Volt and thousands of dollars to a plug-in Prius.
Lithium ion batteries have been used commonly in cell phones and laptop computers, but the auto industry needs to ensure that the batteries will remain long-lasting and safe. Automakers have partnered with utilities and universities to develop recharging stations and a common way of communicating between the vehicles and the electric grid.
None of the major automakers has made a firm commitment on the mass production of plug-ins — building 100,000 vehicles a year or more — that would be required to meet Obama's goal.
"It certainly is a difficult challenge to achieve that goal," said Tony Posawatz, GM's vehicle line director for the Volt. GM has not released production figures for the Volt, but Posawatz estimated it would be in the "tens of thousands" of vehicles by 2015.
"It's not readily obvious, based on the product plans that have been communicated, that the 2015 objective aligns with what is currently on the books," he said.
Conventional gas-electric hybrids account for less than 3 percent of the car market and it took about eight years to get 1 million hybrids on the road in the United States, according to automotive consulting firm R.L. Polk & Co.
Obama's own auto industry task force, which is trying to help GM and Chrysler emerge from the crisis that left them needing $17.4 billion in government loans, casts doubt on the Volt in a March 30 report. That report says that although the car "holds promise, it will likely be too expensive to be commercially successful in the short term."
GM has not announced pricing for the Volt, but it's expected to cost between $30,000 and $40,000.
Current fuel prices also are an issue; $2-a-gallon gas gives consumers few incentives to spend thousands of dollars extra for a hybrid or even more for a plug-in. It would take years for the fuel savings to outweigh the price premium.
The industry also will need a smooth transition for plug-ins to take off. Any hiccups along the way could hurt the vehicles' image.
"They've got to be commercial-ready," said Tom Stricker, Toyota's director of technical and regulatory affairs. "You do risk having a negative response from the consumer if the technology doesn't meet their expectation in terms of durability, cost and performance."

Lighting control and energy management

2009-04-07T00:02:00.000-07:00

'SA facing serious energy crisis' 03/04/2009 08:04 - (SA)
Pretoria - Urgent steps are needed to counter South Africa's low electricity reserve margin, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said on Thursday.
Despite the success of the Earth Hour on Saturday, the minister urged South Africans to do more.
She said the government commended the Earth Hour initiative and hoped that it promoted awareness that the country was still facing a serious energy crisis.
"South Africa is one of the least energy efficient nations in the world and the least efficient in Africa", she said.
"We also hold the number 11 spot on the top 20 greenhouse gas emitters list and are responsible for 42% of Africa's emissions. Every kilowatt of electricity you use produces one kilogram of carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases."
Two years ago, the minister warned that South Africans needed to start saving 10% of their electricity usage every year for the next five years or the energy supply would be threatened.
In early 2008, periodic blackouts outraged all South Africans, yet by October of the same year only 0.4 percent had been saved.
'We are in trouble'
A healthy electricity reserve margin sat at 17 to 20%, an amount that ensured sudden changes in demand or supply and power-plant maintenance did not cause blackouts, but South Africa's reserve margin remained much lower than that.
"The recent lack of blackouts has led to the assumption that our energy situation has been resolved," Sonjica said.
"Unfortunately this is far from the truth. We are in trouble unless we all begin to take responsibility for our habits of energy wastage."
She said nations across the world were rising to the challenge of sustainable energy development and conservation.
Sonjica said energy sustainability had become an issue that no country, industry or individual could afford to ignore. - SAPA News 24
Wayne Felton.

Electrical and Lighting Control

2009-03-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Editor,
What we wanted and what we got from our last vote.
We were promised:
1.Free education
Parents and caregivers have never paid this much for education. School fees have trebled. Higher school fees and ridiculously larger number of pupils per class, implying less and less individual attention to your child. Both parents need to work to ensure fees are paid.
2. Free water and electricity
Apparently some big wigs at Eskom did mention to the leaders of the New South Africa that a new power station needs to be built or else South Africa is sure to suffer in the near future.
However, the New South Africa's priorities were much too important. Road names needed to be changed for one, let alone the overseas holidays taken on the tax payers money. So unfortunately the promise of free water and cheaper electricity changed to higher rates and higher water bills.
3. Free or cheaper housing
Over the past three years property prices shot up so high that it became impossible for the average person to purchase. For those who did manage to just about qualify to buy, they were hit down when interest rates shot up so high that their entire salaries were going just towards the bond.
4. Cheaper everyday living
Bread is now R90, so let's round that off to R10. Since you now don't have your own home, for whatever reasons listed in point three above, you are back living with your parents.
There's grandma, grandpa, mum, dad, three children. So let's say two loaves are enough for everyone for the day. Lunch is reduced to one slice per person. R600 a month for bread. Meat prices... say no more.
5. Freedom
Our streets have never been more dangerous. In fact you don't even need to go out into the streets, the perpetrators will come to your home.
E-mails recently being circulated are a structured table of which vehicles are hijacked; e-mails on how to make it safely from a mall to your car; e-mails on how to fill up at the garage without being mugged, raped or killed. Crimes are taking new and exciting turns: schools, churches, mosques, offices, medical centres, and even grave yards.
The criminal profession has expanded. The criminal has the freedom to do as he pleases. The criminal has the freedom to mug, rape and shoot you. The criminal has the freedom to take away your most precious belongings. The criminal has the freedom to fair trial and evidence based judgement (if that evidence is ever found at the police station). The criminal has a right to education in prison. The criminal has a right to MNet and internet in prison. The criminal has a right to intercourse with his/her partner whilst in prison.
I am not white, Indian, black or coloured. I am SOUTH AFRICAN. As a South African I reserve the right not just to live in this country but to live happily. Think before you vote.
A Voter

lighting control

2009-03-02T06:51:00.001-08:00

Young People to Swarm Capitol With Green Agenda
Mar 1, 2009
Washington Post
By Jonathan Mummolo
Thousands of young people, many of them emboldened by the 2008 presidential contest, will descend on the Capitol tomorrow to urge the government to take radical action to stem climate change and plant the seeds of a green economy.
Arriving Friday from every state in the union -- as well as every Canadian province and more than a dozen countries -- about 12,000 people, most between 18 and 26 years old, are in the District this weekend for Power Shift '09, a summit aimed at raising environmental awareness and lobbying leaders on green issues.
The four-day convention will culminate tomorrow with a rally at 11:30 a.m. on the Capitol's west lawn and meetings all day with members of Congress and their aides to press them for immediate action.
"We want to make sure our new president and new Congress pass bold federal energy and climate legislation in 2009 that dramatically reduces emissions and creates millions of green jobs," said Brianna Cayo Cotter, communications director for the convention's organizer, the Energy Action Coalition, a network of 50 national organizations that advocate for clean energy.
She said leaders "understand that young voters were a key to this 2008 election" and they are now demanding results. "We have come of age as a powerful voting constituency."
Among the hundreds flooding the lobby of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center yesterday -- where Power Shift hosted workshops, panel discussions and musical acts including The Roots -- were Lauralee Crain and Ayesha Siddiqi, students at Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky. They have been pushing for clean energy in the heart of coal country, which, they said, means they clash with powerful pro-coal interests on campus and off.
They said highlighting the ill effects of strip mining and mountaintop coal removal was among their top priorities.
"We don't have Angelina Jolie and George Clooney posing with these devastated mountains," Siddiqi said. "We're rising to the challenge of climate change ourselves. . . . We're not waiting for the naysayers to catch up."
Kate Villars, a civil engineering student at the University of Virginia interested in environmentally friendly building techniques, attended a workshop about integrating the topic of energy efficiency into educational lesson plans, a step she said would improve her own program.
Andrew Nazdin, 20, a junior at the University of Maryland, said he is looking forward to meeting with House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) tomorrow to ask him to push for "science-based reductions in carbon emissions."
"He's got a room that will fit 75 of us," Nazdin said, "but we're going to bring 600 people and ask for a bigger room."