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  The Natural Gas Energy Development Program, (developed and implemented by the Department of Environmental Protection,) has provided $7.7 million in funding to be used for natural gas fleet conversion over a period of three years.  The money will be distributed between twenty five companies and organizations in Pennsylvania, including: Penske Truck Leasing, Waste Management, […]

  While switching to LED lighting does exponentially increase a building's efficiency, it can have many additional, somewhat surprising, benefits as well.   New technologies in LED lamps can help give people energy, as well as help soothe them to sleep.  Companies such as Philips and Lighting Science have developed LED technologies that have been […]

The Shops at Grand Avenue's parking garage recently got an LED lighting upgrade. The Milwaukee-based parking garage replaced 986 metal halide 150W lamps with LED parking vaportight fixtures. This will result in a reduced energy consumption by more than 66 percent.   "The VPL’s efficacy of between 97 and 103 lumens per watt, combined with […]

What would it take to convert a city, a state, or even the whole U.S., to 100 percent renewable energy?   In 2011, Stanford professor Mark Jacobsen envisioned what that might require for New York state. Now he's extended his analysis to all 50 U.S. states, laying a roadmap to how each could meet 100 percent […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued strong new efficiency standards to reduce energy consumption in refrigerators and freezers used in supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, and commercial kitchens.   Energy use can be reduced with available technologies including LED lighting and occupancy sensors, high-performance glass doors, and high-efficiency motors.   "DOE estimates that commercial refrigerators […]

Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014 (HR 2126).   Sponsored by Representatives David McKinley (R-WV) and Peter Welch (D-VT), the bill includes several provisions to save energy in buildings: The Better Buildings Act to encourage commercial building tenants to save energy through a "Tenant Star" recognition program […]

Detroit neighborhoods will soon be getting a long-awaited overhaul of its antiquated street lighting system.   Under a new $160 million plan approved by the Public Lighting Authority of Detroit, the relamping of all neighborhoods in the city with LED lights is scheduled to happen within 18 months, finishing by the third quarter of 2015. […]

Outdoor commercial lighting is certainly gaining appeal with businesses and real estate development companies. Although most of them may not think about using solar panels to run their outdoor lights.   The size of the overall commercial outdoor lighting market is estimated at $11 billion. Within that, there’s a pronounced shift to LED technologies. In […]

In early February of this year, California's over reliance on fossil fuels for generating electricity led to the state calling an emergency and urging Californians to conserve electricity and natural gas.   Because of heating and power demands in the Northeast US due to the extreme cold weather, natural gas was in short supply in […]