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This year's Lightfair showcased some of the top trends and innovation unfolding this year. As it has for the last five years, LED continues to impress with its innovation. In fact, many vendors have produced LEDs that come in warmer temperatures (2700K and 3000K). Lighting control for digital LEDs was also showcased. "This year, a […]

The winner of the third-annual Energy Star National Building Competition was Demarest Elementary School in Bloomfield, New Jersey. The school reduced its energy use by 52 percent. More than 3,000 schools, businesses, and government buildings competed in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) competition to see which could reduce its energy use the most in one […]

So your company wants to succeed in energy management? A new white paper from Drumbeat Energy Management outlines 12 steps to help your company manage its energy use. Management commitment Funding Response resources Technical staff involvement Coordinated plan and strategy Focus Feedback mechanisms Appropriate timing Sensitivity about morale Investment and maintenance Motivation Maintaining momentum Source: […]

Many businesses are converting to solar energy to provide cleaner fuels for the company employees, and to reduce costs. In some states there are even tax and money incentives that give businesses the push to switch to solar energy. In some cases, grants are also awarded to help with costs. But there are many other […]

The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) recently released a list of top 10 ways commercial real estate professionals can make energy efficiency and sustainability a priority. 1. Measure and manage. Benchmark energy and water consumption through Energy Star Portfolio Manager. 2. Audit yourself. Perform regular energy audits to identify opportunities for cost-effective energy reductions. […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released an updated list of the top 50 organizations in the U.S. that uses renewable energy. The EPA defines "green power" as renewable energy sources with the highest environmental benefits including solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, biomass, and hydro. The rankings were listed in order of annual green power usage […]

A new report questions the value of energy benchmarking laws, especially in terms of what they are meant to achieve. Robert Stavins, an environmental economist at Harvard University, examined "whether mandatory benchmarking and auditing rules can achieve what they're meant to do." Energy benchmarking has worked its way to the Midwest as a way to […]

Last year, New York City required its commercial buildings to disclose their energy consumption. The benchmarking plan saw many surprises including finding newer LEED buildings ranked behind much older buildings when it came to energy efficiency. Take for instance the New York Times building, which is seeing more impressive gains in efficiency. Constructed in 2007, the […]

A recent study found that simple behavior changes can drastically lower energy use in commercial buildings. So does this mean the end of retrofits? FirstFuel, a Massachusetts-based company that analyzes energy consumption in buildings, says that behavioral changes are a primary driver to efficiency problems in commercial buildings. The company examined utility data for 60 […]