By Kevin Rose |
Unlike automobiles, appliances, or other consumer devices, buildings constructed today will still have an impact on U.S. energy use 50 to 100 years from now— if not longer. Building energy codes improve the energy efficiency of the built environment by setting minimum efficiency requirements for new and renovated buildings. In addition to lowering energy bills, energy codes reduce the demand…
By Carolyn Goldthwaite |
Darren Port, Energy Codes Manager
NEEP is pleased to welcome Darren Port, Energy Codes Manager, who joined the staff in January. Prior to joining NEEP, Darren worked as the Green Building Administrator for the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Division of Codes and Standards, where he provided technical assistance, analysis and policy recommendations related to green/high…
By David Lis |
Hint: efficiency standards! 2014 is shaping up to be an active year at the Department of Energy (DOE) when it comes to federal appliance efficiency standards. According to their own agenda, DOE plans to conduct rule-making activity to develop new or revise existing efficiency standards for over a dozen products “covered” by the Department.
Adding to the urgency at the Department is…
By Josh Craft |
Here’s our brief rundown on key developments in energy efficiency policy from around the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states NEEP is keeping tabs on.
Data Moment: Electricity Use Decoupling from Economic Growth, BP Finds
Source: BP, Annual Energy Outlook for 2035, p. 16
Last month, Brad Plumer of the Washington Post reported that BP found in its Annual Energy Outlook for 2035 that energy…
By Jim Merriam |
Thanks to Jim Merriam, and his team at Efficiency Vermont, for contributing this great piece comparing ROIs of some common investments with energy efficiency investments.
Jim Merriam, Director of Efficiency Vermont
When the Efficiency Vermont team works with our customers in businesses and homes, we acknowledge that the choice to use energy more wisely is often an investment. Sometimes…
By Samantha Bresler |
As NEEP bids farewell to the incandescent light bulb, and congratulates ten cities in the United States for their embrace of efficient lighting, Congress has, unfortunately, yielded to obstinate consumers. Congress’ recent budget deal denies the U.S. Department of Energy funding to enforce new efficient lighting standards for lamps, which have disqualified the traditional incandescent light bulb…
By Dave McMahon |
Dave McMahon, Co-Executive Director of Dismas House
Energy costs can be an enormous burden to social service providers who typically operate on a shoe-string, and often in older, in-efficient facilities. Finding ways to save energy is crucial to stretching our budgets and increasing comfort for residents— while also reducing environmental impact of our buildings.
The Worcester Green Low…
By Kevin Rose |
Unless Massachusetts communities push to update the state’s Stretch Code before July 1, 2014, the 20% boost in building energy efficiency it provides will evaporate, creating market confusion and violate the very concept behind its inception.
What is the Massachusetts Stretch Code?
If the title and picture seem completely bizarre to you, I’d highly recommend watching Dr. Strangelove after you…
By Claire Miziolek |
A big priority to emerge from NEEP’s Business and Consumer Electronics Strategy is capturing the significant energy efficiency gains from “smarter” energy use in the home. New all-in-one home energy management software is becoming increasingly available to those willing to change their energy consuming behaviors.
So how do we change deeply entrenched behavioral patterns to align with more…
By Carolyn Goldthwaite |
When you think back to your days spent in school what do you remember?
Was it a favorite teacher? The countless trips to the vending machine between classes? A visceral rush of excitement after your crush unexpectedly sat next to you in biology? I recently asked a colleague to recount her high school experience and received a surprising answer in return.
“My school was like a prison!”…