A UK report says that nearly half of the electricity consumed by British businesses is wasted when employees are not at work.

In an analysis of more than 6,000 smart meters, British Gas found that 46 percent of electricity use occurs from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m., when most businesses are typically closed. Common examples of (more…)

The building equipment and services industries have always been highly fragmented. While leaders such as Honeywell and Johnson Controls have large, multinational presences, most of the market is divvied up among thousands of smaller companies with a relatively narrow regional or technological focus. Even CB Richard Ellis, the real estate firm with (more…)

AHRI vs. City of Albuquerque, a case that I first posted on in 2008, finally reached its conclusion last week.  In line with the preliminary injunction she ordered on October 3, 2008, Judge Maria Vazquez of the District of New Mexico decided that Albuquerque’s energy code was preempted by Federal law mandating the energy efficiency of HVAC (more…)

The New Year is upon us, and President Obama has delivered his State of the Union address, which offered high-level insight on the energy sector in the US but was reminiscent of messages we’ve already heard. Now it’s time to turn our attention to another really important event of the year: the 2012 Super Bowl. As always, this year’s game will be a staggering display (more…)

When you live with 5 million other people on a relatively small island, finding ways to live more sustainably isn’t so much a luxury as a necessity.

That’s why Singapore—which has the third greatest population density of any sovereign state in the world—has become something of a pioneer in finding ways to live in a more sustainable manner. (more…)

These days we are surrounded by gadgets that require an increasing supply of electricity. Therefore finding ways to charge them with as little energy as possible and avoiding energy waste are steps we can take decrease our energy consumption and carbon emissions. (more…)

Energy efficiency in the US is much light and little heat – literally. Government policy pays a great deal of attention to saving electricity, but focuses little on the thermal energy we waste.

“Policy is electricity-centric in the US. Unless you are making kilowatts, the most efficient investments are (more…)

Balancing the big picture with the details can be tricky. However, finding this balance can be very powerful when addressing a building’s energy needs and energy costs.

One way of achieving good balance is to take an integrated approach that looks at the synergistic (more…)

The promise of smarter homes continued to make noise at this year’s CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics show. But nothing really wowed me. You might call this an incremental show – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Keep in mind that CES is huge, with 1.86 million net (more…)

This is the era of Big Oil. Could the next be the era of Big Efficiency?

A new report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy suggests the possibility. Re-invented with today’s smart energy technologies, energy efficiency could displace 40 to 60 percent of our total energy needs by the year (more…)