In my last post, I talked about the harm caused by generating electricity to feed the internet (and all our other electrical needs). Today I’m going to look at what happens when we use so much energy that our utilities no longer have the capacity to meet the demand. Think darkness. And empty wallets. (more…)

Now that you’ve installed efficient light bulbs in your house, do you think: “Guess I’ll leave my lights on all night. What the heck – it won’t cost me any extra.”

Probably not. But some extreme critics of energy efficiency would have us believe this is the end result of appliance standards and energy savings (more…)

Last time I talked about why energy matters (obviously for the internet). Today I’ll look at one half of the energy efficiency incentive package… or why we should care about saving energy (as if preserving talking cat videos was not enough of a reason).

Electricity is the cheapest form of power in most (more…)

The Green Deal is due to be launched in October 2012 and, therefore, plans for the scheme are in their final stages. The first batch of Green Deal providers, who will arrange the finances for, and installation of, the energy saving devices, have been published. Qualifying energy saving devices have also been made public. However, there are still some key details (more…)

With summer upon us, now is the time for businesses to take steps to save energy before the temperature rises. Upgrading to high-efficiency cooling equipment and lighting are two ways businesses can use less energy and improve comfort this summer. Here are some specific tips to stay cool, save energy and keep energy costs under control. (more…)

Daintree Networks (Daintree) is a Silicon Valley smart lighting company that provides wireless lighting controls solutions.

Daintree owns U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0112654 (’654 Application), entitled “Wireless adaptation of lighting power supply” and directed to a wireless adapter device and method for wirelessly controlling a power supply device. (more…)

Can you imagine life without the internet? I can, but only because I’m “of a certain age” and grew up before the internet became the incredible, almost omnipresent being that it is today. Kids these days (I just jumped from “a certain age” to “90″) cannot conceive of a time when information and endless procrastination were not constantly available online. (more…)

A new report published last week by the anti-regulatory Mercatus Center (an advocacy outfit associated with the Koch brothers) took aim at appliance and vehicle efficiency standards. In the report, the authors argue that standards reduce consumer choice and are not justified because the environmental benefits are small and consumer benefits are non-existent. (more…)

London is on the verge of feeling the full effect of the Olympic invasion, as the Games kick off on Friday, July 27. The organizers have been keen to emphasize the Games’ sustainability credentials, so we decided to have a look at it and see what is on offer.

Our favorite initiative is a program called Active (more…)

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is a property assessment used to finance the upfront costs of energy efficiency upgrades.  A local government provides funding, and the assessment is paid back as a line item on a property’s tax bill.

PACE became a controversial issue in 2010, when (more…)