Sheri Koones writes on AOL’s real estate pages on the growing trend towards passive houses. While it started in Europe, the interest is growing globally. The 'Passive House' Path to Extreme Energy Efficiency With the growing cost of fuel, increasingly stringent home construction codes, and scientific evidence that we must reduce CO2 emissions, many architects, … Continue reading Assessing the benefits of passive houses
Category: energy efficiency
Energy-efficient lighting has been a boon for economic development but . . .
Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, co-founders of the Breakthrough Institute, an energy and environmental research center, provided an editorial in the New York Times about the value of energy-efficient products but to make a serious dent in carbon emissions there needs to be a shift to cleaner forms of energy. Do you agree? The … Continue reading Energy-efficient lighting has been a boon for economic development but . . .
Coming to grips with what the energy efficiency target in the EU could be
E3G, the non-profit organisation operating to accelerate the global transition to sustainable development, has published an excellent briefing paper that takes a second look at the July Communication on energy efficiency published by the European Commission. That Communication proposed a target of a 30 % improvement in energy efficiency by 2030. As the report states, the … Continue reading Coming to grips with what the energy efficiency target in the EU could be
Surveying what the British know about saving energy
Kieran Cooke, for the Climate News Network, that is part of the Guardian Environment Network, writes about a new survey on what the British know about saving energy. It is valuable reading for all of you. And how would this compare to other countries? Britons ill-informed on energy saving, survey finds Housing in the … Continue reading Surveying what the British know about saving energy
Giving more attention to small and medium-sized enterprises
The International Institute for Sustainable Development reports on a new World Bank publication that quantifies the opportunities for SMEs in green industries. In most countries, SMEs are the backbone of the economy and this is a welcome report that needs to be given considerable attention. World Bank Identifies Clean-Tech Market Opportunities for SMEs The … Continue reading Giving more attention to small and medium-sized enterprises
Identifying the positive macroeconomic impacts from improving energy efficiency
The International Institute for Sustainable Development writes about a recent report by the Asian Development Bank on its modelling exercise on the impact of improving energy efficiency. This is a welcome sign and follows the recent IEA report on multiple benefits. ADB Highlights Positive Economic Impacts of Energy Efficiency A modeling study published by … Continue reading Identifying the positive macroeconomic impacts from improving energy efficiency
Recent roundtable addressing improving energy efficiency in SMEs
Fourteen business leaders recently gathered to better understand how they can get small and medium-sized enterprises to implement energy-efficiency measures. Tim Smedley from The Guardian provides an excellent account of that encounter. Bright ideas: how SMEs can save energy Start-ups could save thousands by introducing energy-efficiency measures, but such schemes are often overlooked. So … Continue reading Recent roundtable addressing improving energy efficiency in SMEs
Documenting the energy savings potential in India’s residential buildings
A new report entitled Residential Buildings in India: Energy Use Projections and Savings Potentials by the Global Buildings Performance Network (GBPN) and jointly developed with CEPT University from India provides the first comprehensive attempt to document energy saving potentials that could be achieved in India by 2050 in the residential sector. Four energy scenarios were … Continue reading Documenting the energy savings potential in India’s residential buildings
The need to shift to energy-efficient appliances
While the Climate Summit was held this week, focus was on the range of ways to address climate change. Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) provided the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) with a guest article on the importance of shifting to energy-efficient appliances. It is well worth reading. Following its publication, … Continue reading The need to shift to energy-efficient appliances
Turkey’s battle against large energy-consuming appliances
Turkey does not implement all the EU energy efficiency directives, but it does implement those for Ecodesign (energy-efficient appliances) and for energy labelling. This article in the Daily Sabah shows what is happening with respect to refrigerators. While Turkey follows the Ecodesign directive, it has a special consumption tax which is actually lower for the … Continue reading Turkey’s battle against large energy-consuming appliances
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 