Is there a right way to use fossil fuels?

Paul Brown for The Climate News Network and reported in the Guardian gives us a different view on how fossil fuels should – or shouldn’t – be used. When will we stop wasting fossil fuels by burning them? Coal, gas and oil are used to make all sorts of everyday objects, but how we will … Continue reading Is there a right way to use fossil fuels? →

Let there be light – efficient light!

Several Canadian press services reported on a new energy-efficient light bulb that was developed by three graduates from the University of Toronto. This article from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation shows the latest developments. 'Most energy-efficient' light bulb shines on Kickstarter The Nanolight is essentially a circuit-board with LEDs attached to it, folded … Continue reading Let there be light – efficient light! →

Focus on BPIE

The Building Performance Institute Europe is almost three years old and has been churning out valuable material to help Europe improve the energy performance of its building stock. Frequently EiD has highlighted its publications and activities. There are a couple of important updates that EiD readers will be interested in. ENTRANZE First, BPIE is … Continue reading Focus on BPIE →

Retrofits at a fast PACE

Jim Witkin writes for the New York Times about a new financing programme for retrofits in Sacramento California. The programme is modelled on the PACE concept – Property Assessed Clean Energy that has no up-front costs. As countries in Europe are starting to either implement or assess the possibility of such a scheme, it is … Continue reading Retrofits at a fast PACE →

European Environment Agency to give emphasis to climate change and energy in its new work programme

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has released its “Annual Management Plan 2013,” which outlines the EEA work programme that will address a broad range of issues including: air quality and noise; air pollutant emissions; climate change mitigation; climate change adaptation; energy; and transport. The Annual Management Plan includes sections on: EEA mission statement, vision and strategic objectives; … Continue reading European Environment Agency to give emphasis to climate change and energy in its new work programme →

Is the Green Deal a big deal?

Everyone in Europe is watching with great interest how the Green Deal will be implemented in Britain. It is one of the big “experiments” in trying to improve financing for building retrofits. The Green Deal has just started and it has, not surprisingly, gained much press attention. This article by Lisa Bachelor for The Observer … Continue reading Is the Green Deal a big deal? →

Discussing the rebound effect from energy efficiency

On January 24th and 25th, there was an excellent roundtable at the IEA discussing the Macroeconomic Benefits of Energy Efficiency. There was an extensive discussion on the rebound effect with no real conclusion other than it must be analysed. How the results are used is up for debate. By coincidence, that very day there were … Continue reading Discussing the rebound effect from energy efficiency →

Two new reports from the IEA

The International Energy Agency publishes many reports annually. Two recent ones should be of special interest to EiD readers. The first is on the use and public funding of economic instruments, i.e. government financial tools, in IEA countries to support energy efficiency, particularly in the buildings sector. It is called "Mobilising investment in energy efficiency" … Continue reading Two new reports from the IEA →

The growing popularity of LED lighting in the US

Diane Cardwell writes in the New York Times about the growing interest in LED lighting as we see true market transformation taking place in the lighting sector. LEDs Emerge as a Popular ‘Green’ Lighting The lighting industry has finally come up with an energy-efficient replacement for the standard incandescent bulb that people actually seem … Continue reading The growing popularity of LED lighting in the US →

The problems bringing basic heating to many Russians

Mikhail Loginov writes a very detailed report for Open Democracy Russia on the problems and hardships related to heating in Russia. It really shows the challenges that are being faced to bring decent comfort to the population. Unfortunately, these examples are all too often the case in many smaller cities and towns throughout the country. … Continue reading The problems bringing basic heating to many Russians →