Benefits of new energy building codes

Barbara Vergetis Lundin writes in Fierce Energy about new research from one of the US national laboratories that quantified the savings from federal funding for more ambitious energy building codes. Interestingly, for every US$1 the Department of Energy spent on building energy codes, US$400 in energy cost savings resulted. Building code energy efficiency dollar … Continue reading Benefits of new energy building codes →

How Singapore is promoting energy efficient buildings

Dr. John Keung, Chief Executive Officer of Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) wrote in Today’s Facility Manager about the initiatives underway in Singapore to encourage the building of energy efficient buildings. It is a good example for others to consider. Singapore Ramps Up Energy Efficient Buildings Climate change has been a hot topic … Continue reading How Singapore is promoting energy efficient buildings →

Impact of energy-efficient homes

A study in Ireland shows that investing in improving the energy performance of homes brings good dividends to the overall asset value. This post was written by Paul Melia of the Irish Independent. Energy-efficiency measures add 10pc to home value Homeowners have added almost 10pc to the value of their homes by investing in … Continue reading Impact of energy-efficient homes →

Survey of indoor temperatures in the UK

Ian Johnston of The Independent reports on a recent study that surveyed indoor temperature has risen almost 14 % since the 1970s, with an actual decrease in average household consumption. Many from other EU countries will be surprised that the average temperature is now 17.7 degrees C. Furthermore, more than a third of people keep … Continue reading Survey of indoor temperatures in the UK →

More gloom in retrofitting houses in Britain

Several EiD posts in the past few months have reported on the difficulties in getting the new energy efficiency financing schemes in the UK – the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation – to achieve their expected impact. Damian Carrington writes in the Guardian about, as Andrew Warren of the Association for the Conservation … Continue reading More gloom in retrofitting houses in Britain →

Energy efficiency programmes need to reflect needs of consumers

The Dromore Leader in Lisburn, Northern Ireland writes about findings from the Consumer Council on the need for better targeted energy efficiency programmes. Hopefully others outside Northern Ireland will also listen to this advice. Energy schemes need to be smarter, says consumer council Reduce the number of energy efficiency schemes and concentrate spending on high … Continue reading Energy efficiency programmes need to reflect needs of consumers →

How important is a warm home?

A survey was recently undertaken in the UK to gauge how important energy efficiency measures are in terms of infrastructure projects. The results are reported on the Energy & Environment Management website. Hopefully decision-makers will take heed. Warmer homes more important than rail and road, says UK public Making homes more energy efficient is a … Continue reading How important is a warm home? →

Innovation has many faces

Kara Gray of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, and Cheryl Harrington of NSTAR Electric & Gas write about an innovative approach to target low-income multifamily housing on the Electric Light & Power website. Using Vision and Data to Unlock Energy Efficiency Innovation has many faces. Depending on where you stand, it can look very different. Designing … Continue reading Innovation has many faces →

Take note . . .

There are many interesting brief new reports or news items that should interest EiD readers. • New Germanwatch report: The End of EU Climate Leadership The EU is no longer the world leader on climate policies. Other major countries have caught up or even outpaced the EU, a new study conducted by Germanwatch says. Even … Continue reading Take note . . . →

Promoting smart buildings in New Zealand

Mike Underhill writes in The New Zealand Herald about promoting super-efficient, smart buildings in New Zealand using technology developed by Microsoft. Ratings for buildings that get smart with energy saving In the city of the future, super-efficient, smart buildings will communicate, sharing data to optimise energy performance and dramatically reduce operating costs. This is … Continue reading Promoting smart buildings in New Zealand →