Sustainable cooling urgently needed

Hannah Koh writes on the Eco-Business website about the role air conditioning is playing in our modern societies, responsible for 7 per cent of global carbon emissions. The market is dominated by inefficient, polluting systems and most governments allow the market to continue like this through weak regulations. However, there are options to have more … Continue reading Sustainable cooling urgently needed →

Impact of US federal energy efficiency programme hopefully convinces decision makers that they remain

With severe cuts being made to the US federal budget, Justin Koscher, president of the Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association, argues in an article on The Hill website that energy efficiency programmes should be spared. Federal energy efficiency programs deliver strong returns. Congress should look elsewhere for cuts Every business owner knows you can’t build … Continue reading Impact of US federal energy efficiency programme hopefully convinces decision makers that they remain →

India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency expands its role

After 15 years of overseeing energy standards, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency is poised to take on many more roles, writes V Rishi Kumar in an article on the Hindu Business Line website. Now wired in more ways than one The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), part of the Union Power Ministry, is no … Continue reading India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency expands its role →

Smart consumers for smart renovations – wishful thinking?

I cannot stop thinking about a recent article entitled Fighting Climate Change? We’re Not Even Landing a Punch in the New York Times by Eduardo Porter. He is quite emphatic that we simply are not doing enough. He states “But what definitely won’t suffice is a climate strategy built out of wishful thinking: the proposition … Continue reading Smart consumers for smart renovations – wishful thinking? →

Learning from evaluations of energy efficiency programmes

We don’t get enough reviews of evaluations to better understand what lessons are learned and what other benefits the programmes bring besides saving energy. Lara Ettenson provides a good article on the Natural Resources Defense Council website. What do you think? What We Can Learn from Energy-Saving Program Critiques Energy efficiency can be used … Continue reading Learning from evaluations of energy efficiency programmes →

Are cheap renewable technologies the death knell for energy efficiency?

Nicholas Good and Eduardo Martínez Ceseña, both Research Associates in Electrical Energy and Power Systems at the University of Manchester write a controversial article on The Conversation website about the need to rethink ‘energy efficiency’, given the low cost of renewable energy technologies. Do you agree? With cheap solar and wind power, is it … Continue reading Are cheap renewable technologies the death knell for energy efficiency? →

Turkey takes important step forward in its energy efficiency strategy

Turkey is definitely in the midst of its energy transition. Both energy efficiency and renewable energy are gaining in importance in the overall energy strategy. Increasingly, Turkey is also aligning itself with EU energy directives. The Daily Sabah website writes about the approval of the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan that is an obligation for … Continue reading Turkey takes important step forward in its energy efficiency strategy →

New developments to improve the energy efficiency of buildings

There are many developments taking place to improve the technologies used to improve the energy performance of buildings. The Friedrich Schiller University of Jena describes recent developments in the use of magnetic liquids in an article on the phys.org website. Magnetic liquids improve energy efficiency of buildings Climate protection and the reduction of carbon … Continue reading New developments to improve the energy efficiency of buildings →

Is efficient sufficient?

For years we have discussed the issue of sufficiency. The European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (eceee) published a report on this in 2010 and continues to keep the discussion going. Lloyd Alter writes on the Treehugger website to further the discussion. What are your views? Efficiency is important, but it is time … Continue reading Is efficient sufficient? →

The lessons from utilities’ energy efficiency programmes for spending carbon pricing revenues effectively

Brendan Haley, a Banting post-doctoral fellow at Canada’s Dalhousie University’s School for Resource and Environmental Studies answers an important question in an article on Policy Options website: What are the lessons from utilities’ energy efficiency programs for spending carbon pricing revenues and building low-carbon transition organizations? Do you agree with those lessons? Using carbon … Continue reading The lessons from utilities’ energy efficiency programmes for spending carbon pricing revenues effectively →