Follow up on Russian energy conservation policies

Following the EID post of April 16th, there has recently been an important all-Russia conference on energy conservation. The following is from the Russian Business News. Particularly note the comment on financing energy conservation by the first vice president of Gazprombank that the government is only prepared to allocate 7 % of needed funds with … Continue reading Follow up on Russian energy conservation policies →

New report on industrial energy management

The International Energy Agency (IEA), in partnership with the Institute for Industrial Productivity (IIP), has published “Energy Management Programmes for Industry: Gaining Through Saving.” This report is part of IEA’s Policy Pathway publication series detailing implementation of the “IEA 25 Energy Efficiency Policy Recommendations.” The report is available on the IEA website. The document details proposals … Continue reading New report on industrial energy management →

Guidance document on cost optimality

The EiD post of March 23rd stated that on Wednesday, March 21st, the European Parliament and the Council published a comparative methodology framework for calculating cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements for buildings and building elements. This was required under the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Guidelines as intended by Annex … Continue reading Guidance document on cost optimality →

Will April be “the cruellest month”?

The British poet, T.S. Eliot, in his poem “The Wasteland” called April the “cruellest month.” Thirteen months after the publication of the Commission’s Energy Efficiency Plan and ten months after its publication of the proposed Energy Efficiency Directive, April is turning into crunch time. The Council (represented by Denmark as President), the European Parliament and … Continue reading Will April be “the cruellest month”? →

Energy efficiency laws in Russia – starting the journey

With high potential, Russia has much to do to improve its energy efficiency in all sectors. Rod Janssen of EiD has worked in many parts of Russia and knows first hand the problems that the country faces. This is an excellent article from the Moscow Times giving an overview of the policies and the challenges … Continue reading Energy efficiency laws in Russia – starting the journey →

What’s a carbon footprint and how is it worked out?

This is a useful description of a carbon footprint written by Duncan Clark a consultant editor for The Guardian on April 4th. What's a carbon footprint and how is it worked out? A carbon footprint is an estimate of the climate change impact of activity – such as making a product, living a lifestyle or … Continue reading What’s a carbon footprint and how is it worked out? →

Energy efficiency: Siemens launches a centre of excellence in France

Siemens recently announced the planned launch on May 1 of a centre of excellence for energy efficiency in France. It will be a combination dedicated website and call centre, with the aim of helping manufacturers in their efforts to improve their energy efficiency. While customers have the product catalogue on energy efficient products, the company … Continue reading Energy efficiency: Siemens launches a centre of excellence in France →

China making significant progress in building energy code compliance

A new report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the Global Buildings Performance Network, published mid March, shows that compliance on building codes in China has been steadily improving since 2005. "The significant improvement is rooted in strong governmental regulatory support; clear rules about the responsibilities of key stakeholders and penalties for … Continue reading China making significant progress in building energy code compliance →

Consumer energy bills rise dramatically since 2001 in UK

Newspaper reports show that, according to official figures, average household consumption of gas and electricity fell by 11.3% between 2001 and 2011 as people tried to protect themselves against spiralling prices. Despite this reduction in use, the amount families, pensioners and others spent on keeping warm rose by 23.5%, according to the Office of National … Continue reading Consumer energy bills rise dramatically since 2001 in UK →

Cost optimality

On Wednesday, March 21st, the European Parliament and the Council published a comparative methodology framework for calculating cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements for buildings and building elements. The publication sets a deadline of one year from March 21st for member states to submit their first report on cost optimality concerning all input data … Continue reading Cost optimality →