Recently in the Efficiency Category
Aug 26 2010
If you're on a diet and someone offers you a tasty, low-carb alternative to fattening snacks, what happens? You're liable to eat more of them, canceling out many of the intended benefits.
Offer consumers a more energy-efficient refrigerator, and what happens? Joe Sixpack buys one for the kitchen, but fills the old one with cases of Bud in the garage. (The nation's 30 million secondary refrigerators use an estimated 25 million megawatt hours of electricity annually.)
Give a driver anti-lock brakes for safety, and what happens? She’s likely to take just a few more risks. Now put that driver in a fuel-efficient hybrid to cut down on gas consumption, and what happens? She drives farther because the cost per mile has gone down. Result: lower fuel savings than expected.
Aug 17 2010
When it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, most of us eagerly await cheaper, more efficient forms of renewable energy, batteries and electric vehicles, clean biofuels and smart grids. The federal government and venture capitalists are spending billions of dollars searching for such silver bullets.
But as a couple of behavioral scientists explained last year in Environment Magazine, looking to future technology breakthrough overlooks “a huge reservoir of potential for reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change that can be tapped much more quickly and directly. . . . By changing their selection and use of household and motor vehicle technologies, without waiting for new technologies to appear, making major economic sacrifices, or losing a sense of well-being, households can reduce energy consumption by almost 30 percent—about 11 percent of total
That’s a really big deal, since
The problem is that most Americans (and probably most people everywhere) are semi-clueless about how much energy they use and how best to cut back on consumption, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers asked 505 people around the country about energy consumption and ways to curb it. First they asked how much energy various household devices and appliances use. People had a pretty good idea about compact fluorescent light bulbs and desktop computers, but were way low on estimates for air conditioners, clothes dryers, dishwashers and other energy hogs. On average, they underestimated energy use by a factor of almost 3.
Less surprisingly, they were even more ignorant about non-household technology. They thought trucks consume about as much energy as trains, even though trucks use up to 10 times as much per ton-mile, the authors report. Respondents assumed that aluminum cans require more energy than glass bottles, when in fact recycled bottles may use up to 20 times more energy than recycled cans.
Their biggest finding was that when asked the best ways to reduce energy use in their lives, people overwhelmingly cited curtailment measures like turning off lights, lowering the thermostat or unplugging appliances rather than much more effective measures that focus on increasing the efficiency of the products we use—lights, washing machines, cars and the like.
“Relative to experts’ recommendations, participants were overly focused on curtailment rather than efficiency, possibly because efficiency improvements almost always involve research, effort, and out-of-pocket costs (e.g. buying a new energy-efficient appliance), whereas curtailment may be easier to imagine and incorporate into one’s daily behaviors without any upfront costs,” they speculate.
The lesson isn’t that people are stupid—they know a lot about what’s most important to them. “Many people’s concerns about energy are simply not strong enough, relative to their other concerns, to warrant learning about energy conservation,” they conclude.
The authors advocate better marketing and education programs to make it easier for consumers to make smart decisions—for example, give them a short list of the most cost-effective things they can do to cut energy use rather than a laundry list of dozens.
Second, give them more incentive to learn about conservation strategies by putting a price on carbon to reflect its true environmental cost.
To those recommendations I would add, make it easier for people to see and appreciate how much energy they are using in near real time. That’s one of the great advantages of smart meters, which record energy usage hourly. Many studies show that customers cut their energy use on the order of five percent just by being more conscious of what they are using. In this case, knowledge is power--the power to use less energy.
Aug 05 2010
Doing right by the environment during an economic recession shouldn’t be an agonizing moral choice. It should simply be a matter of common cents.
For example, retrofitting commercial buildings across the
Needless to say, it would also have a significant effect on overall energy use; as my colleague Katie Romans reported recently, commercial buildings account for about 37 percent of all electricity consumed in California (and a similar percentage nationally).
One good place to start would be by retrofitting older windows, which expose building occupants to outside heat and cold, forcing heating and air conditioning systems to work overtime. Inefficient windows are responsible for about a tenth of all energy consumed by buildings, or for you energy wonks, four quadrillion Btus a year.
Most of that wasted energy could be saved by the use of highly insulating “dynamic windows” that change color on demand to regulate building temperature and lighting, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which has been conducting research on them for two decades. But until now, such windows have been far too expensive—up to $1,000 per square meter—for widespread use.
This June, in a sign that the technology may be ready for prime time, the Department of Energy awarded grants to three key commercial players in this market: Soladigm (
All three are involved in making so-called “electrochromic” glass for windows, which can turn from transparent to nearly black just by applying voltage to an extremely thin layer of lithium ions and other chemicals on their outside pane.
It takes only a few dozen watts to control 1,500 square feet of glass, saving far more energy on heating, cooling and lighting than the windows consume. Overall, according to studies by NREL, they can slash peak electric power use by up to 16 percent.
Applied Materials is a leading player because the technology used to deposit the electrochromic layer on glass is the same used in thin-film photovoltaic manufacturing.
Not much is known about Soladigm, which is still in stealth mode, other than its more than $21 million in funding by Khosla Ventures and Sigma Partners. The company just announced plans to build a major manufacturing plant in Mississippi.
Sage, on the other hand, has been shipping product for several years now and boasts that its dynamic, triple-pane windows are “the world’s most energy-efficient window glass.” It claims an energy efficiency improvement of more than 50 percent over single-pane windows.
Sage’s president, John Van Dine, notes that about “20 billion feet of window area is installed every year around the world.” The market for the new windows could thus be huge if costs can be kept reasonable.
Sage’s windows have been tested at both NREL and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which confirmed the substantial savings they offer both for energy consumption and for HVAC equipment, which can be significantly downsized.
In March, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a $72 million conditional loan guarantee to help the company build a high-volume manufacturing plant.
“This investment will help cut utility bills, reduce carbon pollution, and create jobs our economy needs," Chu said. "It’s a perfect example of the power of American innovation to create a stronger economy and a healthier planet.”
Jul 19 2010
Last week, San Francisco nonprofit Next 10 released a study showing that the electricity consumed by commercial buildings makes up a staggering 37 percent of California's total electricity consumption -- a ringing endorsement for telecommuting.
For all of California's green creds, it seems like commercial buildings may be our weak spot. In fact, according to Next 10, only 60 percent of all new commercial building construction meets California's own energy efficiency standards.
More than a few relatively simple retrofits could put us back on track. In fact, energy efficiency improvements could cut usage by 80 percent, according to the report.
Last week's study, upon digging a little deeper, was produced by Collaborative Economics, which also concluded in its annual Index of Silicon Valley for Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network that office vacancy rates in San Jose are at their highest since 1998 -- and were up 33 percent in 2009 over 2008.
As the study rated the various economic drivers for Silicon Valley -- foreign talent, investment capital, venture capital -- I began to wonder how energy efficiency would've been graded. Is the region a leader or a laggard, and how is that affecting its economic prospects?
Besides privately owned commercial buildings, many commercial buildings are owned by the State of California, which is in need of the savings projected in the Next 10 report. Plus, energy efficient buildings retain higher real estate value, command higher rents (six to seven percent) and maintain higher occupancy rates than less efficient buildings, according to the report.
The California Building Industry Association said it believes California's energy efficiency standards for new construction should apply to older developments as well. Indeed, the Next 10 report confirms that California has no energy efficiency standards for existing building stock, which it cites as a substantial opportunity for energy savings.
But, new commercial buildings are missing out on energy savings of their own.
With a minimal two percent increase in construction costs, new buildings can be designed to use one-third to one-half less energy than they use today. For example, the report notes that simply improving lighting technology could reduce energy usage by 20 percent.
While there is much opportunity, energy efficiency projects in commercial buildings also face serious challenges. The report goes on to suggest that such challenges can be overcome through actions taken at the federal, state and local levels that raise energy efficiency standards and support the broad application of high-efficiency products and practices.
May 26 2010
I just learned from Microsoft that I'm a failure at energy efficiency.
That wasn’t the answer I expected, or hoped to hear, when I logged onto the company’s newly upgraded Microsoft Hohm website to check up on my home energy use.
"Starting today,” the Redmond-based software giant declared, “more than 60 million homeowners will be able to answer one simple question: ‘Am I an energy hog or an energy miser?’”
I guess I know now what they really think of me. Oink, oink.
Here’s how it works. After logging into the site and giving it your home address, up pops an aerial photo of your dwelling and basic information about square footage, year built, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and heating and cooling systems.
Microsoft Hohm then applies various algorithms, developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Department of Energy, to estimate your total home energy usage, compare it to averages for similar homes in
At first the program gave me a score of 82. I felt pretty smug—that was higher than the average for
But then I told it in more detail about my heating system, windows, thermostat settings and the like, and my score dropped to a mere 63, just average for homes of similar size and vintage in
In my defense, our entire energy bill for the last 12 months was less than $750. (We’ve worn a lot of sweaters and heavy socks this spring.) That compares to an average of $1,866 for similar homes in
The website gave me several suggestions for saving energy, like lowering my hot water temperature from lukewarm to barely tepid, and replacing my two remaining incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents.
But some of its proposals were off the charts, like installing triple-paned, argon gas wood frame windows at a cost of up to $9,000. That might save me $75 a year, according to the website.
Just for comparison, I tried PG&E’s home energy analyzer for the first time. To my surprise, because it hasn't gotten much publicity, it offered an even more customized analysis of potential home improvements. I liked the fact that it warns of potential options that are likely not cost effective, as well as those with reasonable payback periods. It also provides lots of free tips for minimizing energy waste.
Best of all, PG&E’s energy analyzer compared me very favorably to other customers. If I have to look in a mirror, this is the one I want.
Note to Microsoft: unless you change my grade in the next 30 days, I might just switch to Apple.
Apr 30 2010
Several stories on the science and politics of global warming caught our attention this week:
The fight against global warming received some support from many American leaders quite familiar with preparing for battle. 33 retired U.S. military generals and admirals sent a letter to Senate leadership and placed an ad in targeted publications which states climate change is threatening national security. The communication details how the clean energy industry can supplant our dependence on foreign oil and create millions of domestic jobs in the process.
The beach is almost out of reach - and the EPA resident expert on sea level rise claims global warming is responsible for removing most of the sand from a common summertime east coast hangout near Washington DC. Jim Titus asserts natural sinking of the shoreline and slow but steady sea-level rise, mostly due to climate change, has driven the bay’s water more than a foot higher over the past century. Now, the following account from a 1900 brochure is inaccurate. “The bathing beach has a frontage of three miles, and is equal, if not superior, to any beach on the Atlantic Coast.” Not anymore.
A prominent green winemaker claims global warming should be studied and acted on but not necessarily for the health of his grapes. John Williams, the founder of Frog’s Leap in Napa Valley claims he’s worried about climate change for the sake of humanity and not the sake of cabernet. And Williams has done his fair share in reducing his impact. He’s installed 1,000 solar panels on the winery, his heating and cooling comes from a geothermal system and he refuses to install an irrigation system. Still scientists project the premium wine-grape production in Napa could decline substantially over the next 50 years due to global warming and few winemakers are making changes to protect their business. “Most of us are not very good at recognizing our risks until we are hit by them,” said one British climate expert.
Apr 07 2010
Bright, efficient, long-lasting LEDs are about as “green” as lights get. Ironically, the only thing they lack is a good source of green light itself.
That’s all about to change, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which modestly claims that a new discovery there may “prove to be the biggest boost for illumination since Edison’s light bulb.”
The holy grail for all lighting technology is bright white light. As we all learn as kids, white is the combination of all the colors of the spectrum. At minimum, you need to mix red, blue and green together to make white out of color.
Mass-market LEDs first came out in red, as old-timers may remember from the early days of HP hand calculators. Pioneered by Monsanto, they were made of gallium arsenide phosphide. They were bright enough for indicator lights, not for illumination.
In the mid-1990s, Japanese scientists used indium gallium nitride to produce the first bright and blue LEDs. Combined with a yellow phosphor, they could emit a white light—but only with low efficiency.
Now a team of NREL scientists specializiing in high-efficiency solar photovoltaic cells—which convert light into electricity—has figured out a way to use some of the same principles to convert electricity into light, in particular, green light.
Solar cells, like LEDs, can be made of gallium indium nitride. NREL’s Angelo Mascarenhas and his colleagues had figured out how to fine-tune the manufacturing of solar cell lattices to better absorb light energy from the green part of the spectrum. Using the same tricks, they managed on their first try to trick an LED into emitting a deep green light.
Combined with blue and red, the technology “will give you one of the finest color-rendering white lights” available, Mascarenhas promises. And by varying the intensity of the underlying colors, the hue can be changed on command.
Note: contrary to NREL's breathless story, other scientists also claim to have cracked the green-light barrier, using zinc selenide. We'll let them fight it out for credit, as long as they hurry up to market.
Apr 06 2010
We who live in
The expert committee assigned by the NRC analyzed a host of technology and regulatory options and found some promising solutions: advanced diesel engines could potentially lower fuel consumption in tractor-trailers by 20 percent over the next decade, and hybrid power trains could improve fuel economy of transit buses and garbage trucks, which start and stop frequently, by up to a third.
The investments reviewed would break even at fuel prices ranging from $1.10 per gallon (a no-brainer) to $6.80 per gallon (a big loser).
Significantly, however, the committee concluded that “There may be more effective, less costly, and complementary approaches than vehicle fuel efficiency standards” and technology mandates." Two in particular caught my eye: higher fuel taxes, and mandatory driver training, both of which have been subjects of discussion at NEXT100.
“Fuel taxes operate to make fuel-saving technologies more attractive and provide incentives for saving fuel in operations, while involving fewer unintended consequences than standards,” the report concluded. In addition, “a tax affects the utilization of vehicles already on the road, while fuel consumption standards typically affect only new vehicles and can be implemented only slowly over time as the vehicle fleet transitions to the more fuel-efficient vehicles.”
As smart fleet operators have discovered, training drivers how to run their vehicles more efficiently—minimizing speed fluctuations, staying in the highest practical gear, keeping tires properly inflated and avoiding wasteful engine idling—can have a big payoff. “Indications are that this could be one of the most cost-effective and best ways to reduce fuel consumption and improve productivity of the trucking sector,” the report concludes, citing case studies that show fuel savings of up to 17 percent.
Apr 02 2010
Several stories on the science and politics of global warming caught our attention this week:
More than three months after stolen emails caused climate change skeptics to believe leading climate scientists staged a cover-up, a new study commissioned by the British House of Commons Science and Technology Committee finds that Professor Phil Jones was not “trying to subvert the peer review process.” The study also asserts that Jones “should not be criticized for making informal comments on academic papers.” Jones’ reputation has been hit hard since reports of an alleged cover-up surfaced in December. His scientific colleagues are calling the report a general “exoneration” of Jones.
A new survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit claims the corporate response to global warming is fractured due to the “climategate” email scandal, a disappointing end to the UN summit in Copenhagen and the global recession. The survey polled more than 540 senior executives revealed about half are committed to investing in low carbon goods and services, while the other half feel the jury is still out when it comes to the court of the scientific community. The majority of respondents claimed they wanted to see “more climate change regulation.”
The Obama administration approved new rules that ramp up fuel economy in cars and crack down on emissions standards linked to global warming. As part of the plan, the EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that by 2016, cars, SUVs and minivans will be required to average more than 35 miles per gallon while cutting their greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30 percent. If automakers are forced to comply, initial studies project the savings could amount to taking 21.4 million cars off the road.
Apr 02 2010
Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:
Princeton Public High School in New Jersey has launched a new physical education credit that may be the first of its kind: gardening. "I think it's strangely enjoyable. It's definitely not easy to do or anything like that," says Tim Vasseur, a Princeton sophomore, shovel in hand. When the garden opened, 17 of 27 students in one class picked gardening; the rest played Frisbee, Green Inc. reports. Sophomore Kruthi Isola says: "It gives people who aren't that athletic -- and I feel like I'm not -- it gives them an opportunity to do something else. You learn how to do more than just play a game."
Venture capital investments in clean technology reached $1.9 billion in the first quarter, a 29 percent jump from the fourth quarter last year and an 83 percent surge from the 2009 first quarter, according to the Cleantech Group and Deloitte. "Key to the growth has been increasing interest in a broader range of cleantech themes, such as smart mobility and resource efficiency, which are taking over from the historically dominant renewable energy sector," says Sheeraz Haji, president of Cleantech Group. Transportation was the lead sector in dollars at $704 million in 27 deals. Energy efficiency had the highest number of deals at 39.
Microsoft and Ford Motor will work together to recharge future electric vehicles developed by Ford. Microsoft's Hohm energy management service will tell consumers the best times to recharge their cars at the most affordable price and help electric utilities manage their generating load. Ford plans to introduce five electric or hybrid cars by 2013. Utilities and other high-technology companies also are working on smart systems to manage energy consumption.
