The Northeast Retail Products Initiative, facilitated by NEEP, in conjunction with its sponsoring utility and energy efficiency program administrators, has been awarded the coveted 2013 ENERGY STAR Award for Sustained Excellence –ENERGY STAR’s highest honor.
On February 22, the Boston Globe published an article on Boston’s new building energy disclosure ordinance. Here is NEEP’s response, submitted as a letter to the editor:
“We, at NEEP, were delighted to see the article regarding Mayor Menino’s proposed building energy reporting ordinance [Menino takes on Boston buildings' energy use, 2.22.2013] featured on the front page of the Globe. We couldn’t agree more with the mayor’s commitment to high performance buildings and building energy disclosure as a means to tackle aggressive energy and GHG reduction goals. This law is a huge win for everyone and will make Boston’s real estate portfolio even more attractive and lucrative to investors. Continue reading
According to NEEP’s Northeast Residential Lighting Strategy (RLS) Update, energy savings from efficient lighting continues to be the most cost effective measure for efficiency programs. In order to expand upon the savings from efficiency programs, ratepayer funded programs require robust support. The RLS update serves as a supplemental document to NEEP’s original 2012 Northeast RLS with current information, and not as a replacement. Continue reading
The saying, “you only have one chance to make a first impression” has never been so true than for the CFL. When the highly efficient light bulb was first introduced into the market two decades ago, even the most die-hard energy efficiency experts would agree the technology was probably not ready for prime time. The light output was low and the bulbs took a long time to “warm up”. Those first versions of CFL bulbs left the market frustrated. Since then, through many upgrades to the CFL bulb, the market still holds a grudge. Many are not willing to admit that the CFL of today is a completely new generation of technology that far surpasses the bulb of yesteryear. Continue reading
A pat on the back for the ENERGY STAR brand was well deserved at this year’s Partners Meeting where attendees celebrated 20 years of the brand’s achievements in the market adoption of high efficiency products and billions of dollars and millions of metric tons of GHG emissions saved each year from ENERGY STAR products ($20 billion on utility bills and 195 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2010 alone!). Whether it was looking back at ENERGY STAR’s humble beginnings in 1992, or looking forward to the opportunities and challenges in deeper energy savings, the important role of energy efficiency for the environment and the economy was a key message. Continue reading
The DesignLights™ Consortium (DLC) Qualified Product List (QPL) (www.designlights.org) provides a central place for manufacturers to submit products for qualification and for utilities and energy efficiency program administrators to distinguish high performing products for use in their incentive programs. Due to the rapid technological advances in the Solid State Lighting (SSL) industry, the DLC continues to update and improve its specification criteria and product categories. The DLC last updated its specifications in July 2011, adding specifications for eight additional product categories at the same time. The specification change resulted in 1300 products being dropped from the QPL in April 2012for not meeting the new specs. However, the QPL recovered the number of products in less than a month, bringing the list back to registering over 10,000 products by the end of May 2012.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Energy Efficiency, ENERGY STAR, LED Lighting, market transformation
Join the conversation in Stamford, CT on June 13th, 2012 at the NEEP Summit
Building en
ergy rating and disclosure policies are gaining steam as a mechanism to drive the market for energy efficient buildings and to reduce impact on the environment. Like food labels or miles-per-gallon ratings on cars, building energy rating and disclosure makes energy use transparent so that buyers, sellers, and renters know what they’re getting. When we know how much energy buildings consume, we’ll start to place more value on ones with efficient systems and lower energy costs, like we would cars that get lower gas mileage. If we get a “low” rating on our home or building, we’re more likely to take action to make it more efficient, which could drive the retrofit industry, create jobs, and change occupant behavior for the better. Continue reading
NEEP along with many of its Sponsoring organizations, were recently recognized for its a collaborative work accelerating energy efficiency through the promotion of ENERGY STAR products. Our Sponsors are energy efficiency program administrators and electric and gas utilities. When it comes to our work here at NEEP, all of these companies participate for the same reasons: to capture significant energy and emissions savings that are as cost effective as possible for their customers. This distinct collaboration is the reason why the Environmental Protection Agency is awarding our Retail Products Initiative with its sixth Sustained Excellence award- it’s most prestigious recognition.
In a recent blog post, Penni McLean-Conner of NSTAR, highlighted the tremendous innovation spurred on by the new EISA standards enacted on January 1. The standards have truly brought about the biggest evolution in the lighting industry since Edison was around. Some of this change has not been so welcomed. In her post Conner explains,
“Another important change brought about by the EISA will be a focus on comparing bulbs based on light output, or lumens, rather than relying solely on the traditional comparison of electricity use measured in watts. That straight-forward measurement is an apples-to-apples comparison consumers will warm up to over time.”
Student Recycling Station at the Manchester Essex School
Students and teachers hit the ground running in September, sometimes without noticing all of the improvements made to the school building over the summer months by facilities staff. This fall, many schools will have new lights, new boilers, new or cleaner ventilation systems, maybe even a more comprehensive recycling program in place. Not only should students and teachers be made aware of these improvements, but they can take an active role in sustaining healthy energy efficient schools. Getting students and teachers involved in the operations of the school helps save money in tough economic times, but it also teaches kids lifelong lessons about energy and climate science. Continue reading
Posted in Buildings
Tagged efficient lighting, Energy Efficiency, ENERGY STAR, High Performance Schools
University of Vermont is one of 12 higher education institutions in the state investing millions in energy efficiency.
How far will $16 million dollars go to create green college campuses in the Green Mountain State? A lot further than you think. Recently, twelve of Vermont’s most prominent institutions of higher education pledged more than $16 million to green revolving funds, and they are using this money to make major improvements in energy efficiency – with an impact far greater than their initial investment. [More]
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