Three Ways To Be More Energy Efficient

If you want to become more energy efficient, here are three ways to help accomplish your goal:

3) Reach for the stars – the ENERGY STARs, that is. ENERGY STAR qualified products can cut related electricity costs by up to 30 percent. More than 50 categories of products are now labeled with this government “seal of approval” for energy efficiency. In addition to electronics and lighting (see tip numbers 8 and 5), they also include appliances, HVAC systems, windows, and more (see www.energystar.gov for a complete rundown).

2) Don’t waste money and energy heating and cooling the great outdoors, either! Make sure you have the proper amount of insulation for your climate, and seal leaks around doors and windows to cut your heating and cooling bills by up to 20 percent. With home energy costs estimated at $2,200 for the average U.S. household in 2008, and just over half of that going for heating and cooling, those savings can amount to about $225. Added benefit: Eliminate drafts and hot and cold spots for greater indoor comfort.

1) Slow down and save! Each 5 miles per hour you drive over 60 mph costs you about 20 cents more per gallon of gasoline. And aggressive driving habits – speeding, rapid acceleration and braking – can lower gas mileage by a whopping 33 percent at highway speeds and 5 percent around town. But driving sensibly can save up to 200 gallons of gasoline per year at highway speeds, or about $600 per car and about $1,200 per household with gasoline prices at $3/gallon. Added benefit: Avoiding up to 4,000 pounds of CO2 per car/8,000 per household.

Governor orders state to take lead in energy efficiency

Gov. Chet Culver Thursday issued an executive order which requires and promotes energy-saving practices in state government buildings.

Culver will tap Office of Energy Independence Director Roya Stanley to oversee the Green Government Steering Committee, which will organize the eco-friendly initiatives. The new committee will offer modifications for existing state offices to make them more green, while ensuring all future state government structures meet efficiency standards.

Energy Co. completes first phase of Energy Efficient lighting

Lime Energy has announced the completion of the first phase of an energy efficiency retrofit of a major airline's maintenance hangar at San Francisco International Airport.

The project involved replacing nearly 500 lighting fixtures in offices and work areas as part of a comprehensive lighting upgrade that will save operating costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This project utilized strategically located sensors and daylight harvesting that will automatically turn lights off when the space is not in use or when there is enough sunlight to provide adequate natural lighting.

Sensors are particularly important in this application because of the variable nature of the maintenance work performed in the hangar.

Which 'BULB' Is Best?

In October, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB1109, a lighting-efficiency bill sponsored by Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael. The law requires an increase in energy efficiency and a reduction of the pollution associated with lighting technology. The law also will likely speed up adoption of efficiency requirements in California and could even layer on new standards.

Starting in 2012, a 100-watt bulb will have to become a 72-watt bulb. Similar reductions in wattage will roll out for other bulbs through 2014, as manufacturers upgrade the efficiency of incandescents. In the meantime, GE has announced its intention to introduce a high-efficiency incandescent lamp, or bulb, ahead of schedule by 2010.

State Reviews Efficiency Incentives For Utilities

State regulators are drafting a new rate plan to guarantee that utilities won't lose money if their customers use less electricity. This framework, known as revenue decoupling, aims to revamp rate structures, which environmentalists and utilities say pose barriers to energy efficiency and lower consumption. Currently, utilities make more money by delivering more electricity, giving them little incentive to promote efficiency measures that reduce sales.

Decoupling aims to break the connection between sales and revenue, typically by fixing per-customer delivery charges, which are now adjusted regularly to compensate for changes in sales volumes. Freed from the need to increase sales, utilities can pursue efficiency measures to help customers use less energy and save money, decoupling supporters say.

Highmark Inc. top lists of Green IT users

Highmark Inc. of Harrisburg, Pa., has been named the number one green IT user by Computerworld, which surveyed more than 80 companies to find the top 12 green IT users and vendors.

With the help of experts from The Green Grid, Forrester Research and Base Partners, Computerworld crafted a survey looking for which companies are doing the most in reducing energy and implementing technology to cut energy and carbon emissions.

The top companies were chosen from the 86 responses to queries about energy and carbon goals, employee encouragement, purchasing practices, incentives, recycling, HVAC, data center layout, increase in energy efficiency, renewable energy and reduction of energy used.

Wal-Mart Pledges $500 For Energy Center

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has embraced conservation measures as a way to cut costs at its giant stores, has announced that it will provide $500,000 over five years to support programs at the Energy Efficiency Center at University of California Davis and one of its executives will serve on the center's board.

The center, established in 2006 with a $1 million grant from the California Clean Energy Fund, is intended to help speed energy-saving products and techniques into the broad marketplace. The company's local energy-efficiency efforts include a new type of cooling system at its West Sacramento store.