Following up on a previous post regarding the stimulus money SMUD has received for energy retrofitting homes in it’s service area. A crucial part of building performance has always been the initial diagnostic assessment or energy audit. This provides important information to the home performance contractor allowing them to tailor a plan that fits the individual [...]
Archive for February, 2010
In early 2006, the California Public Utilities Commission, in collaboration with the California Energy Commission, established the California Solar Initiative (CSI), a $2.5 billion incentive program to promote solar development through 2016, to be funded from the distribution rates of gas and electric ratepayers. Later that year the state legislature passed SB 1 which prohibited [...]
The Sacramento Business Journal is reporting today that single family building permits are up by 41% in the month of January compared to the same month last year. 211 permits were pulled last month versus 150 in January 2009. This is also an increase of 23% over the 172 permits pulled in the previous month December [...]
The new Energy Standards take the subject of lighting controls and there effect on energy performance more seriously than ever before. There are basically four types of lighting controls recognized in the Standards. An Energy Management Control System (EMCS), that controls on/off times, duration and dimming levels by means of a computer. A programmable wall [...]
The Walmart Sustainability Index: A Win for Consumers or Just Another Way to Dominate the Market?
Feb 17
Last fall Walmart rolled out a three phase plan to create a label for it’s 100,000 plus products to inform consumers of the environmental impacts of each of those products. Imagine something like the nutrition labels required on food by the FDA except instead of listing calories, fat and protein, it might list the green [...]
The EPA has many programs to encourage the reduction of energy use through education and rebates such as Energy Star. Now after a three year development and public comment period they have released their new Water Sense for Single Family Homes specifications. Like the Energy Star for homes program, participation is voluntary. Certification requires the use [...]
Freecycling in Sacramento
Feb 13
Here’s a new word to add to your “Green” vocabulary: freecycling. We’re all familiar with the concept of recycling: processing used materials into new products in order to prevent waste. But what about perfectly good items that are just not needed anymore that make their way to the landfill everyday? It’s an inglorious end for [...]
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District was awarded $36 million in federal stimulus grants on Thursday, according to an article released yesterday by the Sacramento Business Journal. The Department of Energy grant funds are to help SMUD customers improve their home’s energy efficiency, which in turn will help the utility reduce demand on its system and help [...]
According to an article today in the Sacramento Business Journal Sacramento County has received $16.5 million in state funds to start their AB811 energy efficient loan program. If you haven’t read my previous posts on the subject, AB811 was a bill enacted last year to allow California cities and counties to set up special assessment districts [...]
Virtual Energy Forum
Feb 11
The Virtual Energy Forum is a free conference that brings together stakeholders in the energy industry with potential customers, policy makers, and investors. The event, which meets twice a year and features live video presentations, real-time Q & A and a virtual exhibit floor, answers the need to better understand how to implement renewable and cost-saving [...]
Thinking of replacing an existing toilet to reduce your water use, but hesitating because of the expense? Here’s an option you might consider. Brondell has introduced…
According to the Building Performance Institute, building performance is a systematic approach to improving the comfort, health, safety, energy efficiency and durability of our customers homes and places of work. Comfort is improved by treating the building as a system of processes…
On Friday of last week we were finally able after months of hard work to submit our package of paperwork to HUD for review. This has been the culmination of an extraordinary effort led by Sacramento architect Michael Malinowski AIA and his staff at Applied Architecture Inc. Worthy of particular credit is Nitisha Gilra LEED AP a member of…
There is a new program working it’s way through congress right now and hopefully will be part of the upcoming jobs bill. It’s called HOMESTAR or as it’s been called in the media “Cash for Caulkers”.
I thought I’d share some details of the program and how it could be a benefit to our local economy.
HOME STAR was originally proposed by a coalition of….
What exactly does the code mean when it says “high efficacy or low efficacy fixture”? First a couple definitions: The code doesn’t use the term fixture. They use the lighting industry term “luminaire“. This is the housing, lamp holder and ballast if present. Neither does it use the term bulb. It is referred to as a ”lamp”. Efficacy [...]
