Historic Buildings: Our Greatest and Most Undervalued Asset in Green Building

by Kirsten Nelson-Johnson

Historic preservationists have long touted the environmental and sustainable aspects of their work, and now that work is beginning to reflect in the LEED green building rating system. Not only do historic buildings educate about history and help organizations connect to their communities; but they most often feature beautiful architecture worthy of preservation. With their antiqueness, historic buildings present a unique set of challenges for their maintenance and renovation. Unlike most new-construction projects, historical renovations often hold surprises. In planning and carrying out historical renovations, multiple ratings systems and codes must be considered by managers teaming with architects and contractors.

The biggest challenge is maintaining historical integrity while incorporating modern accessibility pre-requisites, fire-code compliance requirements, and the addition of LEED certification standards.

Is the Bloom Box the Future of Energy Efficiency?

by Kirsten Nelson-Johnson

Bloom Energy's Bloom box made its long anticipated debut last week. Bloom Energy is well funded clean-energy startup which thus so far kept critical parts of its business plan secret as it launches its first product. With around $400 million in venture funding, Bloom Energy is one of Silicon Valley's most closely watched startups.

Bloom Energy claims that its box can produce more energy – with less environmental damage – than other fuel cells on the market because it's not solely reliant on hydrogen to trigger the chemical reactions to generate power. A Bloom box energy server can provide 100 kilowatts of power by converting natural gas or other hydrocarbons into electricity pretty much on demand. It can also use wind or solar power and whatever else is available, which varies from community to community. Using wind or solar requires an extra step to convert the energy into something that could power the fuel cells, which can result in some energy loss. One of the easiest ways to power the Bloom box is to hook it up directly to a natural gas line.

Founded in 2001, Bloom has been secretive about its technology and hasn't offered many new details on how it plans to make its promising fuel-cell technology affordable enough, especially for large portions of the population to buy for residential use.

Get Smart: How Smart Grids are Changing How We Look at Energy

by Kirsten Nelson-Johnson

Thanks in large part to the roughly $3.4 billion received in last year's stimulus package, the United States is on track to convert a large portion of residential meters to smart meters. Smart meters wirelessly transmit electricity consumption directly to the utility company's centralized computers. Customers can then log-on to the web and get an almost up-to-the minute reading of their personal energy usage and follow their energy consumption with monthly trending data. This ability of customers to so closely follow their energy use allows them to transform their habit and align them with what will save them the most on their bill. According to a pilot program conducted by the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, it was demonstrated that a single customer saved an average of $115 over a period of four months.

This increase in savings shows how effective smart meter systems are at changing behavior and creating a consumer that is more conscious of how to avoid peak hour energy use. Customers also become more aware of the effectiveness of many energy saving techniques and how increasing energy efficiency can start saving money immediately.

Financing for Green Retrofits are Picking up the Pace

by Kirsten Nelson-Johnson

What once started as a pilot program in Berkeley, California in October of 2007, efficiency upgrade programs are now going viral across the nation. Transformative loan programs, such as PACE are tapping into pent-up demand for efficiency retrofit services. The Property Assessed Clean Energy bond (PACE) program allows private property owners to pay for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects through an addition to their property tax bills.

This process circumvents many of the usually cumbersome problems many homeowners have with upfront cost associated with efficiency upgrades. Studies show that up-front costs are often the main barrier that keeps property owners from making green retrofits. PACE programs aim to remove that barrier. This program is proving to be a game-changer. PACE provides an option with minimal money down which increases demand for efficiency services, decreases energy consumption, decreases greenhouse gas emission, and includes huge potential for local green job creation.

Last week Mayor Gavin Newsom and the City of San Francisco showed their support and enthusiasm for this venture. On Monday, February 8^th, Mayor Newsom signed legislation that creates a citywide special tax district to finance energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation improvements.

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Historic Buildings: Our Greatest and Most Undervalued Asset in Green Building

Is the Bloom Box the Future of Energy Efficiency?

Get Smart: How Smart Grids are Changing How We Look at Energy

Financing for Green Retrofits are Picking up the Pace