Energy Efficiency

The lives of four low-income families will change for the better next year when they receive the keys to new energy-efficient homes in Long Beach, where construction recently kicked off.

Several Ingersoll Rand leaders and managers are making important sustainability contributions to the Compressed Air and Gas Institute's (CAGI) work in support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE has focused its efforts on regulatory action on efficiency standards for air compressors and the establishment of test procedures that determine if compressors meet those standards.

An increasing number of companies are making public commitments to power their operations with renewable energy, but convincing senior management that the investment is worth it can still be a difficult task. Evidence of improvements to ESG ratings and reputation make the task easier.

By building communications networks that can more tightly integrate business drivers and goals with the day-to-day load demand for their customers, utilities are taking the initial steps toward integrating the smart grid with smart cities.

MURRIETA, Calif. — As the craft beer industry continues to grow, a small brewery in Murrieta has carved out a special niche for itself. Unlike most breweries that use natural gas, Electric Brewing Co. uses electricity to make its popular beer.

In the run up to the COMMIT!Forum, CR Magazine spoke with Brian Lakamp, Founder and CEO at Totem Power. Totem’s smart hub combines modern communications, advanced energy, and distributed intelligence into a single, powerful platform for modern campuses, retail centers, commercial facilities, cities and more. We spoke with him about being a practitioner in the clean energy space.

Whether you call it VFD, frequency converter or inverter, VSD technology by any other name is just as efficient. On average, VSD compressors use about 35 percent less energy than their fixed-speed counter parts. But what does a 35 percent reduction in energy costs really look like? Well, that depends on your plant.

"Going solar is too expensive. Too difficult. Too risky." These are all fairly common complaints about going solar. But the solar panels of 15 years ago are not the solar panels of today. In fact, with dropping costs of solar panel installations and rising energy costs, there hasn't been a better time to go solar. New tools are making it easier for customers to make the switch, and more installers working in the market has produced more competition. For many homeowners, it has never been easier, more efficient, or more affordable to go solar.

Black & Veatch, a leader in the design and deployment of clean energy-producing microgrids, has been selected by Shell International Exploration & Production Company, Inc. to perform engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) on a new microgrid system at Shell’s Technology Center in Houston.