This year, Americans experienced the fourth hottest summer on record, preceded by a winter of record-breaking lows. As the winter season approaches, extreme temperature patterns serve as a reminder that home energy use isn’t just a matter of comfort, but also one of health and wellness. Yet, a recent posting from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) … Read More

When you reach for that candy bar this Halloween, don’t just count calories—count kilowatt-hours. Big candy manufacturers use a lot of energy to feed our sugar addiction, especially this time of year. The average American consumes about 22 pounds of candy per year, which is the weight of roughly 2,200 Hershey’s kisses. That’s a lot … Read More

Transportation in the U.S. is in the midst of a revolution. The steadily increasing number of electric vehicles available provide cleaner options with lower operating costs. Autonomous vehicles, when they arrive, will undoubtedly reshape our daily routines. And ride-hailing and transit payment apps will continue to influence how many people interact with the transportation system. … Read More

Zero energy building codes are making inroads in Oregon, California, British Columbia, and other places, but a new ACEEE white paper reveals that they still face barriers to nationwide success, including a “solar-only” mentality. From coast to coast, there’s considerable momentum for zero energy buildings, or ZEBs, which produce at least as much energy as … Read More

The Urban Land Institute’s Greenprint Center for Building Performance released a new report this week showing that the commercial real estate industry is making significant progress in reducing energy consumption. This center, which is part of ULI’s Center for Sustainability and Economic Performance, is a global alliance of real estate owners, investors, and financial institutions … Read More

Governor Ralph Northam’s new 2018 Virginia Energy Plan (VEP), released earlier this month, rounds out a busy year for clean energy policy in Virginia. It contains policy and program recommendations that will, if thoroughly implemented, deepen energy savings and expand clean energy in the Commonwealth. It proposes that the governor establish a goal to reduce … Read More

Blockchain is generating a lot of buzz as a promising system to verify and track peer-to-peer transactions in the energy sector. It could have multiple applications although there is still debate about which, if any, will work well. What’s clear, however, is that companies are already exploring uses of blockchain to save energy. Let me … Read More

Many of us don’t spend much time thinking about how energy efficiency helps ensure our appliances aren’t wasting energy and that keeping our showers warm doesn’t cause our energy bills to soar. Modern technology ensures we usually don’t have to think about these things. However, many families feel the pinch once the monthly utility bills … Read More

The twelfth edition of the ACEEE State Energy Efficiency Scorecard gives a progress report on state energy efficiency policies and programs that save energy and produce environmental and economic benefits. The Scorecard uses data vetted by state energy officials to rank states in six categories—utility programs, transportation, building energy codes, combined heat and power, state … Read More