Energy efficiency is a strong marketing point for home sales in the Fresno area, according to an analysis by real estate website Zillow.
In fact, out of 100 U.S. cities, Fresno ranks at No. 3 in terms of percentage of home listings with energy-efficient terms such as “solar panel” or “wind power.”
About 14.2 percent of Fresno home listings include such terms, according to Zillow. San Jose was No. 1 on the list with 24.1 percent.
The analysis also looked at the average carbon footprint of homes in each city, using data provided by University of California, Berkeley’s CoolClimate Network. Fresno’s average carbon footprint came in at 40.9 metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted by a typical household each year.
San Jose’s average carbon footprint was 53.4 metric tons.
“Climate change is top-of-mind in California, and whether homeowners are reacting to environmental ethics or high energy costs, they are most likely to market energy-efficient technology when selling their homes,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. “Between density and drought, Californians have a lot of reasons to find ways to make their homes more efficient – for the sake of the environment and their pocketbooks, too.”
Read more (The Business Journal)
After previously discussing what building codes are, how they are developed, and how they are adopted, we now explore the final, and perhaps most important, stage of the building energy code cycle: compliance. Compliance is where “the rubber meets the road” for energy codes. Without it, no energy is saved, and all the work done during the development and adoption phases is for naught.
BUILDERS AND DESIGNERS
The legal obligation to comply with the energy code (meeting all the applicable requirements) rests squarely on the professionals who design and construct buildings. On the residential side, homes are often designed by a licensed builder or other design professional (although this can vary depending in the complexity and customization of the home). While the builder may ultimately carry responsibility for code compliance, many subcontractors and trades play critical roles in ensuring compliance with the energy code. For example, lighting requirements may fall to the electrician, and tightening residential envelopes can affect a broad range of trades—from the foundation, to framing and insulation contractors, and even to the painting or finishing crews. In commercial buildings, the design team typically includes an architect and engineer, and is responsible for ensuring compliance with the relatively more complex commercial energy code requirements, from building shell and envelope features, to the internal electrical and mechanical systems.
Read more (Energy.gov)
Energy auditors across the U.S. are looking beyond leaky windows and outdated appliances in pursuit of a more holistic approach toward assessing building performance.
There’s long been a link between a building’s physical state, its energy consumption and the health of its occupants, experts say. Energy assessors are increasingly looking to tap into that intersection of needs in order to better serve their customers and to seek new funding streams.
“Over the course of the last 20 years, it’s always been energy or comfort that has driven the contractors and low-income weatherization programs … but at the same time, there were these … secondary benefits like comfort and health,” says Matthew Anderson, client relations director at the Building Performance Institute (BPI), which issues building performance credentials and standards for energy auditors and other assessors.
“While that was never really a major selling point, it was always noted that — in most cases — people were getting more comfortable [and] healthier.”
Read more (Midwest Energy News)
The Portland City Council voted 6-3 to become the first community in Maine to require large businesses and residential buildings to report their energy usage to the city.
The vote comes after South Portland rejected a similar measure, citing privacy concerns.
City Councilor Jon Hinck, who chairs the Energy and Sustainability Committee, said the proposal is consistent with previous environmental initiatives the city has signed onto, some of which date to 2005.
“It’s 2016 – we haven’t made that much progress,” Hinck said.
Councilors Nicholas Mavodones, David Brenerman and Edward Suslovic voted against the measure. They supported the goal of tracking energy usage for buildings, but they were concerned that the city had not done enough outreach to affected property owners.
Read More (The Portland Press Herald)
For forty years, the Energy Department’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) has advanced greater energy efficiency in low-income households for the elderly, disabled, and families through grants to states, territories, and Native American tribes. It is estimated that more than 50 million homes are eligible for weatherization improvements. To date, the federal program has helped weatherize more than 7 million homes, helping to improve the health and safety of occupants while reducing energy bills. Home energy costs can be especially high during cold winter months.
WAP services every political subdivision in the country through a strong network of 59 grantees: 50 states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and three select Native American tribes. These grantees contract with a network of almost 800 community action agencies, nonprofits, and local governments to install cost-effective energy conservation measures in homes.
Weatherization upgrades typically enhance insulation, air sealing, heating and cooling systems. Recently solar PV installations were also added to the program. These improvements reduce carbon pollution, save families money, and prevent low-income Americans from having to choose between food, medicine, and heat for their home.
Read more (Energy.gov)
Smart meters are now the rule, rather than the exception, for U.S. electric utilities. According to a new report from the Edison Foundation, a utility-funded think tank, the country had installed 65 million smart meters as of 2015, and that figure is projected to rise to 70 million by the end of 2016, making up more than half of all households in the country.
Edison’s latest data on the blooming U.S. advanced metering infrastructure market only includes meters that can “measure and record electricity usage data hourly, or more frequently, and allow for two-way communication between the electric companies and their customers.” That excludes so-called “drive-by” meters, or automated meter reading (AMR) systems, which account for tens of millions more customers across the country.
Since they now outnumber their AMR or electromechanical ancestors, “smart meters are the new business as usual” for utilities, the report declares. “Electric companies across the U.S. are leveraging smart meter data to better monitor the health of the energy grid, more quickly restore electric service when outages occur, integrate distributed energy resources, deliver energy information to customers, and provide smart pricing options to customers.”
Read More (Greentech Media)
On Sept. 22, our two organizations participated in an event with significant implications for families and businesses throughout the region. The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, which recognizes that clean energy delivers real economic benefits to the businesses and communities of Southwest Virginia, hosted Governor McAuliffe and business leaders, including Trane, at a Clean Energy Business Roundtable. The discussion highlighted how clean energy businesses can bring economic development and job growth to communities in Southwest Virginia. Governor McAuliffe’s presence demonstrated his strong commitment to building a robust clean energy sector as part of the New Virginia Economy.
At the roundtable, the chamber, Trane and other attendees talked about how growth in renewable energy and energy efficiency services is a win-win for the region and the state, bringing economic development and a bright future for workers today and for future generations. Renewable energy and energy efficiency companies, including both producers and consumers on a residential and industrial scale, had the opportunity to show the governor and other elected leaders the considerable economic impact we are having on the region.
We discussed ways to grow the clean energy sector, by expanding existing clean energy programs and establishing new policies to create more opportunities for energy efficiency and renewable energy. The goal we all share is to attract more businesses to every region of the commonwealth and make us a national leader in clean energy.
Read More (The Roanoke Times)
Governor Terry McAuliffe unveiled his update to the 2014 Energy Plan at a ribbon cutting for a new solar installation at Monticello High School in Albemarle County. The update, titled “Energy in the New Virginia Economy,” highlights the significant progress the McAuliffe administration has made on his strategic energy priorities to build a new Virginia economy. The event showcased the installation of solar energy generating systems at six Albemarle County public schools, totaling more than 1 megawatt of solar energy.
“Today’s installation is the perfect venue to formally unveil an update on the progress we are making toward making Virginia a leader in the global energy economy,” said Governor McAuliffe, speaking at today’s announcement. “The clean energy sector has been a central part of our efforts to build a new Virginia economy and that effort has paid off as revenue in the sector has grown four-fold to $2 billion. The Albemarle County Public Schools project embodies the countless benefits of growing the clean industry such as lower energy bills and carbon emissions, more education for our students, and economic activity for our local businesses.”
“To grow the new Virginia economy, we must take an all of the above approach to energy policy,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Todd Haymore. “While we have attracted $500 million in capital investment in the clean energy industry, we must also ensure that Virginia consumers and businesses have access to affordable, reliable and diverse energy resources. The Governor’s energy plan update lays out how the administration’s success is driving Virginia’s energy economy forward.”
Read More (Augusta Free Press)
Gov. Terry McAuliffe attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning for a new solar panel installation at Monticello High School, taking the time to announce updates to his energy plan.
In Albemarle County, there are now six public schools, including Monticello High, that will receive a portion of its energy from solar-panel installations on their rooftops as part of a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Energy for America Program, according to a news release from the USDA. These systems are expected to generate enough electricity to power 125 homes.
The other five schools are Albemarle High, Greer Elementary, Brownsville Elementary, Baker-Butler Elementary and Sutherland Middle schools.
Read More (The Daily Progress)
SEAFORD, VA. — It looks like a mad scientist’s lab, something straight out of a sci-fi novel. Valves turn in every direction. Tubes are stacked halfway to the ceiling. Tiny bubbles dance in large vats of water.
But what’s happening in a hangar of the York River Treatment Plant is real, part of a grand experiment that could help keep this coastal region from continuing to subside and eventually being claimed by the rising sea. Over the next 15 months, tests will determine whether millions of gallons of wastewater can be purified to drinking water quality and injected into the ground.
If successful, the project of the Hampton Roads Sanitation District could start to replenish a giant aquifer that thousands of industries and half a million households in the area are sucking dry. Over the past five decades, they have collectively pumped out so much water that land here is falling 4 millimeters a year — or more than 1½ inches by 2026.
Read More (Washington Post)
