Energy + Environment

Energy efficiency remains America’s cheapest, cleanest, and fastest energy source for five years running. That’s the conclusion of a new study that shows that the utility cost per kWh of energy efficiency has held steady or even slightly declined at about $0.025 over the last half decade, even as the costs for new coal, nuclear, [...]

The Department of Energy has awarded the ENERGY STAR qualification to Renaissance Lighting Inc. on 11 of its newest all-white solid-state LED downlight fixtures. The ENERGY STAR qualification helps consumers identify the most energy efficient products on the market. ENERGY STAR qualification currently requires an LED recessed downlight fixture to deliver an efficacy of at [...]

NEMA recently launched the re-designed LampRecycle.org site to better provide a one-stop source of information about recycling mercury-containing lamps. One of the new features allows visitors to find CFL drop-off locations near them with the help of Earth911.com. Mercury-containing lamps can be recognized by the Hg symbol on the lamp—the universally recognized elemental symbol for [...]

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., has replaced approximately 12,000 standard incandescent and halogen lights in more than 150 Red Robin restaurant locations in the U.S. with new 7W GE LED PAR 20 floodlights and spotlights in general downlighting applications. The LED lamps, which emit 200 lumens, are expected to reduce energy consumption by 77% while [...]

Philips recently announced a commercial energy audit and lighting upgrade program aimed at replacing inefficient lighting systems currently found in 85% of existing buildings. A key element to the program, being led by the Philips Lightolier Energy Services Group, is a guarantee that the energy audit will deliver measurable energy cost reduction, defined projected return [...]

The need to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings was highlighted at the ASHRAE 2009 Annual Conference held in Louisville. At the meeting, ASHRAE launched the prototype of its Building Energy Quotient building energy labeling program, introduced a year-long focus on existing buildings and kicked off the Society’s most highly anticipated certification program to-date, [...]

Businesses and people can make simple changes that could generate a 23% drop in energy consumption by 2020, save the economy $1.2 trillion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.1 gigatons annually, according to a new study by McKinsey & Company. McKinsey & Company’s 165-page report, “Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy,” is available [...]

According to this article by Reuters, the California Public Utilities Commission has set a goal of having all new homes use zero net energy by 2020.

According to the latest Department of Energy figures, the U.S. average commercial cost per kWh of electric energy to commercial end-users was 10.7 cents as of March 2009, up 4.7% from the same period in 2008. Get the latest energy data by state, region and end-user market here.