Clean Edison Blog

Glass as a design choice

A look at today’s architecture and design magazines, or at new construction projects in NYC, confirms that the current material of choice is glass.  Floor-to-ceiling windows, 360° views, natural daylight, connecting inside to the outside are the design vocabulary du jour.  Glass, and lots of it, is intended to convey modernity, sophistication, and, increasingly, green design.

The first glass was made about 2,000 years ago.  It was used to seal off small apertures made to let in light.  However, it was not until many centuries later that the use of glass in buildings became widespread.  Still, window sizes were constrained by practical considerations: impact on the load-bearing capacity of the walls, material limitations, energy conservation requirements, expense.  In the 20^th century, the development of structural steel, and later reinforced concrete, allowed to transfer bearing loads from the exterior walls to interior columns.  At the same time, glass came in increasingly bigger unbroken sheets.

The International Style in architecture, made simple glass façades and huge opens spaces synonymous with modernity.  In the late 1940s, double-pane glass with thermal insulation was created.  Windows were becoming bigger and bigger, until eventually the entire exterior skin of a building was made of glass – it was called the curtain-wall.  Lever House, built in 1952, was the first curtain-wall building in New York.  By 1970s, coated, laminated glass, and other innovative glass products were created.  Today, fully-glazed office buildings are ubiquitous, and in residential buildings, especially on the higher end, panoramic, huge, often floor-to-ceiling windows became a requisite amenity.

What is it that makes glass so appealing to architects and building owners? 

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One trip down the lighting aisle at your local hardware store, and you can tell the world is changing. “Energy-efficiency” is one of the hottest buzzwords you’ll find plastered over almost every light bulb’s packaging. We want to stop burning up so much energy. We want to help preserve the planet.

LEDs and CFLs are two of the most popular “green” light bulbs on the market today, but what is it that classifies them as “green”? Surely, efficiency isn’t only thing that makes truly environmentally-friendly light bulb. Does the light bulb contain harmful pollutants? Is the light’s efficiency or rated-life easily damaged by a rough environment? The light bulb’s packaging only reveals so much.

So, on that trip down the lighting aisle, which light bulb do you walk away with?

When you sit down and compare LEDs and CFLs, you’ll soon realize that one is decidedly greener. It’s not so hard to find out why; you just have to ask the right questions:

How Efficient Is Each Light Bulb?

Just like every other light source, the efficiency of the LED is measured in lumens per watt (lm/W), which is the amount of light produced by one unit of electrical power. Generally, a good LED lamp can generate twice as many lumens per watt as a CFL (60-100+ lm/W vs 30-50 lm/W). But that’s not the final score. LED technology is still improving. The U.S. Department of Energy believes that LEDs could easily attain an efficacy of 200 lm/W.

Less power used to make more light makes the LED the more sustainable choice.

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This ‘Monumental Shift’ in the US Buildings Sector May Surprise You 

Conventional wisdom says that buildings are a sprawling, untamable black hole for energy. But a new analysis of federal data shows that the U.S. buildings sector has made enormous strides in efficiency over the last six years — potentially eliminating the need to build any new power plants to support growth in the sector through 2030.

When sustainable architecture guru Edward Mazria looked at the EIA’s latest Annual Energy Outlook, he noticed two surprising things: one, that 2030 projections for building energy consumption continue their steep decline; and two, that America plans to add over 60 billion square feet of new buildings by then. So even as a huge portfolio of new buildings is constructed in the next two decades, the energy needs in those buildings will be low enough to prevent the need for any new power plants to service them, concluded Mazria.

“There is no longer any need to build power plants to meet growth in the buildings sector,” said Mazria. “This is a monumental shift.”

Read More at Green Tech Media

With Carbon Dioxide Approaching a New High, Scientists Sound the Alarm

If uncertainty runs rampant in the global-warming debate, it is in part because scientific data is often too complex to be well understood by anyone but climate scientists.

This month, however, the world is likely to reach a scientific milestone that appears impressively scary even to those with only a cursory knowledge of climate science.

For the first time in human history, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will surpass 400 parts per million, according Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which has been measuring carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii since 1958.

“The 400-ppm threshold is a sobering milestone, and should serve as a wake-up call for all of us to support clean energy technology and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, before it’s too late for our children and grandchildren.”

Read more at IHT Rendezvous NY Times Blog

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Overview and a bit of history

The very first house to achieve LEED for Homes Platinum Certification was a factory made modular home in Santa Monica, CA, in 2006.

Factory made modular houses, also referred to as prefabricated or prefab, are inherently more sustainable than their built on-site counterparts.  Factory process, by nature based on standardization, precision and efficiency, automatically minimizes raw materials and construction waste.  Another important advantage of prefab houses is the high quality of the exterior envelope, which is the most important precision assembly in a green building.  In a factory, a house is assembled from the inside out, with the drywall installed first and sheathing and siding last.  All the caulking and insulation work is done from the back of the drywall, behind any electrical or mechanical boxes, which creates an airtight seal.  Modules are often prefabricated with plumbing, electric and HVAC infrastructure.  Modular homes are built to a higher structural standard, because they have to be loaded on and off trucks and transported, possibly on un-paved roads.

Because of the process efficiency and economies of scale, modular homes cost 5 to 20% less than comparably sized built on-site homes.  Savings can be used towards offsetting the expense of energy-efficient and eco-friendly technologies, such as solar panels, geothermal heating, high performance windows, green non-toxic interior finishes, and high-efficiency appliances.

There are intangible benefits to consider as well, such as reduced construction time, lesser dependence on the weather and climate conditions, as well as minimal neighborhood disturbance and damage to the landscape.

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At the Geothermal Energy Association conference (GEA) in New York, many compelling presentations conveyed the benefits of this relatively obscure renewable energy source. Its benefits go beyond simply limiting harmful emissions, which are largely associated with conventional energies. Geothermal energy supplies a consistent source of electricity, unlike some other renewable energies, which makes it attractive to investors. Despite high capital costs due to exploration of geothermal sources, operating costs for geothermal remain low. This is due to not requiring fuel after the power plant is constructed.

The high cost of renewable energy is a common argument against building such power plants in developed countries, and this misconception also keeps many investors away. Yet, at the GEA conference it was shown that even lesser developed countries, such as Kenya (202 MW of installed geothermal) and El Salvador(204 MW), have already begun to install significant amounts of geothermal. Furthermore, if the levelized cost of a power plant is taken into account, including capital and operating costs, geothermal energy is the cheapest source apart from wind; the latter being an intermittent source. One must wonder why many more developed countries have not yet taken to this kind of energy?

Is it a Reliable Energy Source?

Geothermal energy is a renewable energy found abundantly around the globe. The technology takes advantage of the earth’s subterranean thermal energy. It has been used to produce heat for humans for thousands of years (think Roman bathhouses). Using geothermal energy for electricity began in Italy in 1904 in a plant in operation since then.

Today, twenty-four countries around the world employ geothermal energy to produce energy on a large scale. Total geothermal energy used worldwide is estimated to be 11,224 MW (GEA 2012). The top four countries utilizing geothermal are the U.S.(3,386 Megawatts), Philippines(1,904 MW), Indonesia(1,222 MW), Mexico(958), and Italy(883 MW). These numbers are not small considering it takes 1-2 Megawatts to power 1,000 homes. Yet, geothermal electrical energy in the U.S.only accounts for about 3% of all its renewable energy sources. However, an additional 5,150-5,523MW are under commission or “in the pipeline” (GEA estimate).

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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) recently proposed reforms to the interconnection regulations for small generators – those with a capacity of 20 MW or less. These reforms are meant to make the interconnection process for solar and wind faster and cheaper. Details on the proposed rules and how to participate in the currently open comment period can be found here.

It is essential to both know the rules and when the rules apply. Understanding how energy is governed – whether by federal, state, or local entities – is essential for crafting a financially successful endeavor. As Frederick R. Fucci and Natara Feller put in The Law of Clean Energy: Efficiency and Renewables, “interconnection problems and delays are the single greatest impediment to the successful installation of distributed energy equipment and are holding back the greater development of distributed resources.”

So, when will a small generation facility be impacted by FERC’s proposed reforms? When does FERC’s jurisdiction become relevant when entering into an interconnection agreement?

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Just because you’re doing your part for the environment and instituting more eco-friendly measures, it doesn’t mean you have to throw your fashion sense out your newly-green windows. These days, there are more ways than ever to introduce earth-saving accessories to our energy-efficient windows that are as easy on the eyes as they are on the environment.

Choosing eco-friendly window treatments is also much easier on the wallet than replacing every window in your home with energy-efficient ones. Including the cost of labor for installation, one can reasonably expect to pay anywhere from $400-$1,000 per energy-efficient window; for someone with even a dozen windows in their home, the costs could easily come in between $4,800-$12,000 for the entire project!

Once you consider the fact that you cannot take your super-expensive windows with you when you leave and that you will almost certainly not recoup 100% of the costs, other alternatives start to look much more promising.

Meanwhile, upgrading your window treatments is not only an exponentially more economical choice on the front end, but you are also able to transport them to your next home if you decide to move.
Here are a few of the most energy-saving options for eco-fashionable window treatments.

Honeycomb Cell Shades

In terms of extreme insulators, the honeycomb cellular shades can’t be beat! The unique honeycomb shape works like a quilt in that it insulates your windows by trapping air between the honeycomb cells. They not only block heat in the summer but they also block cold air from entering in the winter.

On the surface, they have an accordion-esque appearance and come in a variety of colors. Honeycomb cell shades are a good way to incorporate a bit of textural interest to your windows, as well.

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The U.S. solar industry has reached a point in which the cost of solar is favorably comparable to the costs of retail electricity in many states.  The price for photovoltaic (PV) modules have experienced rapid declines due to fierce international competition and subsequent over supply. Still, non-hardware costs such as permitting and inspection have remained relatively constant.

The United States is comprised of more than 18,000 local jurisdictions whose permitting requirements and fees vary widely. This lack of permitting standardization across jurisdictions and inefficient permitting processes create challenges that impede national solar deployment.

Here are 10 ways in which the solar permitting processes could be improved and costs lowered:

1) Statewide Legislation

The first thing states need to do to lower the costs and time involved in solar permitting is to create a broad standard that remains consistent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

This would eliminate inconsistencies across regions and allow for a simplified solar energy training process for permitting employees and solar installer statewide.

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Despite the growth of public transportation and other transportation alternatives, parking locations remain necessary in much of the nation. Even though parking consultants and design teams have been using sustainable practices for parking structures in recent years, many do not calculate energy use as part of their standard methodology. Unknown to most, a garage typically uses 15% of the energy that the building that it is designed to support uses.Worse, this energy use is often lost in the periphery of energy efficiency efforts. Parking structures should not be overlooked, though, because the savings potential is immense. Energy use can be reduced by more than 90% over an ASHRAE Standard 90.1 2007 baseline parking structure with typical construction costs.

Here are some design elements that can be implemented to improve the energy efficiency of parking structures

Ventilation

Design the parking structure to maintain an approximate 40% façade openness, which allows natural ventilation on all levels. This will be enough ventilation to preclude the need for mechanical ventilation systems.

Daylighting

Lighting is typically the largest load, particularly for naturally ventilated structures. To reduce the lighting load to almost zero during daylight hours, perforate the façade with aluminum panels that let in sunlight (while keeping out weather) and, if possible, design to include a “light well” in the middle of the structure to meet a full daylighting effort in the center of the space. If done properly, only a few places in the structure, such as under the stairs, need to be electrically lighted between sunrise and sunset.

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