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Many readers recognize that I put a high value on the disclosure of building performance data. For all the benefits of information sharing, there are also downside risks. This is also true of innovative system designs and building research in general. For the industry as a whole, the benefits outweigh the risks. Publishing system failures [...]
DemandSideSolutions
energy issues in the built environment
Business Decisions on Legislative Speculation
On the issue of “sustainable” investment from a former VP (and Goldman partner):
The Blood and Gore manifesto also wants firms to have to account for assets that might become “stranded” —worth much less—in the event of policy changes such as the imposition of a price on carbon emissions or higher charges for [...]
Follow Up to LIHEAP Post
A convenient (albeit indirect) follow-up to my previous post was written for me by Alex T at MarginalRevolution. He links to a NYT article on the welfare state and produces the following graphic, which speaks to “the appropriate (inappropriate?) role of government question….
Energy Policy for Low-Income Homeowners
The outpouring of response on the recent NYT article about the Hartford family, who had tried to exchange the title to their 16 year old Lincoln Town Car for fuel oil, has brought to light one of the reasons I starting writing DSS in the first place: the intersection of public policy [...]
Good News….Bad News….
First, the good news:
US technology firm the Joseph Company International has unveiled an energy drink in what it claims is the worlds first self-chilling can, featuring a heat exchanger and cooled using carbon dioxide. West Coast Chill is a new drink devised to be sold in a can which uses Joseph’s [...]
Withering away?
Due to a lack of pain, The Green Building Curmudgeon makes this, likely correct, prediction:
The big question is, what will happen to the home performance industy as incentives go away? It will probably fare better in regions with high energy costs, where paybacks are faster. Where energy audits or HERS ratings [...]
NYC Code Change
Is anyone familiar with NYC development strategies? I ask because I’m curious as to the significance of these proposed code revisions:
Exempt external building insulation from floor area requirements, allowing existing buildings to add insulation within their property lines;
Eliminate penalties for high-performance envelopes in the way floor area is measured, by exempting a [...]
Lighting Uncertainty
I’ve been absent from the blogosphere for a while now. My apologies. Been feeling very busy and the last thing I’ve felt like doing after a long day of work has been to catch up on the industry news and sit in front of a computer. I could continue with additional excuses, but instead I’ll [...]
Insured Savings
Interesting comments from Tony. Good to see this level of sophistication in the commercial upgrade market:
A few weeks ago a business consortium including Lockheed Martin and Barclays Capital announced the largest single private-sector investment to-date for commercial property energy efficiency retrofits. The business consortium, referred to as the PACE Commercial Consortium, [...]
Enough Pain to Spend $$ on Upgrades?
I have come around to the view that “deep energy retrofits” in the residential sector are a pipe dream, at least at any sort of scale that is significant. Why? Well, they’re expensive, and utilities just don’t hurt most homeowners enough. The “pain” of most folks monthly bills isn’t large enough for them to justify [...]