During a heat wave in July 2006, a Flex Alert notified residents that saving energy would help prevent power outages (Photo: Flickr)

Get used to brutal summer temperatures in inland and coastal California. That’s the message of a study recently published by a team of researchers based at UC Berkeley that found major California cities can expect more frequent extreme-heat events because of climate change in the coming decades. This, in turn, could mean increased electricity demand for the state, raising the risk of power shortages during heat waves. The results were published in “Climate, Extreme Heat, and Electricity Demand in California” in the online version of the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology. “Electricity demand for industrial and home cooling increases near linearly with temperature,” lead author Norman L. Miller said in statement. When projected future changes in extreme heat are mapped onto current availability of electricity for California, the researchers discovered a potential for electricity deficits as high as 17% during peak demand periods. In climate projection models, increases range from approximately twice the present-day number of extreme heat days for inland California cities up to four times the number for coastal cities before the end of the century. This year, in California, 119 new daily high temperature records were set during the May heat wave.

• Read background
• Read “Climate, Extreme Heat, and Electricity Demand in California,” By Norman L. Miller, Katharine Hayhoe, Jiming Jin and Maximillian Auffhammer, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology , June 2008 (abstract no charge; subscription or purchase required for full article)
• Related: “Energy Efficiency, Solar Needed to Hold Down Peak Demand in California as Extreme Heat Events Surge Due to Climate Change” (e-Newswire, 9/05/07)
• Find out more about the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) demand response programs
• Sign up to receive e-mail and text message notification of Flex Alerts

Vuteq manufactures parts for the biggest automakers in the country, but that doesn’t stop them from cutting power use when California needs to shed peak demand. The company is enrolled in two demand response programs and is able to shed an average of 286 kilowatts. By shifting operating hours to earlier in the day, and focusing on less energy-intensive operations during critical times, Vuteq was successful enough to win PG&E’s Golden Orb award for its participation in Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) and Demand Bidding Program (DBP) demand response programs. Vuteq was a Demand Response/Conservation Honorable Mention recipient in the 5th Annual Flex Your Power Awards.

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• View the 5th Annual Flex Your Power Demand Response Award winners and honorable mentions
• Sign up to receive e-mail and text message notification of Flex Alerts
• Find out more about the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) demand response programs
• Read Flex Your Power’s Best Practices Guide for Manufacturers

LEED-EB Platinum certified Cal/EPA headquarters in Sacramento (Photo: California Department of Conservation)

Last week, the California Building Standards Commission unanimously approved the nation’s first statewide green building code. The new rules will mandate that all new construction reduce energy use by 15%, water use by 20% and water for landscaping by 50%. The new Green Building Standards Code goes beyond the state’s Title 24 building energy efficiency standards, which were recently strengthened (e-Newswire, 4/30/08). In a guest column for our blog, the Power Plug, commission chairwoman Rosario Marin notes: “We will find these energy savings through a combination of more efficient appliances, better insulation and more efficient windows. This code will also encourage the use of recycled materials in carpets and building materials, identify a number of improvements to air quality and suggest various site improvements, including parking for hybrid vehicles and better storm water plans.” Critical for the support of environmental groups was that the new rules do not preclude California cities and counties from implementing standards stronger than those developed by the state. The new green building code, which takes effect July 1, 2009, will be voluntary until mandatory rules are completed, most likely by the end of 2010.

• Read background (PDF, 20 KB)
• Read Rosario Marin’s Power Plug guest column on the new building code, “Greening California — One Building at a Time,” (6/05/08)
• Related: “California Energy Commission Approves Updated Title 24 Efficiency Standards for Homes and Businesses” (e-Newswire, 4/30/08)
• Related: “San Francisco Proposal Would Require Private Buildings to Be Green” (e-Newswire, 7/25/07)
• Read Flex Your Power’s Best Practices Guide for Local Governments

Fireman’s Fund new green coverage will help policyholders faced with a loss rebuild green (Photo: California Department of Water Resources)

Last summer, I wrote about the Fireman’s Fund launching the first insurance designed specifically for green commercial buildings (e-Newswire, 8/22/07). Earlier this month, the Novato-based insurer announced that, beginning August 1, they will begin offering their green coverage to California homeowners for the first time. Similar to the coverage offered for commercial buildings, the Green Homeowners Insurance allows policyholders whose homes have been partially damaged to rebuild with ENERGY STAR qualified products such as lighting and HVAC equipment. Policyholders whose homes have been completely destroyed can rebuild to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. The green coverage also provides up to $25,000 to hire a LEED-certified architect to oversee rebuilding and to navigate the LEED application process. Because green homes have lower operating costs and offer less risk, Fireman’s Fund offers policyholders whose homes have already been certified green a discount of up to 5% off their total insurance premium.

• Read background
• Related: “SDG&E Increases Incentives for 2007 San Diego Firestorm Victims” (e-Newswire, 2/21/08)
• Related: “Fireman’s Fund Green-Gard Coverage: First Insurance Designed for Green Buildings” (e-Newswire, 8/22/07)
• Related: “Insurers Promoting Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to Prevent Climate Change Losses” (e-Newswire, 9/06/06)
• Find rebates, services and incentives for your home, searchable by ZIP code
• Energy- and money-saving tips for your home

New Franchise Tax Board campus in Sacramento (Photo: Swinerton Incorporated)

The California Department of General Services (DGS) announced last week that three new Franchise Tax Board (FTB) buildings have earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification (LEED-NC Silver) from the U.S. Green Building Council. The buildings in the 1 million-sq.-ft. expansion project were designed to exceed California’s Title 24 energy efficiency standards by more than 20%. The campus is loaded with energy-and water-saving features, among them: energy-efficient lighting fixtures, mechanical equipment, insulation, sunshades and screens, and double-pane window glazing that reduces heating and cooling needs; natural daylight and outdoor views for 90% of occupied spaces; a lighting control system that automatically adjusts with the amount of natural daylight entering the workspace to reduce energy spent on lighting systems; 190,000 square feet of “cool” white roofing which reflects heat from the sun keeping inside temperatures and cooling costs down; low-flow plumbing, exterior irrigation fixtures and drought-tolerant landscaping to conserve water. In June, the FTB and DGS were honored with a Community Energy Award (PDF, 143 KB) from the Sacramento Municipal Utility District in recognition of the campus’ energy efficiency measures.

• Read background
• Search the State of California’s Green Building Directory
• Related: “State of California Earns First LEED Rating for a Renovated Building” (e-Newswire, 3/05/08)
• Related: “State of California Seeks Energy Services Companies to Undertake Energy Efficiency Projects” (e-Newswire, 3/21/07)
• Read Flex Your Power’s Best Practices Guide for Local Governments

One of the more than 1,000 ENERGY STAR homes SoCalGas has sponsored since 2002 (Photo: SoCalGas)

Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) was recently honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a 2008 ENERGY STAR “Leadership in Housing” Award for its promotion of energy-efficient new homes. Since 2002, SoCalGas has sponsored more than 1,000 ENERGY STAR rated homes in its service territory. These homes, which must be at least 15% more efficient than the 2001 International Residential Code, feature added insulation, high-performance windows, tightly sealed ducts, energy-efficient HVAC systems and ENERGY STAR qualified lighting and appliances. SoCalGas says that efficiency measures in the homes will save their owners about $450,000 on their utility bills.

• Read background (PDF, 111 KB)
  
• Related: “Northern California Home Builders Pledge to Cut in Half the Energy Consumed in New Homes by 2020” (e-Newswire, 1/23/08)
• Related: “Southern California Gas Company Launches ‘Instant Rebate’ Program for Efficient Appliances” (e-Newswire, 7/26/06)
• Find rebates, incentives and services for you home, searchable by ZIP code, with Flex Your Power’s Rebate Locator

(Photo: Rocky Mountain Institute)

“Environmental strategy is not about manipulating regulatory systems to put your competitor at a disadvantage. It’s about redesigning your company’s processes and products so that regulation is relevant only to your competitor, not to yourself. The real leaders are going to be smart companies that see the competitive advantage in leading energy transformation in their sectors.”

• From “Using Energy More Efficiently: An Interview With the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Amory Lovins,” McKinsey Quarterly (June/July 2008) (registration required), via Yudelson Associates Blog (7/01/08)

More than 1,000 Santa Barbara County businesses have taken advantage of incentives to install efficient lighting in the past year (Photo: SCEEP)

If you’re a business owner in California, there is little reason to hesitate in replacing old, inefficient lighting. This past year, over 1,000 businesses in Santa Barbara County discovered that one of the easiest ways to boost profits is to invest in energy efficiency — and there’s money available to help them do it. Under the Direct Install Program of the South County Energy Efficiency Partnership, which is administered by Southern California Edison, 1,053 businesses and non-profit organizations in Carpinteria, Goleta, Isla Vista, Montecito, Santa Barbara and Summerland each received up to $5,000 in energy-efficient lighting and no-cost installation. Collectively, the businesses saved just over a $1 million in energy costs and nearly 6.9 million kilowatt-hours. To find available rebates, incentives and services for your business, searchable by ZIP code, log onto Flex Your Power’s Rebate Locator.

• Read background
• Related: “CPUC Wants to Expand Utilities’ Loans to Small Businesses for Energy-Efficient Equipment” (e-Newswire, 5/14/08)
• Related: “Efficiency Help Coming for Small Businesses — New Energy Bill to Fund Loans, Audits and Trainings” (e-Newswire, 1/23/08)
• Find rebates, incentives and services for your business
• Read Flex Your Power’s Best Practices Guide for Restaurants (PDF, 597 KB)

Artist’s rendering of the MIT team’s dye-based organic solar concentrator (Illustration: National Science Foundation)

MIT engineers recently developed a novel solar concentrator that collects light over a large area such as a window and concentrates it at the edges. In lieu of covering a roof with expensive solar cells, the cells can be located around the edges of a flat glass panel and the focused light increases the electrical power obtained from each solar cell “by a factor of over 40,” Marc A. Baldo, leader of the work, told ScienceDaily. The solar concentrator uses a mixture of two or more dyes painted onto a pane of glass or plastic. The dyes work together to absorb light across a range of wavelengths, which is then re-emitted at a different wavelength and carried across the pane to solar cells at the edges. The team believes the system could be implemented within three years or even added onto existing solar panel systems to increase their efficiency by 50% for minimal additional cost, substantially reducing the cost of solar electricity. Several members of the MIT team are starting a company, Covalent Solar, to develop and commercialize the new technology.

• Read background: “New ‘Window’ Opens On Solar Energy: Cost Effective Devices Available Soon,” By ScienceDaily (7/11/08)
• Read an MIT Fact Sheet on and view a video interview with Marc Baldo talking about the new solar concentrators
• Related: “Napa Valley Winery, Far Niente, Installs ‘Floatovoltaic’ Solar Array” (e-Newswire, 6/11/08)
• Related: “Solar Roads Show Potential for Power Generation” (Power Plug, 4/07/08)
• Related: “New Solar Cell Achieves World-Record Conversion Efficiency” (e-Newswire, 12/13/06)

AirGenerate’s AirTap heat-pump water heater (Photo: AirGenerate)

AirGenerate has recently developed a heat-pump that can be retrofitted onto a conventional gas or electric water heater, more than doubling the energy performance compared with a standard electric water heater, reports BuildingGreen.com. The AirTap A7 water heater has a rated output of 7,000 Btu/hour, a first-hour rating of 42.5 gallons, a maximum water temperature of 135 degrees, an efficiency of 240% and an energy factor of 2.11. Installation for the unit, which sits on top of a standard water heater (see picture at right), is fairly easy, writes BuildingGreen.com’s Alex Wilson. AirGenerate has significantly ramped up production of the AirTap this year, and Skyland Falls — a Tennessee developer — has installed 30 of the units since January in a 70-unit subdivision currently under construction. General Electric expects to introduce its own heat-pump water heater, the Hybrid Electric Water Heater, in late 2009. The model will sell for about $400 more than a standard, 50-gallon electric water heater but save an average family $250 per year with electricity at $0.10/kWh, the company claims.

• Read background: “An Affordable Heat-Pump Water-Heater Retrofit,” By Alex Wilson, BuildingGreen.com (7/1/08)
• Related: “Palo Alto Establishes Permanent Solar Water Heater Rebate Program” (e-Newswire, 5/14/08)
• Related: “DOE Announces New ENERGY STAR Standards for Water Heaters and TV and Video Set-Top Boxes” (e-Newswire, 4/30/08)
• Read more about energy-efficient water heaters
• Find rebates, incentives and services for your home