When we think of industrial customers, a specific picture comes to mind. This picture often includes heavy machinery and manufacturing-type facilities. However, the industrial category encompasses a wide range of activities, including agriculture, food processing, commercial laundry, and water processing. Incentives for industrial customers also depend on your utility provider.

Since industrial customers tend to be among the larger utility customers, they are uniquely positioned to realize significant energy savings, often with relatively minor adjustments.

When multifamily properties save energy, everybody wins! An energy-efficient multifamily property attracts more potential renters, it helps keep costs low for existing residents, AND energy efficiency has a tendency of lowering maintenance costs.

So, how do we save energy in multifamily buildings?

There are several options for rebates and incentives through your local utility.

Do my pumps pass the pump efficiency test? This is one of the most important questions you will ask yourself as a pump operator. The answer to this question can either lead to opportunities for energy savings or lead to peace of mind knowing your systems are running optimally. A wise man once said, “And if you don’t know, now you know.” More specifically, you will know your next steps by the end of this article.

The most memorable Black History Month is when I have an opportunity to take a moment to reflect on events in my life and how the people we celebrate during Black History Month have impacted them.

This month, I want to focus on technology and how its progression has shaped our lives in ways we never would have imagined. I want to highlight the contributions of Black Americans who have made that technology possible.

Energy end use in the United States is measured and tracked by sector. There are four sectors: transportation, industrial, residential, and commercial. The commercial sector is the smallest energy user by comparison. However, do not be fooled by this fact; it still represents a significant amount of energy usage, which is why several energy efficiency measures are geared toward helping commercial sector customers reduce their energy usage without compromising business operation

Now, as you read this, you may be thinking, “What is a “DER” and why is it important to me?” Chances are, you encounter them almost every day, but you may not think of them as “DERs.” Distributed Energy Resources refer to systems that produce energy at or near the where it is being utilized. These systems are often renewable.

I am sure you know California’s push toward 100% renewable energy.  A BIG part of this initiative is building electrification.  Building electrification means, converting from using natural gas appliances to appliances that use electricity.  There are many cost-effective ways to do this. 

As I am sure you are aware, your HVAC system is one of the biggest energy users in your building. In fact, HVAC is often responsible for 20-30% of the energy usage in a building. This is especially true in the Central Valley.

Wish that you could somehow shift most of your cooling energy load to off-peak hours?Time-of-use rate changes are here and the hottest part of the day (4 pm – 6 pm) will become the most expensive time to use your air conditioner. It may be time to consider an ice storage air conditioner.

We touched on convection ovens very briefly in last week’s article when we discussed 5-in-1 ovens. A 5-in-1 oven is special because it has many different capabilities. Specifically, they are a convection oven, a toaster oven, a warming/proofing oven, a precision cooking oven, and a microwave.

We are all done with the ghosts, ghouls, and goblins of Halloween, and we are looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. November 1st is the unofficial start of the holiday season. This is, by far, my favorite time of the year. However, while we are all gearing up for yet another wonderful holiday season and its traditions, it is important to understand and seek out new and more efficient ways of doing the things that we love, even if they are traditional.

As we are approaching the holiday season, we will be launching an EE cooking series for Technology Tuesdays! This week’s edition features Induction Cooktops

Allow me to explain: the duck curve describes the shape of a chart. This particular chart covers a 24-hour period of time during the spring in California. The season is important because during the springtime, there is still a lot of sunlight which translates into solar generation however, people are not using their air conditioning or heating.

He's a 10, but... he bought the 13 SEER to save money… Check out our #TechTuesday to see why this is ALL wrong

The SEER rating is probably the most important number when looking for a new air conditioning unit. I would argue that the SEER rating is more important than the price. How can that be?

What exactly are we talking about when we discuss water efficiency and conservation? First off, we are still talking about energy efficiency and energy conservation because water and energy are inextricably tied. This is because, in order to use water, we must move it to where we need it. In order to move it, we need energy.

We all know the scenario: it is the middle of summer and the middle of the hottest temperature streak in recent memory. You hear a strange noise coming from your air conditioning unit just before it starts blowing what feels like warm air. Without a doubt, your AC has decided to take an unscheduled hiatus during the time you need it the most! Not to mention the other compounding issues with getting it repaired.

A DER can be made up of many things but the overall purpose of it is to “help support the delivery of clean, reliable power to additional customers and reduce electricity losses along transmission and distribution lines.” Distributed energy resources are small scale electricity resources that help to meet supply and demand by using their interconnectivity to the grid

This is the first summer season where new peak rates have been implemented across all sectors and all California utilities, meaning, peak time is from 4pm to 9pm as opposed to the old timeframe which was noon to 7pm. It is never too late to take a look at your buildings to be sure you are ready for those hot summer months and to be sure they don’t break the bank!

Earth Day is coming up on Friday and it is such a special time of the year. It is special because we have the opportunity, to take a moment to appreciate the Earth and all of the wonderful things it offers us each day. We also have the opportunity to educate people on the things we can do to help preserve our resources.

Building electrification is definitely a popular buzz word these days. However, as with most buzz words, people use them without fully understanding the meaning. In this case, people sometimes use the term “building electrification” without fully understanding its impacts. Let us start with the definition of building electrification.