A new approach to energy efficiency uses high tech tools to make many small adjustments rather than more costly tactics such as replacing big ticket items like windows and cooling equipment.
Startups including Carbon Lighthouse and Redaptive are using data collection and machine learning to make a building’s mechanical and electrical infrastructure use power more efficiently. Carbon Lighthouse has helped Tesla cut electricity use at the electric vehicle maker's headquarters by using sensors, data collection, software algorithms, and technical analysis.
Carbon Lighthouse engineers focused on two large cooling towers, two chillers, and some pumps at Tesla headquarters. They found an error in how two systems were communicating with each other.
They then figured out a way to run the three systems using less energy but producing the same amount of cooling. Commercial properties account for about one-third of U.S. power consumption, so reducing their usage—even in relatively small ways—on a large scale could significantly cut the nation’s power usage and carbon footprint.
Related Stories
| Dec 13, 2012
Pima County, Ariz. officials say improved code enforcement scores will help lower insurance bills
Insurance Service Office, Inc. (ISO) recently analyzed building codes and enforcement and found that Pima County, Ariz., consistently outscored comparable jurisdictions in Arizona and the nation.
| Dec 13, 2012
D.C. aims to be a green leader with new building codes
The District of Columbia has released a revised set of building codes to make it a leader in green construction.
| Dec 7, 2012
Georgia court limits contractors’ ability to foreclose on liens
The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled in 182 Tenth, LLC v. Manhattan Construction Company that lien claimants such as contractors, subcontractors, and materialmen, may not foreclose on a lien that includes unpaid general condition costs.
| Dec 7, 2012
San Francisco real estate records will include ‘green labels’
Ecologically-sustainable building practices, or “green labels,” will now be included on official land records maintained by San Francisco.
| Dec 7, 2012
Tokyo’s Green Building Program has reduced power consumption by 20%
Tokyo city officials calculate that its Green Building Program reduced energy consumption by 20% since its inception, a statistic they identify as the reason the power stayed on during the 2011 earthquake.
| Dec 7, 2012
New flexible options make achieving LEED certification easier on projects outside the US
A new set of Global Alternative Compliance Paths, or Global ACPs, are now available for all commercial projects pursuing LEED green building certification using the 2009 versions of the rating systems.
| Nov 29, 2012
New York contractors say they will pay tax despite a court ruling that the tax is unconstitutional
The New York Building Congress says it will voluntarily pay a tax declared unconstitutional by the courts because, it says, the money is vital to maintaining the city’s transportation infrastructure.
| Nov 29, 2012
Storms like Sandy highlight the need for stricter codes, says insurance expert
Experts on insurance, weather, and catastrophe modeling say the role of climate change in Hurricane Sandy and future storms is unclear.
