Exterior lighting pushes back the darkness and can make the otherwise intimidating nighttime environment more welcoming and functional. But lighting can also impact our well-being. The extent of that impact is currently under debate between the American Medical Association (AMA) and Illuminating Engineering Society (IES)....
In 1982, an explosion of a Gasprom pipeline in Siberia was the first cyber-attack of an Industrial Control System (ICS). Stuxnet (the malware that took down Iran’s nuclear centrifuges) was released 10 years ago. According to Joe Weiss, an ICS cybersecurity expert, who recently wrote...
What’s cool about NMEC and M&V 2.0 There’s a lot of buzz in our state right now around the concept of M&V 2.0 and Normalized Metered Energy Consumption (NMEC). The term was created as part of AB 802 in 2015 with the inclusion of the following...
We recently worked with our Center for Energy Efficient Labs partners My Green Lab and Frontier Energy on an Emerging Technologies study funded jointly by the three California IOUs. The study involved testing the energy performance of modern, high-efficiency ultra-low temperature (ULT; -80C) lab freezers...
I spend a lot of time with building engineers deciphering what’s happening in their VAV systems. Unfortunately, it’s often not what the design engineer intended, or what the controls company envisioned when they set up the system. When identifying problems with building control systems, it’s...
Energy benchmarking is often the first step in a new energy efficiency program or sustainable design project. Benchmarking helps us to prioritize and focus attention; it also provides useful metrics for target-setting or gauging progress. Lab buildings need benchmarking more than most. At first glance, the...
All the warning signs of burnout were there. It took time to process, but last year I realized my life needed shaking up. I needed a break from work. I noticed that since starting our company almost 20 years ago, my energy was starting to wane....
Commissioning has been around since the 1980’s, but has gained prominence with the requirements in LEED, energy codes, and even federal requirements. As the industry has evolved, so has the title for the people that do it. There are currently three titles: Commissioning Agent (CxA),...
California’s SB 350, passed in 2015, garnered widespread attention for the state’s leadership in advancing renewable energy and energy efficiency. The bill set a goal for “doubling” energy efficiency in the state by 2030. But what does it mean to “double energy efficiency” by 2030,...
I recently held a session on Best Practices for Lighting Audits at PG&E’s Pacific Energy Center and someone asked me something which truly intrigued me about cheese (?!) and lighting. I love sharing my experiences in these classes and picking up tips and tricks from...