In a previous post, I wrote about smartphone apps and their inadequacy with respect to illuminance measurements (that is, their ability to measure footcandles or lux). That post took a deep dive into why smartphones are not up to snuff as a professional light meter....
Changes to utility rate periods are beginning to be implemented and can impact your bottom line. On December 1, 2017, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) became the first investor-owned utility (IOU) in the state to break tradition and with the California Public Utilities Commission’s...
So, you’re thinking about hiring an ESCO. We understand how organizations needing a one-stop shop to implement energy saving projects can benefit from streamlined services for energy savings, like those offered by ESCOs. If you’re considering signing an ESCO contract, as with any big purchase...
In California, we’re used to the earth shaking from time to time and now the refrigerant world is also shifting seismically. The impacts of this shift on businesses and energy use in the state could be just as scary and pronounced unless we prepare. The coming...
From my experience as both an acceptance tester and commissioning provider, I’ve realized that not everyone knows the difference. It’s helpful for stakeholders to understand how they are different to be sure expectations are aligned and construction moves smoothly. Commissioning is a SYSTEMATIC process, not a...
‘You can’t manage what you don’t measure’ is a keystone of energy efficiency. Measuring your building’s energy use is so important that reporting it is now the law in California for many building owners. The first deadline is quickly approaching beginning on June 1, 2018....
The initial novelty of solar may have passed, but as renewables become mainstream, costs decrease, and legislation pushes for clean energy, there are still savings to be had provided systems are well-designed and continue to operate as intended. After inspecting over 3,000 PV systems in Central...
Co-authored by Jim Kelsey and David Jump. We’ve shown leadership but now it feels like we’re stumbling. We’ve been pretty optimistic about normalized metered energy consumption (NMEC) as a streamlined platform for achieving and demonstrating savings in buildings (see our prior post for more on why). And,...
Now that we’ve passed the deadline for all Proposition 39 (Prop-39) funding requests, Energy Expenditure Plans (EEPs) and EEP Amendments, what lies ahead for your school district? Timelines The well-published future deadlines for the program are: June 30, 2019: Funding Encumbrance Deadline June 30, 2020: Project Completion...
Zero Net Energy (ZNE) sounds very appealing doesn’t it? [blockquote text="This building only uses as much energy as it (cleanly) generates on-site!!!" show_quote_icon="yes"] ZNE quickly implies energy self-sufficiency. Efficient energy use plus some solar PV panels to match equals “we are doing our part!!”. Seems simple. ZNE is...