Your electric meter: A villain or hero?

By Elisa Wood

February 23, 2011

Before energy became a hot topic, no one cared about the electric meter. It was the box on the house we all ignored except the guy from the utility who dodged the barking dogs to take a reading from it once in awhile.

It is a sign of our times that this box now inspires enough emotion for people to take to the streets. Protesters gathered outside the California Public Utilities Commission last week claiming that new metering technology not only makes people sick, but also violates their Constitutional rights.http://stopsmartmeters.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/feb-16th-protest-at-the-ca-public-utilities-commission/ Such opposition has been going on in California for months and has spread to other states.

On the other end of the spectrum, new or ‘smart’ meters are hailed as the addiction counselors that will save us from our dependence on foreign energy. Thus, utilities are rapidly replacing our ignored ‘dumb’ meters with the new smart version. North America and Europe will replace 45% their meters with smart ones by 2015, according to Pike Research. http://www.pikeresearch.com/research/smart-meters

So it is not a surprise to see that the Electric Power Research Institute weighed in recently with a study on the safety of smart meters. The study concluded that the radio-frequency (RF) exposure levels from the meters – at least the type examined by EPRI –are too low to be any danger to human health. In fact, the study found smart meter emis sions, even at the maximum point, are about equal to emissions from WiFi routers and radio and television transmission. They are far lower than exposure fields from cell phones or microwave ovens, according to EPRI.www.epri.com

Known as advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), the new wireless meter uses digital technology to allow for two way communication between the household and the utility. Used optimally, the smart meter provides price signals from the utility so that consumers can choose when to do laundry, cook dinner or undertake other energy-consuming activities. The idea is to discourage use of the electric grid when it is under strain. This allows us to cut back on the number of peaking power plants we must build. These plants, which use fossil fuels, emit harmful pollutants.

So whichever side you take, whether you think of smart meters as hero or villain, there are health issues to consider. Smart meters increase RF exposure; lack of smart meters over the long term increases emissions from power generation.

No doubt we will hear much more about this issue. Indeed, EPRI sees its study as just the first step in responding to public concern.

But one thing is for certain, the meter is no longer the ignored box on the house. Like much in energy, its significance is rising in US policy, economic and health debate. Energy is front and center in the public psyche. That’s a good thing, since smart boxes will only get us so far in energy planning; smart consumers are the key.

This blog is open source & copyright free with attribution to www.RealEnergyWriters.com. Visit Elisa Wood at www.realenergywriters.com and pick up her free weekly newsletter and podcast.

Why President Obama’s better buildings initiative doesn’t work for multifamily

Guest blog By Michael Miller

You might think by this headline that I’m about to rant about the news regarding energy efficiency policy that was circulating last week. President Obama outlined a plan called the Better Buildings Initiative to incentivize energy efficiency in commercial buildings during his visit to Penn State. Actually, I want to explain why multifamily energy management struggles with this type of policy.

While we certainly applaud the President’s plan to create tax incentives for building efficiency and increase financing for building retrofits, the plan does not go far enough to suit the specific needs of the multifamily industry. These needs will be increasingly important given the nation’s current and future housing concerns.

The President’s plan takes on the energy consumption of commercial buildings. It incentivizes the upgrade of the buildings used for offices, stores, schools, universities, hospitals, and other municipal or commercial organizations. The ultimate goal is to make these types of buildings 20 percent more energy efficient in the next 10 years. President Obama’s plan attempts to create these incentives through tax breaks and additional financing opportunities, building on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The National Multi Housing Council commended the Better Buildings Initiative, and was quoted on the White House blog as a supporter of the tax initiatives, finances, and education for commercial buildings. While NMHC (and American Utility Management) are in general agreement, it’s important to remember that the devil is in the details.

Traditionally, multifamily properties have been lumped in with commercial buildings when it comes to these types of initiatives. There are a number of problems with the practice of categorizing multifamily property as commercial and corresponding challenges to implement larger energy management initiatives:

There is not enough information available surrounding the multifamily industry’s energy consumption to create a policy (such as the Better Buildings Initiative) that will help to reduce it. Sustainability strategies must be rooted in facts that we don’t have in the multifamily arena.

• Unlike commercial buildings, very few multifamily buildings are master metered. Almost all units nationwide are individually metered for electricity and natural gas — which means building owners have no information about energy use in individual units.
• To gather this information, local electric, gas, and water utilities would have to share unit-specific information, but state laws bar disclosure.

Facility infrastructure is old and varied. Would the incentives go far enough to justify the investment?

• More than 15 million of the almost 24.5 million units in multifamily housing buildings with two or more units are at least 30 years old. New building codes will do little if anything to bring about efficiency improvements.
• Buildings are of widely varying sizes, shapes, types, and locations, meaning the information collected must take specific multifamily factors into consideration for measurement.

Financial incentives for residents are difficult to establish due to resident/property dynamics.

• More than 60 percent of tenants stay in their units for a year or less, making it difficult to assess and improve multifamily energy efficiency.
• Property managers usually have an economic incentive to keep rents low (and occupancy high), but limited incentive to incur expenses to improve building energy efficiency.

Assessment and benchmarking tools are non-existent in multifamily. As multifamily property owners you’re told by numerous people that they can benchmark your utilities. Let me tell you why you’re wasting your money.

• There is no uniform tool for measuring or assessing the energy efficiency of multifamily housing buildings or improvements to them. This makes it virtually impossible for residents to shop for housing based on energy efficiency, and it limits economic incentives to make building efficiency improvements.
• Jurisdictions such as New York and Seattle are taking steps through legislation that specifically categorizes multifamily — and it’s a step in the right direction. But the only accepted measurement is EPA’s portfolio manager, geared to commercial/industrial applications. It does not take into account factors specific to multifamily mentioned above.

Without addressing each of these issues, there can’t be a comprehensive sustainability strategy for multifamily. And until that happens, we need to focus on what we do know –that reducing energy consumption will save property owners money — and educate the industry about why individual sustainability initiatives are important to their business.

This is not as sexy as the President’s press-savvy Better Buildings plan, but preventing multifamily energy dollars from being sucked into a black hole of additional expense is definitely attractive to multifamily business owners.

Without industry-wide standards for energy consumption, multifamily property owners need to take the initiative to operate more sustainably and cost-effectively. There are a number of simple ways to reduce energy and utility consumption.

Motion sensor faucets, which ensure not a drop of water is wasted, can reduce consumption by 10 to 15 percent at a single property. Installing occupancy sensors for lighting throughout the property can reduce electricity consumption by another 10 to 15 percent. Properties can also provide digital control systems to more accurately monitor boiler system temperature. These three tactics alone achieve a total cost reduction of 10 to 15 percent, a huge return on a comparatively minor investment.

Implementing these types of cost savers is the first step in establishing the effectiveness of efficiency upgrades in supporting larger sustainability campaigns, and protecting the bottom line.

This was a long-winded explanation of why President Obama’s Better Buildings Initiative needs to go further to work for multifamily. But it’s important to understand that if our industry blindly follows the agenda this plan is pushing, there’s significant potential for consumer confusion, incomplete and inadequate data-gathering, and waste of resources.

Michael Miller is President and CEO of American Utility Management (AUM).www.aum-inc.com. For the full blog go to http://blog.aum-inc.com/2011/02/16/why-president-obamas-better-buildings-initiative-doesnt-work-for-multifamily/

Obama, better buildings and the innovators

By Elisa Wood

February 9, 2011

When Obama unveiled his “Better Building Initiative” last week, it wasn’t just the usual architects, builders, and energy efficiency service companies that perked up with interest. A whole new segment of energy efficiency companies saw opportunity: the innovators.

Emissaries from the high tech world, the innovators are a growing force in energy efficiency. They bring web and wireless to what was once a field more about windows and weatherization.

Obama’s plan would create new business for the innovators by providing incentives to reduce building energy use. Buildings represent a large market for the US energy efficiency industry because they eat up 20% of the nation’s energy. Obama has proposed tax deductions, financing, competitive grants and other incentives as part of his budget.

Where do the innovators fit into this? Daintree Networks offers one example. The Silicon Valley company provides open platform, wireless technology for lighting controls. Lighting is a big deal in buildings; it is responsible for about 40% of a building’s energy bill. http://old.aceee.org/ogeece/ch2_index.htm. Lighting controls increase efficiency by automatically shutting off or dimming unneeded lights. The controls are often used in conjunction with occupancy sensors. The sensor detects when people empty a room and signal to the control system to turn off the lights.

“Anyone who is considering lighting upgrades now is asking about controls. It is no longer just about replacing light bulbs and fixtures, but about the control implementation,” said Danny Yu, Daintree Networks CEO.

With controls in only about 7% of commercial buildings, the market potential is large for innovators like Daintree Networks. So Yu has his eye not only on federal energy policy, but also activity by the states.

“We are very keen on seeing what policies are coming down the line, exploiting them with innovation, and then educating the market. We have focused on California and the Northeast,” Yu said, adding that prime areas for lighting controls have the “magic combination” of high electric rates and strong efficiency incentives.

But he especially likes the Obama plan because of its national scope. Incentives that vary from state to state tend to discourage energy efficiency efforts that scale across geographic boundaries.

“The Obama Better Buildings Initiative is an important first step in establishing national policy to drive energy efficiency in the commercial building sector. Energy efficiency within existing buildings should be considered a massive and mostly untapped resource. Adding greater incentives, financing options and a more consolidated approach to strong building regulations helps to solve many of the challenges currently standing in the way of greener facilities,” Yu said.

Will the Obama’s initiative win Congressional support? Yu is optimistic. “Energy efficiency is often the low-hanging fruit. The government has realized this,” he said. “Among the innovation companies, there is a very clear sector rotation into energy efficiency. The government seems to be following the venture capital community. We are very worthy in this category. I’m very excited to see the validation of the business model.”

Details about the Obama Better Building Initiative are here.http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/02/03/president-obama-s-plan-win-future-making-american-businesses-more-energy

Visit Elisa Wood at www.realenergywriters.com and pick up her free weekly newsletter and podcast.

Where to find energy efficiency business opportunities

By Elisa Wood

February 2, 2011

No one would disagree that this is a good time to be in the energy efficiency business. Another report, this one out last week, signals just how good.

Conducted by Comverge, the survey of more than 100 US utilities found that 92% plan to increase their efficiency budgets by at least 10% in 2011. Comverge also found that 22% plan to boost their EE budgets by more than 20%.http://www.comverge.com/newsroom/comverge-press-releases/2011/January-31,-2011.

However, it is not always easy to pinpoint where the business opportunity lies, since they may emerge from so many different sources: utilities, government agencies, energy companies seeking to subcontract, or large energy consumers and others. Further, the opportunities tend to be diverse, given that the energy efficiency industry encompasses so many different kinds of businesses — installers, green builders, architects, consultants, load managers, appliance and car manufacturers, information technology companies and more. Any search requires casting a broad net.

Here are a few recent opportunities that Energy Efficiency Markets,http://www.realwriters.net/rew/news_frame.htm, picked up in its weekly search.

• The Maryland Energy Administration seeks a consultant to help with state planning, preparation, and implementation of energy efficiency procurement contracts. Bids are due March 2.
• The New Hampshire Office of Energy & Planning is looking for help with marketing, outreach, education and strategic communication planning for energy efficiency and renewable energy. Bids are due in two phases, March 30 and June 9.
• The US Department of Energy’s Tribal Energy Program seeks applications for the assessment and deployment of energy efficiency improvements in Indian country. Bids are due March 16.
• American National Standards Institute seeks an administrator and technical assistance for a new certification program that will provide third party verification of energy efficiency at industrial and commercial facilities. Proposals are due March 10.
• The Minnesota State Energy Sector Partnership is looking for innovative proposals from Minnesota-based businesses and organizations to train state residents for jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. Proposals are due March 3.
• The New York Energy Research and Development Authority seeks proposals to expand the amount of customer load involved in facility peak load reduction or demand response programs for dynamic electric pricing. Bids are due March 15.

There are about 30 opportunities listed in the newsletter here,http://www.realwriters.net/rew/news_frame.htm, and updated weekly. It’s free. Another excellent free source is a monthly mailing distributed through the Washington State University Extension Energy Program, and available by contacting laurie.e.brown@comcast.net. It lists energy efficiency opportunities, as well as a broad range of other kinds of green and environmental projects.