New York City’s iconic Empire State Building, once the world’s tallest building, has been undergoing a multi-million dollar green renovation that will now extend to the power that’s used by the 102-story Art deco landmark’s tenants.

Malkin Holdings, which operates and maintains the 2.85 million square-foot office building has announced it will buy 100 percent of its power from a wind farm owned by Green Mountain Energy Company.

“It was a natural fit for us to combine 100 percent clean energy with our nearly completed, groundbreaking energy efficiency retrofit work,” said Anthony E. Malkin, President of Malkin Holdings, which runs the building, said in the announcement.

“Clean energy and our nearly 40% reduced consumption of watts and BTUs gives us a competitive advantage in attracting the best credit tenants at the best rents,” he said.

The two-year contract for 55 million kWh of renewable energy annually will prevent nearly 100 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year, the firm said.

Officials at Green Mountain Energy said that number is equal to the reduction that would be achieved if the lights were turned off in every house in New York State for a week or planting 150,000 trees.

The purchase is also more than double the amount of renewable power that any other commercial customer in New York City is currently buying

“We are extremely pleased that an icon like the world-famous Empire State Building made this important commitment to support renewable energy,” said Paul Thomas, CEO of Green Mountain Energy Company.
“This announcement is historic for many reasons. In addition to being the largest commercial consumer of green power in New York City, the Empire State Building’s renewable power purchase is now the largest purchase in our company’s 13-year history,” he said. “This demonstrates that Green Mountain can serve all sizes of commercial customers with renewable energy at a price they can afford, and that going green doesn’t have to be a trade-off.”

As part of its green retrofit of the Empire State Building, Malkin Holdings has hired Serious Materials to remove, retrofit and replace each of its 6,514 double-hung, dual-pane windows. It’s also adding insulation and other upgrades.

By: Steve Cowell

As our economy continues to sputter, one little-noticed industry has been booming for a while now: energy efficiency. The sector is hiring like crazy — a fact that speaks volumes about the close relationship between clean energy and the economic recovery that we’re all waiting for. Energy efficiency could save us all.

My firm works with utilities, government agencies, housing authorities, and other groups to help increase energy efficiency. We started in 1984 with three employees and one office. Today, we have nearly two dozen offices nationwide and employ 700 staffers from coast to coast. Most strikingly, we’ve added more than 250 people and 12 offices in just the last two years. The reason is crystal clear: Energy-efficiency services are in great demand. We are continuing to expand rapidly as more groups turn to us for help.

But energy-services firms are not the only ones that can benefit from the demand for energy-efficiency services. With the right programs in place, reducing power consumption can improve the bottom line for many other types of companies. Case in point: The building infrastructure in this country is old and inefficient. Retrofitting these buildings requires an army of workers. These include heating/air conditioning installers, insulators, and building inspectors. Many of these tradespeople are out of work and these retrofitting jobs can get them back on their feet. Products like insulation, caulk, triple-paned windows and doors, and high-efficiency heating and cooling systems will also get a boost. And that’s not all. The goods need to be made, inspected, shipped, and sold, widening the circle of employment opportunities for manufacturers, retailers, and distributors. This expanded workforce means people will have more money to spend.

Now that’s what I call a “trickle down economy”!

Most importantly, jobs created to support energy efficiency are America’s jobs. More than 90 percent of products and 100 percent of the labor used in residential energy work are American. If Home Star becomes law, weatherization products and equipment will fly off store shelves faster than you can say “retrofit.” Most of these supplies are made domestically, so our factories will need to step up production. Home Star is expected to increase demand for retrofitting by a factor of 15, benefiting those hardest hit by this recession — manufacturing and construction workers. An estimated 168,000 jobs would be generated to carry out the program. Consumers who take advantage of Home Star would save our country an estimated $10 billion in energy costs by 2020. The program would jolt our economy by pumping in $6 billion over two years and cut down on carbon emissions. Supported by Republicans and Democrats, environmentalists and businesses, the bill was introduced exactly one year ago. Home Star has been stalled in the U.S. Senate for months after having passed the House last May. We hope the new Congress will put Home Star on the front burner.

New economic analysis shows that clean energy legislation will create up to 1.9 million new jobs, increase annual household income by up to $1,175, and boost the GDP by up to $111 billion. Over the years, study after study, from groups like the Center for American Progress and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, have supported the direct correlation between green industry growth and jobs. Eighteen months ago, findings from a study by the Pew Charitable Trust found that green jobs are growing at a national rate of 9.1 percent, while traditional jobs are growing by only 3.7 percent.

As someone who’s been working in the industry for more than 30 years, I’m not surprised at all. Clean energy is job creation, hands down. Our time has come!

So what are we waiting for?

ATLANTA, Georgia–Shumate Mechanical, which has operated in Atlanta to provide residents with all of their heating and cooling demands since 1978, announces that it’s now the exclusive Bosch tankless water heater dealer for Bosch in Georgia. The condensing tankless water heater sold by Shumate Mechanical is state of the art. While actually cheaper than the non-condensing tankless water heaters on the market today from companies like Rinnai, Noritz, and Rheem, it is next generation technology that saves more energy.

In addition, the new Shumate-Bosch partnership is utilizing a proprietary and first of its kind program to actually let consumers buy the tankless water heating unit directly from Bosch online… and then, seamlessly arrange installation by Shumate within 24 to 48 hours by Shumate. This unique system is obviously faster and more customer-friendly than water heater ordering and installation systems have operated in the past. This is just one more way in which Shumate Mechanical seeks to maximize the benefits that customers derive from doing business with them.

Why should you want to have Shumate Mechanical installing a Bosch tankless water heater in your home? To begin, A Bosch tankless water heater provides endless hot water while using energy more efficiently. A tankless water heater turns on and off when you open and close the faucet. What this means is that the only energy that gets consumed is for the hot water that is being used–the tank is not constantly filling up with, storing, and heating hot water for later use. So, you don’t waste energy heating water when you don’t require it. With a Bosch tankless water heater, when you open a faucet the flow of the water triggers the heater to turn on. Whether you use gas or electricity for your fuel, the powerful gas burners or electrical elements will instantly turn on, rapidly heating the water as it passes through the unit. The water is heated instantly.

As you can imagine, this saving of energy means saved money for you. You can drop anywhere from 5% to 69% off your current hot water heating bill, depending on which model you purchase and what system you are replacing. In addition, you are conserving water, which is healthier for the environment. Yet, heating the water as you’re using it means that you get an endless supply of hot water – no more waiting for the tank to heat up in between showers, running the dishwasher, and so forth.

In addition to these clear advantages of having a tankless water heater installed in your home, there are even more. For instance, a tankless water heater is very small–small enough for you to hang on the wall and thus save yourself valuable floor space. It’s designed with replaceable parts and is built with such materials as copper, stainless steel, and aluminum so that you probably only need to buy one in your adult lifetime, while storage tank water heaters decrease in efficiency over time and eventually need to be replaced. The Bosch tankless water heater is almost completely recyclable, so if you should ever decide to replace it you won’t be negatively impacting the environment by taking up more landfill space. A tankless water heater also won’t develop a corrosive leak like a storage tank water heater all too easily does; this keeps you protected against expensive water damage in your home.

As the new construction market climbs out of the grips of the recession, it is still fighting a glut of existing homes that are priced to move. The element that is being used to level the playing field is home efficiency, and pending legislation that would help make it more affordable. It’s a ray of light for HVAC subcontractors who want to offer a true value proposition in the new home market. It could mean the cost of an upgraded HVAC system could be written into the home’s mortgage.

Lisa Marquis Jackson is vice president of John Burns Real Estate Consulting, Irving, Texas. She said that although the market is still very broad (with “a ridiculous amount of business models whose result is always to create a profitable home”); “this whole issue of energy efficiency, green, and home automation” is moving forward. In the not-so-distant past, it was more the domain of a custom home buyer. Now, “It’s migrating more to the mass home builder, who is offering more that can be touted as energy efficiency. They recognize the importance of it,” Jackson said.

The key for some customers is to promote energy efficiency rather than green; “Green can even have a negative connotation,” she said. “When you say energy efficiency, it’s a private benefit versus a public benefit.”

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by John R. Hall

One of the most glaring inconsistencies in the HVAC contracting trade is the array of licensing requirements across the 50 U.S. states. The disparity is evidenced by the number of states that have no licensing requirements at all — 22. Of the other 28 states, some merely require a business to be registered or to work on projects in excess of $50,000.

The HVAC trade isn’t alone among the many service trades when it comes to license requirements, but the lack of uniformity has made the HVAC contracting trade an easy target for criticism over the years — by the mainstream media and consumers who believe that HVAC contractors are less than scrupulous – thanks to publicized stings and media “hazing.”

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Solar City is a California-based startup company that offers its solar-related services to homeowners, businesses and government. “Install solar. Save money from day one. No upfront investment. And you have a predictable forecast of what your power costs will be for the next 20 years” is their selling proposition. The company’s customer base includes 10,000 homeowners, companies such as Intel and eBay, over 75 schools and universities, and government agencies. Solar City provides solar system financing, design, installation and monitoring.

Lyndon Rive is the CEO of Solar City, and his brother Peter Rive is its chief operating officer. They founded the company in 2006.

Solar City is one of many companies that allow lease of solar equipment; the others include SunRun and Sungevity. All are CA-based companies, and for good reason. According to Lyndon, over half of the estimated 80,000 US homes with rooftop solar are situated in the area covered by PG&E Corp., a solar-friendly utility company which has invested in both Solar City and SunRun.

Solar City does not see SunRun or Sungevity as big competition says Lydon. If anything, increase in solar on roofs, regardless of who installs it, should move the category forward. “Our primary competitor is the homeowner doing nothing,” he stated. “The market is not saturated.”

Very few homes have solar panels on their roofs due to many reasons. The average startup costs are around $30,000. Majority of people don’t know how to shop for panels at all. Who would they hire for installing these panels? What happens when the sun gets blocked? Or when the panels break?

Lydon and Peter focused on those adoption barriers when they started the company. According to Lydon, “Solar is a market that can really scale.” The focus of other companies was on manufacturing and researching new technologies, but none, in those days, was focusing on the mechanism for delivering the product on a big scale. Their vision was to develop the first national consumer-focused solar brand.

According to Lyndon, there were not really any models for brand that offers services for the home. Undeterred, they took the first steps in making rooftop solar as easy as possible.

So far, the company is operating in California, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and Oregon. They chose these five states because they have generous state subsidies, or ample sunlight, or high utility bills–ideally all of the three. Under the right circumstances, leasing of panels costs little or nothing upfront and the panels immediately help save 10% to 15% on utility bills.

Two announcements made recently by the company put a spotlight on it. Last month, Solar City announced that it got the contract for supplying thin-film solar panels to 20 to 30 Walmart stores in California and Arizona. Last week, the company said that homeowners will be able to lease energy efficiency products and services along with solar.

ALBANY, NY – National Grid is helping customers reduce their environmental impact and their energy bills with the renewal of its residential natural gas energy efficiency program that provides rebates for energy saving equipment in the home.

Due to the overwhelming response to this program last year, National Grid exhausted its funding for the initiative last spring, but has received additional funding to renew the program.

“As a result of last year’s response to this program, we have established a rebate reservation list this year,” said Lisa Tallet, manager of residential energy efficiency programs for New York State. “Our web site will update so customers can see how much funding is available in the program when they apply.”

All customers must reserve incentive funding by completing the online rebate reservation.

“National Grid is committed to providing its customers efficiency programs that can reduce energy usage and energy costs,” Tallet said. “These programs are one way the company is providing unparallel customer service and supporting the state’s overall commitment to sustainable and efficiency energy future.”

There are some changes to the rebate programs from the programs that were offered late last year and early this year:

• $140: High-efficiency natural gas furnace (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency 90% or greater)

• $280: High-efficiency natural gas furnace (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency 92% or greater) with an electronically-controlled motor

• $420: High-efficiency natural gas furnace (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency 94% or greater) with an electronically-controlled motor

• $350: Water boiler (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency 85% or greater)

• $560: Water boiler (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency 90% or greater)

• $350: Steam boiler with electric ignition (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency 82% or greater)

• $70: Boiler reset control (Installed by a contractor at the time of a qualifying boiler installation.)

• $210: Indirect water heater (Installed by a contractor at the time of a qualifying boiler installation. An indirect water heater uses the main boiler to heat a fluid that is circulated through a heat exchanger in a water storage tank.)

• $18 for a programmable thermostat installed by a contractor. Limit for this rebate is two per customer.

• $420: Duct sealing (Installed by a contractor at the time of a qualifying furnace or boiler replacement.)

National Grid has a 20-year track record of providing award-winning energy efficiency programs throughout its U.S. service territory that help customers use less energy and reduce their energy bills. Recently, National Grid introduced the 3% less energy campaign which enables customers to join National Grid in pledging to reduce energy consumption by three percent every year for the next ten years. Customers can take the 3% pledge, participate in a free energy evaluation, and learn more about the company’s energy efficiency programs at www.powerofaction.com.

Funding for this program is limited and the program is subject to close when all funding has been awarded.

These rebate programs are being offered in accordance with the New York State Public Service Commission’s (PSC) Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (EEPS) efficiency programs for natural gas utilities across the state. The programs are funded through the systems benefit charge appearing on all natural gas customers’ bills.

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers.

Geauga County Common Pleas Judge David L. Fuhry dismissed a class-action lawsuit from owners of all-electric homes against electric companies.

Fuhry said that only the Public Utility Commission of Ohio, not him, had the authority to oversee the matter.

The lawsuit stems from FirstEnergy’s rate increases earlier this year.

Previously, the company had offered reduced rates to those with all-electric homes, electric hot water heating systems or electric load management systems. First, the electric company said it would abandon the reduced rates. Then, after homeowners protested, the company decided to gradually phase out its reduced rates during the next eight years.

State Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chester Township, filed a lawsuit in February on behalf of those who were affected by the rates change.

He claimed that FirstEnergy, Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. and Ohio Edison Co. breached their contract with homeowners.

When the suit was filed, Mark Durbin, a spokesman for FirstEnergy, said nobody had promised that the preferred rates would last forever.

However, Fuhry’s decision to dismiss the case did not hinge on whether FirstEnergy had a commitment to maintain the reduced rates or if a contract had been breached. Instead, he concluded that he did not have jurisdiction over the decision.

“Ordinarily, this would not be an issue because the Court of Common Pleas is a court of general jurisdiction,” Fuhry said in his decision. “As such it is generally empowered to hear all types of disputes including declaratory judgments, breach of contract, as well as fraud and injunctive actions.”

Fuhry noted that there were exceptions to that authority, and one of those exceptions was PUCO’s jurisdiction of matters involving public utilities.

Fuhry said that PUCO had jurisdiction over utility rates and services, citing state law and previous decisions by the Ohio Supreme Court.

To further complicate matters, PUCO’s exception has an exception. If the accusation does not involve rates or service issues, then it is considered a “pure” contract or tort, and Fuhry could rule.

But the judge ultimately decided the suit did pertain to rates.

“The dispute between the companies and the plaintiffs is over the rate increases. There is no separate rate ‘contract’ between the utility and the plaintiffs,” the judge said.

Fuhry dismissed the suit, adding that the plaintiffs could still take their case to PUCO or the Ohio Supreme Court.

Bosch Thermotechnology Corporation of Londonderry, NH and MyPointNow have launched a series of online systems on August 20 for the Buderus Boiler Line. This program, coined as the Compass system, is a comprehensive online array of interactive resources including:

• Online product registration and feedback systems for both product owners and installing contractors
• Comprehensive contractor search functions including a ranking system that allows consumers to identify the top Buderus installers in their community
• A lead management system whereby potential customers can contact contractors online combined with a responsive contact management system that will allow participating companies to improve their Buderus sales.
• The Compass contractor intranet site. Every Buderus contractor can log into their own intranet site to manage leads, register installations, review consumer feedback, access technical information, and participate in training.
• A Compass Flex-Content system that can customize intranet site content to meet the needs of other trade partners such as builders, engineers, institutional users, and utility or regulatory personnel.
• Full sales management integration with Buderus wholesalers, independent sales representatives, and Buderus personnel.
• Full integration with MyPointNow contractor website systems and the MyPointNow network.

Compass is the most comprehensive online system in the HVAC industry today. It empowers trade participants and allows them to efficiently improve their sales and market share by better serving the hydronic heating and domestic hot water markets.

By: Annie Spiegelman

This summer, with a plethora of states across the country experiencing drought conditions, learning about low-volume watering is crucial to having your yard survive the dry months. This simply means applying water to a uniform depth directly to the plant’s root zone. This reduces water waste and your water bill at the same time. It’s win-win. But first, let’s make sure you’re soil is helping you by holding all the moisture it can.

What’s Up with your Soil?

Before changing anything having to do with your irrigation system, add 2-3 inches of compost (either homegrown or purchased at the plant nursery or Waste Management site) on top of your soil. Do this once or twice a year preferably in the fall and spring. You don’t even have to dig it in. Digging is so old school! The microorganisms in the compost will nourish your soil doing the underground work for you. Incorporating compost (organic matter) increases the water-holding capacity of your soil. With sandy soil, you’ll lose less water to the subsoil and with compacted clay soil, water will easily and slowly trickle its way to the plant’s roots, instead of sitting on the top floor, uselessly, like a lump on a log.

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