This is a great time to take advantage of new technologies, government regulations and government incentives to get a jump on real-estate competition.  Buildings  that start making energy-efficient improvements could be perceived as a better investment. Will these new rules give the development corporations the incentive to make intelligent energy conservation decisions, save money and market themselves as a green company?  Or is it just another layer of bureaucracy that will stress our already tainted economy?

Let me know what you think.

1. How will this reduction be measured? Does the plan address how commercial buildings will be monitored before and after energy savings upgrades?
2. How are they going to quantify the improvements and validate the energy savings?

Energy dashboards provide benchmarking, monitor usage and account for seasonalization; thus giving the consumer the opportunity to act on energy conserving decisions in real-time.  Without the tools to measure, millions of dollars could be spent on initiatives that may not achieve the desired results.  Tracking and verification of any project is a necessary step to improving the process.  By not having a system in place to benchmark and validate the impact on energy savings, this could end up being a decision that was made with the best of intentions, but fails to deliver the anticipated results.  Today, most people use a 3-G network for communication, however, when it comes to analyzing energy consumption, we are in the Stone Age.

CrunchEnergy recently launched the CrunchBox™, a comprehensive utility usage reporting software that displays real-time information through a hosted client dashboard.

The CrunchBox™ dashboard provides a real–time snapshot of energy usage, trends, and energy loads.

Tools, like the CrunchBox, provide commercial businesses with an easy way to view energy consumption on demand, and get the data necessary to determine the return on their energy reduction investments. What do you think about the new Better Buildings Initiative? A good start? Half-baked attempt?  Please share your comments and ideas.

A great article, What Energy Dashboards Can Do, discusses the emerging dashboard technology and how it can promote customer facing energy intelligence.  Providing energy intelligence in easy to understand graphs, in near real-time, are just a couple of the advantages of these tools.  The big benefit is that the purchasing power is put back in the hands of consumer and keeps power on the grid.

A related article mentions that “few of the real-time dashboards presently include common energy analysis tools, such as linear regression, load duration curves or tariff models.” This was good news for CrunchEnergy as the CrunchBox provides a host of analysis and reporting tools – including load level applications and peak demand alerts.

Will companies take advantage of energy dashboards as a key tool in energy conservation? The tools are new and, as with any innovation, there tends to be a learning curve.  Only time will tell.  Dashboards are also a great tool for utilities suppliers to monitor grid load in real-time.  Who will reap the benefits first?

There are three issues that come to mind:

1.    As the US expands its knowledge base and deploys smart meters that collect grid data, how will this information be shared? Will intelligent data be left on the table that could educate consumers, as well as drive awareness to reduce overall capacity?

2.    The  effort to put smart meters in homes should reduce energy bills and outages, as well as make it easier to utilize renewable energy. Will this be the case?

3.    Who should bear the brunt of the costs?

I guess the big question is whether or not smart meters will be the catalyst for increased consumer awareness of energy issues and spark conservation. Let me know what you think.

Electric cars have been around for decades, but only for a select few.   Anxiety about how many miles you can go, limitations on speed, where to recharge, and overall production has stalled the developing the market.  Now, we are at the forefront of what could be the next big environmental movement. Are we ready?

The technology is getting better everyday and electric cars are now in the hands of the larger auto manufacturers, but the big question is: can our current electrical infrastructure sustain the burden of charging multiple electric cars?  If not, who is going to pay for the enhancements to our power grid? Are we trading off one crisis for another?

PSE&G is making plans to prepare. Please share your thoughts and concerns.

Today, more than two-thirds of our oil comes from the Middle East.  Becoming more energy independent and relying on our own renewable resources is simply a better approach to economic sustainability and climate control.

I like to think that our founding fathers would be proud of our nation to seek independence – energy independence, that is.  After all, wasn’t that the basic premise on which America was established?  It  will be interesting to see if the White House solar array will be viewed as an eye sore or provide a vision of encouragement? Tell me what you think.

There are many programs available to assist municipalities with energy conservation efforts – especially in NJ.   These programs are not limited to solar, and when a reduction plan is developed in conjunction with the use of renewable energy, it is a win–win for everyone – the town, taxpayers and the environment.

Want to learn more? CrunchEnergy is offering a free webinar on How to  Execute a Municipal Energy Savings Program on Oct. 21st at 11 am.  Adam Zellner, Energy Advisor to Governor Corzine, will be leading the discussion.  Adam co-authored the State Energy Master Plan and was directly involved with the energy-saving improvement programs (ESIP).  Please share this information.

So, if you hear someone stating that hybrids are not a step in the right direction, you can refute their argument. Hybrids are the better choice for the environmentally conscious!

This blog post was contributed by Janet Windeknecht, energy market communications consultant and planet advocate.

Solar has a very bright future in the US and is becoming  an extremely hot market.  The opportunity to utilize a renewable resource, like the sun, is great.  However,  Americans continue to consume too much energy.  In addition to large-scale alternative energy projects, shouldn’t some of the funding go to educating the public about ways to reduce energy consumption?

Here is the article: 1,000-Megawatt Plant in California Marks New Milestone in Solar Expansion

If you are a start-up firm and think you can help find gasoline substitutes, you could be getting some serious funding from the government. Is this what we should have done 30 years ago to get the country off of foreign oil? Why did the government wait until the nth hour to focus on the critical need for alternative energy sources for cars? What are your thoughts?