De-lamping is when one bulb per set of lights is removed. Greg Smith from Energy Optimizers, USA, took a light reading and found that Tipp High School’s hallway lights were above the 50 foot-candles that are required for classrooms and the hallway code is 35. Even after removing the light bulbs the hallways will still be above code. Energy Optimizers, USA donated the labor to remove the bulbs. It is estimated that about 265 bulbs will be taken out of service. By removing one lamp per light set, the school district will save almost $2,000 in energy cost. By not using 265 light bulbs, that will be an additional estimated savings of $425.
Several local companies including Energy Optimizers, USA are trying to build excitement and interest in Ohio’s schools regarding energy generation and alternative/sustainable resources.
While the US government is taking a serious look at upgrading the network of electrical grids around the country, dollars are pouring into the aging utility industry, revitalizing the ways that people look at domestic power generation.
Read more in the New York Times
Green building professionals like Energy Optimizers, USA are using innovative design, new technologies and onsite renewable energy generation to reduce buildings’ energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Yet even after energy efficient lighting, solar photovoltaic systems, passive heating and other sustainable technology and design elements have been integrated into green building projects, these projects still need to draw electricity from the power grid. And the power they draw is primarily generated through the combustion of fossil fuels, which results in the release of greenhouse gases. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. buildings are responsible for 39 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions.
You may be unaware that the IT industry and it’s data centers and servers consume energy to both power and cool the technologies that make our lives and businesses run smoothly each day. At present, between 3 and 4 percent of all electricity (and the associated carbon emissions) used in the world goes to running data centers.
Energy Optimizers, USA is doing it’s part to reduce overall carbon emissions and build on our national power generation capabilities by hosting our website and its data on servers in a data center that has secured the Renewable Energy Credits* (RECs) necessary to mitigate the environmental impact of the data centers’ energy use. For those data center functions that use natural gas, steam or fuel oil onsite, our web design company has assured us that the hosting facility has secured carbon credits that provide a 130% offset to balance out greenhouse gas emissions associated with obtaining energy from fossil fuel sources of energy.
Using Energy Optimizers, USA’s Energy Management and Commissioning Services, our professionals have been able to ensure that not only are the technologies and design elements used in their projects green, but that their projects’ electricity usage is green as well.
*Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) are tradeable credits representing all the environmental benefits of 1 megawatt hour of renewable energy. The web hosting company has purchased the credits that basically pays a U.S. windfarm to generate renewable energy on behalf of the hosting company. For every REC purchased by the hosting provider, that windfarm generates 1 megawatt of wind power and puts it into the grid. When the hosting provider draws power from the grid, it can then claim credit for that wind power generated on its behalf.
ENERGY STAR® is a joint DOE-EPA program, formed in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership that seeks to reduce air pollution through increased energy efficiency. DOE and EPA work to offer businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy and money, while also helping to protect our environment.
More than 12,000 organizations have joined ENERGY STAR® as partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes and businesses. The ENERGY STAR® label appears on more than 40 kinds of consumer products. To learn more about ENERGY STAR®, visit EnergyStar.gov or call 1-888-STAR-YES.
A leading Ohio energy conservation and engineering group teams up with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Program in support of energy savings projects and energy education and awareness with K-12 school districts.
Tipp City, Ohio – November 14, 2010 – Energy Optimizers, USA, a company dedicated to increasing the energy efficiency and sustainability of K-12 school districts, today announced that it is partnering with ENERGY STAR, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s voluntary program that offers businesses and consumers energy efficient solutions to help save money while protecting the environment for future generations.
Energy Optimizers, USA will join this nationwide effort to eliminate energy waste through energy savings projects and energy education and awareness programs, and by supporting the voluntary implementation of improved energy management practices and technologies within Ohio’s K-12 school districts.
Greg Smith, Founder and President of Energy Optimizers, USA, stated, “We are proud to be working in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy in support of the ENERGY STAR initiative. 2010 was a year of ‘great awakening’ by Ohio’s school districts to build less costly energy management systems into their facilities as well as encourage sustainable energy projects such as wind and solar.”
Energy Optimizers, USA is promoting efforts to improve energy conservation within Ohio’s 613 school districts, which benefits both the natural environment and ultimately helps to reduce energy consumption costs and provides the school district with an opportunity to strengthen their financial bottom line. In committing to this partnership with ENERGY STAR, Energy Optimizers, USA has agreed to measure, track, and benchmark the performance of its own energy projects to promote increased energy efficiency in enterprise, government and educational institutions.
About Energy Optimizers, USA
Energy Optimizers, USA audits, recommends and executes energy saving changes that make Ohio’s schools more efficient, greatly reducing their cost of operations. All across Ohio, Energy Optimizers, USA is implementing energy savings and conservation opportunities with school districts, including lighting and HVAC retrofits, building controls retrofits, wind and solar installations. Their programs include Energy Savings Projects, Wind & Solar Projects, Maintenance Plan Advisor Services and Energy Efficiency Education and Awareness Programs.
To learn more about Energy Optimizers, USA, visit their website at http://energyoptimizersusa.com or call them at (937) 877-1919.
About ENERGY STAR
If you’re already missing the green of summer, head down to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens. The new Historic Vine Street Village entrance at the Cincinnati Zoo helped make it the “greenest” in America. It is the first zoo in the country with multiple Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects and the second zoo in the country to receive LEED Platinum Certification. The LEED Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. Not only does this zoo have more than 500 animal exhibits and 3,000 plant species, it is the “greenest” spot in Ohio!
Interested in learning more? Check out these links: Greenest Zoo in America – Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens
In early October, the Green Energy Ohio Renewable Energy Tour made stops throughout the State of Ohio, showing residents how homes and businesses are investing in energy efficiency, wind, and solar technologies. The Tour, which was held in cooperation with the American Solar Energy Society’s National Solar Tour, is the largest demonstration of installed renewable-energy technologies and building practices in the United States.
In Northeast Ohio, participants had a chance to visit seven energy sites in the Mahoning Valley. Residents in Northwest Ohio had a chance to tour projects at a variety of designated sites. In Central Ohio, zoo-goers were able to view the geothermal system that heats and cools polar bears’ homes at the Columbus Zoo.
