Many schools are turning to highly efficient HVAC solutions for both new-build and retrofit projects, indicating that the once-novel concept of LEED-certified and zero-energy schools may soon become commonplace in school districts across the U.S.
So what can you do with natural refrigerants and where can you do it? That formed the basis of case studies presented at the second Atmosphere America Natural Refrigerants Conference in Washington, D.C.
Engineers and architects took the seemingly impossible task of recycling an outdated industrial factory into a LEED-Gold showcase of some of the HVAC industry’s most innovative equipment for Asheboro, N.C.-based Randolph Community College (RCC).
It would take roughly $271 billion to bring public school buildings across the U.S. up to working order to gain compliance with the law, and a staggering $542 billion to meet current health, safety, and education standards.
The Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) applauded Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., for introducing a bill to create, fund, and implement an energy productivity competition for states.
With just three years left to encourage homeowners to invest in geothermal advances, manufacturers are pulling out all the stops by introducing new features on their GHPs, such as variable-speed technology and sophisticated controls, which they say will provide homeowners with better comfort, as well as lower energy consumption and operating costs.
Most utilities promote conservation by offering rebates for the installation of high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment and solar energy systems, but several are starting to think outside the box.
With the launch of dozens of successful pilot programs globally, the adoption rate of microgrids is expected to accelerate over the next several years. According to a report from Navigant Research, North America is currently the leading microgrid market and will remain the leader through 2020.
A report released by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) found the U.S. installed 723 MW of solar energy in Q1 2013, which accounted for more than 48 percent of all new electric capacity installed in the U.S. last quarter.
New research being done at the University of Cambridge in England is focusing on what is called “magnetic cooling,” based on the straining of materials. The results have been published in the journal Nature Materials and quoted at the www.basqueresearch.com website.