T5 Retrofit Kit Will Help Charity Reduce Energy Costs, Improve Lighting Levels

The Green Savings Company and Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida announced a partnership today in which 100+ high-efficiency lighting kits will be donated to the charity, in an effort to improve lighting conditions and reduce overhead costs for the organization’s Fort Lauderdale facility. The Ronald McDonald House is a haven for families of critically or chronically ill children, providing a free place to stay while their children are receiving care at one of the local hospitals. The donation project will allow the organization to perform a lighting retrofit to the common areas of their facility such as the kitchen, dining room, library and indoor playroom.

The Green Savings Company and Mr. Electric Help Ronald McDonald House Save Energy

The Ronald McDonald House was approached by The Green Savings Company to accept the donation of their lighting product, the T5 Retrofit Kit, to reduce electricity costs so that more of the charity’s budget could go directly to services for the families. In addition to the contribution of energy efficient lighting from The Green Savings Company, national donors Mr. Electric have contributed the labor and manpower to retrofit the fixtures, which makes the completion of this building upgrade possible.

As the Green Savings Company’s flagship product, the T5 Retrofit Kit is a complete conversion system designed to save energy, reduce costs, and help the environment. It is the simplest and most cost effective lighting solution for facilities (such as the Ronald McDonald House) that use fluorescent fixtures to light the common areas.

The Fort Lauderdale House, located on the grounds of Broward General Medical Center and Chris Evert Children’s Hospital, will now feature the high-efficiency fixtures, which will save the building approximately 60 percent on lighting costs. The retrofit will reduce approximately 1,550 kWh/year of electricity and is equivalent to preventing 34,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

The service provided by the Ronald McDonald House is so important to families in need of a place to stay while their child receives long-term medical care. The ability to have a place that they can consider their home away from home allows them to focus their energy on helping their children heal. There is little room for improvement in the Ronald McDonald House mission statement, but with socially responsible businesses like The Green Savings Company and Mr. Electric contributing energy-efficient materials, continuing on the path of sustainability is one way that the organization can make their already great service even better, and children’s futures a little brighter.

For more information, visit: GreenSavingsCo.com and/or RMHCsouthflorida.org

Florida Freezes 'Cash for Clunkers' AC Rebates

Less than a month after announcing the Energy Star Residential HVAC rebate program, Florida’s Legislature has placed a hold on $17.5 million as Governor Charlie Crist and Republican leaders dispute the procedural issues of authorizing the federal funding. Now, Florida homeowners are left in limbo after spending thousands of dollars on energy-efficient cooling systems in expectation of the state rebates.

The Governor’s Energy Office has frozen the state’s new Cash for Clunker HVAC program for rebates on energy-efficient cooling. The U.S. Department of Energy provided $31.5 million for the initiatives as part of federal economic-stimulus funding. The federal funds for Florida include $17.5 million for rebates for air conditioning units and $13.9 million for the Florida Solar Rebate Program. The disagreement tying up the rebates is part of an ongoing feud between Florida Republicans and Crist, who recently left the party to run independently for the U.S. Senate.

Those whose jobs are finished and have completed applications can send them in, Ivey said, but there’s no guarantee they’ll see their $1,500 rebate. The rebate processor’s hotline has only a recorded message, saying the program is “currently suspended pending funding by the Florida Legislature. No customers will be processed at this time.” New application forms no longer are available on the program’s website and won’t be until the funding issue is resolved. This has left contractors, duct testers and homeowners with air conditioning installations in the pipeline scrambling too, with no final decisions yet about the program’s future. More than 737 rebate applications have been received since the program opened August 30th, and hundreds of Floridians are just awaiting their final inspections or required duct blasting tests.

Last week, Crist demanded that state lawmakers immediately authorize the federal money for the air conditioning and solar programs, but republican lawmakers say the money must be approved by the full legislature, which can’t happen until after the September 30th federal deadline for deciding how to use the money.

Sterling Ivey, spokesman for Gov. Crist, said consumers who opt to go ahead should understand there currently is no money to pay out energy rebates due to the legislative stalemate. The program could be canceled without having paid out a single dollar if no solution is found. What are your thought’s on Florida’s freezing of rebate funds? Let us know in the comments below.

[via South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Click here to see Florida Governor Charlie Crist’s letter to the Legislature requesting their immediate action to authorize the use of funds for HVAC rebates.

Video also en español: Prueba De Luz (Sistema De Luz T5)

Illuminance is a measure of how much luminous flux is spread over a given area. One can think of luminous flux as a measure of the total “amount” of visible light present, and the illuminance is a measure of the intensity of illumination on a surface. Learn more about measuring light output and the difference between lux versus lumen or lux versus footcandle here. To watch the same light test in spanish (en espanol)

A new report from The Pew Charitable Trusts reveals that the federal government spent about $25 billion in the energy sector in 2009.

The Obama administration has spearheaded funding to the nation with The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, providing support to projects that further develop our nation’s clean energy economy.  Numerous projects have been awarded funding and according to research by Subsidyscope, a development of the Pew Charitable Trusts, the federal government spent about $25 billion in the energy sector in 2009. However, the report from Subsidyscope- a project that “aims to raise public awareness about the role of federal subsidies in the economy” revealed that this funding was not entirely due to the Recovery Act. According to Federal Activities and Subsidies in the Energy Sector, the $25 billion in funding came through a variety of financing channels including grants, loans, loan guarantees, contracts, and more.

“The United States spends billions of dollars a year attempting to make energy more affordable, cleaner and to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil,” said Subsidyscope project director Marcus Peacock. “As legislators in Washington consider decisions that will affect how our nation consumes and produces energy, this data provides a clearer view of how our government shapes energy policy through its use of subsidies.”

As reported by green biz blogger Melissa Hincha-Ownby:

“The U.S. Department of Energy was responsible for $13.3 billion in energy sector spending with the U.S. Department of Treasury paying out $6.3 billion and the Department of Health and Human Services spending $5.1 billion in the sector. Most of the HHS spending went to help low-income families that were unable to pay their heating bills. The report includes that The Recovery Act was responsible for approximately $6.3 billion in energy sector in funding in 2009 but divulges that this will jump to more than $21 billion by fiscal year 2012. Another jump will be seen in renewable energy and alternative fuel investments. In 2009, fossil fuel industries received $3.2 billion in federal tax expenditures while the renewable energy and alternative fuel sectors only received $1.5 billion. However, these numbers will flip-flop in the coming years as the administration continues its push for a green economy.”

[via MNN.COM Bloggers]

Implementing both social and technical aspects into corporate sustainability is the newest innovation and a guaranteed win for businesses.

Given the complexity of achieving corporate sustainability, it is so important to examine the opportunities and challenges that face corporate America from every angle. Each company has its own take on the methods and tactics that best fit their goals to go green and according to 48 sustainability executives polled by Deloitte Consulting this summer, there is no one size fits all solution to the challenges these businesses face. As Triple Pundit made it clear, a whopping 73 percent of the 48 executives overseeing sustainability efforts at their companies do not believe sustainability will create a “green collar” workforce.

Deloitte’s report, where eco-friendly meets business friendly, resulted in fundamental insights on what really matters most to the wide array of company types involved in the going green process and how they feel about sustainability.  Most of the executives surveyed agreed on a three point model for their reasoning to focus on sustainability: the planet, people and profit.  These are companies that are of high ideals, lofty goals and great aspirations to bring “going green” a reality for their firms by taking environmental initiatives like energy efficiency into consideration.  While each executive responded to just how important it is to focus on their sustainability programs, there was a simple yet key goal lacking: the social side of sustainability. It seems corporate America has underestimated the business value of implementing a blend of environmental and social efforts toward sustainability.

In an effort to address some of the key issues that may be holding these companies back from achieving practical and realistic sustainability goals, Chris Park of Deloitte Consulting and co-author Kathryn Pavlovsky suggested four factors to effectively integrate sustainability into their company:

• Aligning sustainability strategy with business strategy.
• Integrating sustainability into operations and processes across the value chain.
• Structuring non-traditional collaborations and extending existing collaborations.
• Setting up a governance structure that is supported by the right infrastructure.

Energy Efficiency Still the Primary Focus of Green-Minded Firms

The primary environmental issues and their importance to the business do not define sustainability goals for a corporation. It is important to make an agreement between social and environmental issues to provide the best sustainability solution available, not only servicing the company but empowering and impacting society. With the high levels of complexity sustainability can have on corporations, it’s time companies realize that integration is key and the social side of sustainability demonstrates leadership and a higher quality of business. Corporate sustainability is about the business, but it their responsibility to not only respond strategically to environmental problems but societal concerns as well.  Implementing both social and technical aspects into corporate sustainability is the newest innovation and a guarantee win for corporate social responsibility.

[via GreenBiz]

Watch the T5 Retrofit Kit Installation video on YouTube.

As temperatures rise in Florida, so do rebates.

The Energy Star Residential HVAC rebate program brings good news to Florida residents this month. Providing homeowners an incentive to upgrade their existing air conditioning systems to a more efficient unit, the rebate program kicked into full effect on August 30, 2010 and expires December 31, 2010 or until the $15 million allotted for the program is spent.  Not only will the program save consumers money through a much higher efficiency air conditioning unit, it will also provide jobs to the home energy auditing industry within the state of Florida. The state is expecting the funds to last quite a while due to the duct testing that is required in order to qualify for the rebate.  Officials anticipate the possibility that some homeowners will be lackadaisical when it comes to having duct testing

completed to ensure no more than 15 percent of the AC unit’s cool air is leaking out, a requirement of the refund guidelines.

The homeowner incentive is $1500, which can also be combined with the federal rebate program that allows for an additional 30 percent rebate or $1,500, whichever is less. The rebates will be issued as American Express Prepaid Cards which do not expire or have monthly fees and can be exchanged for checks or an electronic deposit as well. Plus, they may be merged with manufacturer’s rebates, electric company rebates and the federal tax credit – that requires the installation of new cooling systems at primary residences.

Combined with programs offered by local governments and discounts from HVAC/R unit manufactures, upwards of half of the cost of the unit can be covered by incentives alone. Other Energy Star-rated equipment such as air source heat pumps and geothermal heat pumps are covered under the guidelines to the energy rebates as well. The Florida ENERGY STAR Residential HVAC Rebate program aims to provide a financial incentive to homeowners to upgrade their system to an energy efficient unit and to have their home ducting system checked and corrected concurrent with replacing their HVAC system.

What is keeping us as a nation from moving forward with energy efficiency?

The Clean Tech Open National Conference took place this summer in San Jose, California assembling the brightest and most talented minds to debate how energy entrepreneurship can power our economy back to life. The Energy Efficiency Panel brought up the important state of improvements made in energy efficiency and the elements of the movement that need more work. According to experts, the Nation has made a generally steady progression with items like household appliances but where advancement in improved efficiency is slowing is in markets of more complex systems such as the home structures we’re creating or the energy grid. The implementations made in household appliances have cut their energy use in half over the past 30 years so imagine if these processes could be coordinated at a more developed level of use. The adoption of energy efficiency has slowed down in general due to a variety of problems that are keeping us as a nation from moving forward with implementing key energy efficiency elements on a more wide-spread and larger scale. The government is touting energy efficiency as the fastest path to mass adoption and job creation, so in reality, why is energy efficiency adoption taking so long?

The panelists at the Clean Tech Open addressed the key points which they feel are restricting the nation from keeping a strong tread in the energy efficiency standards department. Some of the issues they addressed are as follows:

Regulatory problems

Regulating our power utilities so that the sale of power is separate from profits, and instead creating incentives which  promote efficiency has been a major driver of increased energy efficiency for the state of California, in particular. If other states could embrace the idea of incentives and rebates, the increase of the adoption of energy efficiency efforts are limitless. Policies should be clearly articulated and incentives should be performance based so the consumer can understand how to benefit from making the switch to more energy efficient lifestyles.

Commercial building owners versus building management

It is hard to get an energy efficiency retrofit contract signed because of the focus on payback instead of return on investment. The payback time demanded by companies today is 18 months, however, over the ten year life of an asset such as new lighting, companies can realize up to a 50% ROI or more. But often the decision makers are not the building owners; they are facility or property managers focused on annual expense management and are usually distrustful of the energy savings promised by building technologies.

Access to capital

The sales velocity and deal flow is very slow in the energy efficiency space. This all makes it hard to be a start-up. Venture capitalists aren’t interested in funding firms that only provide energy efficiency consulting.  However, if your company can find the funds to endure the wait for a deal to close, the payoff is large.

The residential consumer value proposition

It seems that the lure of saving money on energy bills isn’t enough to convince residential consumers to have an entire house retrofit. Other benefits such as a quieter, less drafty, warmer homes with better air quality that will cure your child’s asthma will help make the sale.  Panelists concern definitely displayed how residential consumers just don’t seem inspired to buy.

One way to motivate them would be through certifications and building labels, which are helping to identify and raise property values for home and building owners that invest in energy efficiency. Consideration of incorporating requirements of energy efficiency standards in the building codes would be a great beginning to take initiative from the construction standpoint. Another great idea would be to involve home insurance companies by creating an annual or bi-annual energy efficiency inspection as an aspect of insurance rates.

What do you feel would continue to push the adoption of an overall energy efficiency lifestyle and continue to inspire job creation? Feel free to leave a comment and share your ideas on how to keep up the progression toward a more energy efficient future.

[via TriplePundit]

Green Savings Media launches MyLightSite, hopes for greener businesses with prettier websites

Working in the electrical and lighting industries, hopefully we have all heard about Corporate Social Responsibility and the importance of our carbon footprints, but what about your company’s digital footprint? Most of us know that it starts with a great home on the web. The problem is professional websites with great marketing can be expensive and time consuming. “Your visitors should be able to get the info they need quickly and easily,” says Alex Vidal, Director of Marketing at The Green Savings Company. “We understand the challenges and expenses that can come with hiring creative professionals who really get the small to medium sized business niche within this industry.” The problem is this often results in a less than stellar first impression or even a frustrating web experience.

“We believe in scratching our own itch,” says Vidal. There are so many electrical and lighting companies out there representing hundreds of great products, the T5 Retrofit Kit being one of them, but this array of options may not be represented properly in the digital-space. “That’s why we created the MyLightSite package.” This custom theme features a take on the traditional line card like you’ve never seen before. With custom identifiable icons,visitors can now easily navigate products by name or by category or even search keywords to quickly find what they’re looking for. “Product manufacturers will be happy about this feature. We should know, we’re one of them.”

Green Savings Media and MyLightSite represent The Green Savings Company’s latest project, establishing themselves as not just a provider of energy efficient lighting technologies, but now also as a specialized media-services provider within the lighting, electrical, architectural, building, and environmental markets. With incredible flexibility via the WordPress CMS engine, a variety of skins and color schemes, lightening-fast loading, logo/branding re-design options, social media integration, on hand support, and the benefit of industry insiders handling your web presence, combined with a surprisingly low price-point, it looks like Green Savings Media just might accomplish what they set out to; helping their industry cohorts take web presence seriously. To learn more about the digital “face lift” procedure, check out GreenSavingsMedia.com and be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Calculate your Savings at EnergySavingsCalc.com

Saving money makes us happy, and now more than ever before, local, state, and federal governments are implementing energy standards by offering enticing financial incentives for using the newest technologies available to the nation’s electrical contracting firms. Considering the gloomy construction market, savvy electrical contractors are using this opportunity to provide customers with various energy-reduction strategies such as lighting upgrades. Lighting retrofits are one of the simplest, fastest, and most economical ways to achieve the goal of reducing energy costs while injecting additional cash flow into the electrical contracting market. Lighting retrofits offer several advantages including energy savings, enhanced lighting quality and reduced maintenance.

In addition, popular lighting solutions such as dimmers, timers, occupancy sensors and photo-sensors take the human element out of operating lights and can be especially effective when used in restrooms and hallways. Another effective savings method is the process of de-lamping (reducing the amount of bulbs) as well as reducing the number of ballasts in each fixture. Going from four ballasts to three can result in a higher lumen output, increasing the quality of lighting and the productivity and morale of the buildings occupants.

With a growing demand of clients interested in reducing their overall carbon footprint, managing the upgrades while reducing energy costs can be a tough job. Luckily, there are products on the market such as the T-5 Retrofit Kit that make the electrical contractor’s job and the process of retrofitting much easier. The quality and availability of new lighting technology has improved so much that the correct ballast and lamp combination can result in the same- if not higher- lumen output that was previously achieved but with significantly less energy usage.

To discover if a lighting retrofit can yield even further energy savings, electrical construction professionals recommend performing a lighting audit. The only essential tool needed to perform an energy audit is a calculator and because of the implementation of energy efficiency standards by local, state and federal governments, many companies provide online saving calculators. Scott Raybin, President of the The Green Savings Company said, “The Energy Savings Calculator was developed to provide our lighting retailers with a quick and easy tool to calculate savings for any size project. Simply select the current lighting scenario which most closely resembles your building or prospect’s building, and with just a few clicks, determine savings percentage and ROI time for any T5 Retrofit upgrade.”

But the savings doesn’t stop there. By employing energy-efficient improvements such as lighting retrofits, the rewards are plentiful for homeowners, home builders and commercial building owners. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 established tax credits and rebates to be offered as financial incentives to lower the cost of lighting upgrades. The rebates and incentives are available to help fund retrofits and other energy saving projects. To learn more about rebates and incentives offered by specific states, visit the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency at DSIRE. “As manufacturers of a lighting retrofit kit product for commercial buildings, The Green Savings Company is aware that rebates and incentives can cushion the cost of investing in new lighting technologies,” says Raybin. “So we’ve taken the initiative one step further by offering the T5 Retrofit Rebate Database, a state by state reference for the incentives offered when using the T5 Retrofit Kit as your new energy efficient lighting solution.”

To try the calculator yourself, visit EnergySavingsCalc.com. They’ve even translated it into spanish (calculadora de energía) and also created a mobile version compatible with iPhone, Android, and Blackberry devices. But first, check out this quick demo to see how much we’re saving in Florida! Don’t forget to factor in your local rebates (more being added daily) and let us know how much you could save in the comments below.