Energy Management Articles
Blog posts tagged with "better buildings"
Better Plants Progress Update, Fall 2019
The Department of Energy's Better Building, Better Plants partners have cumulatively saved $6.7 billion in energy costs and more than 1.3 quadrillion BTUs. Among the highlights of the 2019 Better Plants Annual Progress Update: seven partners have achieved their energy intensity reduction goals.
Outdoor Lighting Decision Tree Tool
High-performance outdoor lighting technologies are proving to be a cost-effective energy savings measure. Better Buildings presents the Outdoor Lighting Decision Tree tool to share successful approaches taken by cities, states, and regional groups.
2019 Better Buildings Progress Report
The 2019 Progress Report from Better Building highlights the accomplishments of the 900+ partners working with the Better Buildings Initiative to share and replicate positive gains in energy efficiency while also creating jobs and increasing market competitiveness in the commercial, industrial, government, and residential sectors.
Infographic: The Energy-Resilient City
Better Buildings' Efficiency-Resilience Nexus discusses resources for organizations across different sectors of a city - from offices and apartments to manufacturing facilities and stores - to build resilience and increase their ability to bounce ba
What is Efficiency-as-a-Service?
As-a-service business models are growing in popularity - and one of the most impactful may be Efficiency-as-a-Service. This column from Better Buildings discusses this pay-for-performance, off-balance sheet financing solution that allows customers to implement efficiency projects with no upfront capital expenditure, including how it works, alternative approaches, and advantages and disadvantages.
REI's net zero distribution center
This week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized Better Buildings Alliance partner REI for the energy productivity advances made in its Arizona distribution center located in Goodyear, Arizona. The center has achieved an annual energy savings of 18% and annual cost savings of $170,000 from the baseline in the first two years of operation. The goal is to have the facility be net-zero energy. How was this accomplished?
Benchmarking and Transparency: Resources for State and Local Leaders
Buildings account for about 40% of the energy consumed in the U.S. and therefore offer a great opportunity for energy and cost savings. This resource guide from Better Buildings shows how benchmarking and transparency can provide the foundation for improved energy performance.
Engaging Franchisees in Energy Management & Benchmarking
Wendy's Smart Family of Designs 2.0 promotes energy efficiency while targeting significant savings in development costs. This column from Better Buildings shares efforts made by the energy team at Wendy's to provide coaching on understanding potential costs and potential return on investments from energy upgrades.
City of Boston's improved energy management process
With nearly 4,000 utility accounts across more than a dozen different municipal departments as well as a need to leverage more granular data, the City of Boston needed a plan to improve their energy management processes. This column from Better Buildings reviews Boston's programmatic overhaul to how energy data was collected, analyzed, and reported, leading to the creation of real-time energy meter dashboards and recovering over $1.2 million in identified utility billing errors.
Better Plants Program Partners save $5.3B in energy costs
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings, Better Plants program partners have posted savings of more than $5.3 billion in cumulative energy costs, which represents approximately 12% of the U.S manufacturing energy footprint.
General Motors and L'Oréal USA SWAP for energy efficiency
General Motors and L'Oréal USA are the stars of the fourth installment of the online video series, “Better Buildings Challenge SWAP,” as the companies exchange energy management teams to gain new insights, save money and improve the energy performance
Health club chain overhauls RTU portfolio
Health club company Life Time, which holds more than 127 locations across 27 states, recently completed an overhaul of its rooftop air handling units resulting in nearly 25% energy savings over the past four years.
Case study: The Arby's app for aging RTU management
This case study outlines Arby's innovative answer to a challenging question: When you have a portfolio of more 900 quick-service restaurants across the country, how do you keep track of, manage and maintain all of your HVAC equipment?
Using EMIS to identify top opportunities for efficiency
This guide from the U.S. DOE presents an overview of the top energy-savings opportunities in commercial buildings and shows how these opportunities can be identified using the type of interval meter analytics offered in energy information system technologies or using the automated analytics offered in fault detection and diagnostics systems.
Las Vegas Sands marks 17% energy use reduction
Following the implementation of a series of energy efficiency upgrades through its properties, Las Vegas Sands Corp. has reduced its energy consumption by 17% in a five-year period.
Case study: 3M's road to ISO 50001, SEP certification
This case study outlines the enterprisewide approach taken by The 3M Company, a multinational manufacturer, to certify multiple sites to the Better Buildings Initiative's "Superior Energy Performance" program, which includes a certified ISO 50001 energy management system.
Nashville hotel recognized by DOE for energy efficiency
Loews Vanderbilt Hotel was recognized by the U.S. DOE on June 27 for energy efficiency upgrades that helped to lower its energy consumption by 22% in the past two years.
DOE Better Buildings 2017 progress report: Successful strategies driving innovation and results
This report, released May 16 at the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Summit in Washington, D.C., details the efforts of leading organizations to reduce energy and water waste and modernize the nation's buildings and industrial facilities.
Case study: CKE Restaurants' defrost controller pilot
This case study from the U.S. Department of Energy explores CKE Restaurants' field test of an advanced demand defrost control system for walk-in coolers and freezers in their Carl's Jr. restaurants.
Green bonds: A primer for energy project financing
This report highlights the benefits and downsides of green bonds, a type of debt used to fund projects yielding environmental benefits, and offers an overview of recent issuances from U.S. corporations.
Implementation model: Best Buy's retail load analysis
This implementation model, created by the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Initiative, details an analysis conducted by Best Buy across its stores to understand the load's current energy use that helped identify $3 million in energy savings opportunities.
Implementation model: The adidas green energy fund
This implementation model, created by the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Initiative, details the adidas Group's road to developing an internal green energy fund.
Data center metering and resource guide
This guide from the U.S. DOE intends to help data center owners and operators implement a metering system that allows their organizations to gather the necessary data for effective decision making and energy efficiency improvements.
A common definition for zero energy buildings
This document from the U.S. Department of Energy describes a commonly agreed upon definition of zero energy buildings with supporting nomenclature and measurement guidelines to facilitate their use, and sets a bar for denoting a zero energy buildings
DOE launches energy efficiency 'financing navigator'
The U.S. DOE has launched a new, web-based financing navigator aimed at making the process of finding energy efficiency project finance solutions easier for commercial and industrial organizations.
Outdoor lighting challenges and solution pathways
This report from the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Initiative outlines solutions to overcoming challenges related to outdoor lighting retrofits.
Air Force, Navy teams square off in DOE web series
At the rare intersection of energy efficiency and reality television, the U.S. DOE has launched season two of the Better Buildings Challenge's spin on ABC's Wife Swap featuring two rival military divisions.
Wendy's wins 2 awards for efficiency upgrades
The Wendy's Co. recently received two environmental awards for its efforts to dramatically reduce energy usage at its restaurants.
DOE's Better Plants fall 2016 progress update
This report details recent energy efficiency successes from a growing number of manufacturing organizations — including big corporations like 3M, Celanese, General Mills, General Motors and Procter & Gamble — within the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Plants program.
DOE launches EMIS program, 18 inaugural partners
The U.S. DOE has launched a new program within the Better Buildings Initiative aimed at helping commercial building reduce their energy use with Macy's, Wendy's, Whole Foods and 15 other organizations as partners.
