If the lights are on in the Saint Gobain building, the odds are pretty high that somebody is working.

Valley Forge, Pa. – When it comes to manufacturing and distributing building materials, Saint-Gobain has a reputation of being the world leader.  Later today, the company will be recognized by the EPA as being the leader in reducing carbon footprint and protecting the environment.

A participant in the EPA’s ENERGY-STAR program since 2005, Saint-Gobain will collect the award of ENERGY-STAR Partner of the Year at an award ceremony in Washington D.C. The honor will distinguish Saint-Gobain for outstanding energy management and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Out of 17,000 participants in the EPA’s program that was started in 1992, Saint-Gobain is the only manufacturer of glass containers or fiber glass insulation that has won.

According to Saint-Gobain Energy Manager Brad Runda, the path to a green working environment began with educating employees to eliminate wastefulness. Runda said that the idea is to treat the work environment the same way you would at home from a day to day basis.

“We began making an effort in offices and in manufacturing make sure unused lights, computer monitors and other equipment were turned off when not being used,” said Runda.

Runda also said using the right technology and equipment for the application is important as well. One example is switching from HID to fluorescent lighting, or vice versa, depending on the need of the room. Acknowledging that the majority of the energy consumption was through manufacturing, Runda said that it was important to switch to less power consuming equipment and of course, not being wasteful when using resources in the factory.

So far, the plan has worked out well for the company. In 2009, Saint-Gobain of North America was able to reduce their energy intensity by 2.2 percent. According to the company, this is the equivalent to the energy needed to produce nearly 486 million glass bottles or enough fiber glass insulation for more than 100,000 U.S. homes. Their reduction in Carbon Dioxide emissions released into the atmosphere last year was more than 70,000 tons.

Saint Gobain delegate Bill Seiberlich said that he hoped the award would inspire others to take the step in reducing their energy usage and harmful emissions.

“An award like this is good for morale and helps promote saving energy with the public,” Seiberlich said. “Whoever it be, our competitors or the public, we encourage others to do likewise.”

In a statement issued by the EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, Gina McCarthy, the same sentiments were echoed for Saint-Gobain’s potential for rubbing off on others.

“Saint-Gobain is leading the fight against climate change through greater energy efficiency,” said McCarthy. “Saint-Gobain’s robust energy management program is a model for others and affirms that energy efficiency is our most cost-effective climate strategy.”

Some of Saint-Gobain’s products include: self-cleaning windows, photovoltaic glass, smart insulation systems and water supply systems.

The Department of Energy has made a couple of unprecedented moves on efficiency in the last few months that have gone unnoticed by all but the most die-hard efficiency advocates.

First, as my colleague Noah Long explained, DOE has begun to actually enforce mandatory minimum appliance standards!  Crazy, right? First they announced about $3 million in fines on shower head manufacturers for failure to submit certification reports.  These are the first ever fines levied under the federal standards program, and further evidence of the new attitude about enforcement at DOE.  They then followed up by fining an air conditioner manufacturer $1.2 million for failing to certify.  I am guessing these and other manufacturers will pay a bit more attention to compliance and certification from now on.

Second, DOE issued its annual report to Congress recently, and the big news is that DOE has officially put development of national TV energy efficiency standards on its schedule.  We had been expecting this development, since DOE announced last fall that it would begin a TV proceeding “soon” in its notice repealing the outdated federal test method.

Standards for TV sets are long overdue. Congress gave DOE authority to consider TV standards in 1989, but this is the first time they’ve been considered federally.  Of course, it’s doubtful the feds would even be looking at TV standards absent the California Energy Commission (CEC) standards enacted last year and heroic efforts to develop and support those standards by the Commissioners and CEC staff through support led by NRDC’s Noah Horowitz, Pacific Gas & Electric and the rest of the CA investor owned utilities.

The federal schedule calls for completion of the federal rulemaking in June 2013.  Assuming that Consumer Electronics Association is not successful at derailing the federal process — you can bet they will try — that means federal standards would take effect in May 2016, at the earliest.  In the 3.5 years between the state standards implementation date and the earliest potential federal implementation date, about 20 million TV sets will be sold that will last 7 to 10 years.  Even if the feds do all we would want, there is still much value in staying the course in the states.

I think this DOE means business, don’t you?

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the ‘Great Appliance Swap Out’ will be running through February 21^st, or until the $17 million in federal funds being granted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are used up.

“This program will provide a tremendous incentive for consumers all across New York to reduce their energy consumption while providing an important stimulus to our economy, and helping to meet the State’s ‘45 by 15′ clean energy goal,” New York Governor David Paterson said.

The state is learning from the mistakes of ‘Cash for Clunkers’, a federal program for enticing people to trade in their old gas guzzling automobile, which ran out of funds very quickly.

“Whenever someone downloads an application or someone calls up and has an application downloaded for them, we have a real-time counter on the website, so we’re really trying to avoid what happened this summer with cash for clunkers, where they go to buy an appliance and there’s no money left,”  said Mark Michalski from NYSERDA.

The appliances qualifying for the rebates are as follows:

• Refrigerators: $75 ($105 with a receipt certifying that the old appliance was recycled)

• Clothes washers: $75 ($100 with recycling recipt)

• Freezers: $50 ($75 with recycling receipt)

• Dishwashers: Rebates are only available for dishwashers when purchased as part of a three appliance package of appliances. This bundled purchase will qualify for a $500 rebate ($555 with documented recycling).

Appliances must have the ENERGY STAR® label, meaning that they are up to 30 percent more efficient than standard models on the market.

Many appliance retailers across the state are trying to capitalize off the program by assisting customers through the rebate process and having the paperwork on hand to fill out.

“It is a win-win for consumers because it will reduce the cost of big ticket energy efficient appliances and help lower utility bills for years to come,” said Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, Chair of the NY Assembly Energy Committee.

For more information, visit the Great Appliance Swap Out website.

2.8 million percent is how much more energy efficient computing technology (in terms of watt consumed per calculation/second) has become since 1976.  Compare that to the 40 percent gain in overall miles per gallon (mpg) efficiency for the U.S. automobile fleet over the same period of time.  Divide the energy efficiency gains made in computing by U.S. automobile mpg and you’ll come up with 71,000x.  Put it another way, energy efficiency for computing lapped U.S. automotive efficiency gains 71,000 times over the past twenty years.

This staggering statistic is just one of many findings in the report titled, Semiconductor Technologies: The Potential to Revolutionize U.S. Energy Productivity, released by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) last week.

Here are a few more energy and environmental impacts for the U.S. that the ACEEE study discovered as a result of the massive rise in information and communication technology (ICT) in the U.S. over the last quarter century:

• 20 percent less energy used in 2006 than the 20-year prediction made in 1976.
• Equivalent to 184 average-sized power plants avoided

And for the next quarter century (to the year 2030), as our economy matures into the age of ICT, we can expect:

• 27 percent less energy use than what’s currently forecasted by the Dept. of Energy
• 11 percent less energy than what we used in 2008 (absolute reduction!)
• 383 million metric tons GHG reduction (equivalent to taking 70+ million cars off the road)

All the while seeing the U.S. expand at least by 70 percent!

Computers and “mainframes” (now generally referred to as “data centers”) are just a part of the overall ICT economy.  The ACEEE report also reveals numerous benefits that ICT has brought to the electric power industry including utility ’smart’ grid technologies and automating electricity grid connection for variable output renewable energy.

From a similar thread in the world of high tech, we’re witnessing more and more applications for semiconductor technology in cell phones, televisions, DVD players, programmable thermostats, and yes, even our automobiles.  The International Energy Agency (IEA) picked up on the topic of the growing influence of the ICT economy in its report, Gadgets and Gigawatts.  The IEA study looked at both developed economies such as the U.S. and Western Europe and developing economies, where some 4+ billion people are expected to enter into the ICT economy as cell phones, personal computers, televisions, and other electronically powered “gadgets” get introduced.

Discussion:

• What does this mean for answering our call for 80% reduction in global greenhouse gases by 2050?
• Can we hope for another 2.8 million percent increase in energy efficiency and resulting gains in economic productivity?
• And can we foster an international exchange whereby we ‘leapfrog’ the incremental technology developments for our fellow humans in developing countries to help them lead healthier and more productive lives?

Borrowing from NRDC’s emerging motto, yes, “it can be done” with ICT enabling much of the gains. ]]> http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2009/05/20/computing-technology-28-million-percent-more-energy-efficient-than-in-1976/feed/ 0