MicroNews: New Energy Storage Group Forms…Latest in Onset HOBOs…Better Refrigerator Lighting for Stores
This week in energy efficiency news…
Robert Menendez, Democratic Senator from New Jersey, and Pat Toomey, Republican Senator from Pennsylvania, introduced a new Senate bill, the Start-up, Jobs, and Innovation Act. The bill aims to stimulate innovation and generate investment in groundbreaking research and development for startups and growing businesses through reforms to the existing tax code. The Electricity Storage Association supports the bill along with several other technology groups that have aligned to form the Coalition of Small Business Innovators.
More about Bipartisan the Start-up, Jobs, and Innovation Act
Patty Durand, executive director of Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC), was named one of the Smart Grid Pioneers of 2013 by Smart Grid Today. Since Durand joined SGCC in 2011, the organization has produced numerous research reports and insights about consumer awareness and perception of a modernized grid. The organization also has grown to more than 100 members and has launched a consumer-facing platform for education. It is gearing up to launch an unprecedented national energy literacy ambassadorship program in early 2014.
More about the Smart Grid Pioneer Winner of 2013
Onset Computer released its HOBO kWh Monitoring Kit, which combines Onset’s HOBO UX90 State/Pulse Logger with its WattNode kWh sensors. The result is a low-cost system that tracks energy consumption in buildings, featuring an LCD display, single or three-phase measurement recording, and comprehensive energy data analysis.
More about Onset’s HOBO® kWh Monitoring Kit
American DG Energy added a highly efficient chiller to its combined heat and power (CHP) system to provide chilled water to DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Tarrytown, New York. The chiller will provide supplemental cooling and increase energy savings. The CHP system already provides electricity, heat and hot water to the hotel.
More about American DG Energy’s chiller installation at DoubleTree
The Energy Department launched a new mobile app to help drivers find stations that provide alternative fuel for vehicles. The Alternative Fueling Station Locator app, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with support from the Energy Department, provides information on more than 15,000 stations across the country. Users can search for stations that offer electricity, biodiesel, natural gas, ethanol, hydrogen, and propane as well as find specific location information. This app is just the latest tool to help drivers find the right vehicle and fuel that suits their needs.
More about the Energy Department Alternative Fueling Station Locator app
General Electric’s Critical Power business introduced its new QBVE060A0S10R4 625-watt (W) and the QBVS050A0B 600-W quarter-brick bus converters. These new modules are part of the company’s Barracuda product series of fully regulated DC/DC power devices that improve power density by more than 50 percent compared to industry-standard 400-W bus converters. Power efficiencies of the new Barracuda Series bus converters exceed 96 percent while maintaining multiple voltages.
More about GE’s new Barracuda Series bus modules
Amerlux released its new refrigerated case lighting display for supermarkets and grocery stores, called SlimBar. The new luminaire beautifies packaging with consistent light levels while reducing energy consumption by nearly 50 percent in supermarkets and other grocery retailers. The SlimBar system uses LEDs specifically designed for cool operating environments; it reduces the loss of perishable goods and increases energy savings on compressor cooling.
More about the Amerlux SlimBar
The U.S. Green Building Council released the second installment of the LEED in Motion report series: Places and Policies. The report finds that there are nearly 60,000 LEED green building projects around the world, spanning 10.6 billion square feet. The first section of the report showcases in-depth statistics and graphics on LEED projects and areas of growth around the world, with a sub-section for projects in the U.S. as well as global projects. Canada leads the way in LEED projects outside the U.S. with 4,375 projects, followed by India with 1,586, China with 1,282, United Arab Emirates with 816 and Brazil with 717. The second section examines domestic and international policies and partnerships that support the framework of LEED and drive global progress.
