Beat the Heat with Hybrid AC May 18, 2009 Posted by: johnsoncontrols 12:42 AM
By Andy Armstrong, Johnson Controls
Ah, the sounds of summer. Birds are singing. Lawnmowers are roaring. There’s baseball on the radio. And when I switched on the air conditioner, it sounded like somebody was pounding on an empty barrel with my three wood. That was right before the grinding and screeching. Followed by the utterly depressing silence that only a dead AC can make on the first hot day of the year.
Sound familiar? Shopping for a new air conditioner – like me? Here’s a suggestion: do what I’m going to do and go hybrid – as in a hybrid comfort system.
Where I work – York, a Johnson Controls brand – we make these hybrid systems. When you hear “Johnson Controls” and “hybrid” in the same sentence, you may think “batteries” – the ones we manufacture for hybrid vehicles. But what’s amazing about the hybrid comfort systems we make for home heating and cooling is that they provide one of the same advantages hybrid cars offer: the ability to switch between fuel sources – in this case, between natural gas and electricity. Here’s how a hybrid comfort system works:
Inside your house is the furnace component. It runs off of natural gas, and it looks and works just like your old furnace, only it uses a lot less energy.
Outside your house is the heat pump part of the system. It’s powered by electricity and looks just like your now-dead air conditioner, but it functions much differently.
In winter months, when natural gas prices are typically higher, you can use the heat pump to capture the warmth that’s always present in the outside air (even in winter) and pull it inside to warm your house. When it’s especially cold outside, the furnace automatically kicks in to supplement the heat pump and provide additional warmth. And if electric rates shoot up in your area for some reason, you can use the electric heat pump less (or not at all) and rely on the gas-powered furnace for heat. In other words, you can switch fuel sources based on what’s going on with prices. Clever you!
But who wants to think about winter the week before Memorial Day? Let’s talk about summer. When it’s hot, the heat pump works in reverse: it takes the heat out of your house and pumps it outside – which is exactly the same process that an air conditioner uses. So you get the same cooling you’d get from your AC – that is if your AC had a pulse.
Here’s something important to think about: When heat pumps first became popular back in the seventies, the technology was a little behind the curve. The equipment wasn’t very durable, and the defroster systems that kept the coils on the heat pump from icing over didn’t always work very well. The good news is that’s changed completely. Today’s systems work well and are designed to provide reliable heating and cooling year-round with little or no maintenance. And the best part is you can get some help paying for a new system. Under the federal stimulus package, you can get up to $1,500 in tax credits when you spend money to increase the energy efficiency of your home. Hybrid comfort systems that meet certain efficiency standards – and ours do! – qualify. The tax credits are good through the end of 2010. You may also be able to get a rebate from your utility for installing a heat pump. Utilities like heat pumps because they use electricity in the winter when the demand for natural gas is heaviest.
So don’t just sit there sweating. If you’ve got to replace your AC this year anyway, go hybrid with a comfort system that:
Keeps you cool in summer and warm in winter
Gives you the option of choosing which fuel source to use based on price
Qualifies for tax credits and rebates to help you foot the bill
Rocky Road and 31 Other Flavors on the Path to Energy Efficiency May 06, 2009 Posted by: johnsoncontrols 02:19 PM
By Don Young, International Facility Management Association (IFMA)
Taking part in a webcast this week, I couldn’t stop thinking about ice cream.
The webcast actually had nothing to do with my favorite dessert. It was about the third annual Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI) survey that IFMA is happy to partner with Johnson Controls on every year.
Johnson Controls, of course, is headquartered in Wisconsin – America’s Dairyland – but that isn’t what put an image of ice cream into my head, either.
Here’s what did: Most of the time, I’m pretty good about choosing the no-sugar, no-fat ice cream when the urge strikes. I have to admit that sometimes, though, I give in and have a scoop of “fully-loaded.” I know I should stop doing this altogether. But I don’t. There’s a disconnect between what I know I should do and what I actually do. And that is exactly what the results of this year’s EEI survey show:
• 71% of business leaders are paying more attention to energy efficiency than they were a year ago (that’s up from 62% in 2007) • 58% say energy management is extremely or very important (up from just 20% in 2007)
But here’s the kicker:
• 10% fewer business leaders expect to spend capital dollars on energy efficiency improvements • 6% fewer expect to invest operating dollars into energy efficiency
Businesses know what they should do, but fewer are actually doing it. Why? The number one reason is capital budgets that are shrinking due to the economic slowdown. Number two is the relatively longer payback on energy efficiency investments. Uncertainty is yet another big reason – uncertainty over the direction of energy prices, financial incentives and government regulation of carbon emissions.
Still, in the midst of this uncertainty and economic turmoil, organizations are making significant investments in energy efficiency. Two of them took part in the webcast:
The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory signed a $89 million energy savings performance contract with Johnson Controls to dramatically increase energy efficiency and use of renewable energy on its 500-acre, 400-facility campus in Tennessee. When completed, the improvements will reduce fossil fuel use by 85%, save 170 million gallons of water a year and supply 21% of the facility’s power needs with on-site renewable energy facilities.
The Empire State Building, one of the most recognized and admired skyscrapers in the world, recently contracted with Johnson Controls to perform $20 million in energy efficiency upgrades to the 102-story Manhattan icon that will cut energy usage by 38% and reduce the structure’s carbon footprint. The project will serve as a model for energy efficiency retrofit projects that have sensible payback periods and enhance the profitability of owners.
The question I had is this: how were these two organizations able to look beyond the barriers preventing others from investing in energy efficiency? Their own responses during the webcast spoke loud and clear on that subject.
“It’s just good business,” said Tim Clancy, Director of Operations at the Empire State Building. “The investment pays back in lower energy costs, and we end up with a more valuable building.”
“I agree that it’s good business,” added Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Deputy Director of Facilities and Operations Jimmy Stone. “It’s how we’re going to be a viable organization going forward.”
No disconnect there. Two facility management professionals who recognize the critical roles they play in helping their organizations control costs and operate sustainably. They and their organizations are proof positive that strategic capital investments in high-performance building technologies can and do lower energy consumption, maximize efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
As the economy improves, credit markets ease and the regulatory picture becomes clearer, we’re certain to see more organizations like them lining up for their scoop of energy efficiency, with some renewables sprinkled on top.
A Fair Breeze Blowing on the Wind Industry May 03, 2009 Posted by: johnsoncontrols 11:09 PM
By Jesse Stowell, Johnson Controls
As I drive across the wide open plains of West Texas I’m reminded– would you believe it – of Chicago. Not because the scenery is similar – it isn’t, especially this time of year! But because of the one thing that both places certainly have in common right now: wind, and lots of it.
West Texas is currently one of the hottest markets in the world for wind energy — particularly on a utility-scale. Giant wind farms with hundreds of turbines generating hundreds of megawatts of electricity dot the skyline. And more are on the way.
But this week, ground zero for the wind industry is 1,300 miles to the north in Chicago where the windy city hosts the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) Windpower 2009 conference. And while utility-scale wind is certainly high on the conference agenda, there’s something new on the breeze, as well.
For the first time, the conference will include a meeting of the Community Wind Working Group. Formed last year, the group’s objective is to develop policies and strategies to help grow community wind – on-site wind energy generating facilities that may consist of just one turbine.
Community wind continues to grow – especially among local school districts, on college and university campuses, and on federal facilities such as military bases. What’s more: community wind really stands to gain from current and potential developments that include:
A national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that would require all utilities to generate a percentage of their power from renewables such as wind. A RPS is currently part of climate change legislation now before the U.S. Congress.
A cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions that’s part of the same legislation. Such a scheme would make generation of electricity from fossil fuels more expensive, making wind and other renewables more cost competitive.
The resumption of tax credits for investments in wind energy and other renewables.
Net-metering laws being adopted at the state level that help make on-site wind energy facilities more financially attractive.
Progress on bringing plug-in hybrid vehicles to the U.S. auto market where they promise to drive increased demand for electricity – which will in turn encourage utilities to promote more on-site power generation from renewables such as wind as an alternative to building new fossil fuel power plants.
Improvements in wind turbine technologies that increase the efficiency of generating electricity at lower wind speeds, which are common in community wind facilities.
Slow but steady easing of the credit markets, freeing more funding for wind projects.
All of this, of course, comes on top of an overwhelming increase in interest in all forms of renewable energy – wind included – driven by instability and uncertainty in energy prices, concerns over climate change and energy security, and other factors.
And it comes in the midst of overwhelming public support for wind energy. A recent public opinion poll finds that 82% of Americans would support a wind energy project in their hometown.
Whether it’s blustering across the vast open expanses of West Texas or gusting between skyscrapers in the loop in downtown Chicago, it’s encouraging to find a fair breeze blowing on community wind, bringing with it the promise of even greater growth for an industry that is poised to play a critical role in America’s energy future.
