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Archive for the ‘Energy Efficiency’ Category

The Empire State Building to undergo a unique window retrofit approach to sustainability

March 10th, 2010

Architects’ Guide to Glass and Metal

Sustainability and energy efficiency have become monikers for many of today’s retrofit and new construction building projects, and the Empire State Building is no exception. More than 6,500 windows in the iconic building are being upgraded by Serious Materials as part of an energy-efficiency retrofit project, which was announced last April.

Johnson Controls, a provider of energy efficient and sustainable products, services and solutions, selected Serious Materials to “super-insulate” the windows.

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Posted in Energy Efficiency, Green Buildings, Green Technologies

Johnson Controls’ Clay Nesler: Smart grids need smarter buildings

March 8th, 2010

ConstructionWEEKonline.com

The latest buzzword in the utilities sector is the ‘smart grid’, which presents a major opportunity for buildings to become even smarter.

Johnson Controls vice-president: global energy and sustainability Clay G. Nesler explains that the smart grid “is simply an upgraded electrical distribution system allowing it to accommodate more renewable energy and intermittent sources of energy.

Read more at ConstructionWEEKonline.com. Submit comments below.

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Posted in Energy Efficiency, Green Buildings, Smart Grid

Johnson Controls selects Serious Materials to upgrade windows in Empire State Building

March 4th, 2010

Johnson Controls has selected Serious Materials to super-insulate more than 6,500 windows for the Empire State Building’s energy efficiency retrofit project.

Serious Materials will provide its SeriousGlass™ technology through a sustainable production process that will directly reduce energy costs by more than $400,000 per year. » More: Johnson Controls selects Serious Materials to upgrade windows in Empire State Building

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Posted in Energy Efficiency, Green Buildings, Sustainability

Johnson Controls named ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year

March 1st, 2010

By Steve Thomas, Johnson Controls

The EPA web site says three out of four Americans have heard of the ENERGY STAR® label for energy efficient washers, dryers, computers and other electronics. The logo has great brand recognition overall. Not as many people know that energy-efficient buildings can show off the ENERGY STAR label too.

That’s something we are trying to change.

The EPA and DOE announced today that Johnson Controls has been selected a 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for Service and Product Providers. » More: Johnson Controls named ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year

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Posted in Energy Efficiency

Johnson Controls to participate in Olathe, Kansas Earth Day events

March 1st, 2010

KansasCity.com

The city of Olathe and the Olathe Chamber of Commerce are partnering to host a 2010 Earth Day event, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., April 22 at Corporate Ridge Office Park, Ridgeview Road and Kansas 10.

John O’Herron of Johnson Controls Inc. will offer tips on reducing home energy costs.

Read the complete story on KansasCity.com.

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Posted in Energy Efficiency, Sustainability

Will this breakthrough help state governments fund energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives?

February 23rd, 2010

By Carl Hurst, Director, State Government, Energy Solutions Johnson Controls, Inc.

How might a state government entity – faced with deep budget cuts and a tax threshold that has already been reached– still meet its sustainability goals and raise capital to fund smart government program improvements at the same time? One potential solution: a “green sale-leaseback.” » More: Will this breakthrough help state governments fund energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives?

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Posted in Energy Efficiency, Public Policy

IBM and Johnson Controls partner on smarter buildings

February 22nd, 2010

Earth2Tech

Two of the biggest players in the emerging smart building industry have joined forces. IBM and Johnson Controls announced Monday the launch of a joint initiative called Smart Building Solution — combining the business analytics and enterprise software of Big Blue with the building technology and energy efficiency solutions of Johnson Controls – that the companies said will improve operations, lower costs and reduce energy and water use in buildings.

The initiative will be co-marketed by the companies and target government and education buildings, large commercial real estate owners and industrial facilities.

Read the complete story on Earth2Tech. Submit your comments below.

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Posted in Energy Efficiency, Facilities Management, Green Buildings

Triple pane energy gains at the Empire State Building

February 22nd, 2010

Energy, Water and Taxes, LLC

One of the owners of the Empire State Building, Tony Malkin, set out to prove that a whole-building retrofit to greatly enhance energy efficiency could be financially justified in a multitenant office building. Malkin assembled a team that included Jones Lang LaSalle, the Rocky Mountain Institute and Johnson Controls. Their task: Identify which of several dozen potential strategies would yield the best balance of low upfront cost and long-term financial benefit.

Read the complete blog on Energy, Water and Taxes, LLC. Submit comments below.

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Posted in Energy Efficiency, Facilities Management, Green Buildings

Self-funding project cuts energy costs

February 22nd, 2010

National League of Cities

The centerpiece of the project is the City of Rome’s wastewater treatment plant. Through an energy performance contract with Johnson Controls, an NLC Capstone Corporate Partner, Rome was able to replace outdated mixing equipment and install a fine bubble aeration system to replace mechanical aerators, some of which were 30 years old. The state-of-the-art fine bubble aeration system includes energy efficient variable-vane blowers, dissolved oxygen controls and efficient membrane diffusers. The dissolved oxygen controls automate the output of the blowers, thereby minimizing energy consumption.

Read the complete story on the National League of Cities website. Submit comments below.

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Posted in Energy Efficiency, Facilities Management, Green Buildings, Performance Contracting

Johnson Controls CEO Stephen Roell spearheads drive towards energy efficiency

February 18th, 2010

Institutional Investor

This year, Johnson Controls begins a yearlong commemoration of its 125th anniversary. But the Milwaukee company probably won’t be celebrating one recent, bittersweet milestone: In 2009 its venerable Building Efficiency division, the original thermostat business, again became Johnson’s top revenue generator, supplanting the once-dynamic but lately beleaguered Automotive Experience unit, which sells everything from auto electronics to whole car seats.

Founded in 1885 by Wisconsin Natural Sciences professor Warren Johnson, who invented the thermostat, the company diversified into auto supplies in 1978, and by 1993 sales from that burgeoning business had eclipsed those from home and office controls. But with the decline of the U.S. auto industry, Automotive Experience’s revenue has dropped by one third since 2008.

Nonetheless, Johnson’s CEO and chairman, Stephen Roell, sees the company’s increased dependence on the Building Efficiency division as more of an opportunity than a liability. “It’s a business that thrives on energy efficiency,” Roell explains. “We expect Building Efficiency to be a larger portion of the pie as time evolves.”