A new permanent exhibition has opened at the Empire State Building in New York, showcasing the $20 million energy retrofit project in the city landmark.

The interactive, multimedia attraction aims to bring awareness to 3.8 million people that visit the iconic building every year regarding building efficiency and sustainable living practices.

Read more on BrighterEnergy.org. Submit your comments below.

What energy efficiency improvements can your organization showcase?

My name is Anthony E. Malkin, I am president of Malkin Holdings, and I run the Empire State Building. Seated behind me are Empire State Building Team leaders Paul Rode of Johnson Controls and Dana Schneider of Jones Lang LaSalle.

At ESB we created the first replicable, nonproprietary, open source, quantitative process to give transparent economic justification to energy efficiency retrofits in the existing built environment. Our work is guaranteed by the balance sheet of Johnson Controls to reduce our watt and BTU consumption by 38.4%. Our contract only guarantees 90% of our projected savings, so our actual savings will be in excess of 40%. Our payback period is three years.

Read more on TradingMarkets.com. Submit your comments below.

How do you think energy efficiency in existing buildings should be addressed?

On a warm and muggy July day, nothing cools me off like a swim in a pool. Far too soon, though, the steamy days of summer will give way to fall, and the only pools you’ll catch me diving into will be comfortably heated, thank you! Fortunately, the golden rays of the sun can still be part of this picture.

Solar hot water systems may be one of the most cost-efficient and widely used forms of green energy around. And when it comes to heating swimming pools, hot tubs and spas, using solar hot water makes a lot of sense.

After all, many pools and hot tubs at hotels and motels, resorts, schools, colleges and universities, municipal parks, military bases and other facilities are already heated using conventional gas or electric systems. Solar thermal systems can provide up to about two-thirds of the hot water necessary, providing a payback in a matter of a few years.

Take Glen Hills Middle School in Glendale, Wisconsin – a suburb of Milwaukee. As part of an energy efficiency upgrade to the school, a solar system was installed to heat the indoor pool. Pool water is pumped up to the system on the roof where solar panels warm it and send it back to the pool. This reduces the need to run the school’s main boiler, which saves natural gas and cuts greenhouse gas emissions.

With grants from an electric utility and a state government program, plus the roughly $5,000 the district will save annually on its energy bills, the solar system will be paid off in just three-and-a-half years.

“The solar pool heating system is an excellent fit for our district,” says school district operations director Jim Beckman. “It makes a big impact with minimal cash outlay. This approach is beneficial to any district with a pool, but especially to small ones like ours.”

In Gardner, Massachusetts, students at Mount Wachusett Community College are finding that solar hot water systems can be used for more than just making a dip in the campus pool more comfortable.

Back in 2002, environmentally-conscious Mount Wachusett administrators switched to a biomass system to heat campus buildings, but electric boilers were still used to provide hot water. Now, solar panels on the roof of the school heat water that is stored in the existing 1800-gallon hot water tank.

More than $18,000 in incentives from the college’s electric utility helped pay for the solar system, which is part of a package of eleven energy efficiency improvements that will cut campus electricity usage by 15% and save the college more than $129,000 annually.

“Our main goal,” says college president Daniel M. Asquino, “was to reduce the college’s energy bill over time so we could apply the savings to our main mission: educating students.”

These are just two of the many examples illustrating how solar hot water systems are an easy and logical choice for any organization that needs hot water – and what organization doesn’t?

Whether it’s for heating a swimming pool, running washing machines in a laundry operation, or driving an industrial process of some kind, solar hot water systems save money, reduce energy usage, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and provide fast and pain-free paybacks.

The time to jump in is now. The solar hot water is fine!

Representatives from some of the largest corporations in the Pee Dee gave tips to local businesses on reducing carbon footprints and the long-term benefits of making the switch to more sustainable practices during a brunch at the Pee Dee Realtors Association on Tuesday.

“In the future sustainable projects are really going to pay the bills for companies,“ Eric Meringher of Johnson Controls said.

Read more in SC Now. Submit your comments below.

How are you greening your office?

The Dover Ice Arena, thanks to a recent upgrade, has improved its energy efficiency as part of a citywide project to improve energy consumption in various city buildings.

The citywide project was done by Johnson Controls.

Read more in Foster’s Daily Democrat. Submit your comments below.

How are public facilities in your community becoming more energy efficient?

County legislators will soon decide if the current economic climate is right for a construction project that would cost money now and save money in the future.
Members of the county Properties Committee earlier this week received a report from an energy consultant, suggesting upgrades that are needed to lower utility bills at county buildings.

Read more in The Evening Telegram. Submit your comments below.

How is your local government improving the energy efficiency of public buildings?

Think of it as a root canal for two schools.

This summer, several dozen construction workers are tearing apart much of Lake City’s two public school buildings, taking out asbestos and old boilers and pulling down ceilings.

Read more in the Post-Bulletin. Submit your comments below.

How could your school district improve the energy efficiency of facilities, while creating better learning environments?

Johnson Controls has provided the results of a survey that could potentially save the Alcorn School District’s annual utility spending by more than $180,000 after proposed facility energy improvements.

Cheryl Acquadro, of Johnson Controls, presented the initial savings prediction for the school district with Johnson Controls’ proposed energy improvements in place.

Read more on Allvoices. Submit your comments below.

What are your scshools doing to save energy and cut costs?

In March 2010, Johnson Controls, in conjunction with ASHE and the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), commissioned the 2010 Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI) survey, which polled 2,882 executives and managers responsible for making investments and managing energy in facilities worldwide. Of these respondents, 288 operated in the healthcare sector in North America.

The research found that 58 percent of healthcare building decision-makers say that energy management was very or extremely important to their organization, compared with 52 percent among North American respondents across all sectors. Sixty-two percent of healthcare organizations plan to make capital investments in energy efficiency over the next 12 months, compared with only 52 percent overall in North America.

“This year’s survey shows that energy cost savings and enhanced brand image are important to our industry. In order to continue to serve our communities, my colleagues understand that we need to try to keep our costs down,” said Dale Woodin, executive director, ASHE. “The compassion that we offer patients and families is reflected in the way we run our business and provide care.”

The survey indicates that the healthcare sector has implemented a variety of measures to achieve energy efficiency including lighting retrofits (73%), adjustments to HVAC controls (57%), installation of occupancy or daylight sensors (56%) and upgrades or improvements to building automation systems (56%). Other notable measures include the early replacement of inefficient equipment (41%) and the retro-commissioning of major building systems (23%, up from 16% in 2008).

Compared to results from the 2008 Healthcare EEI, the 2010 findings suggest an upward trend in the percentage of healthcare executives that have a goal of either achieving green building certification or incorporating green elements into their new construction projects (80% in 2010, up from 72% in 2008).

“The healthcare sector has had an increasing commitment to energy efficiency and we continue to see that with our customers’ interest in making investments,” said Richard Smith, director, energy solutions healthcare, Johnson Controls. “However, limited access to capital to invest in energy upgrades continues to hold the industry back from reaching the full savings potential of energy efficiency. It is important for healthcare decision-makers to become educated about the alternative financing methods that are emerging.”

Lack of capital budget was cited as the primary barrier to efficiency investments among both healthcare respondents (45%) and the overall North American sample (38%). An additional twenty-one percent of healthcare leaders say insufficient paybacks or return on investment is the primary barrier to investment.

“In light of the difficult credit environment, it comes as no surprise that our industry is playing close attention to ROI. From 2008 to 2010, the average maximum allowable payback for investments has dropped from 3.8 years to 3.4 years,” said Woodin.

The EEI survey results for the healthcare sector will be discussed today at the ASHE Annual Conference and Technical Exhibition in Tampa, Fla.

The survey is managed by the Johnson Controls Institute for Building Efficiency, a new initiative of Johnson Controls, providing information and analysis of technologies, policies, and practices for efficient, high performance buildings and smart energy systems around the world.