Transit Connect Electric is well-suited for fleets that travel predictable, short-range routes with frequent stop-and-go driving in cities and have a central location for daily recharging. The electric vehicle will have a top speed of 75 mph and a targeted range of up to 80 miles on a full electric charge.

At 240V, the 28kWh Johnson Controls-Saft (JCS) lithium-ion battery back can be recharged in 6 to 8 hours.

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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.

Read more on the Architects’ Guide to Glass and Metal website. Submit comments below.

The Company received approximately $494.2 million of net proceeds from the offering after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other expenses of the offering.  The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including to repay short-term indebtedness that it has incurred to finance working capital requirements.

Banc of America Securities LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Barclays Capital Inc. and ING Financial Markets LLC served as joint book-running managers for the offering.

The Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition (DRSG) has announced that Ambient Corporation, Johnson Controls, Lockheed Martin, Boeing (News – Alert), EnergyConnect, CALMAC, and EnOcean Alliance are now members.

The coalition has stated that its objective is to educate and provide information to policymakers, utilities, the media, the financial community and stakeholders on how demand response and smart grid technologies such as smart meters can help modernize electricity systems and provide customers with new information and options for managing their electricity use.

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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.

The Canby High School engineering and design class toured Johnson Controls in Canby on last Wednesday. Johnson Controls is a global leader and the world’s largest manufacturer of lead-acid automotive batteries.

Read more in the Canby Herald. Submit comments below.

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. In a first-of-its-kind process, Serious Materials will reuse all existing glass and create super-insulating glass units (IGUs) in a dedicated production space located in the Empire State Building. The new IGUs then will be re-installed and will increase the thermal performance of the windows by up to four times its current thermal performance, improving the R-value of the older dual pane windows from R2 to R-values ranging from R-5 to R-8. The super-insulating new windows will also reduce solar heat gain by more than 50% compared to the older windows.

Johnson Controls is overseeing the full Empire State Building retrofit project, with team of energy efficiency experts including the Clinton Climate Initiative, Jones Lang LaSalle, and Rocky Mountain Institute.The window upgrade process is one of eight individual measures that are expected to reduce energy use by 38 percent and save $4.4 million per year in energy costs and save 105,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide over the next 15 years.

Manufacturing Innovation: A Sustainable Approach to Glass Retrofitting
As part of Serious Materials’ solution, a 5,000 square foot processing space will be built on-site in the Empire State Building and will serve as the production line for super-insulating SeriousGlass glass units. The existing glass of the building’s 6,514 double-hung windows will be removed from the window frames, separated, and cleaned in the processing space. New super-insulating IGUs will be produced using the old glass panes, new spacers, suspended coated film, and special gas fill. The IGUs will be re-installed into the existing window frames.

Removal and re-installation of glass will occur during evening hours to avoid any disruption to building tenants and occupants. Serious Materials also will install the company’s QuietRock® soundproof drywall in the processing space to protect neighboring tenants from noise during construction.

By reusing existing glass and producing the new glass on-site, the process eliminates virtually all waste, saves energy, and reduces replacement costs.

“The Empire State building represents a model to others who may look to emulate what is being done at this landmark building from an energy efficiency standpoint. Our team has focused on providing the best energy solutions. The super-insulating windows will reduce energy use and produce savings that will payback in three years,” said Iain Campbell, vice president and general manager, Global Energy & WorkPlace Solutions, Johnson Controls.

“Serious Materials competed with the most prominent manufacturers and service providers for a key component of our program to make our energy savings goals a reality,” said Anthony E. Malkin of building owner, Empire State Building Company. “Their expertise and ingenuity at competitive standards won them the job. When the total project is done, we will have happier tenants, a more comfortable environment in all seasons, and long-term energy and cost savings. Johnson Controls has guaranteed that the integrated 8 measures, including windows, will provide us a payback within just 3 years.”

“Customers are the focus of everything we do at Serious Materials,” said Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials. “When we heard that retrofitting the dual-pane windows was a key component of the cost-efficient upgrade program, we went to work and came up with a solution never before attempted. We expect to use this model with other major efficiency projects throughout the world with customers who want to save real money in their buildings.”

Visit www.SeriousMaterials.com/ESB for more information about how SeriousGlass contributes to the whole-building energy efficiency retrofit of the Empire State Building.

About Serious Materials
Serious Materials develops and manufactures sustainable green building materials that save energy, save money, improve comfort, and help address climate change. Serious Materials’ products are manufactured in the company’s 5 factories across North America. For more information, visit http://www.SeriousMaterials.com.

About Empire State Building
The “World’s Most Famous Office Building,” the Empire State Building is in the midst of the more than $550 million Empire State ReBuilding program as the flagship of the W&H Properties portfolio of Pre-War Trophy office buildings. Since the Empire State ReBuilding program began in 2007, new investments in infrastructure, public areas and amenities have attracted new, first-rate tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the world. The skyscraper’s robust broadcasting platform makes it the most important broadcast facility in the most important market in the world. The Empire State Building was named America’s favorite building in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects. The Empire State Building Observatory is the region’s #1 tourist destination. For more information on the Empire State Building, please visit www.esbnyc.com.

Johnson Controls Inc. and Wisconsin Energy Corp. are the Wisconsin companies represented on the 11th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List compiled by Corporate Responsibility Magazine.

Glendale-based Johnson Controls ranked 22nd, and Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Energy ranked 47th.

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The acquisition expands Johnson Controls lighting services beyond the school, healthcare and government markets it currently serves as NES provides lighting upgrade and maintenance solutions largely for retail, commercial, and industrial customers. Johnson Controls also will provide effective  turnkey distribution and installation of those services for customers across market segments.

“NES and its experienced team of employees bring a broad range of innovative lighting design, retrofit and maintenance solutions to Johnson Controls. Their offerings complement ours and are advantageous for building owners interested in lowering energy and operating costs,” said Bruno Biasiotta, vice president and general manager, Johnson Controls Energy Solutions, Americas. “By adding lighting to our service delivery capabilities, Johnson Controls will self-perform most energy efficiency improvements for our customers. This decision will enable Johnson Controls to maximize the efficient delivery of these services and optimize overall savings from each project.

Energy efficiency in lighting is achieved through technologies like higher efficiency fluorescent lamps and ballasts, occupancy sensors, lighting controls and light emitting diodes or LEDs.   These technologies provide improved lighting quality and consistency while reducing a building’s carbon footprint.

“We are proud to join Johnson Controls, a market leader with a longstanding history in the energy efficiency industry,” said Reg Cook, president, National Energy Service. “We are committed to delivering value to customers through a turnkey approach for lighting upgrade solutions.”

Building upon 15 years of general contracting and aerospace experience, NES founders started the company in 1994 with the goal of delivering value to customers via lighting efficiency solutions, including lighting upgrade/retrofits, maintenance services and remodel and rollout programs. Since that time NES has continued to grow its service offerings as well as reach into many customer market segments; always with attention to meeting their customer’s needs and adding value.

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.We earned that recognition through the work we’ve done making buildings more energy efficient, plus for the work we have done to call attention to the ENERGY STAR label for buildings..

In 2009, Johnson Controls benchmarked more than 900 customer buildings through the ENERGY STAR tool, and 21 of those buildings received prestigious ENERGY STAR Label, meaning they are ranked in the top 25 percent in terms of efficiency.   We oversaw ENERGY STAR benchmarking for the Empire State Building as part of a $500 million upgrade program presently underway at the world’s most famous office building.

“The EPA is pleased to recognize Johnson Controls’ commitment to smart energy management for its customers, its ability to measure and track customers’ progress and its effort to communicate the importance of energy efficiency to a wide audience,” according to Jean Lupinacci, chief, EPA’s ENERGY STAR commercial and industrial branch.   

As our press release on the award — which can be accessed here – shows, we’ve been working hard to integrate ENERGY STAR into the work we do with our customers. And we have been working together with the EPA for many years to try to raise awareness about the significant savings available through energy efficiency improvements in existing buildings.

When can we get started with your building?