Guide offers strategy for schools to save money

San Diego County Office Of Education ENERGY PLANNING GUIDE

View more documents from California Center for Sustainable Energy.

School districts interested in saving money through energy efficiency and incorporating green practices into future construction projects may be interested in a planning guide just released by the San Diego County Office of Education.

The 43-page guide was produced with the California Center for Sustainable Energy and, while specifically targeting San Diego, is geared to any school district nationwide. The center pitches the report as a "plain language resource for understanding how to approach reducing district-wide energy consumption in schools through energy improvement projects."

It's written for facilities managers, but others can glean information from its pages. The guide spells out what it takes to reduce energy use, some of the programs that can be accessed to help pay for it and policies in California -- for instance, AB 32, or the Global Warming Solutions Act -- that make cutting greenhouse gas emissions a matter of priority.

It mentions the importance of benchmarking buildings, which means establishing a facility's energy use based on utility consumption data. And it spells out the simplest ways of going about that task through upgrades in lighting (exchanging T12 fluorescents to smaller T8s), air conditioning and other mechanical systems.

The San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization is a nonprofit dedicated to improving our region's quality of life by increasing its production and use of clean and alternative energy. The SJVCEO works with cities and counties and public and private organizations to demonstrate the benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy throughout the eight-county region of the San Joaquin Valley.

Training for California's green building code

Training sessions are scheduled for contractors and others interested in learning more about California's new green building code standards, which take effect in 2011, and are some of the most stringent in the nation.

CalGreen has new regulations regarding water conservation, energy efficiency, reduction of construction waste and other green measures.
To help prepare industry professionals, the California Building Standards Commission and state Department of Housing and Community Development are sponsoring training sessions starting June 16 in San Diego.

Seminars will be held throughout California through December, including one on July 29 in Fresno. Cost: $65 for public sector; $95 for private sector. Online registration: http://www.green-technology.org/calgreen/

Questions: 626-577-5700.

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What Is The Role Of The Car In New Urbanism?

There's been much talk and talk and talk about the role of automobiles when it comes to planning livable cities. In this blog in Grist, an environmental Website, Lester Brown, founder of Earth Policy Institute in Washington D.C., expounds on the subject a little more.

It's interesting that countries in Latin America are some of the most visionary in this issue. Anyway, here's a link to Brown's comments.

Energy audits gain believers

The practice of performing energy audits using money tapped from the public sector continues to spread.

Thurston County in Washington state recently won a $1 million U.S. Department of Energy grant and is offering individual analysis of homes for as low as $95, according to a story by John Dodge in the Olympian. The service comes by way of Thurston Energy, a program offered by the Thurston Climate Action Team and Thurston County Economic Development Council.

Dodge wrote that after a four-hour audit of a home, Bernie Miller of Quality Renovation and Carpentry found significant savings for the homeowners of a 1913 home if they insulate around the base of the basement, replace their old hot water heater and insulate the duct work for their natural gas heating system.

“This program is definitely going to keep me busy,” Miller told Dodge. “I’m already looking to bring another employee on board.”

The San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization likewise is interested in energy efficiency. It one of the group's main directives and part and parcel of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Program allocations that the SJVCEO is working on with 39 Valley jurisdictions.

The SJVCEO also is also interested in expanding its efforts into the residential realm. The goal would be similar to that of Thurston County, which links homeowners with reasonably priced audits through the private sector.

The preferred method by SJVCEO is dubbed "whole house" and takes into consideration the entire building along with its heating, cooling and lighting systems.

The SJVCEO is a nonprofit dedicated to improving our region's quality of life by increasing its production and use of clean and alternative energy. The SJVCEO works with cities and counties and public and private organizations to demonstrate the benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy throughout the eight-county region of the San Joaquin Valley.

Energy efficiency and pocketbook value

Here's a blog that should appeal to architects and green builders in the San Joaquin Valley - especially considering triple digit temps are on the horizon and power bills heat up during the summer.

Please note what three cities - Hesperia, Laguna Niguel and Santa Clarita - are doing with stimulus money. It'll be interesting to see what the future brings in the way of energy conservation, efficiency and sustainable development.

Zero energy is big plus in home building

A leading expert on green building says more homes are being designed to use less energy, a trend that will help reduce our dependence on oil and gas.

Buildings are responsible for about 48% of all carbon emissions, so more zero-energy houses would have a huge positive impact on the environment, David Johnston, said.

There's more in this USA Today story.

Going for a deeper shade of green

Simple weatherization programs are nice, but the biggest bang for the buck comes from a more comprehensive approach, according to a study by the UCLA Labor Center.

The group calls for a "deep green" approach to energy efficiency, which includes a whole-house approach. It includes an energy audit that could lead to a full scope of improvements and upgrades in older and poor neighborhoods where cutting power bills would generate meaningful money savings and create a wider variety of jobs.

A broader approach would create work for electricians, plumbers, architects, and contractors - way beyond the $15 or so average wage of a weatherization worker, the report says. With some construction trades devastated and unable to find work in this economy, the "deep green" approach could be a lifesaver, the report states.

There also is a huge pool of opportunity. In Los Angeles, for example, 90% of all residential and 77% of all commercial properties were built before 1978, and would likely benefit from upgrades, according to the study.

Here at the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization, we are all over energy retrofits. We are working with 36 cities and three counties to upgrade lighting, air conditioning systems, and expect to expand into residential and commercial properties as well.