Blog Mar 1, 2017

Industry Highlights: February 2017

Contact Us

Share

Welcome to our February edition of Industry Highlights—a monthly roundup of trending news from our social media feeds related to energy efficiency, utilities, legislative action, savings tips and more. Here’s a quick recap on a few of the most popular industry stories we shared with our readers and followers last month.

What drives building owners to invest in energy efficiency projects? 
A recent Energy Efficiency Survey looked at what motivates office building owners to improve energy performance. The survey found that most respondents use simple payback calculations to evaluate energy efficiency projects, usually basing decisions on recovering the investment in one to two years. Building owners are also more inclined to invest in energy-efficiency improvements if they can charge higher rents.

Fossil fuel usage in hospitals is down, but electricity consumption has remained steady
Over the past 20 years, fossil fuel usage in healthcare facilities has trended downward, but the consumption of electricity has not decreased significantly, according to a new survey. The “Hospital Energy and Water Benchmarking Survey,”— released by a Chicago-based, energy efficiency consultancy—provides information on usage trends and costs for 2015, based on data from 137 participant facilities across 10 states. The average square footage costs for energy were $3.11 in this year’s survey, down a bit from the prior year.

On Super Bowl Sunday, less spent on energy and more on beer
Where did you watch the Super Bowl this year? If you watched the big game at a party or gathering, you likely helped conserve some energy. Experts say that electricity usage tends to go down during the Super Bowl, compared to a typical Sunday afternoon and evening. The reason for the drop is likely due to the fact that TV’s are the only major appliance used during this time, and the Super Bowl is typically watched together and everyone is gathered around just one TV. But don’t get too excited. What you saved in energy on Feb. 5 was likely spent on other things…Americans slug down 325.5 million gallons of beer and 1.2 billion chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday.

Login