All Articles Tagged Green

Jason Knott | 04/27 07:13 AM, 2 Comments

For integrators still waiting to implement green solutions strategies ... don't wait much longer. According to a new study, the green home trend does not appear to be a flash in the pan. Thirty-eight percent of new homes built by 2016 will be green homes, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. And the cost of constructing a green home is expected to drop for homebuilders. Back in 2008, builders reported that green building adds 10 percent to the construction cost. Today, it's only 7 percent more costly. The data is evidence for… View this story

CE Pro Editors | 04/18 09:25 AM, 0 Comments

In honor of Earth Day (April 22), D&H Distributing has announced that its “green” products linecard has increased by 20 percent over 2011. D&H currently lists approximately 7,600 green-certified products, up from 6,300 at this time in 2011 and approximately 4,000 in January of 2010 when its "Go Green” program launched. D&H says green-certified products are still in demand among its customers, who are projected to purchase an average run rate of nearly 10 million green items per year, beginning with the January 2010 Go Green launch, based on current… View this story

Steven Castle | 01/09 01:11 PM, 0 Comments

Big-box chain Lowe’s has announced it will sell a cloud-based home management system called Iris that allows customers the ability to monitor and control their home from anywhere by using a smartphone or computer. Iris will be introduced in mid-2012 in selected stores and on Lowes.com. The system will be based on U.K.-based company AlertMe’s Smart Home platform and home hub. AlertMe provides home energy management and connected home services both to consumers and through partners such as utilities, telecommunications companies and retailers. Lowe’s Iris system will include energy and… View this story

Jason Knott | 11/02 05:57 AM, 0 Comments

A new study shows that green consumers really like to spend their green. According to Scarborough Research's "All About the Super Greenies" (pdf), the “Super Green” - consumers who engage in the highest amount of environmentally-friendly activities as measured by Scarborough - are top earners with a taste for luxury goods. The data flies in the face of what many integrators have told me: Their clients are "anti-green." While I am sure that is true in some individual cases, the study does not support that conclusion. The Super Green population,… View this story

Steven Castle | 07/20 07:25 AM, 3 Comments

Homebuilder Scott Frankel of Frankel Building Group in Houston understands the value of home automation, building energy-efficient homes that will last, and how the two work together. “The key goal is to be sustainable and last a long time,” says Frankel. “Home automation is one real facet [of that sustainability]. Its fun. It’s neat. It’s cool.” Frankel built 58 LEED-certified homes, priced at $800,000 and up, in a development called ParkGate Reserve in The Woodlands. Crestron home control systems, installed by Premier Technology Group, help the homeowners achieve efficiencies in… View this story

Jason Knott | 07/18 08:43 AM, 0 Comments

The new challenge in green building these days is that consumers are unwilling to pay more to build a LEED home vs. a conventional home. But that limitation was not an issue for Innovative Electronic Systems (IES) in Hurt, Va., as the company undertook the first USGBC LEED Platinum-certified home in central Virginia using the Elk Products’ M1 controller as the “brains.” The Lynchburg residence, called the Eco-House, is intended to be a model home to educate the public regarding new energy efficient systems and green principles, products and services… View this story

Steven Castle | 07/18 07:54 AM, 0 Comments

Jim Sweeney is driving to yet another appointment in Connecticut. This meeting is with the owner of 20 buildings, including 11 Dunkin’ Donuts shops and five restaurants. The guy has a million-dollar energy bill on his Dunkin’ Donuts shops alone. Sweeney plans to talk with him about reducing that bill - and he has several energy-saving services in his tool kit. Sweeney’s company, HomeTronics Lifestyles, in Durham, Conn., has expanded to provide a host of green tech services in the last couple of years - and he isn’t satisfied with… View this story

Steven Castle | 06/27 07:43 AM, 2 Comments

A bill has been introduced in the U.S. Congress that would prohibit certain e-waste products from being shipped to other countries, including flat screens for TVs, LCDs and LEDs. E-waste exported to developing countries, like China and Ghana, is often dangerously dismantled and burned, resulting in hazardous conditions for both people and the environment. The new legislation, the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act of 2011 (H.R. 2284), was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Gene Green (D-TX) and Mike Thompson (D-CA), and was introduced in the U.S. Senate on… View this story

Steven Castle | 06/03 09:25 AM, 1 Comment

The Electric Consumer Right to Know Act (also known as e-KNOW), introduced recently in the U.S. Senate, is being hailed by some as a building block to achieving a more efficient smart grid. The bill would give consumers greater access to their electric usage information in real time, improving their ability to manage energy use with devices like house-wide energy management systems. The proposed legislation may also help prevent angry consumer backlash to smart grid rollouts by utilities, such as ones in Northern California and Texas in 2010. The e-Know… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 05/17 05:48 AM, 3 Comments

One of the first modern-day buzz kills for energy conservation was the 2008 scandal in northern and central California, where PG&E customers saw their electric bills spike after smart meters were installed. Similar spikes plagued smart grid users in Texas. Then came widespread security concerns related to those same smart meters. In 2008, the California Public Utilities Commission instituted rules “to protect the privacy and security of the electricity usage data of the customers of Pacific Gas and Electronic Company, Southern California Company, and San Diego Gas & Electric Company.”… View this story