Texas Energy Efficiency

The Obama Administration announced on March 22 that nine major utilities and electricity suppliers will commit to providing more than 15 million households access to data about their own energy use with a simple click of an online “Green Button.” By providing consumers with information about how they are using energy in their households, Green [...]

Clouds, rain, thunderstorms… at Solar Decathlon Village? Oh my, you may say. But less-than-ideal weather conditions are no match for this year’s teams, thanks to smart grid technology that is helping them monitor their energy consumption. As Solar Decathlon blogger Carol Anna found out, this technology, as well as having a good “weatherperson” on the team [...]

If you were going to a new gallery showing of your favorite local artist, would you want to view the canvasses under dim lights? Or if you were reupholstering your favorite sofa, would you want to look at fabric samples under fluorescent lighting and risk mistaking indigo blue for charcoal black? Small businesses are a [...]

As modernization of the nation’s electric grid moves forward, consumers and businesses are experiencing fewer outages, faster power restoration when outages do occur, more efficient operations, and cost savings.  Here are some of the latest examples of how Smart Grid Investment Grants from the Energy Department are helping the electric grid to better serve the [...]

The month of March represents many activities to celebrate: St. Patrick’s Day, the first day of spring, the beginning of Lent, Daylight Savings Time, the month Coca Cola was invented, and most importantly, NCAA brackets! Now, with the understanding that it is unfair to place a higher importance on any of these things as its [...]

With gas prices skyrocketing, it may be time to evaluate your driving habits. No, I’m not talking about “hypermiling” (going to extreme lengths to get the best fuel economy possible), which can involve some dangerous techniques. (There actually is a Hypermiling Safety Foundation, which advocates legal techniques to get the best mileage possible.) You can still [...]

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Houston, Texas, with Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman. During our trip, we visited with officials from CenterPoint Energy and saw firsthand how the smart grid is helping consumers reduce the energy they use in their homes. CenterPoint Energy is one of the nation’s leaders in smart [...]

DOE announced on March 9 the availability of up to $5.2 million in fiscal year 2012 to develop improved building efficiency technologies. This funding opportunity includes advanced heating and cooling systems and high efficiency insulation, windows, and roofs. The funding will advance the research and development, demonstration, and manufacture of innovative building technologies to speed [...]

Real-time feedback provides more control over energy use for many customers Washington, D.C.—Recent smart grid policy initiatives in the United States and the E.U. have led to large-scale research projects investigating the use of real-time feedback technologies that leverage data provided by smart meters. Today the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released Results from [...]