When Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA plugged in South Florida’s largest solar energy system earlier this year in Sunrise, it became the state’s largest non-utility solar owner. The Sunrise project joined two other IKEA solar arrays already operational in South Florida, in Orlando and Tampa. IKEA has a long-standing commitment to sustainable energy practices, readily demonstrated by its global allocation of $1.8 billion to invest in renewable energy over the next two years, and the myriad other conservation measures it has implemented in its buildings here and around the world. Continue reading “IKEA Builds South Florida’s Largest Solar Energy” »
Category Archives: energy management
Does Daylight Savings Time Really Save Energy?
It’s time to “Fall Back” again- Daylight Savings Time ends this year on November 4th at 2am. Reported energy savings are one of the biggest reasons we follow Daylight Savings Time (DST). A number of countries stopped changing their clocks this year, though, unconvinced that the savings are significant enough. Conflicting studies back up both sides of the issue.
When we get up and when we go to bed directly correlates to energy use and the demand for electricity for lighting. 25 percent of all electricity used in the average home is for lighting and small appliances, such as TVs, computers, and stereos. With Daylight Savings Time the sun seems to set one hour later, reducing the period between sunset and bedtime by one hour so we can cut the amount of electricity we consume each day. Electricity use is also reduced because we are home fewer hours during the spring and summer. Most people participate in outdoor activities in the extra daylight hours. When we are out enjoying the “longer” days, we don’t turn on the lights and appliances.
Although the amounts of electricity saved per household are small – they add up. U.S. Department of Transportation studies from the 1970s show that we trim the entire country’s electricity usage by about one percent each day during Daylight Savings Time. A 2001 report by the California Energy Commission recommended that going to a year-round DST could help with the state’s electricity problems.
The California Energy Commission had been studying whether an earlier employment of DST or going to a year-round DST would improve the energy troubles the state faced in 200-2002. They found that winter DST would cut peak electricity use by around 3.4 percent. Summer Double DST would cause a smaller and more uncertain drop in peak usage, but it could still save hundreds of millions of dollars because it would shift electricity use to low demand (cheaper) morning hours.
University of Santa Barbara issued a report in 2008 presenting their conclusion that Daylight Saving Time in Indiana actually increases residential energy demand. They reached this conclusion by comparing part of the state which did not practice DST with the rest of the state (the entire state is now on DST). The state of California reviewed this report but discounted its relevance to California and the rest of the country for three main reasons: Indiana is located in the western edge of the same time zone as Maine and Florida, but the sun actually rises an earlier time in Indiana than the other two states; Indiana uses little residential air conditioning in the summer, and Indiana’s north-south location affects the length of days in the summer and might lead to different results in different areas of the state.
One thing everyone can agree on is turning off lights, appliances and air conditioning always saves electricity and money. Lights left on in an unoccupied office building are a waste of resources and capital. Advanced Control Corporation can help you cut energy expenses by expanding your building automation system to include lighting control. Our simple, straightforward lighting control offers a fast pay-back and can be scaled to match your budget. The range of control can be from a basic control system for lighting and equipment switching applications, ideal for use in facilities where time-of-day control is being managed from a time clock or centralized building management system to a fully automatic lighting control for all of your facilities’ lighting circuits. Lighting control can be applied to outdoor areas such as parking lots, garages, walkways, and signs as well as indoor areas such as offices, cubicles, cafeterias, and storage areas. Incorporate these lighting control systems as part of a new construction project or retrofit them to your facilities’ existing lighting circuits to give any type of building efficient control of the lighting circuits. Advanced Control Corporation has been the industry leader in building automation, energy management, system integration, access control and CCTV solutions in South Florida since 1987. We have built a solid and respected reputation for our products and services over the years. Fierce determination to be the finest controls company in South Florida and your solution for building controls has paved the way to our successful involvement on some of the most respected projects in our market. Our principals have participated in several of the pioneering advances of our industry and have experience providing systems and services effectively to hundreds of facilities spanning three continents. Whether you are retrofitting your facilities or beginning a new construction project, Advanced Control Corporation has the tools and resources to help you achieve superior energy management through building automation and lighting control. Contact us today at 954-491-6660 for more information.
Retrofitting a Building with Building Automation
The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ 2012 audit of energy found that the State of Florida has benefited from the investment of ARRA funds with emission reduction, energy savings, energy cost savings, and job creation and retention. “Some recipients, such as local governments, reported progress in energy savings in areas that involved building retrofits, equipment upgrades, and the installation of more efficient lighting. These returns resulted in reductions in greenhouse gases and electric and natural gas consumption, as well as overall dollars saved through increased energy efficiency.”
A key component of retrofitting a building for cost effective energy management is building automation. Building automation controls energy costs by giving you control over lighting and HVAC equipment- the systems that use the most energy. Ideal business automation is seamless, without interrupting the daily routine of inhabitants. Advanced Control Corporation delivers seamless integration in a cost effective manner. Via various open protocols, our building automation systems can be installed in buildings with existing HVAC equipment and other building automation components. Our featured systems can communicate to the entire building by interfacing with the systems of other manufacturers and sharing information between systems including fire alarms, lighting controls, CCTV systems, and more.
Advanced Control Corporation provides industry-leading HVAC technology to help you increase your building’s electricity efficiency and lower your costs. Temperature control lowers energy consumption by insuring that each area is accurately monitored and maintaining the specified set points through building automation. The smart building automation software used by Advanced Control Corporation analyzes energy use to provide energy savings while maintaining the comfort of the inhabitants. It also provides the capacity to receive, store and analyze metering and sensor data provided to optimize and track energy use.
Whether you are on the grounds or away, a complete building automation solution will give you total control of your structure. Automatic after-hourstenant override via the internet or a touch-tone phone after business hours is Advanced Control Corporation’s customized solution that enables tenants to override preset building automation scheduling and HVAC systems. Advanced Control’s systems have the ability to accommodate a high volume of tenants with ease. Our systems assign equipment to specified zones, allowing multiple tenant access to the same mechanical equipment.
Advanced Control provides building automation in South Florida, as well as energy management, access control, CCTV solutions and more. Contact Advanced Control Corporation at 954-491-6660 today and let one of our energy experts customize a building automation systemfor your company.
Energy Management Not In This Debate
This final presidential debate was our last hope for some green politics during this election season. It seems that affordable conservation and sustainability are not of national importance this year. Poll-driven politicians have concluded that clean energy is frivolous in the face of struggles to find a job or unload an underwater mortgage.
Fortunately the building industry has recognized the urgency of embedding sustainability deeply in product development, design, standards setting, and construction. And many developers of both private and public projects recognize the urgency of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions, the importance of energy management and the savings that can be achieved with these buildings.
The politicians never mention that buildings and transportation are responsible for more that 70 percent of the greenhouse-gas emissions or that lighting representing over 40 percent of our electrical energy usage. The building industry has recognized this trend and is working to show that America can affordably live within the world’s ecological budget while creating a more robust economy and more livable communities. Advanced Control Corporation has been leading the way in South Florida since 1987.
Building automation and lighting control are basic principles that can be applied to all buildings; helping to reduce energy usage while saving money. Advanced Control Corporation has the technology to help you increase your building’s electricity efficiency and lower your costs with lighting control. The range of control can be from a basic control system for lighting and equipment switching applications which are ideal for use in facilities where time-of-day control is being managed from a time clock or centralized building management system to a fully automatic lighting control for all of your facilities lighting circuits. These lighting control systems can be incorporated as part of a new construction project or retrofitted to your facilities existing lighting circuits to allow all types of buildings to have the efficient control of the lighting circuits.
Temperature control through the proper building automation system is another way to reduce energy costs by insuring that each area is accurately monitored and maintaining the specified set points. The smart building automation software that is used by Advanced Control Corporation analyzes energy use to provide energy savings and still maintain the comfort of the inhabitants. In addition, it has the capacity to receive, store and analyze metering and sensor data provided to optimize and track energy use.
By providing both an HVAC and lighting control simultaneously, Advanced Control Corporation keeps your building running efficiently. Do not wait for the politicians to show you the way. Contact Advanced Control Corporation today and let one of our experts customize an energy management system for you. Advanced Control provides building automation in South Florida, as well as energy management, lighting control, access control, CCTV solutions and more. For more information, contact us at 954-491-6660 today.
Energy Management Reporting for Buildings
Earlier this month New York City posted 2011 energy use data for more than 2,000 large, privately owned buildings, making it the first major city in the world to release this kind of information. The energy use is posted in a sortable and searchable Excel spreadsheet, so anyone can download the file and look up the energy use data for a building of interest. The files list 3,600 properties—all those that were subject to the mandate—including some that failed to provide the required data. Those are now subject to fines by the city, charged quarterly until they comply.
Several major cities in the U.S. now mandate energy reporting and benchmarking; Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Philadelphia all have plans to release their data in the near future. All building owners in Seattle must report their numbers to the City and the City will release aggregate figures for the building stock. Seattle requires disclosure only around a transaction.
In California, Washington State, and Austin, Texas, the law only requires that energy data be made available to counter-parties in real-estate transactions. While public disclosure is not part of the plan for these transaction-based information exchanges, the data may still become publicly available over time, because it can be collected and aggregated by CoStar and other real estate data services, which currently track sale and lease prices and occupancy data.
Another place to find information on a building is the Honest Building website that allows users to find and compare information, rating and reviews for every commercial or residential building in the U.S. Search an address in one of 5,570 cities, and ratings on the building’s walkability, energy use, and LEED compliance shed light on its green performance.
As a leader in building automation, Advanced Control Corporation is delighted to hear that building energy information is being recorded and becoming available to the public. How is your building’s energy rating? If you are considering increasing your building’s efficiency, reducing your carbon footprint, and saving money, contact Advanced Control Corporation today. From lighting control and air quality control to energy management and small building solutions, Advanced Control has the knowledge, skill, and expertise to find the ideal solution for you. To learn more, call 954.491.6660 today.