Electical Contractor

The ongoing energy-efficiency work at the Empire State Building has achieved another milestone on its journey toward sustainability leadership in the commercial real estate community by receiving its second Energy Star certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Some proponents of renewable power feel that, in the not too distant future, these energy sources could provide far more power worldwide than previously imagined.

While the economy seems to be fragile and teetering, political leaders and economic strategists fear one wrong move could bring it all down in pieces. Yet, President Obama seems steadfast in his belief that one must spend money to make money.

The House of Representatives voted on a repeal of the so-called “bulb ban” on July 12, 2011, but failed to reach its needed two-thirds majority, concluding with 233 members in favor of the repeal and 193 against it.

Rising energy prices, government incentives and enhanced public image are driving energy efficiency in buildings to new heights as a growing number of building owners races to reduce energy consumption, according to the results of the fifth annual global Energy Efficiency Indicator Survey.

Like doctors, various organizations and authorities periodically attempt to gauge how their industries are doing by issuing studies that, in a sense, take a temperature reading on specific subjects. In this case, the mercury is green. In June, Siemens Corp.

Talk is cheap, and while the buzz around renewable power and other forms of clean energy is well intended, one government agency has gone beyond the rhetoric.

The traditional method of thinking in nanoscale materials is that smaller is better, but researchers at the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering are challenging traditional thermoelectric theory.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urged residents in the Atlanta area to check their homes for counterfeit smoke alarms. About 18,500 such alarms were distributed for free between 2006 through May 2011 as part of the Atlanta Smoke Alarm Program.