High Efficiency Products

This post was written by Andy Armstrong, VP of Sales & Marketing of HVAC Products at Fujitsu General America, as part of its membership in NEEP’s Allies Program.

Is using electricity almost exclusively for all energy needs – such as transportation, home heating and industry uses – really a key part of the global warming solution? Well, it absolutely is. Of course it’s critical to decarbonize the grid with wind and solar and other renewables as part of the process, but dramatically shifting energy uses to electricity, while also making them more efficient, is indeed a key part of deep carbon reduction.

On June 27-28, NEEP will be convene its fourth annual Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) workshop at Schneider Electric’s campus in Andover Massachusetts. Key ASHP stakeholders from around the region will come together to discuss various market strategies aimed at transforming the region's residential space heating and cooling market from one dominated by gas and oil heating systems to one with deep penetration of ASHPs.

In recent years, smart devices such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Smart Home platform, and the like, have enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity. Smart fridges, televisions, showers, blenders, lights; essentially, anything with a plug or batteries can now be hooked up to your phone or watch for your leisure.

With the arrival of the New Year, NEEP said good-bye and farewell to the DesignLights Consortium, which began 2017 as an independent organization. Led by its own Board of Directors with Tina Halfpenny as Executive Director, the DLC team of eight professionals across the U.S. continues the DLC’s key market transformation role to set the bar for and distinguish quality, energy efficient commercial lighting products. 

Are you looking for something to warm your bones in the middle of another chilly winter season? I’ve got just the thing for you - cold climate air-source heat pumps (ASHPs)!

Electric air-source heat pumps (ASHPs/heat pumps) are an increasingly popular mode of delivering heating and cooling to buildings. Heat pumps are typically much more energy-efficient than older technologies such as hydronic boilers or resistance heating. They give users a great deal of control over their indoor comfort with zoned heating and cooling and have none of the health and safety concerns of combustion sources such as heating oil, propane and natural gas.

Energy efficiency is changing. For years, if not decades, lighting has been a reliable and relatively easy source of energy savings across sectors. The extremely cost-effective savings, coupled with the commodity nature of lighting, has rightfully earned its reputation as a “bread and butter” measure.

In the home automation space, innovations are abundant. Cool new gadgets and gizmos that simplify your life, provide an increased sense of security, and - as if an afterthought - help you save energy are popping up everywhere. While NEEP and other efficiency stakeholders have used the phrase Home Energy Management System (HEMS) to talk about products that can save energy within these ecosystems, customers are - for the most part - purchasing these devices, software, and systems for other reasons.

The efficiency community focuses on minimum efficiency appliance standards because they significantly reduce energy waste, save money and cut pollution. The following product categories, for which DOE has proposed standards, will significantly impact the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic for years to come. Although each federal rulemaking is unique and has its own story associated with it, they are a reminder that the federal standards program continues to be an area of energy savings opportunity.