As this is being written temperatures are near 100°F here on the Illinois/Wisconsin border and a drought is in full force. The hue and cry is, “See, see, global warming! Told you it was real!” But folks from Europe were telling me that the Old World was experiencing one the coolest and wettest summers on record.

As the supermarket industry continues to embrace so-called ‘natural refrigerants,’ manufacturers also continue to seek improvements in energy efficiency with what they hope is easy to use equipment for service technicians. The FMI Food Retail Show was a major showcase for these developments at this year’s show in Dallas.

President Obama has signed an executive order to accelerate investments in industrial energy efficiency, including combined heat and power (CHP). The executive order states that these investments can improve the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing, lower energy costs, and free up future capital for businesses to invest.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has selected HP and Intel to provide a new energy-efficient high performance computer (HPC) system. NREL’s new HPC data center is designed to be the world’s most energy efficient.

HVAC manufacturers have produced a slew of green products. Whether a commercial or residential contractor, the following are units that can be installed in new and/or retrofit applications to help end users save energy and improve comfort.

Net zero energy buildings, changes coming in domestic refrigeration, the future of turbo equipment, and trends in energy efficiency. Those were the topics during plenary sessions that started each morning at the every other year Purdue conferences dealing with HVACR.

Connecticut’s Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) is lending $1 million for “Campus Efficiency Now,” a new program aimed at advancing energy efficiency and promoting cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable energy for Connecticut’s independent colleges.

Energy-efficiency aficionados are heralding the Senate’s approval of a bill that includes measures they have been touting for years. On Sept. 22 — at 3 a.m. — the U.S. Senate unanimously approved H.R. 4850, the Enabling Energy Savings Innovations Act.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced that since 2006 it has invested €10 billion (over $13 billion) in energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

Barack Obama has been re-elected president, Republicans have retained control of the House of Representatives, and Democrats continue to rule the Senate. To naysayers, the election may have seemed like one big waste of energy; however, to energy-efficiency advocates, the election may help eliminate a great deal of energy waste.