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.
A ruling to the pending regional standards lawsuit may be less than a month away. American Public Gas Association (APGA) executive vice president Dave Schryver confirmed that the lawsuit, APGA v. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has entered mediation and that an agreement between the two parties could occur very soon.
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.
As Benjamin Franklin once famously said, “In life, nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Many business owners might argue that “regulations” could have been added to that quote as well, given the large number of new rules imposed each year by local, state, and federal governments.
According to the DOE, more than two-thirds of the fuel used to generate power in the United States is lost as excess heat. On Aug. 30, President Obama signed the executive order “Accelerating Industrial Energy Efficiency,” promoting and facilitating a reduction of wasted thermal energy through an investment in combined heat and power (CHP).
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced that its Standard Work Specifications (SWS) for Single Family Energy Upgrades are moving forward, to the dismay of some in the HVAC industry who did not approve of the process. The guidelines are designed to serve as a resource for those involved in residential energy-efficiency retrofits.
As of now, the sole mode of enforcement for the pending regional energy efficiency standards will come in the form of a new-look Energy Guide sticker. While DOE may ultimately move forward with another enforcement proposal, the only one being put into motion at this time is an alteration to the FTC’s Energy Guide labels.
The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) formally petitioned the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), requesting an 18-month extension for residential non-weatherized gas furnaces from the proposed May 1, 2013 implementation date set for the amended federal minimum efficiency standards.
In a monumental decision, Hercules Industries Inc., a Denver-based HVAC company, gained a preliminary injunction against the recently approved Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Health Care law) on the basis that it violates their first amendment constitutional right to freedom of religion.