Conventional wisdom says that buildings are a sprawling, untamable black hole for energy. But a new analysis of federal data shows that the U.S. buildings sector has made enormous strides in efficiency over the last six years -- potentially eliminating the need to build any new power plants to support growth in the sector through 2030.

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Facebook has posted live energy use dashboard for it's data centers.  Read more...

2nd Annual Fire Safety Conference will be held May 7-8, 2013 in Omaha, NE.  Topic is NFPA 99 Health Care Facilities Code (2012 Edition).  See flyer for full conference information.

"Our investments are paying off. We’ve already achieved 100 percent renewable energy at all of our data centers, at our facilities in Austin, Elk Grove, Cork, and Munich, and at our Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino. And for all of Apple’s corporate facilities worldwide, we’re at 75 percent, and we expect that number to grow as the amount of renewable energy available to us increases. We won’t stop working until we achieve 100 percent throughout Apple."

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Two researchers from Delft Technical University in Holland have developed a self-healing cement that can stop microcracks from forming in concrete. The material incorporates alkaphilic bacterial spores (which thrive in the alkaline environment of concrete) plus a feeder material. When water infiltrates concrete, the spores are activated and convert the feed into limestone, sealing the crack and preventing larger cracks from forming. - See more.

Research by Harvard professor David Keith suggests that the global capacity for energy generation from wind power has been overestimated, and that geophysical / climate effects of turbines will reduce the benefits of large-scale power installations.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-02-real-world-capacity-farms-large-scales.html#jCp

Benefits the Nebraska ASHRAE Scholarship Fund.  Held on February 9, 2013.
See flyer for more information.

Fireflies ... they’ve allowed us to image the bloodstream and they’ve inspired the creation of a light that could run on waste. Now, they’ve helped an international team of scientists get over 50 percent more light out of existing LED bulbs. The secret lies in the insects’ scales.

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Registration for the 2013 AEI/ASHRAE Expo has now opened.  Early registration by February 11th is d.  More information available in the attached flyer, or visit the event website.

Vendor early registration has been extended to January 20.  Over half of the booths have been reserved, so get yours now!

The U.S. Department of Energy and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) invite experts to join the Energy Efficiency Standardization Coordination Collaborative (EESCC), a cross-sector, neutral forum and focal point for coordination of voluntary, consensus-based energy efficiency standardization activities in the United States. The EESCC will inventory what standards, codes, specifications, and conformance programs are currently available or under development, where gaps exist, and what additional standardization-related activities are needed to advance energy efficiency. This EESCC effort will result in a “road map” that will support the increased deployment of energy efficiency solutions in the public and private sectors.