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For many, the barriers to energy improvement seem too high to overcome. Even though energy improvements often pay for themselves over time, high upfront costs can be a burden. Commercial buildings also tend to change hands fairly often, which presents a significant discouragement to the kinds of long-term investments that…

Gary Short May 28, 2014

We recently shared with you a new financing program that helps property owners adopt clean energy with no up-front costs and amortized repayment over 20 years. The PACE program is an excellent financing solution for commercial property owners, and also extends to residential and municipal properties in some areas. (more…)

Gary Short Apr 25, 2014

If you’re a property owner who is interested in adopting clean energy, but are concerned that up-front costs would make your project unattainable, then the PACE renewable energy financing program could be just what you’re looking for. With no up-front costs, PACE financing allows property owners to fund energy efficiency,…

Gary Short Apr 25, 2014

It’s still unclear, from a facilities standpoint as well as many other points of view, how exactly the Affordable Care Act will affect the operations of hospitals across the nation. We just witnessed the fourth Georgia hospital in two years close its doors due to severe financial difficulties imposed by…

Gary Short Mar 06, 2014

The “School of Sustainability” at Arizona State University graduates its first class in May. With 300 total degrees handed out between the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and graduate degrees, ASU is one of the pioneering schools of an explosive new trend in green-collar degrees. Students who intend to…

Gary Short Mar 04, 2014

When discussing green data center energy metrics, the acronym you’ll hear thrown around most often is PUE, or power usage effectiveness. PUE takes into account how much energy the servers (and their associate devices, like lights, coolers and work stations) consume. (more…)

Gary Short Feb 27, 2014

Many building owners recognize the word “commissioning,” the process by which recently constructed buildings are assessed to confirm that all the electrical and HVAC systems work as planned. Commissioning is usually done when a building is first completed, verifying that the structure is in tip-top shape for actual use by…

Gary Short Feb 25, 2014

Beyond the general overview of retro-commissioning a healthcare facility, there are myriad specific tasks that can be done to maintain a healthy, protective climate for a hospital’s patients. Two of the most important considerations are detailed below: (more…)

Gary Short Feb 20, 2014