Mr. Green

July 2, 2009 - Things continue to move forward for solid-state lighting. This week Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that 50 million dollars in recovery funds would be specifically allocated to solid-state lighting research and development.

The language from the Department of Energy website reads:

June 23, 2009 - Last month I wrote about a program in California where ENERGY STAR joined forces with PG&E to offer incentives to business to promote energy efficient TVs and computer monitors. Well, it looks like May was a banner month for selling energy efficient products for, also in May, a new program launched in Japan that has led to greatly increased sales of appliances.

June 18, 2009 - The fifth International Conference on Energy Efficiency in Domestic Appliances and Lighting (EEDAL) kicked off today in Berlin, Germany, and Mr. Green was there. The conference, held every three years in a different European location, is organized by the German Energy Agency with support from the European Commission Joint Research Centre, the International Energy Agency, and others.

June 15, 2009 - Last fall, I wrote about the emergence of smart metering systems that enable customers to network household energy-using products to communicate with utility companies. (See: Power (Control) to the People.) Such metering systems are a key element of the much touted "smart grid" which will intelligently measure and mete out the flow of electricity. The advantage smart meters bring is the ability to monitor energy use in real time by time of day and by the appliance used.

June 4, 2009 - As anyone who has gone through the process knows, understanding and then testing an external power supply design against the major global efficiency regulations can be very time-consuming. A new EPS Efficiency Compliance Calculator is beginning to change that.