Environmental Efficiency by Controlled Air Inc

Going green is not just for smaller eco-conscious companies anymore. Many larger corporations are jumping on the bank wagon and are finding they can save huge amounts of money. The changes that they are making vary from a complete buildings redesigns to complete overhaul of their business practices. The outcome of these changes from business to business, but it seems that overall they are helping bring green and sustainable principles to the mainstream of business. Last year Walmart launched a sustainability index and sustainability consortium. Burger King has even opened up a number of stores that are partially powered by wind and solar; Dr. Pepper is upgrading 60k vending machines for energy efficiency and Huggies now makes organic diapers. The term "Green" has been over used and over marketed and many people thought that it was only a phase that would pass like bell-bottoms. But it is not going anywhere and seems to only be growing in popularity. It is wonderful that the...

A little side track from our usually focus on energy, we wanted to congratulate the Derby National Honor Society for raising over 1,700 books for donation to Yale New Haven Children's Hospital and Connecticut Children's Medical Center. Our own Frank Lazowski helped with distribution of the books to the hospitals. We like to always recognize the good that our staff does for the community and always support them anyway that we can. Please consider donating any old children's books that you have instead of tossing them. There are always children who would appreciate them at your local hospital.

According to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), the world energy usage is expected to grow by 49% percent by 2035. India and China will make up 20% of the growth. The United States growth is expected to drop from 21% to 16% of the worlds usage. The industrial sector is stated to uses more energy then any other sector as much as 50%, in a report by the EIA. Other points mentioned in the report: * Petroleum and other liquid fuels will remain the largest energy source worldwide through 2035, although higher oil prices are expected to erode their share of total energy use from 35 percent in 2007 to 30 percent in 2035. * World natural gas consumption will increase 1.3 percent per year, from 108 trillion cubic feet in 2007 to 156 trillion cubic feet in 2035. Tight gas, shale gas and coalbed methane supplies will rise substantially, especially from the U.S., but also from Canada and China. * World net electricity generation will jump by 87 percent, from 18.8 trillion k...

We continually discuss all the environmental benefits of going green, but the cost involved in going green can sometimes seem be a bit high. But it really does save your business money in the long run. A partnership was created between Environmental Defense Fund and private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR). KKR asked the companies in their portfolio to use greener business practices and in two years they saved over $160 million dollars. These numbers are huge and help prove the point that not only is going green good for the environment, it is good for your pocket as well. Furthermore the companies saved 345,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, 8,500 tons of paper, and 1.2 million tons of waste. Read more about the findings

When you think of Alexion Pharmacauticals, you may not think of green technology or environment efforts, but Alexion is a leader in sustainable business practices. Alexion has written a business plan that leads them to become 100% green. Over the last few years Alexion has installed a company wide filtration system, removing the need for plastic water bottles; all appliances and computers are energy star rated; they have installed solar panels and purchase a portion of the energy from renewable energy sources; replaced windows to high efficiency glass; and two of their major renovations have been awarded Gold LEED Certification. We worked with Alexion in installing a new high efficiency heating and air conditioning system, as well as installing variable frequency drives, and an energy management system that allows for strict control and monitoring over energy usage in the building. What really stands out for us it that they don't even own the building they are renovating in Connect...

I find it to be wonderful that new statistics are showing the Connecticut Businesses are going green. Research by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association found that "Almost three-quarters (74 percent) of those surveyed have adopted sustainable strategies, up from 47 percent in 2007, 59 percent in 2008, and 73 percent in 2009." I can only hope that these numbers continue to grow. I believe that some of this improvement is due to the funding available by the Utility companies and the state. I also hope that these figures encourage other Connecticut to continue the funding. In the current economy much of the funding has come on the chopping block. Some of the other figures found by the CBIA Include: * While their primary goal for going green is reducing operating costs (64 percent of respondents), nearly as important is their commitment to environmental and social responsibility (57 percent). Other reasons include enhancing company image (38 percent), responding to cu...

You may have heard the term EMS when looking into energy conservation, heating or lighting. EMS stands for Energy Management Systems. They are computer run programs that allow you to control and monitor the energy usage in a building. It also allows you to track to see how much energy you are using and when you peak usage may be. You could be away on vacation in hawaii and if you have internet access you can see how many kWh are being used at your company. We use them to monitor if there are any problems with a heating or air conditioning system. We get a warning that some things is running differently in a system before a major problem can arise. Installing a EMS system from scratch can seem like a big cost, but in the long run it can save thousands of dollars. Being able to see how energy is being used in a building, it allows to develop strategic ideas on how to save energy and money. The more information you have the easier it is to make effective plans. Further these systems can v...