The Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino (HACSB) provides affordable, decent, safe and sanitary public housing to low- and moderate-income families, including elderly and disabled persons. HACSB implemented an energy performance contract under the HUD public housing program where HUD subsidizes HACSB’s operating costs, including utility bills for low-income tenants, at existing levels […]

In an effort to avoid outages and rolling blackouts now and in the future, California is upping the ante to get more business customers to participate in automated demand response (Auto-DR) programs. Utility companies offer a wide variety of DR programs to help customers temporarily reduce their energy usage during peak times while lowering electricity […]

In our last article, we discussed occupancy sensors as an effective way to not only save energy, lower your utility bills, and achieve a fast ROI, but to comply with lighting control regulations such as California’s Title 24. This week, we discuss daylight harvesting (daylighting) controls, which provide energy savings during peak demand times when electricity […]

Lighting controls play several roles in electric lighting systems. They turn lights on and off via a switch, adjust light output via a dimmer, and provide the right amount of light where and when necessary.  Lighting controls also play an important role in energy efficiency and can help businesses reduce ongoing energy costs while boosting […]

Tenants and landlords usually share a common goal to reduce energy costs but some existing lease structures actually discourage investments in energy efficiency for both sides. Before you sign (or re-sign) on the dotted line, educate yourself on the most advantageous types of leases that allow for energy-efficient upgrades in existing buildings and that benefit […]