Greening up the Joint

The Department of Energy is attempting to make buildings across the nation "greener." In their quest to do so, they have provided tips at their website to help various types of businesses cut their energy bills and become more energy efficient. ; If you have not been following along, check over the last 2 posts that give energy solutions for single family houses, multifamily homes, office buildings, retail buildings, and health care buildings.

Lodgings

Lodgings, the places we go stay at when we just want to "get away," are based on pleasing the customer. In fact, if it was not based on this, the lodging simply would not stay in business. Those customers that frequent the facility want to be able to use the air conditioner, swim in heated pools, takes showers, and many other things, and, depending on how large the building is, you can probably see how much energy could potentially be consumed. Here are some tips that lodging owners can work with in order to do their part to reduce energy costs:

* Save energy and water with solar water heating systems and low-flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets

* Encourage guests to reuse towels and linens

* Save on utility bills and maintenance costs by installing centralized energy management systems

* Install digital thermostats that monitor room occupancy and automatically adjust the temperature when guests enter or exit

* Save on lighting costs with energy-efficient lighting and occupancy sensors

* Educate cleaning and maintenance staff to turn off lights and adjust thermostats, and implement preventive maintenance programs

School

Although the Department of Energy did not list tips in the way they did for the other building sections, the website did give much information on the EnergySmart Schools program. This program has been implemented to build new energy efficient schools, as well as renovate existing schools so that they are also energy smart.

The goal of the EnergySmart Schools initiative that is currently in place is to create buildings that:

* Save $2 billion annually

* Provide healthier learning environments, through better indoor lighting, temperature control, acoustics, and air quality

* Familiarize parents, teachers, and students with affordable, advanced energy-efficiency technologies and practices

* Help slow the demand for new power plants, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions

* May serve as emergency community shelters during grid power outages

This section of the Department of Energy's website contains information to help with planning, financing, design and building, and operation and maintenance. The site even has a section that incorporates links to over 350 lesson plans and activities for students in kindergarten through 12th grade that teach about energy efficiency and renewable energy.

David Tanguay is dedicated to providing research, reviews & helpful information to consumers and businesses. For more information related to Green Energy and Wind Power please visit http://greenenergyonline.org

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